One Lump at a Time

Q: 'How do you eat an Elephant?'

A: One lump at a time.

Much has happen over the past few weeks but none of it has any great importance, so you might stop reading now.

Conversely, I seem to have munched my way through a mountain of stuff and I'm not neccessarily talking about Chrimo food intake. True, I had to find some bigger trousers to wear, recently, as I was podged out from Winterslobitis, but is was due to relative inactivity rather than big fat dinners. 'One lump at a time' refers to a number of projects, each of which has been ticked off in turn.

Straight after Boxing Day I spent an amazing three days on the Isle of Skye whilst suffering from Sciatic and an increasingly numb left leg. The purpose of the trip was to familiarize myself with the greater reaches of the island in preparation for 'The Heb'. It should, by now be common knowledge that I am Race Director for 2009, and that The Heb will have a two day 'Phase One' on Skye before paddling The Minch out to Harris and Lewis for the remainder of the week and 'Phase Two'.

I'm only the Race Director, which is a bit of a misnomer as Steph is Event Organiser and Gavin Event Route Planner, so my role is very secondary to those wonderful people. The Heb is the best 'Adventure Race' in the UK. This year, (and maybe for one year only?) you can sample The Heb Magic with two days of Phase One if you can't manage the whole week. The change is 'different' and a brave move, but it's time to ring the changes. Please come along .... preferably to do the whole week.

The dramatic weather on Skye was a little bit frustrating; not being able to walk or run more than a mile for Sciatic kicked in. I was able to cycle so rode so good MTB trails instead, but leaving Glenbrittle on a perfectly still frosty morning was hard. (I had been there, seemingly alone, for 15 hours in -6 degrees) Rassay was nice, too. On the way home I cycled from Glenshee Ski station south along The West Highland Way, again in glorious sub-zero weather, to Victoria Bridge and The Inveroran Hotel, which unfortunately was closed when a 'Full Scottish' would have been very welcome. It seemed like the Hotel hasn't see the sun for several weeks and with the temperature well below freezing I need to ride hard back up the WHW for a couple of km to generate heat and find some 'rays' ....man! Not the most demanding of trails but great scenery. Do it from Inveroran, the other direction, with The Kingshouse as mid-way refreshment spot. The Inveroran Hotel would be a good base to stay. All in all, a very good trip.

As cycling is relatively pain free Keith and myself had the target of the classic 'C2C' ride over New Year. Starting from Whitehaven on New Year's Eve we planned to cycle back to our house near Penrith on Day One. Whilst the good folk of Whitehaven Tesco's are probably used to cyclist donning layers of lycra, they probably hadn't seen one person donning that many layers, at lunch time on New Years Eve. Only the Swan getting to grips (or not) with the concept of walking on water as the Inner harbour was frozen over, looked more incongruent.

We made it home in about five hours of freezing fog, not counting the hour of steaming hot-aches in Whinlatter cafe, where more sweat left my body than during the whole ride. New Year's eve was defferent this year, especially with the thought of a long day ahead to Sunderland.

Up early, to a dark and frost morning we had bike lights on, due to fog and gloom, for the spin along the main road before the climb to Hartside. (1900' tall, it is, and boringly tedious - look over you shoulder and pray for a good day) The sun did come out momentarily around Long Meg Stone Circle, as I took a photo to prove it, and I'm now certain I'm a druid. A stiff eastly breeze built steadily towards top and the obligatory photo stop at the summit was taken in winchill factors of brass monkey proportions.

The problem with winter cycling is that it's lot worse then summer cycling; you get sweating on a climb and then freeze your bits off on the descents. Stuff newspaper down your jersey? No way - a duvet didn't help. Such was the ride over the Pennines, that by Allenheads, at lunchtime, we'd had enough. Keith succinctly announced that, 'he'd enjoy the remainder if we came back tomorrow', so we did. Fortunately, the support team agreed, especially as the driver was too hungover to be allowed to drive to The North East. Eating and drinking in sub-zero conditions had been impossible made even harder by big festive evening meals and medicinal beer intake.

Day Three. And a relatively early start; we returned soberly to Allenheads. With one last wee climb we tipped into Upper Weardale for a whizz down the dale and the short twiddle upto ParkHead Cafe. What a place? Biking cafe from heaven! And all down hill until the sea. Nigh on 40 miles.It really is a great route ... roll on summer.

The next day did command a 'Rest Day' not least because Dave Chief Carbo, Wilko, and Paul H, appeared bright and eagerly to sauntered around the 'Old Crown Round' and there was no way I could hold them up. Capt. Evans award for me, and Sports Personality Award to Stu Smith. The rest of the team undertook suitable undertakings before an evening in The Old Crown, and a night at our secret Camping Barn .... which will remain secret as it too good to share. Sunday did dawn fair and bright, and with rock hard perma frost under our tyres a loop of The Knott and Great Sca Fell was accomplished in conditions probably never to be repeated.

Whizz forward a week and it's now wet and windy. Too windy to venture out and even skulk in the garage, unless I want to lose the garage door. Therefore, website stuff has been prepared for launch, including the details of the inaugural NAV4 Syposium. These will be on the website shortly. Basically, £35 buys you two nights B+B at the bunkhouse, along with free porridge and a Symposium Supper. And a Symposium. An additional £40 buys you a 'workshop' of your choice. It will be fun! Book early.

GL3Day info is also to be uploaded and advanced info has gone out to existing mail-listees. See http://www.joefaulkner.com/ for full info in due course. Some places still remain available for our NAV4 course at the end of March. Drop me an email, to faulknerjoe@hotmail.com if you need info on any of these happenings, or if you have questions regarding The Heb, etc, suitbale for myself, and I'll see if I can answer them.

I think that is an accurate round up of recent occurrences - the elephant has slowly been digested, and I'm now back in regular sized jeans.

Happy New Year. Indeed.

Joe
faulknerjoejoe@hotmail.com
http://www.joefaulkner.com/