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!