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. 

This year I did the Jeantex Trans Alp again.  It was the twelfth edition and is considered the “mother” of all mountain bike stage races.  Mountain bikers from 40 nations participated this year, from all over Europe, Australia, Iceland, Israel, South Korea and Costa Rica to mention a few countries.  The race this year was scheduled to start in Mittenwald and end in Riva del Garda – over 8 stages with 635km and more than 22,000 vertical meters of climbing – in other words, a ton of climbing (see below.)  I started without a partner, and hence was not in any specific category. 

Stage 1

I arrived in Mittenwald in freezing temperatures and blankets of rain – the mountain tops were white with snow and could not help but wonder how the hell we are going to get over the mountains alive…  Despite the rain, the town was abuzz with activity and all the riders were ready to go (wet, but ready.)  Then came the news – the first stage was cancelled and with German precision buses were arranged to take all the riders to Reith im Alpbachtal for the start of Stage 2 the next day.  I was on the first bus to Reith and arrived in some more rain.  It seemed like it will never stop raining.  I spend the day in the hotel looking at the rain…  Not extremely exciting, but hoping that the rain will stop to give us a chance to ride the following day.

Stage 2

The days stage has been shortened from 87km to 53km – cutting out Geiseljoch – a 2300m peak that was completely covered in snow.  So, after much anticipation, we left Reith and was on our way to Mayrhofen.  Since the distance was shortened, it was a really fast start and the winning team came in at 2h11min.  I struggled and could not really get any rhythm going and finished in 3h05min.  

Stage 3

I felt better today and was riding with the third group most of the way.  The day started out with a long climb and a 3km hike-a-bike near the top of the first climb (through snow and rocks…)  We also crossed the border from Austria to Italy.  It is also this border that is the border from cold to hot – it is truly amazing that once you are on the southern side of the Alps, the weather gets significantly better.  We were also going to 500 m asl.  All in all a good day.  

Stage 4

We were staying in Süd Tirol, going from Brixen to St. Christina.  Brixen is a very nice town, but St. Christina is absolutely breathtaking.  It is in the heart of the Dolomite’s and a very up market ski resort in the winter.  Prices in town reflected the “up market” side of things – for a small Apfel Schorle I paid €8 – normally it will cost €2.50…  Needless to say, I did not buy much while there.  The riding was also spectacular, we passed a small ski town called Covara and always had the Dolomite’s in sight – very nice ride for anyone interested in seeing the Dolomite’s.  It was also the day with the most climbing – almost 3,700 vm and I was pretty tired at the end of the day. 

Stage 5

Another big day – 82km with 3300 vm.  The big climb of the day was an uninterrupted climb of 1,700 vm and for me it truly felt like it was never going to end.  My back was giving me problems and all in all it was a very hard day.  On the positive side, the views were incredible.  Truly a good route for anyone wanting to see the Dolomite’s. 

Stage 6

The end is in sight – today we are heading to Kaltern, one of my favourite places in the world.  Lots of vineyards, orchards and stunning views.  Lots of single track and of course more climbing.  A long day with 77km and 3200 vm.  I finished the day not feeling very strong, but the end is in sight now… 

Stage 7

I stayed in a very nice hotel outside of Kaltern called Tramin.  To my surprise, this town gave birth to the wine Gewürztraminer, and in fact, the hotel where I stayed was one of the original farms where the wine was cultivated.  With this in my head, I started the first climb (1,400 vm) – the upside is that there are spectacular views from the top of Graunerjoch into the valley where I could make out the town of Tramin.  The day ended with a very steep climb of 600 vm to the town of Andalo.  I was very happy to finish since my back was truly killing me by now. 

Stage 8

The final day!  All that is laying between Andalo and Riva is a 1,500 vm mountain and then an insanely steep single track doen to the valley in which Riva lies.  It was good fun to try and ride most of the steep single track with many people going over their handle bars in the process (no serious injuries.)  The last 30 km was pretty quick and in no time I arrived in Riva – what a great feeling and privilege to have been able to do the Trans Alp again.  Hopefully I will be able to do it again in the future!