Kona Mashup - Discretion the better part of valour?

This weekend saw the Kona Mashup arrive at Glyncorrwg, I've had a Kona Kula since 2004, therefore felt obliged to turn up and see what it was all about. I considered entering, but after last week I realised that maybe I'm not quite as fit as I used to be, so decided that discretion would be the better part of valour - someone has to come last, and it wasn't going to be me! Maybe it's the rose tinted shades, but I vaguely remember that at my best I was quite good at the climbs, my stubborn streak takes over, I put my head down and just keep going, however, I'm far from there! That ruled out the enduro stages, so all that was left was the technical stages. My rose tinted glasses aren't that effective, I don't kid myself, technically I'm awful. Wheelies remain a mystery to me, bunny hops - isn't that something Thumper does? It takes a certain sort of person to be truly fast downhill, a disregard for self preservation, a Kamikaze mentality which I don't share.

With both the Enduro and Technical disciplines ruled out there was nothing left but the camera. To misquote a proverb - those who can, compete, those who can't, photograph it! Armed with the trusty Canon, (which unbeknownst to me had an almost flat battery) and weighted down in my soon to be surplus waterproofs I set off for Them Thar Hills. The 'Ponds' were packed, but I managed to squeeze into the car park. Amidst the hustle and bustle of activity - competitors preparing for the days activity, I suppressed the urge to rush home and get the bike. With the rain clouds lifting and with the knowledge of the climb ahead I set aside the waterproofs and set off.

Deciding that the riders wouldn't appreciate me walking up the initial climb from the car park I decided to take a footpath which was nearby, confident in my infallible sense of direction. The path climbed steadily at first, but became ever steeper, to a point where I had to take a pit stop under the now hot, yes, I said hot, mid-morning August sun. While attempting to suck the last dregs from my can of coke I glimpsed a brief flicker of orange windsock around a 1/4 mile away and 100 metres vertically up the hillside - b#^%$r!! Could it be that my sense of direction was not as infallible as I once assumed? Well, yes it could. It had taken around an 1 hour for me to emerge from the undergrowth from my 1.5 mile trek up the hillside, the car park now 200 metres below me.

Despite feeling shattered it had been an enjoyable day, was discretion the better decision? probably, despite been a bit disappointed with the quality, or lack of it, of my photographs - the queue for the 1st aid tent helped improve my mood about not competing. But look out next year - fatties coming!

*Edit - Check out some of my pictures of the event on flickr

Chinese Whispers

Despite not been a huge sporting fan, unless it's got an engine, I've spent the past two weeks watching and dare I say, in general, enjoying the Olympics on the good ole BBC.

Some suspect judging in the boxing and taekwondo have come close to spoiling those events for me and I suspect, for the athletes who took part in those events. Despite that, whilst eating my breakfast (at 9:40 - yes I am lazy) and watching the last few events as the Olympics comes to a close, I find myself actually feeling a little sad that it's coming to an end. Maybe it's because it's the climax of four years preparation, athletics at the peak of their sporting prowess, or maybe it's because the TV schedules will return to their boring pre Beijing output.

Late to the band wagon

Ho hum, I eventually setup my stall in the Blogsphere and everybody's gone!? and for that matter, what the heck is the Blogsphere anyway?

Inspired by my colleagues blog, I thought it was about time that I opened up my (slightly) insane ramblings to a wider audience than just the select group of my lucky friends who have been blessed by my pearls of wisdom, though they say endure, which is good, right? Plus, not wanting to go along with the crowd, I think that blogging has now become unfashionable enough for me to join in, if blogs were a person, he'd be called Dwayne Dibbley.