Mt Richardson

It had started out as a pretty warm day. We had just started to climb Mt Richardson with the school and apart from a few ups it had been really easy. Brooklyn,Haylley and I had been chatting away. Soon we were up to a steep part and we stopped talking. Unlucky this steep part went on and on and on. It was the kind of grinding steep part,when you almost have to pull your legs up. This went on for what seemed like an hour,but I probably was shorter than that. 

Once we had got to the top of that hill we stopped for morning tea. Happily we flopped down and decided how much we were going to eat. The hardest part for me was trying not to eat all my food. Soon we had recharged our batteries and we were raring to go. I started to walk with Emma which was good because we talked a bit and we didn't really notice how fast time was passing by. 

Soon I got to a part that I knew was close to the top. We grunted up the last bit and then before we knew it we were at a the very windy top of Mt Richardson. It was cold. The wind was howling around us and it almost seemed like it was going to pick us up and carry us down the mountain. 

We found a spot out of the wind and put lots of clothes on. I ate everything,but I left some food for afterwards. After a long wait we were put in a line and we numbered off. I was in the back so when we set of I started to run to the front. It was quite a long way from the back to the front,but I did make it. I loved going down,because we had a good pace and we were all chatting away(and I didn't fall over). 

Soon we were sprinting out of the track and rolling down the hill!!!!!

Rakahuri Rage

Well Brooklyn and I did it and I would like to say we did it in style,but I highly doubt that.

It was starting out to be a very,very hot day and we were going to do a six hour bike ride. Brooklyn and I were in a team of two for the race and I have a slight suspect that lots of people thought that we couldn't do it. After a quite long and boring race briefing everyone that was starting first went to the starting line and I am sad to say that was me. I wouldn't of minded starting,but the people that started first had to do an extra 2.5 kilometres to even it out. I was beside Rhianna and Mr Read for the start and I have to say that Rhianna nearly started dominos with the riders because somehow she managed to topple over at a stand still. Luckily I managed to stop myself before I smashed into Mr Read. After a very long anxious wait,we started.

Starting was one of the hardest bits because everyone was so close to each other and everyone was so slow. We went up not the stop bank and I was trying to keep a steady pace. After what seemed like a click of a finger we were on to the single track, my favourite!!! I was really enjoying the single track and then the rest of the track seemed to be a breeze. Soon I was finishing my lap in a pretty good time,tagging Brooklyn and resting. After I had eaten and drunk heaps it wasn't very long before Brooklyn was back,narrowly missing my bike because she was going so fast and tagging me.

The second lap was better than the first,but I really had to push at the last part because I was so tired. One of the best parts would have to be the R&R at the end of the lap. I grabbed a chocolate biscuit and a roll. I started to eat my roll first,but I had to scratch that idea because the biscuit was melting like the chocolate palace in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. I had so much chocolate on my hands that it looked like I had finaly got a tan,but sadly it wasn't to last. I was given a baby wipe and it was wiped of my hands in a hurry because someone had spotted Brooklyn.

And soon I was of on another lap. Now I better explain the track so you can get a good picture in
your head. First you had to go along a grass track. The grass was around about one inch long and I know it may not sound hard,but there you are wrong. It was like the grass didn't want you to move
and it stuck to tyres making it impossible to move fast. Then you went on to the stop-bank and down onto the single track. The single track was by far the best because:
1.It weaved around in tight corners making it more interesting
2.It had lots of humps and bumps. My favourite would have to be the three judder bars.
3.IT WAS IN THE SHADE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The single track lasted till around the half way mark. The rest was not very exciting,except for the biggest hill were you had to go down and thankfully not up. The last part was coming of the stop-bank and onto the grass that clung to your wheels. So that was the whole track and it probably sounded short,but it was around 8 killometres long.

The rest of the laps went well,but I was definatly tiring. I managed to do good times for all of my laps considering the searing heat. On my last lap I must of got an extra boost of energy because I did one of my fastest times. I ended up doing six laps in total which I am very proud of.

About a day after the Rage someone came to me with the question of, "Will you do it again in a two and why did you do it in a two when you could of had faster times?". I have been pondering on this question for a while now and I finally have an answer. "Of corse I would do it again in a two because I enjoyed it, I not only enjoyed the biking, I also enjoyed the sense of achievement at the end". This was the best thing I have done in a while,so expect me next time.

Hawdon Hut

As I got out of the mini bus I didn't actually think I would make it to the hut. The mini bus ride had been short considering the length of the trip. Soon we had divided out the supplies and we were on our way. We had about a five minute walk till we were at our first river crossing. William Pike explained how to safely cross a river. Soon Brooklyn,Derrin,Rhianna and I were struggling across the river our hands stuck in awkward positions under our packs, but thankfully we made it over and we were tramping over the river bed with soaking wet shoes in the searing heat. We wlked down a bush track for about 2 hours, but I can tell you it didn't fell like that it felt more like 1000000 hours. So we walked along in the heat complying about how long it was talking when we heard cries of "Lunch,Lunch" up ahead. It turned out to be a fulse alarm and we ended up bum-sliding down the hill for nothing!!!We got out of the trees and started walking on a scorching hot river bed and finally to

my relief we stopped for lunch. The second half of the walk was better than the first mainly because
everyone had got use to our packs and Brooklyn and I were deep in conversation. The only bad thing about the second half was that we had all run out of water a the people who hadn't weren't so keen to share it. So we are walking along in the scorching heat with heavy pack and we have no water,a very ideal situation(not). Our little group of Brooklyn,William Pike and I got to a fork and one ay had yellow triangles and one looked more worn than the other so basically we had lost our way!!! Thankfully we heard the other group and went down the right path and didn't get lost. After a swim in a river and a couple of crossings we were all ready to sit down at the hut. We had just started a conversation when I heard whoops of joy, so assuming that people had got to the hut we sprinted and found the welcoming sight of Hawdon hut!!! We rested,unpacked and swam before we gobbled up some yummy freeze dried meals. After that we went boulder hopping which was probably the worst part for me because I fell over and got wet and sore. We listened to William Pikes story and then went
into a very deep sleep. I can't really remember much about the walk out,but I can remember how cold I was(obviously the porridge didn't work on warming me up). When we got back to the mini bus I gobbled up a bun and then we went to cave stream. We had to put on our thermals in the heat and I can tell you that we didn't care about the safety briefing, we just wanted to get into the cave so we could cool down. The cave was the best, from the swimming to the rock formations.We were all pretty tired to get home so we were all quite tired but after our ice cream stop we were all refuelled to do some singing. We sang just about all the way to school. Overall I thought the trip was really fun. I can't wait for the next trip.

Swimming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Packing

Ohhh, do not talk to me about packing and repacking and repacking!!! I hated it. It was pure agony(well maybe it was not that bad,but still). I may be smiling in this photo, but believe me I was not felling like that inside.

CHALLENGES

On this page I will blog about all my crazy adventures in the William Pike challenge. The first challenge is the Hawdon hut and Cave stream. I am really looking forward to this because we are doing so much cool stuff in just two days. We all have food groups and this means that in your group you have to supply breakfast and snacks for your group. Lucky me, I am on supplying breakfast(which is porridge). I will have to make it for breakfast some time in the weekend to see if I have got the quantities right!!!I also have to pack (Boo) this isn't my favourite activity!!!

Rakahuri rage

On Saturday I did the Rakahuri rage track twice with mum. It was really really hot and the only way I was getting round was the promise of a swim afterwards!!!!After the we had done we were about as red as tomatoes(I am not exaggerating) and it took us a while to cool down at the river. In the very near future I will go early in the morning.

Rakahuri Rage

My next challenge is the Rakahuri Rage mountain bike race. I am going in a team of two so I am going to have to train hard. I have done the track twice this year and I am slowly getting used to the changes on the track. I plan to do the track two times a week to get ready for the six hours of biking. The track takes about half an hour so I am expecting to get around six laps completed. Wish me luck!!!!