Day 287 - Segway to Go

segway master

Today's adventure was so interesting and unusual that I wish I'd put it on my list of challenges for the year...maybe I'll do that retrospectively....shhh, don't tell!

;-)

I've been intrigued by the Segway for what seems like years and years...I remember there was several years of pre-hype, when this revolutionary product known as IT (or alternatively by the codename ginger) was announced, but no further details.  Speculation was rife, and rumour had it that this thing was going to be bigger than the internet.

When it was finally unveiled in 2001, it was thus a bit of a disappointment, seeming not that different from the Sinclair C5, which had promised so much but delivered so little.

However, ignoring how much use it was, it did look like a much better all round product than the C5...and I've wanted a go on one ever since. 

So when someone at work offered to organize something, I couldn't refuse the chance to participate in a Segway Rally Experience, an organised event at Kingsbury Ski Centre.

three amigos

Of course, being such a litigious society these days, the Health and Safety rules did their best to sap as much of the fun as possible out of it, and ensured that any use of the word adventure was purely metaphorical. 

Mostly, the rules simply mean that we all have to look a bit silly whilst we have fun.

The Segway itself is an interesting beast.

shoal of segways

Here are a dozen or so of them awaiting their riders...of course, such intrepid adventurers wouldn't want to risk the kind of life-threatening danger that can occur at the frankly insane speed of 14mph, so they were all limited to around 8mph. 

I did manage to sneak a go on an unlimited one (the instructor's), and the difference was stark...unlimited is so much more fun!!

We had two hours of training, games and a short sojourn around the lakes (to justify the use of the word rally in the advertising)...the games were essentially relay races, with a variety of random difficulties thrown in (slalom, do a 360 around a cone, that sort of thing).

It didn't always go according to plan, as I think this photo demonstrates...

and that's f#*tkin' teamwork

This is, however, very reminiscent of my experience at work...the boss on her own off to one side looking on (in despair?!)...a few people that almost appear, at a casual glance, to be vaguely working together...and a significant number of outliers who are off doing their own thing, sometimes innocent, sometimes mischievous...

And there's me, taking some time out to grab a photo of the mayhem for my blog. 

But anyway, that aside, I did get a certificate which proudly proclaims that I have Mastered the Segway...

So, you know, that was nice....


B-)

Day 274 - I Was, Like, Woah

crush

Rather than bore you repeatedly with endless climbing photo's, instead I'm going to try to bring you a series of unusual boulder shapes...

Of course, I'm still going to talk about climbing,and I'm still going to bring you climbing photo's...maybe just not every day.

Today we went to Rocher Fin, in la Foret de Trois Pignons....we call it three pigeons, but it actually means three hills or something like that.   It's a lovely, big, sandy forest of both broad leaf and pine, and we had a gorgeous sunny day to enjoy it.

We climbed on the Orange Circuit, for the most part, at a grade of Assez Difficile...it was fun, and we all climbed pretty well.   It was Jezz's first day on Font rock, so he was finding his feet as we were rediscovering ours. 

We did around 25-30 problems, which bodes fairly well for Jezz's 40@40@Font Challenge - to climb 40 problems in a day, at Font, at the age of 40...we're hopefully doing that on Tuesday.

Anyway, we all flagged at various times today - we all have ridiculously demanding jobs, working long hours with a lot of responsibility and the ever-present stress that goes with it, and so we're all very tired to be starting this holiday...and of course we had that long and tiring journey yesterday... 

Actually, I was fine all day climbing, but flagged seriously on the long walk back to the car (we'd gone a long way into la foret to avoid the inevitable Sunday crowds).    

And of course I was up at first light this morning, as seems to be becoming annoyingly standard of late...So, you know, poor me, or whatever...

So rather than bore you with all of that, I bring you...

Boulders that look like things!

The boulder pictured above immediately said "turtle" to Anna...it looks just like Crush from Finding Nemo!

alien face

And the couple in the photo above seem woefully ignorant of the giant alien looking over their shoulders.

As we wander la foret over the next few days, I'll keep my eye out for more boulders that look like things!

I know, right?!

You're so lucky - it's almost like having your own personal internet, right there at your fingertips whenever you need it!

;-)

Day 265 - So It Begins

get packing

I'm going to bank on the fact that nobody's listening on a Friday night, and keep this one relatively short.

This evening, I found myself starting to pack for Font...we're not even going until a week tomorrow!

The thing is, I've been gradually gathering odd bits and bobs, and they've been accumulating on my desk, to the point where I'm getting annoyed by all the junk.

There's a travel plug, some headlight deflectors, a magnetic GB Sticker...then there's a bunch of memory sticks, an assortment of camera equipment - lenses, tripods, filters, power adapters...a collection of climbing books, maps, a notepad.  

And some gaffer tape, obviously!

So I went up to the loft and found an empty crate, and started to put all these odds and ends into it...then realised that I'm packing a week early...I had already considered that the crate could go straight in the car with whatever hardware needs to come with us...laptops, ipads, kindles, the camera, and power chargers of various types...

Is it too soon to start getting excited about my holiday?  I'm so ready for it, it's not even funny...and because we so fell in love with La Foret, I'm extra-eager to be there again. 

We've been discussing our climbing goals for the trip...

Anna, showing surprising ambition, wants to have a rest day (like that'll happen).

Jezz has his 40@40@Font Challenge, which I have a side-mission to support him on. 

My own mission is to climb a Grade 6a boulder problem.   The scale goes 3, 3+, 4, 4+, 5, 5+, 6A, 6A+, 6B, 6B+, 6C, 6C+, 7A etc...last year we climbed many 3's and 4's, and two 5's and one 5+...this year I want to go one better and bag a 6A, which is a classic bouldering grade, and in some ways the gateway grade to serious bouldering in Fontainebleau. 

Don't get me wrong, my ambition is not to climb seriously, far from it.   Mostly I just want to climb boulders that are challenging but doable - and that means 3's and 4's.

But an actual Font 6A would be a nice little tick from my 50@50 Challenge list. 

Of course, Anna now wants to climb a 6A too...to be honest, I think there's far more chance of her getting up one than me...but we'll see...

The fun is in the trying...

Bring it on!

B-)

Day 228b - Fun Times

We had a busy and adventurous weekend, as you will have seen from previous blogposts.

On both days we took quite a few videos, which I bunged up onto Youtube, and then had a play with the simple video editing facilities.   It's not a perfect system by a long stretch, but at least it's possible to rapidly edit a few clips into one, and put some backing music on it. 

The video above took literally 10 minutes to edit the four short clips together, add some music and a bit of video post-processing, to end up with a nice little memento of our 'boarding fun.   

The clip ends somewhat abruptly (there's no fade feature!), but for 10 minutes work, I'm really happy with it.



This next video took an hour or two, but turned out equally well.   With climbing video's it's imperative that you edit out all the pre-climb faffing about, and cut really tightly to the climbing.  And of the course the addition of text, some short clips, many more transitions and several music tracks all added to the editing time. 

But in both cases, the finished clips capture something of the essence of the days adventures.

Fun Times!

B-)

Day 225 - Those About To Rock

we salute you

As we weren't tired and aching enough from yesterdays skateboarding, today we went up to the Peak District to do some Fontainebleau preparation. 

Anna, Jezz and I are going to spend a week in Font in September, so it's time to start getting mentally and physically prepared. 

pad hogs

Set in the southern end of the Burbage Valley, amongst the bracken (head height in parts, at this time of year) you will find a scattering of large, coarse gritstone boulders strewn across the hillside below Burbage South Edge.

There are lots of easy (and I use that word with a single, slightly raised eyebrow) problems here, and in many ways it's like spending a day in Font. 

We spent most of the day padding up friction slabs...

trust your feet

This involves standing on vague bumps and pea-sized pebbles, and trying to believe that your foot won't slip off, should you pluck up the nerve to attempt to stand on it!

faith in friction

On one particular climb, for no apparent or agreed reason, we all decided to do animal impersonations...

stork

Jezz going for the classic left hand and foot close together - right hand and foot far, far apart Stork Pose (I think it might be a yoga thing)...

gecko

...whilst Anna uses opposing hands and feet as she performs The Gecko...

crab

...nobody can explain whatever it is I'm doing...and Jezz had to bomb, natch...

bomber

But despite all of that, it was a successful day of climbing easy (there's that word again) problems, ripping our skin up, catching the sun, and generally having a good time out in the bright, warm breeze.  

We hope it will be the start of a period of progress and improvement in the 6 or 7 weeks until we go to Fontainebleau.

We'll be looking for gains in strength, stamina, flexibility (in my case) and finger skin resilience (Jezz and Anna)...and good losses in body fat (Jezz and I)!

into battle

This large boulder is known as The Tank, for fairly obvious reasons...this afternoon, we couldn't resist the opportunity to climb aboard before we left, and get some photos as we urged the great battleship forward.

It seemed like a fitting cry as we head towards Font...

Onward!

B-)

Day 224 - 'Board Now

challenge complete

Today, I grabbed another significant tick from my 50th year challenge list...skateboarding!

Here I am celebrating with my main man Jezz (who is just setting out on his own long list of 40th year challenges).   He helpfully brought some skateboards (long boards, apparently) round to our house, and we set off down the lane to have a go. 

These things are so much better than when I was a kid!

And they're great fun...

getting the hang of it

First off we learnt to simply cruise on the boards.  They're quite long, wide and stable, and we had little difficulty getting going on them.

graceful as ever

Anna managed to get about half a mile on her first go without touching the ground!

Jezz, of course, was completely comfortable from the off...

nice socks

Anna bravely headed into the steepest section without hesitation, although we reached speeds where we certainly did not want to fall off!

she' s outta here...

Jezz took it casually, of course - he still can't resist posing at every opportunity...

40 going on 14

...but then I couldn't help posing a little myself!

50 going on 15

Jezz showed me a couple of tricks so we spent some time messing about trying not to break our ankles!

mid-flip

I managed a bit of tricking too, which I was pleased about!

mid-flip

I was quite pleased to do fairly well on the skateboards...I put it down to Tai Chi!

I learnt a little Tai Chi a couple of years ago, and one thing that really stayed with me was the Tai Chi Walk.  I've practised it now and then ever since, and it's taught me huge amounts about balance and controlled weight transfer. 

The improvements in my balance I took with me into climbing, where it's really helped...and further, I've now brought it into skateboarding, and it's enabled me to quickly feel relaxed and comfortable on the board.

We also tried some wheelies...

grabbing some air

I just need to do it when in motion!

bendy board

At the end of all that we were surprisingly hot and sweaty...turned out it was mostly easiest to walk back up the hill, which didn't help!

job done

All in all, I really enjoyed it...it's definitely something I'm going to have a bit of a play with! 

I have some videos which I will post in a bonus entry at some point soon!

For tonight, I'm really pleased to tick off another of my challenges...

Super-psyched, in fact!

B-)

Day 211 - Esoterica

craig y longridge

Quirky, unusual crags, climbs or rock formations are often referred to as esoterica, and today's venue certainly seemed to fit that particular bill!

As we were up in Lancashire, we checked for local climbing opportunities, and found this curious little rock face a few miles north of Preston, and more or less on our route home from yesterday's wedding.

The buildings on the right are listed as holiday cottages, but they seemed just like new homes...it was most odd, climbing in full view of kitchen, bathroom and bedroom windows!

The climbing is all low level bouldering, as the rock face is only about 5 or 6m high at the tallest, and it's all steeply overhung.  Given the height, it seems ironic that the site is owned by the British Mountaineering Council!

pray to the gods of rock

This shot gives some impression of the scale of it, as Anna performs the usual pre-climb rock worship ritual.

It took me quite a while to get used to how the word steep is used in climbing.  Intuitively (to me at least) you would expect that the most steep you can get would be vertical.  But in climbing terms, as it becomes overhung it's referred to as getting steeper.

In fact, a vertical face wouldn't be referred to as steep, generally...less than vertical is called a slab...vertical is called a wall...and more than vertical is called an overhang.  The word steep is really only used for overhangs nowadays.

This rock face is definitely very much steeper than anything we've done outside before!

35 degrees or so?

This photo gives you an idea of the angle.  As climbs get steeper, it becomes increasingly difficult to get any weight onto your feet...and thus it becomes increasingly strenuous and tiring on your arms.

It's difficult to keep your feet on the wall, as they are constantly trying to swing off - and when they do, it's really draining on your shoulders and extremely stressful on your fingers.

footloose

Here, Anna is supporting her full weight on her fingertips, as her feet have cut loose, as it's termed.

In the photo below, you can see how my weight is all on a few fingertips on each hand, I have one foot off the wall, and the other has nothing of significance to stand on...

cling on

...and here's Anna in a similar position, holding almost all of her weight on the tips of 3 fingers on each hand as she tries to get at least one foot back on the wall...getting back on the wall when your feet have cut loose is extremely tiring, as it makes a huge demand on your core...

anna uncut

All of this is hugely strenuous for your fingers and forearms (all the muscles that move your fingers are in your forearm, not in your hand)...consequently, they tire and weaken quickly on steep ground like this, and so you end up falling off a lot...

extravagant dismount

...and because you often swing as you fall, it's difficult to know where the crash pad should be, so we often miss it..although in these two shots we got it right, for a change!

french dismount

When on the wall, every time you need to move a hand up (i.e. all the time!), the other hand has to take as much weight as you've managed (or failed) to push through your feet...no move is easy - every one requires a big physical effort.   

In the constant quest to push every possible pound of weight through your feet, you can end up in what appear to be unconventional positions...

kenny everett legs

Here I'm using what's known as an outside flag utilising the weight of my hanging right leg to try to counter-balance my weight directly underneath my left hand (so that I can let go with my right to move it up)...

lock off and sloper

...whilst in this shot Anna is using her core and her hips to push her weight up and onto her right foot as much as possible, and locking the left arm in this bent position (requiring much strength!), in order to move her right hand up to the poor, sloping hold above...

best possible taste

...and here I'm using a backstep in a similar way to the outside flag - turning my right hip into the rock, so getting weight under the left hand, to release the right to move up.

All of this heavily strenuous climbing can be really tough on your hands.  After two hours on this wall, Anna's hands were shredded...

rock until you bleed

Now that's commitment!!  

I've added a bonus post below, showing the full sequence of moves on this problem, as it took us quite a while to work them all out...and even longer to actually do them!

All in all, a curious little climbing escapade...not our usual thing, and something we'll probably never do again. 

But it was good fun, and broadens our experience...as well as being the start of our strengthening campaign for Fontainebleau in September.

In't bouldering brilliant?!

B-)

Day 191 - Half a Tick

one word from me...

Apparently, 'tis the season of the half-ticked challenge...

Having been up early this morning to start packing before breakfast, we were loaded up and ready to leave the yurt by around 10.30.   Our horse ride on the beach was booked for 12.30, so we spent a couple of hours exploring the back roads along the coast, and hanging out at the beach.

Our trek consisted of a half hour walk to the beach, followed by a half hour or so trotting up and down, and a walk and trot back...

They allowed me to attempt to get my horse, Nelson, into canter...although not without first telling me that he's really hard to get going - unless you're a really good rider.

Although I'd passed their little riding test in the ring before we went out, I hadn't ridden for 15 years or more before today, so I was a little rusty, to say the least.

Nelson, as well as being barely big enough for someone of my size, was as advertised...pretty lazy, and almost impossible to cajole any energy out of.  He really had my measure - I couldn't remember the nuance of getting a horse into canter, and have since realised I was giving him quite a few mixed messages.   He had clearly decided that unless I gave him very precise, clear and specific instructions, in all the right ways, he was just going to resist.

(somewhat prophetically, the only climb I've fallen off this year was at Birchen in April, and it was called Nelson's Nemesis...which is how I felt as though Nelson viewed me).

The instructor, presumably in the name of Health and Safety gone mad, refused to give me any assistance, apparently on the basis that I was only allowed to canter if I knew how.  When I was told I had to ask Nelson more firmly to pick up the pace, and I enquired exactly how to do that, seeking a few reminders, I was told to "just generally ask him more firmly."   

Great, thanks...

So whilst it was brilliant (as we descended onto the beach I found I had a huge grin on my face), I failed to get a full tick on my challenge.  The challenge states a preference to ride the horse to gallop...I would have accepted canter, but as he wasn't having that in the only two short attempts they let me have, I can't with clear conscience claim the full tick. 

Whilst in the Lakes, then, I've got a half a tick for climb a long mountain route, half a tick for sleep in a tent, and now an additional half a tick for ride a horse to gallop...

Still, they were all great fun and I'll seek the full ticks as and when the opportunity arises!

Riding on the beach is ace, though!

Anna rode really well, for a novice...and her horse Pandora is a bit of a celebrity, featuring as she does on the opening credits of Country File!

I'm special, so special

Here's Anna riding away from me as Nelson puts in the least possible effort to keep up:

look at the arse on that

As a little bonus, perhaps to make up for the lack of cantering, the Universe offered me another great example for my dead animal collection - a lovely fresh jellyfish.

jelly, baby

After the trek we headed back to Warrington to collect Jazz, who seems to have had a brilliantly chilled few days with Cathy and Phil.  After a lovely early tea, we set off for the last long leg of the journey back to South Warwickshire. 

On the way, we took a detour to collect Loz and May-Z from the cattery before arriving home at around 9pm, incredibly weary and with a number of significant sore points setting in...that riding session is going to make itself felt over the next few days, I'm sure...

Anyway, check this further bonus photo opportunity that the Universe proffered whilst we were waiting at the cattery:

when you see it....

On first glance this may seem a fairly innocuous and perhaps confusing photo of a cat run...but look a bit closer, right in the middle of the picture...

soon...

I give you....

Cat in a Box!

Now please excuse me whilst I go collapse in an exhausted heap somewhere...

B-)

Day 190 - St Bees

king of the hill

Another adventurous day today...this time, down by the sea.

Just south of Whitehaven, on the Cumbrian coastline, is a place called St Bees.   Steep cliffs of ruddy sandstone tower above a rocky, red platform, dotted about with a myriad boulders of all shapes and sizes.

It's unlike anywhere else in the UK, so we were really keen to visit, whilst staying only a few miles away in Wasdale.

According to the guidebook, there's a 15 minute walk in to the boulders...which, it turns out, is misleading in the extreme.

First you have to skirt around the edges of Whitehaven, before turning off into a private, single track road.  This road winds and weaves towards the coast, through grassy, featureless fields. 

After several miles, somewhat improbably, you come to a couple of dwellings and a farmstead. 

The farmer charges £2 to park in his yard, and from there, although the road continues, you have to walk...

So with my bouldering mat on my bag, and Anna carrying a bag of shoes, food and drinks, off we set, sweating in the midday sun...after half a mile, we reached a lighthouse and associated buildings on the cliff top, before the road runs out altogether.

Following a cliff top path northwards for a quarter of a mile or so, crossing a style, we eventually found ourselves at the top of a thin path disappearing steeply down the bracken covered upper slopes towards what appeared to be a 50 or 60m drop to the rocks by the sea.

Heading tentatively down a path so steep it seems only suitable for goats, we nervously picked our way down, all the while aware that every steep step downwards had to be climbed back up to get out!

Here's a photo looking up at Anna halfway down the path...

path less travelled

And another looking down on me from Anna's position...

path to enheavyenment

Neither of these remotely do it justice, or give any impression of how precarious the path was. 

This one is closer to our experience:

uneven ground

This doesn't show the actual path, which was just to the left, but it's similar in size, steepness and general characteristics...imagine a small path picking it's way straight up to the top... 

Anyway, once at the bottom, we then had to scramble over a variety of huge boulders for about 100m to get to the boulders we were aiming for.   

The claimed fifteen minute walking must have taken an hour or so...

Still, when we got there, it was worth it...fun (though hard!) bouldering, warm sunny weather, calm seas, and almost nobody around.

tiny boulder

After spending a little time orienting ourselves, and trying to hydrate, we pulled on our bouldering shoes and threw a few shapes.

tiny boulderer

It's curious how boulders that seem huge at the time, suddenly look a lot smaller when I'm on them...fortunately, Anna makes them look the proper size!

mantle

Here Anna is mantling up in the hope of being able to reach a decent handhold...a precarious move where you don't feel as though you're really holding on, more just balancing on whatever contact points you have. 

sunny climbs

Here, and in the top photo, I wasn't bouldering, I was simply clambering around for fun, finding a good vantage spot to see whether I could spot any seals...which I didn't...

After a couple of hours in the hot sun we were fried.   Aware of the difficult scramble back along the shoreline, before the steep, committing climb up the tiny path, we packed our bags, hydrated some more, steeled our nerve, and set off for home. 

Fortunately the climb out wasn't as horrendous as (I) expected...Anna hadn't been concerned at all, but having struggled up several steep approaches with very heavy bags of climbing gear over the last few days, I was wary of it.   

However, with just the relatively light weight of the bouldering mat, it really wasn't too bad, and before long we were back, hot and soaked in perspiration, at the cliff top.

As we got to the lighthouse, we saw another couple walking towards us, laden with bouldering gear...three mats, and two or three bags between the pair of them.  The girl just had a bouldering mat, but the guy had two bouldering mats, one on his back, the other in one hand...he also had a loose bag hanging around his neck, flapping about in an uncontrolled manner, and a plastic shopping bag of food in the other hand.

And he had flipflops on his feet...

Alarmingly, he asked us if we knew the way down to the bouldering...we told him the way, and pointed out that the descent, with no free hands and in flipflops, (not to mention the hard scramble over broken rocks along the shore) was going to be interesting, at the very least...the girl said she'd told him all that, but he just shrugged as if to say, "It'll be alright...".

As Anna said, if we don't hear about the rescue operation on the news, it's because they thought better of it when they got to the top, or they stashed most of the gear in the bracken before descending... 

wast water

Having survived another adventure, we decided to head up Wasdale towards Scafell Pike, taking in the Wast Water along the way.  

Anna took this lovely photo - lakes and mountains seem to be a speciality of hers! 

Finally, just to add to my collection of animal photo's in this blog (and either more interestingly, or more disturbingly, depending on your sensibilities), to my collection of dead animal photographs, here's an odd creature we found on the rocks...some kind of giant water louse... 

having a louse-y day

And here's a dead crab, which, of course, no self respecting blog should be without.

he's a bit crabby

One last note...one of the problems I climbed today was graded V2 6a - I'm not sure if the 6a is font grade or English tech grade, but in either case, I think it ticks off my challenge of climb a font 6a boulder problem...

Bonus - yay me!!

B-)