Switchback Turns: How to Corner on a Mountain Bike.

Gabriel    mountainbikingholidays, Pro Tips     bike skills, Cornering on a mountainbike, Mountain Bike, mountain biking, MTB, riding a mountain bike

Road biking is a lovely sport. The slow, undulating, smooth pavement gives a perfect focus for the rider. As the road turns, so do you. As the road climbs, so do you. This isn’t always the case when you’re on a mountain bike in narrow single track that zig-zags up a steep bank.

Most people don’t ever leave the comfort of a double-track forest path or dirt road because steep switchbacks (180 degree turns on steep terrain) are very challenging. But with a bit of balance, the novice mountain biker can easily reach the advanced level, increasing the fun they have off-road.

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Well Travelled? 10 countries you haven’t visited

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts     Adventure Travel, Countries of the World, exploration, International travel, round the world, Travel

The world has got a lot smaller: Not true. We like to think that with the help of modern technology – including airplanes – we’ve been there, seen it all, or are at least aware of every country and place there is to care about.

However, just a little research reveals parts of Earth long discovered and named that most of us know nothing about – it shows that even though we think it revolves around us, the world remains ‘out there’ ready for adventure travel.

So, here are ten countries to get travellers Googling…

Think you've seen it all?

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

When the CIA Factbook doesn’t even have a picture of it, you know you haven’t been there. In fact, the only people who visit  are Indonesian fishermen. To find them, head due south from Timor, halfway to Australia.

Ross Dependency

Antarctica from 160˚east to 150˚ west, that’s the Ross Dependency. So bleak, only scientists go there. It’s long been claimed by New Zealand and it’s massive! Most of the 413,540 sq km is permanent ice shelf – good for lichen, moss and 18 species of penguin. The waters here are nutrient rich, and loved by seals who share their home only with icebergs and the occasional boffin.

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The AZAB Race: On route to the Azores

Mark Pawlak    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts, sailingbreaks, Tribe Sailing Blogs     AZAB, AZAB 2011, AZAB race, Azures, James Hardiman, Sail4cancer, Sailing, Sailing for charity

James Hardiman is sailing the Azores And Back race (AZAB). Now in Ponta Delgado, he can tell the first part of his story:

All went well in the race – generally we had a really pleasing result for 2 corinthian sailors up against some seriously experienced ocean racers. We pushed hard for 9 days, not relenting once. Had a few boat breakages but all is well. The boat is Swedish – so strongly built! I now feel very tired after 9 days and 9 nights of no sleep, bad food and living at 45 degree angle in a wet and noisy, slamming hell hole! (Boat slams against waves as you try to sleep).

AZAB Race 2011

Each night I managed about 2 hrs max. The whole boat is soaked and I have lost a lot of electrical equipment due to flooding from general wave ingress, so we have a lot of drying to do. We finally finished at 08.18 this am to  a gun and small welcome committee in Porto Delgada. We were the 17^th to finish, but are currently 18^th on the leader board after handicap. This may change.

I am proud to say we were the first “cruiser/racer” boat to arrive – all other boats here before us are true race machines.

We have had an eventful race to say the least, here’s a round up:

1.     The start was fretful as I had to go up the mast twice to untangle lines (halyards) only 10 mins before our start gun in Falmouth. Incidentally, I believe there are good photos of our boat at the start on the azab website. Professional photos – so they would be better to use. We will pay for them so order shat you need and bill them to us.

2.     Nevertheless we got a good start and were still 3^rd boat in class over the line!

3.     The first leg was windward and in lovely sunshine and light winds. That evening we sadly discovered that our entire fresh water supply had leaked and we had only about 20 litres remaining from our 165l tank. Not good. We then set about tipping all our wine and spirits down the sink to bottle up what water remained in the tank. I even filled the saucepans and left them on the gimballed stove so they wouldn’t spill. Every available container was used!

4.     That night the wind increased but it was pleasant sailing. The next day we were 11^th in the whole field due to a good nights run but we soon lost that becasue we took a line to the Azores straight through two low pressure weather systems and had a bit of a beating. Most other boats skirted round the lows and did better in the end!

James Hardiman

5.     Another main event was our Autopilot broke on day 3. This is quite serious because then it meant we had to hand steer all the way and take 2-3 hr watches, dep on weather. So the whole race has been hard. Other boats (3 I believe) actually retired with similar auto pilot (self steering) problems so it gives you an idea of the problem

6.     Next problem was in a big windy night we lost the sail (a halyard broke and down it came). That took us over an hour to sort at 2am in wind and rain – Not nice.

7.     Day 4 we were surfing at over 17 knots (which is a lot) and feels like a total sleigh ride! It was shortly after that when we nearly hit a whale. Bigger than theboat! That really shook us up. If you hit one of those poor beasts at that speed (or any speed) damage to the boat is often catastrophic. We would have perhaps lost the vessel, so it was a sobering experience.

8.     Day 5 was horrid – we lost all wind after a force 7 (yachtsmans gale as some call it). So from 30kts + to 0kts – a massive contrast. No wind might sound sublime but it is a sailors nightmare. Slapping sails means the boat rolls and is so heart numbing when racing.

9.     As if it couldn’t get worse, after another good run and a forecast finish position of 11^th – we then hit more high pressure and a massive wind hole for almost 12 hours! We slipped to something like 43^rd position as other boats had taken a different course to avoid this high. We blundered into it – and deserved it!

10.   We then got the tail end of another low and had a downwind ride at good speed to regain a high leader board position – back to the top of the fleet again!

11.   Alas worse was to come. When we finally sighted the Azores it was a happy moment after 8 days at sea. The sun shone and the end was nigh. However we got too close to the east side of the island as we were rounding it to finish on the southern side. We (and 3 other boats) sat in a wind shadow of the island for another half day (12 hrs). At 2am this morning I had more flapping sails and spirits so low. The wind finally kicked in at about 6am and we finished the last 15 miles or so under spinnaker (big yellow one) and good boat speed. iGOSKi was flying! In fact so fast we had to round up and douse all sails just before the line so as not to wipe out the welcome boat!

12.   Now: We have lots of boat repairs and the good people at Arcona in Hamble will help us sort of steering probem. The  boat needs serious drying out and I must catch up on work. 9 days before the return leg to sleep, eat and repair!

To support James’s AZAB challenge visithttp://www.sail4cancer.org/JamesAzab2011

Find out more about the race at AZAB 2011 and more about his nominated charitySail 4 Cancer

‘Riding the World’ – 5 Mountains, 5 Continents, all in 5 Days?

Neil Skilton    Adventure Sports & Travel Thoughts, snowboardingholidays, Top 10s     chamonix, Chile, off piste, piste, ski resort, ski resorts, Skiing, Snowboarding

Ok, I enjoy a challenge, but this time I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew.  What started off as an incoherent, passing thought is slowly rising up from the depths of my subconscious and beginning to take over any normal, rational thinking I may have once possessed.

Image: Flickr/ggvic

Snowboarding on five different mountains, on five different continents.  In five days?!  It certainly has a nice ring to it, and as far as challenging adventures go, it’s pretty high up there.  It sounds like a nice idea – get to travel to some interesting locations, visit new mountains and ski new resorts.  Ski in South Africa!  Who can honestly say they’ve done (or even thought about doing) that?  Definitely a story to tell the grandkids, and probably the first story you told to their grandmother!

Preliminary research however illuminated some stark facts and revealed more than a few logistical nightmares.  What time of year to go?  What countries to visit?  What order to visit them in?  The distance between continents is staggering in places, and flight times are disconcerting.

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The Simple Pleasures of a Bike Ride

Toni Shaw    ash, mountainbikingholidays     cycling, cycling equipment, London to Brighton, Mountain Bike, Mountian Biking, riding

For two weeks of every year, tennis courts around the country are filled with amateur players, panting and grunting in a vain attempt to imitate the pros. The Wimbledon championship inspires us Brits to dust off our rackets and brush up on our ball skills, and as soon as it’s over, they get quietly neglected again. So with the same enthusiasm for the London to Brighton bike ride this month, I decided to uncover my mountain bike from the depths of the garage, pump up the tyres and hit the road. After carefully planning our route, described as ‘ambitious’ by some, we were off with the sun shining and the wind in our hair…

It took less than a mile to realise that my £20 Toys-R-Us bike just wasn’t going to cut it. Now, I know a good workman never blames his tools but I think it was fair to say that this time, the tools were shoddy, at best. Obviously a certain amount of physical fitness is required (mine being distinctly average), but having the right gear can make all the difference. A bike with a lighter frame helps you glide through the wind, rather than struggling with every peddle, and a high number of gears means you can adapt to even the slightest of hills. A bike that works with you strengthens your endurance and, frankly, makes the whole experience more enjoyable.

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Top Five Kite Surfing Tips for Beginners – How to Stay Safe

Paul McWilliams    ash, kiteboardingholidays     Adventure Sports, kite surfing, kiteboarding, kitesurfing, kitesurfing holidays, Safety, Safety Tips

One of the fastest growing and most exhilarating sports in the world, kite surfing can give you a rush unlike any other. Kite surfers are capable of reaching frightening speeds and getting almost unbelievable air (check out Lewis Crathern jumping over Brighton Pier in the UK, if you don’t believe us) but it can also be pretty dangerous. So it’s vital when starting out to ensure you’re riding as safely as possible. Here are our top five tips for staying safe, making the most of your kite surfing experience and avoiding what is known as a ‘kitemare’.

Protect Yourself

Make sure you have all the necessary safety equipment. Helmets and vests can save your life. Ok, you might feel a bit restricted and let’s face it, no one looks great in a helmet, but in the event of a collision or a board leash propelling the board at your head, it might just save your life.

Know the line

Watch out for lines, and not just power lines. One of the most common causes of accidents is getting caught, tangled or hit by your own kite lines. These things can move at quite a speed and can cause ugly injuries (lost fingers anyone?) so make sure you keep an eye on them and always carry a hook safety knife to cut yourself free from tangled lines.

Communication

Always let someone know where you are going but it’s best to try and always go with a friend. Let the authorities know if any thing goes wrong, even if you have lost a board at sea. This might be a minor annoyance to you, but it could be worse if they think that a kite surfer has been lost at sea.

Be sensible

Fairly obvious we know, but follow a few simple rules and you can significantly reduce your chances of having an accident. Avoid power lines and rocks, and always make sure you keep a safe distance from others. Hitting the water might hurt but not as much as another boarder or the rocks. Always check the weather before you go and avoid offshore winds. Get caught in one of those and it’s a long swim back to the shore.

Know your limits

Kite surfing is going to be fun and it’s going to be fast, but only when you are sufficiently practiced to know what you’re doing. Winds can reach incredible speeds and they don’t have much regard for what you’re doing. It’s easy to get overpowered and out of control and then you become a danger to yourself and everyone else.

Stick to these simple principles and there’s no reason you can’t have a lifetime’s worth of adrenaline rushes from kite surfing. But whatever you do, please don’t go trying to jump over a pier. Let’s leave that to the professionals.

Turkey tip for sailing enthusiasts

Mark Pawlak    ash, sailingbreaks, Tribe Sailing Blogs     Istanbul, Sailing, Sailing Holidays, Turkey, Turkish holidays, Yacht charters

Tourists looking for an activity holiday in Europe this year could do worse than arrange yacht charters in Turkey or go flotilla sailing in the country. With more than 5,000 miles of breathtaking coastline, holidaymakers have an array of choices at their fingertips when selecting potential destinations in Turkey.

When not enjoying the spray of the sea, people can head inland to experience adrenaline-surging activities such as rock-climbing and trekking excursions, or they can don their wetsuits for white water rafting.

Joanna Marsh, PR co-ordinator for the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office, also recommended that “a hot air balloon ride over the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia is another experience not to be missed”.

The office has also suggested that visitors make a trip to Istanbul, a city which it claims has a unique culture and must be visited by travellers at least once in their life.