Always wear your helmet

After 3 days of eating toffee pops on our boat (and catching fish of course!) I decided I better get back to the programme. I needed to do a 3 hour bike ride. Problem - only an hour to do it. Blow it an hour is better than nothing.

Now my Grandma gave me many pieces of wise (at the time in her opinion) advice. The first was to do typing at school (the world needed secretaries not lady vets according to her). This was in 1979 when there were (yes it's hard to believe) no PC's. I took typing through to School C level, and actually did really well. It didn't interfere with my other core subjects nor my desire to be a vet. Wow am I grateful I did typing now! I can touch type very fast, a great asset in todays computer world!

The second thing she made me do was to buy a bike helmet when I went to Massey University. We all had bikes as students, apart from those in my class who got high paying jobs in the meat works etc. In 1984, bike helmets were for - shall I say it - geeks and lecturers (who also had bikes, as they were generally so poorly paid!)

So I joined in the brigade that wore helmets before they became compulsory - sigh!

Anyway the point of this post is that today I was grateful I was wearing a helmet. When I bike around the farm I generally don't, as I like the feeling of freedom! My plan was to practice lifting my bike over gates etc and go on the road for a short piece, so the helmet went on.

Anyway in the middle of my ride I was happily booting it down the cow tracks, thinking of a limerick which we need to write for the ARC adventure race. Good I thought - there's a new gateway there, and I can shoot through there and through the paddock to avoid going through the cows. Oh dear, too late - no gate - instead two high tensile electric fence wires!

I remember hitting them at speed, standing up to avoid being decapitated, bouncing off and then under the wire, collecting a biff on the ear, knees and elbows in the process. Ouch. Quick check to see if anyone saw, collected up myself and bike (made it to the other side of the fence!), rearranged my pride and continued on. My ear still hurts, and I've had to check that it is in fact still attached to my head!

So wherever you are Grandma - thanks!

By the way, I composed two limmericks, what do you think?

We’re about to embark, without even a squawk
On ARC’s Operation Nighthawk
Two lasses from Ngatea
Preferring a wine to a beer
Puffing so much we can’t talk

Two tarts on a mission
Operation night hawk calls for precision
Getting the map the right angle
Save’s our tit’s being in a tangle
And to finish by dark? – here’s wishing!

You put me off starting.............

We all need little bits of inspiration to keep our lives and goals in perspective.

The little words I am keeping in my head to help me reach my goals came from Pam this morning. Pam looks after Ella during the week so that I can keep up with our business, and do my training. Pam battles with weight like me. She was talking about her skinny niece who is doing Ironman NZ in 3 weeks time. I remarked that I should be skinny too, but I can't get any more weight off (I've actually put on 4.4 kg since Tauranga!)

She said 'Yes you put me off starting (to lose weight)' ...... because I appear to be working hard and not getting anywhere. If the truth be known, I am still eating too much - a muesli bar here, another bit of vogels there, etc etc.

So now I have some motivational words to say to myself every time I get tired from training, or feel like eating something I don't need.... 'you put me off starting....' .

I'll make sure Pam has no excuses in 6 months time!!!

Some of you are wondering what I'm up to - I'm training for this. Training involves rifle shooting and rock climbing!!! A bit terrifying for a 43 year old previously unadventurous type!

The year is 2015 and the country has just gone into it’s 2nd year of occupation by a hostile foreign power. The spectacular new oil discoveries of 2012, just as prices hit US$1,000 a barrel, rendered New Zealand too vulnerable in a world greedy for energy.

This hostile foreign power has an iron grip on the country and all contacts with the outside world have been completely stopped. Shipping and air travel had been suspended and telephone, radio, TV and internet access are all impossible with the high tech frequency blocks imposed throughout the land. From the perspective of the outside world it was as if NZ had ceased to exist as a country overnight.

The rest of the country’s economy was allowed to fall into disrepair. The resulting social decline, looting and criminal activity has quickly undermined the whole fabric of society and the only remnants of organisation are in the occupiers protection of the production and distribution of the “black gold”, it’s high frequency “blocking stations” and it’s policing of the coastline, ports, airspace and airports.

There is just a small glimmer of hope. An emerging resistance movement has gradually grown in strength with a steady recruitment from what remained of the armed services, police, fire brigades and the adventure racing community.

Around 250 of these clandestine groups are in hiding around the country. They are only able to communicate with one another via the use of old valve radios and morse code.

A tiny crack has appeared in the defenses of the occupying force which has given the resistance movement a small window of opportunity. A new technology has been developed in Britain that would render the occupiers blocking device ineffective. If this technology can be secured and implemented than the rest of the world will see the plight that has befallen the country and come to its rescue.

On the morning of the next March 14th a small submersible vessel will position itself, for a short period of time, at a secret location just off of the Coromandel coastline. They will provide a blocking deactivating device to each group than can rendezvous with them. Each device has its own activation code. Groups will then be dropped into the depths of enemy territory with the mission of finding the location of the North Island “Blocking Station’ known to be situated on a high spot in the Coromandel ranges. This station is heavily guarded.

At least one device needs to be placed within 20 metres of the station for it to be effective. The group must then return to a pre- determined base and provide the device code that will enable it to be activated.

There is less than a 1 in 100 chance of success and for that reason we are aiming to gather as many small groups that are courageous enough to try, as possible. You will have to run a gauntlet of enemy fire, there is a strong probability of ambush and due to the highly classified nature of this operation there will be times when you are blindfolded. Some of you may not return from this mission, but you can be assured that you will remembered for your bravery. If one ore more of the groups can get through unscathed it could save the country.

If you enter the next ARC Adventure Race, “Operation Night Hawk”, you will not only have the experience of a lifetime you will also have the chance to save your country.
The event has a special services category for teams from the Army, the SAS, the Air Force, the Navy, the Territorial’s, the Police, Fire Brigade and Ambulance. As well as the ARC 24 and 12 hour races with teams of 2 or 4, there will be a special 8 Hour ARC non- kayaking race for teams

of 2, 3 or 4.

If you look carefully there are ropes for abseiling on this otherwise beautiful waterfall!