Newark Weir

Fed up of Christmas over eating, me and Dan decided to hit Newark Weir on the River Trent. Gauge was reading 1.85, a good level made for a fun time on the right hand weir.

A Cold Lee Valley!

With minimal rainfall over the weekend a little trip down to Lee Valley was required. Spent some time playboating on the Legacy Loop, then enjoyed the new features on the Olympic Course.

Playboat time at LV

A Clean Bill of Health!

So 6 months have now passed since undergoing my Arthroscopic Shoulder Stabilisation Surgery to repair my Bankart Lesion.

Pre-Op Tattoo.

Morning after, sitting up in bed.

Last week was my last Physio session. That took me to a total of 20 half hour sessions in the last 5 months. In mid-October my Consultant gave me the all clear to get back into sporting activities, little did he know I’d already been paddling for a month or so and biking for even longer….

All good until 27-Apr-14, then slowly picking it back up post operation.

Late October, early November I passed the point of being stronger than I was pre-dislocation. This is a big milestone in my recovery, which going forwards into the winter season puts me back in a good place. 
Mobility wise, I pretty much have full range of movement back. Forward flexion above and past my head is still not quite 100% but due to the extensive work done to stabilise the joint this might never be possible.

So fingers crossed for lots of wet weather to get the rivers up, oh and at the weekend if possible! If not looks like the MTB will be getting out more...

MTB in Wales

After booking on for a PACKERS Peer Paddling trip as per usual everything but the rain went to plan. Early in the week Saturday was looking hopeful, however by Thursday night all hope was lost. 

Dan and I decided that the Mountain Bikes would be the best choice for the weekend instead.

Getting ready in the Carpark.

To spice things up a little we left early Friday afternoon getting to the Marin Trail carpark for just before 7pm. With lights on bikes and wearing head torches we were off. Not having biked at night before the first couple of miles were a bit tricky. Luckily the start of the Marin Trail is fairly easy with a trail climb then it continues on up fire roads. After the first couple of downhill sections we were getting into the swing of things.

With confidence building limits were starting to be pushed, until the inevitable happened… Coming round a sharp left bend a right bend quickly followed. Carrying slightly too much speed I was off over the handlebars, rolling through the air and landing on my right shoulder! Fortunately it was a soft landing onto a load of moss but still managed to wind myself.

Halfway round I had another off, this time down to a clip-in incident.

We had almost finished the trail when all of a sudden my back wheel decided to explode! I’d managed to put a piece of flint through the side wall of the tyre. A record tube change and temporary patch applied in the dark to the tyre and we were back on our way.
Back at the car in just over 2 hours including the pitstop, we packed up and headed to the bunk barn for a well-earned pizza and cider! A future day time lap will be a must as we both enjoyed the downhill sections.

Not too muddy after a great night ride.

Fantastic start to a Saturday for Biking, not so for Boating!

An early start on Saturday morning got us to Coedy-y-Brenin for just after 9am. We decided to hit Dragons Back. Stopping for lunch back at the center and then blast round MBR. Halfway down The Adams Family I decided to take another flying lesson over the bars. This time landing on a rock slab, again on my right shoulder. Slightly winded with cuts on my arm I was more concerned that the rear mech had been slightly bent in. Bending the hanger back out it seemed to change gear OK so carried on with the rest of the trail.

Dan then decided to break one of his pedals, somehow the axel had become separated from the cleat. This resulted in him being clipped in but could slide the pedal off the axel at anytime! On one of the last descents he came a cropped on a root, nearly impaling his handlebars on himself...

Saturday evening we headed out with the rest of the group who'd spent the day walking the Glen picking out the lines for wetter times!

Up early again to pack up and head over to Llandegla, great weather for biking again. Last time round there was a big diversion on the black route due to Forestry Work, thankfully this time round the whole trail was open. An incident free fast lap saw us back at the car in under 2 hours.

Richies Sickline Qualification Run

First Paddle of my 9R down the Olympic Course

After a week of fitting out, the time had finally come to try out my new Pyranha 9R on Lee Valley. It was also the first time since my shoulder operation paddling on the Olympic Course, so I was feeling a tad nervous.

All fitted out and ready to GO!

Jumping in on the lake I had a few rolls just to check things were nice and tight. The slender shape of the 9R makes it very easy to roll.

Riding up the travelator I clicked myself in a little tighter. Before buying the boat I was able to try my Seals 1.7 Deck on, fortunately this seems to fit OK. However the real test of LV was still to come.

Driving the boat hard across the first eddy line river left the boat snapped into it just like my old Raptor. I then managed to surf across the top wave to river right with minimal effort. Breaking back into the flow the boat accelerated much faster than anything I've paddled before.

Running down to the first hole lining up for the boof stroke over it I was expecting to come up short. But as I left the lip I could see that the nose was almost over the end of the pile. On landing a nice spray was given off from the front of the boat where the wave deflector edges are. As the back of the boat hit the pile I could feel the boat planing across the hole.

Breaking out river right just under the bridge, I completed the figure of eight route back up and round the corner with ease. The extra length and high bow lets you drive high and hard out of eddies.

At the first big drop I was heading from middle to river left. As the nose hit the still water of the eddy I planted a left stroke, leant the boat over and curved into the eddy a treat. After a third of the course I was really starting to like the boat and happy that my shoulder was still in one piece.

Surfing was next on the agenda. I managed to get onto the second wave behind the first drop. Front, side and back surfed this before falling off the back. I was really impressed with how controlled it felt at the bottom and top of the wave. The peaked bow and stern decks really help to shed the water fast.

In the middle of the course I kept river left, boofing over the small waves. Skirting round Sideshow, I boofed into the eddy river left just above the last drop. Using the upstream wave I broke back into the flow taking the drop middle to right breaking out river right in the pool below. I've done this routine 10's of times in the Raptor and it felt just as good the first time in the 9R.

Messing around in the bottom pool.

In the bottom pool I completed a few high crosses of the second drop. Again the high bow of the boat kept me high and dry when carving across the wave.

To finish off the lap I had a bit of a surf on the second wave back from the drop. I used to find it hard to stay on this in the Raptor but with the rounded edge bow of the 9R front surfing seemed to be much easier and forgiving. Lap complete and in one piece. I was really impressed with the boat. As the session went on I felt more and more confident in the boat trying different eddies and routes.

Now to hit the flat with some training intervals and get it on some real rivers to see how it performs!

Swim Time at the SICKLINE

The video behind the Instafamous photo....

Party times!

SICKLINE Video

The fun to date....

Sickline 2014 - so far

For the second year in a row we decided to enter the Adidas Sickline. Dan, Richie and Rob will be taking part this year, unfortunately I'll be watching from the side due to the shoulder. 

We left England on Sunday evening, arriving in Oetz around 8am Monday. A glorious sunny day welcomed us. After unpacking and having breakfast I got kitted up for taking the roadie out whilst the others prepared to take on the Wellerbrucke. 

Leaving the boys at 10am I started the 3 hour climb up the Timmelsjoch Pass which takes you into Italy. 

Finally getting to the top of the pass in just over 3 hours the mad descent of 1700m back down to Oetz was more than welcome! Having never descended a mountain on my roadie I didn't know what to expect, but after a couple of switch backs I got into it. Tucking up in one of the straightest sections I managed to hold my bottle to clock just over 60mph!

Whilst I was bombing it back down the valley the boys were putting in lots of laps of the Qualification Course. The course has changed a fair amount. Champions Killer Minus 1 isn't as big as last year and the eddy used to start the qualification run is easier to get out of. The line for Champions Killer is still important to hit, if missed you either get back flipped or spat out into the eddy river left.

After a well earned sleep it was Tuesday morning. Feeling a bit sore from the biking I decided to join the rest of the boys and paddle the qualification course. I started below Champions Killer for my warm up run, whilst Dan and Richie started above. Managing the first run well I was back up and sat in the eddy ready to run the qualification section. Running Champions Killer requires a hard right boof stroke so I was a bit nervous about how it would go. Fortunately I got it spot on and skimmed across the boil heading for the finish line. I did three more runs before calling it a day, as my shoulder was getting sore. 

In the afternoon the others continued lapping the course whilst I took photos of their runs, which once we have a card reader (as Rob forgot it) will be posted!

Recovery - Operation plus 4 months

Nearing the 4 month mark since my operation and things seem to be going well with my recovery. I have about 90% full range of movement back, just struggling right now to get my hand high up behind my back.

Since getting it out of the immobiliser on 24th June I've been busy slowly stretching it out and over the past 2 months hitting the gym pretty hard. Below is a copy of my training plan, it clearly shows the dip since the build-up to the Moriston and dislocation, though the weight is slowly increasing week on week. 

Clear progression since my operation, on shoulder and arm exercises.

At 3 months post op I paddled the Loop and a couple of runs down the Olympic at LV, but it was sore for a few days after. A couple of weeks ago we paddled the Upper and Lower Tryweryn for the day and it felt almost back to normal, though still ached a bit the next day.
With the SICKLINE fast approaching I've taken the decision not to paddle in the race but maybe see about getting on in the days before. I also plan on taking the roadie and head up the valley to Solden, weather permitting.

North Wales Wkend

So at just over 3 months since my operation me and Dan (and 40ish PACKERS members) headed to North a Wales for a mix of MTB and kayaking.

Just the boats to go

We left the shire and had an awful drive to the bunk barn, taking nearly 4 and a half hours! Once at the bunk barn we quickly unpacked the gear and headed back out to try and complete The Marin Trail before it got dark. All kitted up and heading into the trail got about a mile in before I heard "that's it, I can't go any further" from Dan. Unfortunately he had managed to snap his rear mech. Fortunately it happened so soon and we were able to head back to the car.

With the disappointment of not biking and probably not getting it fixed in time for a Sunday blast round Llandegla we headed back to the bunk barn. 

Katie kindly drove us to the pub and we drowned our sorrows in the pub with the rest of the bunk barners.

Saturday morning we headed out for an early 4.5 mile run up the side of a mountain. Finding the Welsh hills more challenging then the flatness of the fens back home. Back before most had got up we had breakfast and then made tracks to the Mighty T.

A fast change saw us on the river by 9am. I was a bit nervous for the first few eddies of the graveyard but managed to put this behind me after a few good eddies and ferries. We charged down the rest of the river and headed back up to the top. At this point the rest of the club had arrived and were getting on the Lower.

After completing another run of the Upper we decided to catch the others up and head down to Bala. It wasn't long before we caught them up and even sooner before we were fishing a few people out. 

Arriving at Bala Mill Falls we both got out above the drop river left to cover the left hand shoot. It wasn't long before we had our first customer. Still in boat, I lifted them over the rocks and posted them down the left hand drop. Unfortunately another person came out above the falls. His boat got pinned on the rock just above me, managing to recover the boat and post it across to the other side he was soon back in and off.

Something's changed since being off the water.....

In the afternoon we took a small group up to the top and had a great couple of runs down the river. After this my shoulder was becoming pretty sore so I called it a day.

Testing the shoulder out on the Cafe Wave.

Saturday night we headed back to the pub and found out the Welsh for Out is Allan, courtesy of the sign in the Shell garage.

A lazy get up on Sunday due to deciding to head home for an early finish.

Next up SICKLINE, for three quarters of the team anyway as I don't think I'm quite up for that yet.... There will always be next year and a few more races to enter too!

Operation plus 10 weeks

Seven weeks out of the immobilising sling, I've been working hard on getting my range of movement back. I've got between 80-95% movement across the board, the hard part is now trying to get the last few painful degrees back.

Range of Movement progress

My 10 Week consultation with the Consultant this week went well. He was very impressed with my recovery to date. He suggested another appointment in 6 weeks’ time in the view of hopefully signing me off, letting me get back on White Water! That would be a 4 month recovery period from my operation, returning just in time for the Sickline. However I have come to accept that for my first outing it’s probably not a good idea to be racing down grade 4 water!
So for the next few weeks I’ll be hitting the gym, increasing the weights and trying to build the muscles back to pre-dislocation standard. Also trying to make the most of the end of summer and get out in the boat on the flat as much as possible.

Operation plus 5 weeks

So after five weeks I'm now well into my recovery plan. Three weeks of being in the immobiliser is thankfully behind me and for the last two weeks I've been having physio twice a week. On top of that I've been spending around an hour a day stretching my arm and shoulder muscles out at the gym.

I had my four week consultation with Mr Tytherleigh-Strong last week. He was very pleased with my progress (and his handy work!).

After my physio session this week I've started lifting small weights and using a theraband to add a little resistance to try and build some of the wasted muscle, after three days I can already notice a difference.

Progress to date.

Passing ninety degrees internal/external rotation shouldn't be pushed for another week yet to allow the Bankart Lesion to repair fully, but all other movements are coming along nicely!

French Alps 2014 - Day 4 - Ubaye Racecourse

Dan, Tim, Charlotte & Katie left to get baguettes and possibly go to supermarket at 08:30 but agreed to go to meet the others in the car park at the top of the “old town”. Due to miscommunication, the rest of the group (Danny, Molly, Rich, Sophie, Steve, Rob, Conor, Mat, Charlie, Marshy) headed on to the supermarket. A quick phone call and they realised Dan, Tim, Charlotte & Katie were waiting for them at the car park.

All headed up to the River Ubaye, except one group to the Upper Ubaye and the rest/majority went to the Racecourse get in. Whilst the rest waited for Dan, Tim, Charlotte & Katie to find the get in.

Shuttle done, on we got. With Connor, Rob, Charlie, Marshy, Sophie, Rich  taking the lead, Conor was to take the first swim (a daily regular for him), shortly followed by Katie - trying to get over the eddy line, but her excuse was that she was too hot in her dry suit. Charlotte then had a super quick roll, well done, best roll of the day! Shortly followed by Katie, least expected roll of the day. But both were excellent and just where/when required.

The duo also had a short swim, and most importantly Sophie returned to the surface with a big grin and her paddles, however the same could not be said for Rich, as he figured he had let go of his paddle. He then left his newly acquired girlfriend in pursuit of his true love (VE’s). After this we found a nice rocky beach to have a snack and had a group photo by some random french guy. Shortly after we entered the racecourse gorge, where Katie fell in… shortly followed by Charlotte. Swiftly rescued by Steve & Molly just above the narrowing of the gorge, boats the other side of the gorge. They had no choice but to have another swim through the rest of the gorge, escorted by Steve & Molly, with an audience of british paddlers on the bridge above.

Meanwhile, the first group were getting concerned as they finished their run in an hour and half and two hours later Group 2 (Charlotte, Katie, Danny, Steve, Molly, Matt, Dan & Tim) still hadn't arrived. During this time they prepared lunch for the group. Charlotte & Katie were reunited with their boats, Dan had to chase Katie’s almost to the big gorge and we all paddled to the end for lunch.

After lunch, Steve, Rob, Danny, Charlie, Rich, Sophie, Molly, Dan, Tim went on to do a second run of the Ubaye racecourse. They hammered it in 43 mins, and reckon it could have been done in under 40 had they not have stopped.

On the way back to the accommodation we stopped at the supermarchè at Embrum. We have never seen Molly, Katie & Charlotte so excited about a proper toilet.

Tonight we had pasta bolognese followed by sorbet, cooked by Charlie & Marshy. We all had a glass of wine to commemorate the loss of Charlotte's dear shoe... it will be sorely missed.

Written by Katie B with input from everyone

Views on the drive to the Ubaye

Views on the drive to the Ubaye

Teddy riding high

Views on the drive to the Ubaye

Views on the drive to the Ubaye

Danny shorts (Liberated from Rich a few years ago) needed a wash before getting on the water

View from the get in!

Danny's view down the rapid

Rich looking for his beloved VE's while Sophie makes her way to safety. 

Group two poses for a group photo after a stop for a snack

The moment before Conor's swim..

Conor navigating a tricky rapid 

The view before entering the gorge.

Katie out of shape on the eddy-line, can you guess happens next?

Group 2's decent of the Ubaye

Group 2's decent of the Ubaye

Steve bringing Katie safely through the gorge to reunite her with her kayak 

Molly brings Charlotte safely through the gorge to Danny waiting with a line

Second run of the Ubaye Racecourse 

View down the initial rapid on the Ubaye, Rob attempting to stay in front of speedy love machine!  

More fun on the Ubaye view from Danny's GoPro

More fun on the Ubaye from Danny's GoPro

French Alps 2014 - Day 3 (Upper Guil / Upper Guil Gorge / Chateau Q )

French Alps 2014 - Day 3 (Upper Guil / Upper Guil Gorge / Chateau Q )

We left the accommodation by 10.00am to drive to the Upper Guil. When we arrived Conor realised he had left his shoes back at the accommodation, so Charlie kindly lent his.

After the shuttle, we split into groups. Group 1; Rob, Charlie, Rich & Sophie in the duo, Conor & Marshy. Group 2; Danny, Molly, Steve, Katie, Charlotte, Mat, Dan (Dan and Tim, Dan) and Tim (Dan and Tim, Tim).

Group 1 lead the way and set off down the river, with group 2 following shortly after. Conor had a swim fairly early on (he should know better), followed by Charlotte (the hot girl of the group)  demonstrating her swimming lessons. Both were back in their boats quickly and off paddling again on the river, no dramas :-).

Down to the next set of rapids, and Charlotte got pinned on a rock, she managed to stay upright until Danny got to her, once freed she immediately capsized so Danny who attempted to upright her accidentally stepped into a deep section and swam too.

Charlotte caught Tim’s eye, but why wouldn't she! Grabbing his line but unfortunately Danny did too.  by his helmet Go Pro and that dragged him down the river head first. The river was deeper than we thought so tried to stand up but it pushed them both further under the water, preventing Charlotte from rolling. She eventually bailed out of the boat and swam a little further until she caught Molly’s line and got to the bank.

Back in the boat, we headed off down the river again without any more mishaps, and got out before Chateau Queyras. We scouted Chateau Q, the only people that didn't run it were Katie, Charlotte, Matt, Sophie, Marshy and Conor, who sat on the bank and took photos. Everyone who ran this made it through without any mishaps. Meanwhile, we realised that the baguettes had been left in the accommodation, so we had nothing to make lunch with. Conor went out looking for baguettes while the others made a base in the sun to catch some rays.

After lunch, we decided to head over to Le Lac for a swim and an ice cream. Rich and Sophie headed off on their own (to go for a walk?) hmmmm… By the time we set off it was getting late, but following Danny, we thought we would be there in no time…after driving through very narrow streets and then a bit of off-roading up a gravel, tight road, where Conor’s car got stuck, we decided to reverse back down the mountain and follow Conor, eventually ending up at Le Lac, too late for a swim, we decided to have a pint and a chat as the sun had disappeared up the valley.

Back at base, we had a lovely dinner cooked by Charlie, with assistance from Marshy and Danny. Danny was fiddling with the french jugs and they were too much to handle so he slipped on the stairs and pulled his calf muscle.

The night finished with drinks in the living room.

Written by Katie B with input from everyone!

Upper Guil Gorge

Tim (Dan and Tim Tim) running one of the first technical rapids in the Upper Guil Gorge

Charlotte's first pin 

Danny and Steve rescuing Charlotte after her pin, Danny must be close to getting his IR status! (International Rescue)

Steve running the Upper Guil Gorge

Chateau Queyras AKA Chateau Q

Rob and Rich first through Chateau Queyras

Rob in Chateau Queyras

Charlie in Chateau Queyras

View from above Chateau Queyras as everyone else watches the first groups run!

Molly Styling it up in Chateau Queyras

 Dan (Dan and Tim Dan) in Chateau Queyras

 Tim (Dan and Tim Tim) in Chateau Queyras

Steve running Chateau Q

Steve running Chateau Q

Molly and Dan (Dan and Tim Dan) running Chateau Q

 Danny in Chateau Queyras

Danny Chateau Q 

 Rich and Rob in Chateau Queyras

Rich's Mangina pose 

Group two posing for a photo after a successful fun of  Chateau Queyras

Group photo after lunch at the  Chateau Queyras get out. Very kind of a raft guide to leave us some temporary seating!

View from the drive over the Col d'Izoard

Another amazing view from the drive over the Col d'Izoard

A rather tight route though the back streets after taking a wrong turn!

After the tight city street came the rocky track, the van and beemer could go no further.

The only option was reverse now!

Arty Picture of our well deserved beer at Le Lac after a rather eventful drive!