It may seem gentle being a Principal of a school with no kids and only a handful of staff but reflecting on today I'm not sure how a day could be more rigorous.
Following on from yesterday's great day with Julia Aitken (see Sally's views on that activity) where we inspected our brains we came together this morning. Our LOLs were set the task of taking our Hobsonville Habits and drilling down through them to create a series of 'I' statements which will end up forming the basis of our learner and teacher profiles.
While they were doing this the SLT had the privilege of interviewing 4 of our candidates for our next round of teaching positions. The calibre of the candidates is outstanding. We finished this about 1.00pm. As I walked past our LOLs quite regularly to collect the next applicant I was observing them in action as they had worked out a process for them to deal best with the Hobsonville Habits.
Just before lunch I checked my computer to find a shared document they had created to which they had all contributed. It made excellent reading. Steve's blog gives a neat description of that process through the eyes of Steve who joined us late last week after his Japanese excursion.
After a roundtable where they shared how they were going we were treated to the background stories from Jill and Sarah, after having heard from Megan and Yasmin on Friday. These stories have been a great process in learning about each other. Can't wait to hear from the others in the coming days.
From there Claire and I headed into the city for a very stimulating 2 hours with the ChallengED crew at Cognition. We were treated to a great presentation on Personalised Learning from Western Springs College and a very stimulating presentation from McAuley on Authentic Assessment.
After a trip home via school to bring in some of the primary school kids' painted wood things that had been left outside I got home just before 8pm feeling very satisfied with another great and varied day.
Now to re-read 4 CVs before tomorrow's interviews and write a referee's report for a colleague to make the day complete.
You should also check out this great video on our school zone created by our LOLs in their first week.
See you, apopo.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Monday, August 12, 2013
My Brain
According to Hermann I'm a 1,2,1,1 brain. My thinking style preferences have me mainly in the quadrant that is described as Imaginative, Spatial and Intuitive, followed closely by the quadrant that is described as Logical, Analytical, Rational and Factual and the quadrant described as Expressing and Interpersonal. The 4th quadrant is not as strong, but still significant and is described as Detailed and Organised.
The summary of this particular combination of quadrants identifies work that would be most satisfying as including solving tough problems, explaining things, taking risks, designing, seeing the big picture, being part of a team and helping people.
That description almost perfectly describes the job I'm trying to do now! Makes me even more confident!
However, what makes me even more confident is that the Senior Leadership Team is really well-balanced and that our desire to attract a wider team of visionaries who care about people has been achieved.
Other highlights of today:
I'm happy with my brain, Hermann, but after today it hurts (with pleasure)!
Tomorrow's job: appoint more staff. The fun and excitement just keeps on keeping on.
The summary of this particular combination of quadrants identifies work that would be most satisfying as including solving tough problems, explaining things, taking risks, designing, seeing the big picture, being part of a team and helping people.
That description almost perfectly describes the job I'm trying to do now! Makes me even more confident!
However, what makes me even more confident is that the Senior Leadership Team is really well-balanced and that our desire to attract a wider team of visionaries who care about people has been achieved.
Other highlights of today:
- 2 of the team drilled down through their beliefs about learning and came up with, "Personally significant learning is powerful learning". Yeehah!
- Julia's reminder to not be practice driven, rather be driven by values and principles
I'm happy with my brain, Hermann, but after today it hurts (with pleasure)!
Tomorrow's job: appoint more staff. The fun and excitement just keeps on keeping on.
Sunday, August 11, 2013
New Beginnings
It's time to bring Principal Possum out of hibernation!
I have been given this great opportunity to be Foundation Principal of Hobsonville Point Secondary School and have wanted to blog about this journey but for many reasons this hasn't happened. However, there are others who are doing this and if you want to track the journey I suggest you follow the blogs in my Blog List to the right.
Even though I'll reflect on how things are going I'll most probably do a Maurie and spend more time blogging about my interests and crazy escapades, including how Leigh and I are making the most of living in our new town, Auckland.
Brief Summary So Far
I started as Foundation Principal last October and spent a couple of months deschooling and reading and planning with Daniel Birch, Lisa Squire and Sharyn Afu who lead Hobsonville Point Primary School.
Leigh and I bought a wee whare in Massey and moved in in mid January and set about exploring the area by visiting local beaches and trekking in the Waitakares. Our daughter, Lucy, came home from the UK for a few weeks to join us but too quickly returned to the UK.
At the start of February I was joined by my fantastic DPs, Lea Vellenoweth, Claire Amos and Di Cavallo. Since then we have been working very hard on planning for our school. They bring a great range of experience, skills, knowledge, experience and personalities. We travelled together to New York, Rhode Island, Boston, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver visiting some great schools. Claire and I then travelled on the Apple Schools tour to San Francisco.
One of our most important jobs was to appoint 8 Leaders of Learning and these passionate teachers joined us 2 weeks ago. After a few days they shared how they were feeling and I ahve included some of their comments:
This week we appoint 7 more teachers for our school.
I have been given this great opportunity to be Foundation Principal of Hobsonville Point Secondary School and have wanted to blog about this journey but for many reasons this hasn't happened. However, there are others who are doing this and if you want to track the journey I suggest you follow the blogs in my Blog List to the right.
Even though I'll reflect on how things are going I'll most probably do a Maurie and spend more time blogging about my interests and crazy escapades, including how Leigh and I are making the most of living in our new town, Auckland.
Brief Summary So Far
I started as Foundation Principal last October and spent a couple of months deschooling and reading and planning with Daniel Birch, Lisa Squire and Sharyn Afu who lead Hobsonville Point Primary School.
Leigh and I bought a wee whare in Massey and moved in in mid January and set about exploring the area by visiting local beaches and trekking in the Waitakares. Our daughter, Lucy, came home from the UK for a few weeks to join us but too quickly returned to the UK.
At the start of February I was joined by my fantastic DPs, Lea Vellenoweth, Claire Amos and Di Cavallo. Since then we have been working very hard on planning for our school. They bring a great range of experience, skills, knowledge, experience and personalities. We travelled together to New York, Rhode Island, Boston, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver visiting some great schools. Claire and I then travelled on the Apple Schools tour to San Francisco.
One of our most important jobs was to appoint 8 Leaders of Learning and these passionate teachers joined us 2 weeks ago. After a few days they shared how they were feeling and I ahve included some of their comments:
- have enjoyed exploring why I got into teaching
- discovering I am different to what I thought
- enjoying talking about great practice
- have been pulled back into the energy of teaching and learning
- real sense of whanau
- great buzz and level of enthusiasm
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Learning Matters
Last week the government announced another $4 million will be spent on combating truancy amid claims that each day 30,000 young people are absent from school.
It is welcome news that more money is being allocated to this area. Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft has been pointing out to government for many years that the majority of youth crime, which often moves on to become adult crime, begins with young people who are truant from school.
Opotiki College’s analysis of its students and the level of qualifications leavers have shows a clear co-relation between attendance and qualifications. The simple fact is that if a student attends school each day and remains at secondary school for four years they will receive national qualifications. In Opotiki College’s case in 2009 just 2 students left without qualifications after four full years of secondary education.
The opposite is equally true. 100% of students who leave before three years of secondary education have no qualifications. 50% of leavers who leave after just three years of secondary education, in Opotiki College’s case leave with no qualifications.
Almost all students who leave before these necessary four years have a pattern of poor attendance throughout their time at secondary school. The pattern begins with lateness to school, followed by missing the odd class and then moving on to missing full days.
In many cases by working closely with whanau who are keen to have their child do the very best the pattern is able to be broken and the student return to full attendance and get back on the pathway to qualifications. In a few cases the parents are either disinterested or even support the non-attendance. It is these students who don’t see out the four years and who leave without formal qualifications. They are , therefore, destined to a life time of irregular employment and low income.
It is unfortunate that the vast majority of those who we see with irregular attendance patterns began them very early in their schooling. In fact, Ministry of Education statistics show that the worst year for truancy is in a child’s first year at primary school. The pattern is difficult to break as it peaks again in years 7 and 8 and then again in years 12 and 13.
Obviously, then, something has to be done. I am not sure if throwing more money at schools to keep doing the same thing will be useful. As a school we are not certain that we can do much more for the 10-15 hard core truants we deal with as their pattern has been well and truly embedded.
Somehow, families of these children need to come to an understanding that it is their expectations of their child, their support of their child and their actions in making sure their child gets to school every day of their schooling from Year 1 that will break this negative, damaging and quality of life affecting pattern of poor attendance at school.
Schools can’t do this work. The community, its support agencies and the wider and individual families need to promote the belief that missing school without an acceptable reason is unacceptable. We need to do this for the sake of our young people’s learning and learning matters.
It is welcome news that more money is being allocated to this area. Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft has been pointing out to government for many years that the majority of youth crime, which often moves on to become adult crime, begins with young people who are truant from school.
Opotiki College’s analysis of its students and the level of qualifications leavers have shows a clear co-relation between attendance and qualifications. The simple fact is that if a student attends school each day and remains at secondary school for four years they will receive national qualifications. In Opotiki College’s case in 2009 just 2 students left without qualifications after four full years of secondary education.
The opposite is equally true. 100% of students who leave before three years of secondary education have no qualifications. 50% of leavers who leave after just three years of secondary education, in Opotiki College’s case leave with no qualifications.
Almost all students who leave before these necessary four years have a pattern of poor attendance throughout their time at secondary school. The pattern begins with lateness to school, followed by missing the odd class and then moving on to missing full days.
In many cases by working closely with whanau who are keen to have their child do the very best the pattern is able to be broken and the student return to full attendance and get back on the pathway to qualifications. In a few cases the parents are either disinterested or even support the non-attendance. It is these students who don’t see out the four years and who leave without formal qualifications. They are , therefore, destined to a life time of irregular employment and low income.
It is unfortunate that the vast majority of those who we see with irregular attendance patterns began them very early in their schooling. In fact, Ministry of Education statistics show that the worst year for truancy is in a child’s first year at primary school. The pattern is difficult to break as it peaks again in years 7 and 8 and then again in years 12 and 13.
Obviously, then, something has to be done. I am not sure if throwing more money at schools to keep doing the same thing will be useful. As a school we are not certain that we can do much more for the 10-15 hard core truants we deal with as their pattern has been well and truly embedded.
Somehow, families of these children need to come to an understanding that it is their expectations of their child, their support of their child and their actions in making sure their child gets to school every day of their schooling from Year 1 that will break this negative, damaging and quality of life affecting pattern of poor attendance at school.
Schools can’t do this work. The community, its support agencies and the wider and individual families need to promote the belief that missing school without an acceptable reason is unacceptable. We need to do this for the sake of our young people’s learning and learning matters.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Latest Learning Matters
If we accept that age old saying that it takes a whole village to raise a child it makes sense that schools and families have to forge a close relationship if we wish all of our young people to realise their potential.
The Ministry of Education requires schools to develop close relationships with whanau and when ERO visits a school it meets with community members to assess how strong that relationship is.
Traditionally parents have quite a strong and regular relationship when their child is at primary school, but for a range of reasons this relationship weakens and becomes much less regular at secondary school. This may be because a secondary school is a much larger institution so may not seem as welcoming or even that parents themselves didn’t enjoy their secondary school experience so feel a little daunted.
In many secondary schools the relationship concentrates on supporting the school with fund raising. At Opotiki College we do very little school-wide fundraising and prefer to have our parents form a relationship with us in other ways.
As with most schools we have a number of parent teacher report evenings at which we get between 25-35% of our families present. We do, however, run Bilingual whanau hui every term which are well-attended and other evening sessions to explain subject choices, enrolment and qualifications. The attendance at these is still at about the 25-35% level.
Our parents have other opportunities by attending sports events and kapa haka practices and noho.
It is important that parents and whanau find a way to make a link with their local school. Last week we tried something different at Opotiki College. We had a mix and mingle evening for the parents of our Year 9 students. It was quite informal with a shared supper and introductions followed by parents meeting and chatting with the teachers from their child’s class. 50% of our families were present and there was a neat buzz as teachers and parents got to know each other.
I explained to the parents that it was not important if they could not assist their child with some of their homework but that it was important that they were active in taking an interest in their child at school and being present for them wherever possible. Those parents who turned up last week had taken the very first important step in being present for their child and showing their strong interest.
We now expect stronger turnouts from these parents at future report evenings as we have broken the ice with them.
One interesting question asked at the evening was about decile rankings and what it meant for schools. The Ministry of Education assesses each school’s community as to its socio-economic status and then groups the schools into ten (decile) groups with decile 1 being in the lowest 10% socio economic group and decile 10 in the highest. It doesn’t mean the decile 1 schools are in poorer condition, or get less money or get poorer teachers.
Many schools are burdened by such a label and as a result have lower expectations and settle for less. Consequently lower decile schools tend to have lower achievement levels. Opotiki College refuses to be limited by such a label and operates under a belief that our students can and will do as well as students anywhere in the country. We prove this with our results year after year.
Students, schools and communities cannot be limited by labels such as decile rankings. The way forward is by learning and learning matters.
The Ministry of Education requires schools to develop close relationships with whanau and when ERO visits a school it meets with community members to assess how strong that relationship is.
Traditionally parents have quite a strong and regular relationship when their child is at primary school, but for a range of reasons this relationship weakens and becomes much less regular at secondary school. This may be because a secondary school is a much larger institution so may not seem as welcoming or even that parents themselves didn’t enjoy their secondary school experience so feel a little daunted.
In many secondary schools the relationship concentrates on supporting the school with fund raising. At Opotiki College we do very little school-wide fundraising and prefer to have our parents form a relationship with us in other ways.
As with most schools we have a number of parent teacher report evenings at which we get between 25-35% of our families present. We do, however, run Bilingual whanau hui every term which are well-attended and other evening sessions to explain subject choices, enrolment and qualifications. The attendance at these is still at about the 25-35% level.
Our parents have other opportunities by attending sports events and kapa haka practices and noho.
It is important that parents and whanau find a way to make a link with their local school. Last week we tried something different at Opotiki College. We had a mix and mingle evening for the parents of our Year 9 students. It was quite informal with a shared supper and introductions followed by parents meeting and chatting with the teachers from their child’s class. 50% of our families were present and there was a neat buzz as teachers and parents got to know each other.
I explained to the parents that it was not important if they could not assist their child with some of their homework but that it was important that they were active in taking an interest in their child at school and being present for them wherever possible. Those parents who turned up last week had taken the very first important step in being present for their child and showing their strong interest.
We now expect stronger turnouts from these parents at future report evenings as we have broken the ice with them.
One interesting question asked at the evening was about decile rankings and what it meant for schools. The Ministry of Education assesses each school’s community as to its socio-economic status and then groups the schools into ten (decile) groups with decile 1 being in the lowest 10% socio economic group and decile 10 in the highest. It doesn’t mean the decile 1 schools are in poorer condition, or get less money or get poorer teachers.
Many schools are burdened by such a label and as a result have lower expectations and settle for less. Consequently lower decile schools tend to have lower achievement levels. Opotiki College refuses to be limited by such a label and operates under a belief that our students can and will do as well as students anywhere in the country. We prove this with our results year after year.
Students, schools and communities cannot be limited by labels such as decile rankings. The way forward is by learning and learning matters.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Latest Learning Matters
Right now there is a large debate going on in education circles, especially in the primary sector, around the National Government’s policy of introducing national standards at each year level up to and including Year 8.
There is a huge amount of overseas experience, notably in the US and the UK, which shows such a policy has a negative rather than positive impact on student achievement so it is being treated with caution and, in some cases, hostility in the primary sector.
The Minister of Education claims that what is being introduced in New Zealand is quite different and has been developed fully aware of the faults in overseas models. She may well be right as New Zealand has a record of leading the way in educational practice.
Primary teachers are worried that they will be forced to ‘teach to the test’ and that the inevitable publication of league tables will show some schools, typically those in lower decile areas, are falling quite short of the national standard.
Good or bad; welcome to the world of the secondary sector. We have been operating in such an environment for ever with the national standard determined by School Certificate and now by NCEA and the publication every year of league tables.
One of the arguments against pay equity between the primary and secondary sectors is the lack of any external accountability for student achievement in the primary sector, something which secondary schools are faced with and fall or stand against every single year.
I don’t think I like the new policy but I will wait and see.
My advice to colleagues in low decile area primary schools in New Zealand is to take the opportunity to throw off the yoke of low decileness and show the Minister and your community that this does not limit achievement opportunities for your children. There are plenty of places where this happens.
Once again, decile 1 Opotiki College students have done impressively well in NCEA from 2009. With 83% of non-Maori gaining Level 1, 75% gaining Level 2 and 77% gaining Level 3 and with 62% of Maori gaining Level 1, 83% gaining Level 2 and 68% gaining Level 3 our students have done our school and community proud. In all but one of the groups above this puts us at or above the average level of achievement for deciles 8-10 schools (the highest grouping) and in the other we are above the average for decile 4-7 schools.
These figures are not a figment of my imagination and will soon be available to the public on the NZQA website.
The primary schools in Opotiki are doing a great job and despite their best efforts our Year 9 students do arrive well below the national average for their age group. This is normally the case in a low-decile community.
A combination of innovative programmes, committed staff, supportive parents, great resources and a ‘never give up’ attitude help our students to achieve these great results. The most important thing, however, is that we have learned to ignore our decile ranking and to operate in a way that shows we expect all of our kids will achieve national qualifications. This is the learning that matters.
There is a huge amount of overseas experience, notably in the US and the UK, which shows such a policy has a negative rather than positive impact on student achievement so it is being treated with caution and, in some cases, hostility in the primary sector.
The Minister of Education claims that what is being introduced in New Zealand is quite different and has been developed fully aware of the faults in overseas models. She may well be right as New Zealand has a record of leading the way in educational practice.
Primary teachers are worried that they will be forced to ‘teach to the test’ and that the inevitable publication of league tables will show some schools, typically those in lower decile areas, are falling quite short of the national standard.
Good or bad; welcome to the world of the secondary sector. We have been operating in such an environment for ever with the national standard determined by School Certificate and now by NCEA and the publication every year of league tables.
One of the arguments against pay equity between the primary and secondary sectors is the lack of any external accountability for student achievement in the primary sector, something which secondary schools are faced with and fall or stand against every single year.
I don’t think I like the new policy but I will wait and see.
My advice to colleagues in low decile area primary schools in New Zealand is to take the opportunity to throw off the yoke of low decileness and show the Minister and your community that this does not limit achievement opportunities for your children. There are plenty of places where this happens.
Once again, decile 1 Opotiki College students have done impressively well in NCEA from 2009. With 83% of non-Maori gaining Level 1, 75% gaining Level 2 and 77% gaining Level 3 and with 62% of Maori gaining Level 1, 83% gaining Level 2 and 68% gaining Level 3 our students have done our school and community proud. In all but one of the groups above this puts us at or above the average level of achievement for deciles 8-10 schools (the highest grouping) and in the other we are above the average for decile 4-7 schools.
These figures are not a figment of my imagination and will soon be available to the public on the NZQA website.
The primary schools in Opotiki are doing a great job and despite their best efforts our Year 9 students do arrive well below the national average for their age group. This is normally the case in a low-decile community.
A combination of innovative programmes, committed staff, supportive parents, great resources and a ‘never give up’ attitude help our students to achieve these great results. The most important thing, however, is that we have learned to ignore our decile ranking and to operate in a way that shows we expect all of our kids will achieve national qualifications. This is the learning that matters.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The table below shows how tremendously well we have done with NCEA. The first column shows our % achievement of NCEA at each level, the second column shows what the national average % was and then the next three columns show the national averages for low, mid and high decile schools. Opotiki College is a decile 1 school but, as you can see, our figures put us in either the mid or, in many cases, high decile groupings. The achievement of Maori students in particular is well above the national levels.
The table didn't copy too well, but you shoukd be able to make sense of it.
ALL STUDENTS
Opotiki College National Deciles 1-3 Deciles 4-7 Deciles 8-10
Level 1 68 71 55 69 80
Level 2 81 75 60 73 83
Level 3 71 68 52 66 76
MAORI STUDENTS
Opotiki College National Deciles 1-3 Deciles 4-7 Deciles 8-10
Level 1 62 55 52 53 66
Level 2 83 62 59 61 72
Level 3 68 52 52 50 60
NON MAORI STUDENTS
Opotiki College National Deciles 1-3 Deciles 4-7 Deciles 8-10
Level 1 83 79 68 75 84
Level 2 75 81 69 78 86
Level 3 77 74 60 71 78
The table didn't copy too well, but you shoukd be able to make sense of it.
ALL STUDENTS
Opotiki College National Deciles 1-3 Deciles 4-7 Deciles 8-10
Level 1 68 71 55 69 80
Level 2 81 75 60 73 83
Level 3 71 68 52 66 76
MAORI STUDENTS
Opotiki College National Deciles 1-3 Deciles 4-7 Deciles 8-10
Level 1 62 55 52 53 66
Level 2 83 62 59 61 72
Level 3 68 52 52 50 60
NON MAORI STUDENTS
Opotiki College National Deciles 1-3 Deciles 4-7 Deciles 8-10
Level 1 83 79 68 75 84
Level 2 75 81 69 78 86
Level 3 77 74 60 71 78
Saturday, January 23, 2010
NCEA 2009
Once again we have punched well above our weight for a decile 1 school. With 66% of our Year 11s gaining NCEA Level 1, 81% of our Year 12s gaining Level 2 (with all but 4 of the rest gaining Level 1) and 64% of our Year 13s(!) gaining Level 3 (with all of the rest gaining Level 2) we have done wonderfully well.
The keys, I am certain, are strong leadership across the whole school, an emphasis on strong and positive relationships with our students, and a 'dog-with-a-bone' belief that everyone of our students can succeed.
When you consider that 60-67% of our students arrive at the start of Year 9 in the bottom quartile of nationally-normed literacy and numeracy tests I don't believe there would be many, if any, schools in New Zealand which 'add value' as much as we do.
Let's see what ERO's view is when they arrive in Term III!
The keys, I am certain, are strong leadership across the whole school, an emphasis on strong and positive relationships with our students, and a 'dog-with-a-bone' belief that everyone of our students can succeed.
When you consider that 60-67% of our students arrive at the start of Year 9 in the bottom quartile of nationally-normed literacy and numeracy tests I don't believe there would be many, if any, schools in New Zealand which 'add value' as much as we do.
Let's see what ERO's view is when they arrive in Term III!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Curse on Valley Station Rd
Two weeks ago I was charging down Valley Station and my derailleur was snapped off by a branch and I ahd to single speed back with my chain breaking on the last hill at home. So I missed the stream ride.
One week ago I attempted the same loop and had to turn around at the stream and walk back up to help Kurt look for his sunglasses. So I missed the stream ride.
Today I was hurtling down Valley Staion at a section known, by me, as the dip which has a fast downhill followed by an uphill which I alwayas attempt to coast up using my downhill speed. Half way down I lost my front wheel on the edge of the rut (Aaron should have trimmed the grass from this!) and hit the ground hard on my head and right shoulder. I did the squirmy, writhy, groaning thing rthat Barry has witnessed before and was helped to my feet by Lea. I has a bar end brand on one knee, my right fingers were sprained, my head hurt (thank god for helmets!) and my shoulder and ribs were complaining.
It was an agonising walk ride back to Waiaua where Lea arrived with the car. The Boss and Amber stuck with me - sorry for wrecking your ride. So I missed the stream ride for the third time.
Leigh was not happy when I got home and had a view that I do these things on purpose! Coffee, anti inflammatories and ice have helped. I have a suspicion that my shoulder may be worse than I am accepting, but don't tell Leigh.
Very disappointed that George, Brian and Dennis couldn't spend last night drinking beer and still make the ride. You all need to do better, especially you George if you aspire to be a possum!
Great to see Paul (Tegel) join the real hard man's club by spewing after yesterday's time trial!
One week ago I attempted the same loop and had to turn around at the stream and walk back up to help Kurt look for his sunglasses. So I missed the stream ride.
Today I was hurtling down Valley Staion at a section known, by me, as the dip which has a fast downhill followed by an uphill which I alwayas attempt to coast up using my downhill speed. Half way down I lost my front wheel on the edge of the rut (Aaron should have trimmed the grass from this!) and hit the ground hard on my head and right shoulder. I did the squirmy, writhy, groaning thing rthat Barry has witnessed before and was helped to my feet by Lea. I has a bar end brand on one knee, my right fingers were sprained, my head hurt (thank god for helmets!) and my shoulder and ribs were complaining.
It was an agonising walk ride back to Waiaua where Lea arrived with the car. The Boss and Amber stuck with me - sorry for wrecking your ride. So I missed the stream ride for the third time.
Leigh was not happy when I got home and had a view that I do these things on purpose! Coffee, anti inflammatories and ice have helped. I have a suspicion that my shoulder may be worse than I am accepting, but don't tell Leigh.
Very disappointed that George, Brian and Dennis couldn't spend last night drinking beer and still make the ride. You all need to do better, especially you George if you aspire to be a possum!
Great to see Paul (Tegel) join the real hard man's club by spewing after yesterday's time trial!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Mangakirikiri Mystery
You really need a knowledge of this looped mtb track to fully understand this comedy.
Jarrod and Aaron thought they would clear the windfall from the Valley Station Road loop so..... Jarrod dropped Aaron off at the top of the hill at the start of Valley station and, armed with a hand saw, sent him along Valley Station on his mtb and told him they would meet somewhere along the stream. Jarrod then drove back to the skid site and hopped on his mtb with Shane's wee trailer and his chaainsaw in it and headed down stream clearing fallen trees.
When he had finished he had not seen Aaron so assumed he had backtracked to the skid site. Jarrod rode back up Mangakirikiri and at the skid site discovered the chain guard had come off the chainsaw so biked all the way back to find it then biked back to the skid site. But, no Aaron. Jarrod jumped in his truck drove up to Valley Station Rd and then along the newly cleared Valley Station as far as the truck would go without sustaining more damage than some scratches and a broken aerial. He the got on his mtb and carried on in the same direction looking for Aaron.
In the meantime Aaron, who had been meticulous about his clearing arrived at the stream and then rode up it until the skid site to find no Jarrod or truck. He assumed Jarrod had driven up to Valley Station Rd so he rode up this huge hill to get there but no Jarrod or truck. He then headed back down the hill, past the skid site, through the gate and ended jup at my plaace at aabout 6.00pm absolutely shagged and hanging out for a beer.
In the meantime Jarrod turned around at the little sisters, returned to the truck and drove baack out to Hermanssons cowshed and rung George who had no idea where Aaron was. Jarrod feared the worst and headed back to the skid site. At about this time Aaron rang George to come and pick him up who informed Aaron that Jarrod was back in the bush looking for him while swearing loudly.
In the meantime Jarrod rode back down the Mangakirikiri and near the first creek crossing saw Aaron's tyre marks so assumed he was out, rode all the way back to his truck at the skid site and drove out. Once he got cell phone reception he discovered Aaron and George were at my place drinking beer so turned up in quite a rage.
I was able to intercept him with a cold beer and was able to avert a family fall out!
When you are biking the newly manicured valley Station circuit please have a wee thought for the Teddy boys!
Jarrod and Aaron thought they would clear the windfall from the Valley Station Road loop so..... Jarrod dropped Aaron off at the top of the hill at the start of Valley station and, armed with a hand saw, sent him along Valley Station on his mtb and told him they would meet somewhere along the stream. Jarrod then drove back to the skid site and hopped on his mtb with Shane's wee trailer and his chaainsaw in it and headed down stream clearing fallen trees.
When he had finished he had not seen Aaron so assumed he had backtracked to the skid site. Jarrod rode back up Mangakirikiri and at the skid site discovered the chain guard had come off the chainsaw so biked all the way back to find it then biked back to the skid site. But, no Aaron. Jarrod jumped in his truck drove up to Valley Station Rd and then along the newly cleared Valley Station as far as the truck would go without sustaining more damage than some scratches and a broken aerial. He the got on his mtb and carried on in the same direction looking for Aaron.
In the meantime Aaron, who had been meticulous about his clearing arrived at the stream and then rode up it until the skid site to find no Jarrod or truck. He assumed Jarrod had driven up to Valley Station Rd so he rode up this huge hill to get there but no Jarrod or truck. He then headed back down the hill, past the skid site, through the gate and ended jup at my plaace at aabout 6.00pm absolutely shagged and hanging out for a beer.
In the meantime Jarrod turned around at the little sisters, returned to the truck and drove baack out to Hermanssons cowshed and rung George who had no idea where Aaron was. Jarrod feared the worst and headed back to the skid site. At about this time Aaron rang George to come and pick him up who informed Aaron that Jarrod was back in the bush looking for him while swearing loudly.
In the meantime Jarrod rode back down the Mangakirikiri and near the first creek crossing saw Aaron's tyre marks so assumed he was out, rode all the way back to his truck at the skid site and drove out. Once he got cell phone reception he discovered Aaron and George were at my place drinking beer so turned up in quite a rage.
I was able to intercept him with a cold beer and was able to avert a family fall out!
When you are biking the newly manicured valley Station circuit please have a wee thought for the Teddy boys!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Surf's Up!
Yesterday Lucy and I went to surf lessons at Ohope and graduated successfully!
We had a one hour lesson on land taken by Beaver and the lovely Lucy. We learnt how to paddle through the waves, paddle to catch a wave, steady ourselves, get to our knees and then to stand and haka hula.
We then entered the water for an hour of surfing. Our instructions were to go out to where the waves were breaking and catch them after they had broken. To my surprise I stood up and stayed standing up right into the shore! Lucy proved to be as natural as I was!
After about 20 minutes of doing this we headed a little further out (still not quite over our heads!) and started catching waves before they broke. A couple of nosedives showed that it was important to stand quickly so both of us dispensed with the kneeling stage and got used to going straight to our feet. These rides were cool!
All too soon our hour was up and we got our certificate and headed home hugely pleased with our new status as surfies! Wicked dude! Lucy and I both agreed we were the two best surfers in the class of 10 and that she wasn't too far behind me!
Highly recommended dude! Now where can I get a board from?
We had a one hour lesson on land taken by Beaver and the lovely Lucy. We learnt how to paddle through the waves, paddle to catch a wave, steady ourselves, get to our knees and then to stand and haka hula.
We then entered the water for an hour of surfing. Our instructions were to go out to where the waves were breaking and catch them after they had broken. To my surprise I stood up and stayed standing up right into the shore! Lucy proved to be as natural as I was!
After about 20 minutes of doing this we headed a little further out (still not quite over our heads!) and started catching waves before they broke. A couple of nosedives showed that it was important to stand quickly so both of us dispensed with the kneeling stage and got used to going straight to our feet. These rides were cool!
All too soon our hour was up and we got our certificate and headed home hugely pleased with our new status as surfies! Wicked dude! Lucy and I both agreed we were the two best surfers in the class of 10 and that she wasn't too far behind me!
Highly recommended dude! Now where can I get a board from?
Spot X
Spot X delivered for Pete, Kurt and myself this morning. I was up at 4.00am and Pete picked us up at 4.30 and we were off to spot X. We drove for somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes and walked for somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes to find ourselves perched on a great rock, with great water and nice swell and got the berley out quickly. It was a bit slow for an hour and then Pete and Kurt landed fish between 4 and 6k and then 2 casts later Pete pulled in about a 3kg fish. I was a bit slow off the mark but pulled in 4 up to 2kg ( 2 were only 30-33 cm!).
It was great fishing and the walk in and out, while strenuous, added to the adventure. Snapper on the BBQ tonight.
Thanks for the guiding, Pete!
It was great fishing and the walk in and out, while strenuous, added to the adventure. Snapper on the BBQ tonight.
Thanks for the guiding, Pete!
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
New MTB!
I finally bit the bullet and bought a new MTB from Hedley. I got a Giant Anthem X2 and it looks pretty sharp. This morning Lea, her brother Danny, the Boss and Kurt and I went along Valley Station Rd with the plan to come back up the Mangakirikiri.
I felt really comfortable on the Giant. It climbed very well and it is a comfortable ride - once I get used to turning the shocks back on again!
When we got to the Mangakirikiri Kurt discovered he didn't have his sunglasses and he last remembered tucking them into his shirt before the big climb to Valley Station. Since it was his birthday I offered to go back the way we came with him while the others enjoyed a nice ride up the stream. This involved a 20 minute walk back up the track to the top of the little sisters and then a more pleasant ride along the top. We had a good idea they would be lying in the grass somewhere near he had a good fall and sure enough I spotted them in the grass.
We then charged down Valley Station and hurtled down the road towards the skid site almost colliding with the others coming back up to look for us. Kurt was a bit behind me so was chasing hard down the hill when he lost control, leapt over his handlebars, catching his foot on them, landing on his head and seeing his bike hurtle on by itself. Most of this was viewed by the boss who couldn't believe seeing an unmanned mtb heading through the trees!
What a great birthday treat for Kurt!
It was quite a slog home into a stiff wind but we had coffee, the Boss' homemade Xmas mince pies and Lea's Mud cake to dine on.
Danny biked strongly and technically very well, but it was good to see him stuffed at the end. He's certainly got those Vellenoweth calves!
The one drawback with the Giant is that it is a pain to clean as it has this complicated set of pivots and arms for the rear suspension.
I've been feeling great about last night's summer cycle race as we were caught early by the scratch bunch, but I was able to stay with them until hospital hill and was able to break from the rest of my group. I expected a fast time but was disappointed to have done 23.04, which is my fastest yet, but only by 2 seconds. That 23 min barrier is proving hard to break and I am not sure how I can go any faster!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Time for a new MTB?
It was Lea's idea to do a Boxing Day ride in the Blue Mountains to justify her huge servings of Xmas pud. So I set the alarm for 6.30 and the Boss and Lea turned up for coffee and we headed to Vallet Stn Rd for a pleasurable, enjoyable ride.
All was going well until the top point of Valley Station when a windfall tree's branch hooked my chain and snapped off my rear derailleur! We expertly broke the chain and relinked the Kona as a single speed and I headed back while the other two carried on to the Mangakirikiri. However, I was so enjoying the single speed sexperience that I turned left at the creek to meet them coming up stream. I had a great time hurtling down the track, getting some air and coping with the windfall.
When I met them I noticed the chain was super tight and the pedals could hardly go around. After some tutuing we were off again, but by the time I got to Gaskill's Bridge I could hardly pedal again.
William Ellis stopped in his truck and delivered me to the bottom of Tirohanga Road so at least I could ride the last kilometre, but the strain of gettin up Hanaia Rd was too much for the chain so it snapped!
Is it time to give in?
Xmas Day
The fun syarted on Xmas Eve when Lucy and I conducted a great secret manouver to liberate a Xmas Tree to our lounge. A couple of bevvies for Dutch Courage and the complete action took less than a minute from stopping the car, leaping out, cutting the manacles and liberating it to the back of the car before speeding off with high fives!
You can see it in the photo with an awesome santa at the top.
The actual day was spent with Leigh, Lucy and Thomas, MumnDad, Janine and Emma and Adrian S who joined the Abraham Whanau. Pete and Lea and Maia dropped in for a drink and we all drank fine champers. gewurts, temparillo and cabernet sauvignon, threw the frisbee and had mussels off the BBQ and ham and chicken and spuds and Xmas pud. We had a great, relaxing stress free day and I was asleep by 7.30pm!
Lucy got me the Chris Knox tribute, Stroke, which I really wanted and Leigh bought me a trilogy of some dead guy's only novels which are hugely thick and will take months to read. I think she wanted them for herself.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Xmas MTB
Eventhough the ride was a bit more subdued than last year's (fortunately) it was still a great ride and a great time in the pub. And to top it off we had the annual semi-serious injury. This photo shows the gash to Ben's leg which required 5 stitches.
Most of the ride was heading south up the Waioweka river bed with 5 river crossings and a lot of bone jiggling time riding over the rocky river bed.
The highlight of the ride was the awesome swimming hole where we escaped from the heat of the day. The young bucks tried to outdo each other on the swing until Old Man Dennis showed them how to do it.
Heading home down hospital hill we were met with the high pressure hose from the fire engine. Somehow I knew there was going to be some skullduggery and escaped a major wetting.
Photos here.
The feed and beers at Craig's bar were great but because Leigh was hungover from the night before we headed home before getting caught up in the mayhem later in the night. Mark may have had a technicolour yawn in Kim's car and George would have woken up very thirsty.
Middle-aged Lea, who pulled out after one lap last Tuesday, didn't make Thursday's MTB at Te Waiti and missed the Xmas ride, Dennis, who made the Xmas booze up despite it being his 25th wedding anniversary, Brian, who really joined in on the festivities and myself met at the Waioweka Bridge this morning and had a great two hour ride around Paerata and Ohiwa followed up with coffee, cake and biscuits at Dennis'.
Holidays are great!
Most of the ride was heading south up the Waioweka river bed with 5 river crossings and a lot of bone jiggling time riding over the rocky river bed.
The highlight of the ride was the awesome swimming hole where we escaped from the heat of the day. The young bucks tried to outdo each other on the swing until Old Man Dennis showed them how to do it.
Heading home down hospital hill we were met with the high pressure hose from the fire engine. Somehow I knew there was going to be some skullduggery and escaped a major wetting.
Photos here.
The feed and beers at Craig's bar were great but because Leigh was hungover from the night before we headed home before getting caught up in the mayhem later in the night. Mark may have had a technicolour yawn in Kim's car and George would have woken up very thirsty.
Middle-aged Lea, who pulled out after one lap last Tuesday, didn't make Thursday's MTB at Te Waiti and missed the Xmas ride, Dennis, who made the Xmas booze up despite it being his 25th wedding anniversary, Brian, who really joined in on the festivities and myself met at the Waioweka Bridge this morning and had a great two hour ride around Paerata and Ohiwa followed up with coffee, cake and biscuits at Dennis'.
Holidays are great!
Te Waiti Pre Xmas
It's been a while but it is time to blog again. I've got heaps to post about but I'll start with the pre Xmas MTB ride up Te Waiti followed by BBQ and beers.
This track is in great condition and is one of the best single track rides in the district. And to finish off with some snags and beers was great.
Just a sit was getting a bit rowdy a young couple in a camper van drove down to the boulders and joined us. I think they thought they were going to a quiet secluded spot but came across a bunch of hillbillies and escapees.
Click here to see a few photos.
This track is in great condition and is one of the best single track rides in the district. And to finish off with some snags and beers was great.
Just a sit was getting a bit rowdy a young couple in a camper van drove down to the boulders and joined us. I think they thought they were going to a quiet secluded spot but came across a bunch of hillbillies and escapees.
Click here to see a few photos.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Swimming down the Mangakirikiri
After a hard night out fundraising for the school multi-sport team Lea, Boss and Teleri headed off with me from Hanaia to bike down the Mangakirikiri and out the Pakihi. This was the first time for me on a MTB for a few months and Lea was a bit hungover!
I have never taken on the 40+ creek crossing with it so deep or swift so it was outstandingly good fun. The Boss and I tried every crossing and some twice to nail them and we got most of them. The Boss' highlight was face plant over his handle bars into a deep pool emerging with his glasses still on. Some unkind people did a lot of laughing.
Teleri, to her credit, listened to my creek crossing coaching and was soon nailing most of them, but shortly after telling her it wouldn't hurt if she tumbled into a creek she promptly did so and landed on a rock and hurt herself. I told her if she had gone faster she wouldn't have fallen off.
Lea was pretty useless and talked herself out of most of them but did impress with one dive into a creek and another dive onto the hard ground.
We were all looking forward to the final hole which Sam O'Dwyer dived into last year (see NZMTB mag for photo). Not only was it deep it was very swift with an electric fence going across it just about where you would surface if you fell off and were swept doen stream. I was the only one who tried to ride across (twice!) and Boss and Lea kindly stood where the fence was to resecue me if I was swept towards it. I was ultimately unsuccessful but had great fun being swept off the bike.
It was a hard ride back to Opotiki into a strong headwind with Lea doing a lot of the work and then a mad dash from Opotiki to Hanaia with Teleri leading the charge all of the way home.
Even them we couldn't rest as Teleri interviewed us for one of her papers. Apparently we area sub culture and Andrew and I had to answer questions about why we did these sort of things, what people thought of us etc. If anyone has answers to these questions please put in the Comment area as I lie awake at night worrying about these sorts of questions!!
Great to be back in the saddle on one of our many great tracks! It was fun and sociable! Go the SOBs
I have never taken on the 40+ creek crossing with it so deep or swift so it was outstandingly good fun. The Boss and I tried every crossing and some twice to nail them and we got most of them. The Boss' highlight was face plant over his handle bars into a deep pool emerging with his glasses still on. Some unkind people did a lot of laughing.
Teleri, to her credit, listened to my creek crossing coaching and was soon nailing most of them, but shortly after telling her it wouldn't hurt if she tumbled into a creek she promptly did so and landed on a rock and hurt herself. I told her if she had gone faster she wouldn't have fallen off.
Lea was pretty useless and talked herself out of most of them but did impress with one dive into a creek and another dive onto the hard ground.
We were all looking forward to the final hole which Sam O'Dwyer dived into last year (see NZMTB mag for photo). Not only was it deep it was very swift with an electric fence going across it just about where you would surface if you fell off and were swept doen stream. I was the only one who tried to ride across (twice!) and Boss and Lea kindly stood where the fence was to resecue me if I was swept towards it. I was ultimately unsuccessful but had great fun being swept off the bike.
It was a hard ride back to Opotiki into a strong headwind with Lea doing a lot of the work and then a mad dash from Opotiki to Hanaia with Teleri leading the charge all of the way home.
Even them we couldn't rest as Teleri interviewed us for one of her papers. Apparently we area sub culture and Andrew and I had to answer questions about why we did these sort of things, what people thought of us etc. If anyone has answers to these questions please put in the Comment area as I lie awake at night worrying about these sorts of questions!!
Great to be back in the saddle on one of our many great tracks! It was fun and sociable! Go the SOBs
College Third at Secondary School Relay
On Saturday two teams travelled to this relay in Rotorua where teams tried to do as many laps as they could in three hours. Our senior mixed team of Gareth, Kurt and Lucy completed 11 laps and finished third behing Fielding and Trident. We did note that the female member in the Trident team only did one lap while lucy did three!
Gareth set the fastest time for the team of 15.36 with Kurt churning his out in 16-17 minutes and Lucy in 20-21.
The junior boys team of Kyle, Jared and Podge biked well with Kyle doing laps in 19-20minutes, Jared in about 20-21 ansd Podge in about 23.
It was a great day and more photos can be viewed here.
Gareth set the fastest time for the team of 15.36 with Kurt churning his out in 16-17 minutes and Lucy in 20-21.
The junior boys team of Kyle, Jared and Podge biked well with Kyle doing laps in 19-20minutes, Jared in about 20-21 ansd Podge in about 23.
It was a great day and more photos can be viewed here.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
The Motu Challenge 2009 - a real challenge!
Race winner, Richard Ussher described the conditions as most probably the toughest he has ever raced in. There were strong winds on both bike legs (head wind all the way on MTB and strong head wind to Matawai and strong side gusts from there, but also a lot of tail wind) and the strong gusts from behind and from the sides in the river tipped quite a few kayaks. There was cold rain at Motu, lots of slippery mud underfoot in the bush run, snow falling at the top of Traffords and a Waioweka River which was pumping at about 2.3 metres. In other words, conditions were perfect!!! If it was meant to be easy, everyone could do it!
Highlights were:
Barry forgetting his transponder and having to break a window at home to get it to just make the start.
Shane joining the hard man's club by completing his first Motu solo (Club membership includes myself, Hedley, Kurtis, Mad dog Scotty, Trevor/Terry and Legend Lea). If any one else feels they are entitled to membership let me know by commenting on the post.
Not falling out in the kayak!
All three Abraham whanau leaving nothing in the bank.
All three Taylor whanau with a whangaied Teleri leaving nothing in the bank.
Awesome first time paddle by College student Brooke (only 2nd time he had been in a kayak).
Lea's gutsy performance to get through a grueling run to finish strongly in just under 10 1/2 hours.
Relaxing with the Teddy's and others at Hunter's later in the evening.
The MTBers found the strong and cold head wind all of the way to Motu very challenging with many riders going slower than their normal training rides. The battle between Kids vs Parents and Parents vs Kids began immediately. Teleri (for the Kids) biked strongly for 3.39.22 and handed over to Amber for the run. In the meantime Sherpa Boss came in for the parents in 3.52.49 and handed on to me. Lea had come in at 3.27 13 and after a rapid transition headed off first.
I knew Lea was struggling when I caught her in the bush with well over 45 minutes to go. I was disappointed not to get Amber in my sights but found the muddy conditions in the bush difficult to deal with and despite finishing strongly over the last few ks never saw her. I was disappointed with my 1.32.58 as I did 1.29 in training a few weeks ago. Amber did 1.40.18 and handed over to Lucy who took off into the head wind about 6 minutes in front of her Mum, Leigh. In the meantime Lea came in after 2.16.17.
The wind was brutal to Matawai and sucked the strength out of those biking by themselves. Lucy was fortunate to get on the back of another bloke and they shared the work to part way up Trafford's. Just before the hill we came across a very cold Hedley who was attempting his second solo but was forced to withdraw bordering on hypothermia. While waiting at the top for Lucy and Leigh the snow began to fall! Both hurtled down to Oponae with a strong tail wind with Lucy clocking a great 2.04.36 in tough conditions to hand over to Nicole while Leigh finished in 2.13 23 after riding strongly and determinedly. Both had broken 2 hours in training two weeks prior but the head wind to Matawai took it out of everyone.
I was now in a forlorn chase of Nicole in the river and I had forgotten my drink bladder! Lea, meanwhile, finished the ride in 2.01.11 to hit the river not too far behind. I must admit when I saw Ted's car I was a bit nervous.
The paddle was out of this world. The river was really pumping and the pressure waves were huge. It really boosted my confidence to get through the top rapids while passing some swimmers. Unfortunately I came across Destry who had had a few spills. He seemed in good spirits but he had a few more and was pulled from the race at the gravel pit because he had turned blue.
The wind was the biggest threat on the river with the gusts being so strong I had to brace for long periods of time and get pushed along until it subsided. I came closest to tipping in one strong gust. One kayaker in front of me was tipped by the wind and there were stories of this happening to many others. A helicopter had to be called in to rescue one person trapped on the wrong side of the river.
My near death experience occurred in the rapids above the didymo signs. I was abit confused because the river was so high and I couldn't see all of the normal rocks. I ended up going right over the largest rock in the river, dropping a metre on the other side and then stopping in the backwash with huge pressure waves. My life flashed before my eyes as there was no one else around and I knew if I tipped there I would be trapped in the hole with little chance of getting out. A combination of sheer panic, maniacal paddling, loud swearing and tightening my sphincter I managed to pop out and keep going while yelling at the top of my voice with relief!
I did my first sub 2 hour paddle (1 55) and rode and ran like a maniac to the finish in 2.34.03. Nicole did the leg in 2.28.01 to bring the Kids vs Parents home in 9.52.50 to win the 4 person female category and $1000. The Parents vs Kids finished in 10.13.14. The College team of Gareth, Jared, Kyle and Brooke finished in 10.03.16 with Gareth continuing on to complete the Motu 160 and be the first local home.
Lea completed a strong day with a final leg of 2.43.16 to finish in her best solo time of 10.27.58 (only 10 minutes behind my best!!!).
There are lots of other neat stories from everyone else but they will have to tell them. A huge thanks to Jarrod and Rosalie and team who keep putting the event together.
Highlights were:
Barry forgetting his transponder and having to break a window at home to get it to just make the start.
Shane joining the hard man's club by completing his first Motu solo (Club membership includes myself, Hedley, Kurtis, Mad dog Scotty, Trevor/Terry and Legend Lea). If any one else feels they are entitled to membership let me know by commenting on the post.
Not falling out in the kayak!
All three Abraham whanau leaving nothing in the bank.
All three Taylor whanau with a whangaied Teleri leaving nothing in the bank.
Awesome first time paddle by College student Brooke (only 2nd time he had been in a kayak).
Lea's gutsy performance to get through a grueling run to finish strongly in just under 10 1/2 hours.
Relaxing with the Teddy's and others at Hunter's later in the evening.
The MTBers found the strong and cold head wind all of the way to Motu very challenging with many riders going slower than their normal training rides. The battle between Kids vs Parents and Parents vs Kids began immediately. Teleri (for the Kids) biked strongly for 3.39.22 and handed over to Amber for the run. In the meantime Sherpa Boss came in for the parents in 3.52.49 and handed on to me. Lea had come in at 3.27 13 and after a rapid transition headed off first.
I knew Lea was struggling when I caught her in the bush with well over 45 minutes to go. I was disappointed not to get Amber in my sights but found the muddy conditions in the bush difficult to deal with and despite finishing strongly over the last few ks never saw her. I was disappointed with my 1.32.58 as I did 1.29 in training a few weeks ago. Amber did 1.40.18 and handed over to Lucy who took off into the head wind about 6 minutes in front of her Mum, Leigh. In the meantime Lea came in after 2.16.17.
The wind was brutal to Matawai and sucked the strength out of those biking by themselves. Lucy was fortunate to get on the back of another bloke and they shared the work to part way up Trafford's. Just before the hill we came across a very cold Hedley who was attempting his second solo but was forced to withdraw bordering on hypothermia. While waiting at the top for Lucy and Leigh the snow began to fall! Both hurtled down to Oponae with a strong tail wind with Lucy clocking a great 2.04.36 in tough conditions to hand over to Nicole while Leigh finished in 2.13 23 after riding strongly and determinedly. Both had broken 2 hours in training two weeks prior but the head wind to Matawai took it out of everyone.
I was now in a forlorn chase of Nicole in the river and I had forgotten my drink bladder! Lea, meanwhile, finished the ride in 2.01.11 to hit the river not too far behind. I must admit when I saw Ted's car I was a bit nervous.
The paddle was out of this world. The river was really pumping and the pressure waves were huge. It really boosted my confidence to get through the top rapids while passing some swimmers. Unfortunately I came across Destry who had had a few spills. He seemed in good spirits but he had a few more and was pulled from the race at the gravel pit because he had turned blue.
The wind was the biggest threat on the river with the gusts being so strong I had to brace for long periods of time and get pushed along until it subsided. I came closest to tipping in one strong gust. One kayaker in front of me was tipped by the wind and there were stories of this happening to many others. A helicopter had to be called in to rescue one person trapped on the wrong side of the river.
My near death experience occurred in the rapids above the didymo signs. I was abit confused because the river was so high and I couldn't see all of the normal rocks. I ended up going right over the largest rock in the river, dropping a metre on the other side and then stopping in the backwash with huge pressure waves. My life flashed before my eyes as there was no one else around and I knew if I tipped there I would be trapped in the hole with little chance of getting out. A combination of sheer panic, maniacal paddling, loud swearing and tightening my sphincter I managed to pop out and keep going while yelling at the top of my voice with relief!
I did my first sub 2 hour paddle (1 55) and rode and ran like a maniac to the finish in 2.34.03. Nicole did the leg in 2.28.01 to bring the Kids vs Parents home in 9.52.50 to win the 4 person female category and $1000. The Parents vs Kids finished in 10.13.14. The College team of Gareth, Jared, Kyle and Brooke finished in 10.03.16 with Gareth continuing on to complete the Motu 160 and be the first local home.
Lea completed a strong day with a final leg of 2.43.16 to finish in her best solo time of 10.27.58 (only 10 minutes behind my best!!!).
There are lots of other neat stories from everyone else but they will have to tell them. A huge thanks to Jarrod and Rosalie and team who keep putting the event together.
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