One of the activities I like to do is paragliding.  I started paragliding in 2004 at Torrey Pines Glider Port (TPGP).  The flying at TPGP is slope soaring since there is a prevailing west wind coming in from the ocean.  When the conditions are right it is a wonderful place to fly and it is a particularly good spot to learn paragliding.  When the conditions are not right (cross wind or high wind gusts) flying is best left alone – I have witnessed some pretty bad accidents under these conditions at TPGP.  I have flown a number of other places in the world such as South Africa, Mexico, Germany, France, Austria and Salt Lake City, Utah as well.  The best flying that I have done is in the Alps – easy access to the mountain via cable cars and the scenery is spectacular. 

Flying in the mountains is more challenging than flying at TPGP due to thermals, tubulance and unpredictable weather conditions.  In 2005 I attend an SIV course at Lake Isabella, CA (SIV – French for “Simulation d’Incident en Vol”) to improve my wing control and to have a controlled environment to experience wing collapses etc.  In essence, to make you use to what you might encounter when flying in turbulence.  It normally takes place over a lake where you get towed in the air by a boat, do some crazy “maneuvers” such as asymmetric tucks, full frontal tucks, B line stalls, spirals, full stalls, spins, wing overs etc.  and then, hopefully land again safely on the shore.  The idea of doing it over a lake is that, in case something happens and you cannot get out of a spin or something, you can throw your reserve parachute and land in the water, which is soft compared to landing on uneven ground or rocks.  We were promised that the probability of this happening is remote and that we should follow the instructors’ instructions (relayed via a two way radio to you while flying) to the letter.  In our group there was a very avid videographer and he filmed our maneuvers.  In the video below are some of my maneuvers that he captured.  In particular, I was in for a lot more than I bargained for – at take off, a twig got caught in my lines and while I was doing an asymmetric tuck, the one side of my wing got stuck and I went into an uncontrollable spin.  I was pretty freaked out and had to throw my reserve parachute.  I was pretty rattled and certainly will never forget the experience!  I guess to a certain extent it was a good experience since I now have the knowledge to through my parachute if needed when I am flying in the mountains.  Nevertheless, certainly one of those life moments not to be forgotten – and I have it all on film!

Preceeding the Crocodile Trophy, Pieter and I had three weeks leading up to the race during which we drove almost 3,000km from Brisbane to Cairns, sidestepping frequently from Bruce Highway in order to cycle in National Parks and to visit beautiful coastal towns and islands.

It was a fantastic tour exploring the highlights of Queensland, which included scuba diving and snorkeling on the outer Great Barrier Reef from a platoon located 100km offshore from Airlie Beach and the Whitsun Islands, and a microlight flight over the rainforests of the wet tropics. From the air we spotted schools of sting-rays, huge water turtles, and Pieter even got to see sharks. We also visited Frasier Island; the largest sand island in the world and cycled though National Parks like Girringum were the nightlife was particularly exotic (snakes, kangaroo, wallaby, poisonous frogs, spiders, etc.). On our bikes, Magpie birds regularly attacked us from behind until locals told us about their territorial behavior during breeding season, and the simple defense solution of cable ties sticking out from the helmet. I have video that proof the vicious attacks!

Active as we were, we stilled our immense appetite by savoring through pastie shops, restaurants and the tiny kitchen of our camper. Our favorite discovery was exotic fruits from the friendly farm stalls along the road. Custard apple and sapote, aka the chocolate fruit (no kidding), turned even Pieter into a fruit lover.

We gathered with the other Crocodile Trophy riders and supporters on October 19th in Cairns to begin what would be a true adventure throughout Queensland. The riders were greeted by pouring rain, which came after a long spell of drought in this region of Australia. The actual race start at the esplanade in downtown Cairns was low-key with a strangely quiet atmosphere. The odd silence at the start made me think that the 80 riders must feel worried about what they had signed up for: facing stiff competition, changing weather and a very long way ahead. Then I realized that the organization had simply forgotten to arrange for any accommodating, heart pumping music such as “Highway to Hell”.  Meeting superstar Milan and other competitors in the Master class, Pieter invariably knew that he was in for 10 hard days.

Each day started at 5 am with a vociferous and bizarre wake-up call of exotic birds including parrots, brush turkeys and all sorts of kookaburra. Never to be seen on this trip, however, was the elusive cassowary that worried us all after many cautionary tails. As Pieter’s personal supporter I drove our bush-camper over rugged terrain, through sandy creeks of the outback, and rivers of the rainforest and certainly brushed up on my 4×4 skills! It is impossible to imagine how difficult and hard it must have been to ride the race distance of 1,250 kilometers on a mountain bike in temperatures over 40° Celsius. Since I simply don’t have the means to describe Pieter’s exerting yet rewarding experience of coming in 5th in the Masters, and cannot tell the experience of any of his competitors, I hope they will post here as well and share some of their thoughts.  From my perspective, it was a fantastic experience and I will never forget the amazing wilderness of the outback including an up-close and personal meeting with wallabies and their pouched babies in Granite Gorge. Most fondly I remember, however, having met some really great people from all over the globe, like Milan, Chris, Sam, Terry, Anne, Mo, Brigitte, Alison, Abby, Scott, Eugen, Duri, and many others. My fondness of the continent down under has grown even further and I tip my hat to all Aussies who let us enjoy their exceptional comradeship and warm hospitality.

This was the second time that I attempted the Trans Rockies – the first was in 2007, but I managed only the first 3 days.  I crashed and fractured my wrist and could not complete the race.  This year, I did it with Jon Gould a previous winner of the Masters category.

How was the Trans Rockies this year?  Cold, wet, muddy and brutal.  I think that sums it up pretty well.  A normally difficult ride turned into an unforgetably muddy encounter with temperatures below 10 °C most of the time, with the occasional snow in the mountains.  To train for the Trans Rockies you need mountain bike skills and a lot of hike-a-bike skills, especially in the wet weather we experienced.