6/26/10

TERRACE DOWNS DEFI MULTISPORT RACE


An artical I wrote for Marmot NZ:
On April 24.2010 I took part in Terrace Downs Defi multisport race based at Rakaia Gorge in South Island, NZ. The weather was making everyone little bit worried as it was forecast southerly wind and rain. Not what you hope for a 129km race! I have chosen to start the race in bike shirt, arm warmers and my MARMOT MICA jacket and review it after first stage. During the 30km MTB leg it wasn’t raining yet, but the jacket kept nicely the wind off. Thanks to its good breathability I was not sweaty underneath so have decided to keep it on for the next stage – 38 km kayak down grade 2 Rakaia River through its famous gorge.
Run to the river, fast transition and I was off for 2,5 hrs paddle down the river. The weather man was right this time -the cold southerly wind and rain has arrived. I was very happy for my decision to keep my MICA jacket on for the paddle. It protected me from the waves as well as from rain. It was so good to see my support crew at the end of the kayak leg. High energy food, bike shoes, helmet and I was away for 47km road bike stage. The cold rain was still hammering me hard! My hands were so cold I had trouble to change gears or hold drink bottle. I was really surprised that the jacket was still keeping me dry, after all those hours of rain.
Last transition, more food, running shoes, fuel belt and I was ready for 13 km run through native bush and farm land. The rain finally eased off!
I crossed the finish line after 6,5 hrs, and months of training for this race. Exhausted but happy. The MICA jacket exceeded my expectation and it will be in my racing kit from now on. It’s incredibly light, still waterproof and breathable.
Thank you Marmot for such a great jacket.

Sharp 6


For the last 2 seasons I was racing VOK Sprinter which I was happy with. Since kayaking is still my weekest discipline I have decided to step up, challenge myselfe, upgrade and bought Sharp 6. Beautiful boat. Suprisingly not much tippier then my old Sprinter. Since then had another follow-up kayak lesson from Ian Edmond in Christchurch. My goal through the winter is work on my kayak technique, so hoping that my results will improve this season.

6/25/10

Poulter River, Arthur's Pass


5.-6.6.2010 Lucka + Radim a Mila , vyrazili na 3 denni vypravu na kolech. Start nebyl zrovna podle planu nebot Radim prijel na domluveny sraz skoro o 2hodiny dele. Byli jsme bez signalu na telefon a tak jsme ani nevedeli co se s Radimem deje. Ale my jsme opet odpustili.yrazili jsme neco po jedne a diky Lucky genialnimu napadu jsme si jizdu na kole jeste prodlouzili o 13km - abychom se pry zahrali nez pojedem do toho terenu... a ze jsme se zahrali... bylo to az prekvapive jak takovy velky bagl (10-15kg) cloveka rozhodi,zpomali a unavi... Ale pocasi nam pralo a az na to ze jsme se diky opozdenemu startu a prodlouzene trase nemohli moc zastavovat na odpocinky ktere bychom uvitali, jelo se docela dobre. Cestu nam zpestrilo par strmych kopecku -hodne tlaceni a studene ricky ktere se nam ne vzcycky podarili prejet ci preskocit.
K prvni boude se nam podarilo dojet jeste za svetla a nebot Radim prohlasil ze dal uz opravdu nejede – jak ho ten zadek boli - zakotvili jsme tam, i kdyz puvodni plan byl dojet jeste o 7km dal a odtamtud se dalsi den vydat v behacich botkach a jen s malym batuzkem na denni vypravu do kopcu. Zapalil jsem ohen v kamnech a za nedlouho se Hut naplnil dalsimi prichozimi kteri prisli peso z druhe strany kopce. V Hutu pro 16lidi bylo nahle plno a to pak v noci jeste dva dobrodruzi dorazili za tmy - ty uz teda spali na zemi...
No a v noci se prihnal slibeny dest a rano lilo jak z konve, navic predpoved radia hlasila dest cely den a na dalsi den (kdy bychom se pak meli vracet) mel napadnout snih do 400m , a my byli v 700m Tak jsme si chvili polenosili, procetli si historicke magaziny co se tam za leta nahromazdili, udelali si velkou snidani a jeste vetsi obed(jidlo v batohu je vzycky to nejtezsi) a s odlehcenymi bagly (teda Radim tvrdil ze snad ho ma jeste tezsi...) vyrazili na cestu zpet. Meli jsme i docela stesti nebot dest dokonce i zeslabil a po chvili uplne ustal. Zpatky se jelo docela prijemne rekla bych ze to bylo mirne zkopecka, az na ty kopce , no a za necele 4 hodinky jsme byli zpatky u auta...
Moc pekna zimni vyprava, ale uz se tesim az budeme moci v lete kdy budou delsi dny , uskutecnit cely plan vcetne denni vypravy v behacich botech.