I'm not sure this would ever have appeared on my bucket list but today I went gliding. Gadget decided I needed a wake up call from the endless cycling and running so presented me with a gliding voucher for one of those birthday's that shall not be named. I nearly forgot. When it finally occurred to me that there was an expiry on this gift, I had wasted a whole summer and apparently the best gliding time. What do I know about thermals and best and worst seasons? So I duly presented myself at the Magaliesberg Gliding Club this fine wintry Sunday morning. I saw the windsock showing some activity but alas, wind doesn't seem to be a pre-requisite for getting the balsa wood and fibre glass contraption off the ground. I must have looked like I knew what I was doing because I was asked if I was the Duty Officer as I arrived. It was my "pilot" who asked showing very poor judgement! For his sins, he got lumped with taking me up. The group I approached knew nothing about my contact person there but took over the arrangements with aplomb and lots of enthusiasm. It was all happening a bit too fast for me. The plane was tilted on the grassy runway looking very small and about two inches from the ground. I decided I wanted the real deal so opted for the winch launch (I don't know all the correct terminology) as opposed to being towed by a small plane. A very thin cable with a parachute lay partially concealed in the grass and I believe it tows at about 100km/hour. A quick loading of a parachute and instructions on its use followed - that was really going to help! I could just see me extricating myself from a four point safety belt system, unlocking the canopy, hurling myself out and pulling the rip cord all in that order. But, Chris the pilot said, he had no plans to ditch the plane in mid air. He added later that he had ditched it into muddy fields several times in his flying career, joy of joys! And of course there were the snide comments about the barf bag! Unfortunately, there was an odour lurking from the previous week when the occupant had apparently ditched their breakfast. Uh uh - no way. I was not going that route. Then there was a bit of waggling of the controls, some radio coms and the cable came to life and we were off. it was noisier than I thought with the wind whistling past the canopy but we were airborne so quickly and steeply, it was freaky. One is used to the rumbling of a jet engine down a tarmac strip building in crescendo before taking off - not here. At about 1500 feet, the cable jettisoned itself and we were free and flying. Chris kept a running commentary to what was going on which made me feel a lot more in control but it was a strange motion with lots of corkscrewing to keep on a thermal. We stayed at that height for a while but then started to drop altitude a bit. Chris manfully worked at the controls and used all of his 30 years of training to find us stronger thermals but we were circling the drain. Damn winter weather! There comes a point where one has to call it quits and he had already decided that it was safer to go back and land. We turned (again) and headed in a slightly different direction (yes, these things are very mobile as you'll read) and all of a sudden picked up a strong thermal and we climbed and climbed and climbed. There was much less corkscrewing and just more lift. The buzzer that indicated ascent and descent was constant beeping instead of whining and all of a sudden, reaching the clouds was an option (literally). We reached close to 10 000 feet which was incredible - the panorama of the region laid out for miles around. Then the fun and games started. Chris, having done the impossible, could relax and show off some of his skills and exactly what the plane could do. He showed me how they chase thermals when racing cross country and we reached speeds of about 170km/hour. As you hit the next thermal, you start turning to gain height and all of this is done on feel and visual cues - amazing. Good, kind pilot that he was, Chris kept asking me if I was ok. Silly me - I said yes and we launched into a complete loop. I briefly opened my eyes and saw the ground above me. Freaky with no engine to power out. I had done that in a Harvard aerobatic plane (name dropper I know) but this was way cooler. Then we sped off in a direct line to see how much speed we could get and I swear it was heading towards the 200kmk/hour mark. I felt as if I was in a fighter plane with the narrow cockpit, clear canopy and speed. We did a few slidey things (the name escapes me) where you do half turns and bank rather steeply and then, just for laughs, we did another 360 loop. I kept my eyes open for this one. Then it was all the pre-landing checks and we glided into land. Smoother than many a 747 landing I've had. Chris, Martin, Peter (the other newbie) - thanks for a great morning. And to Gadget - that was an awesome gift, one I'll remember for a very long time.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Friday, June 10, 2011
Busy June
The year is almost over - I exaggerate not. It seemed just the other day I updated this blog with all the activities.
Now its months down the road.
I've found an editor for my Nanowrimo novels, @gardengodmother and I have started running more seriously even including track work, I entered Ride2Rhodes for some inspiration and I spent four days last weekend hiking in the magnificent Drakensberg.
Like I said....Busy, busy.
Ian had a drink to many last year when we were in the foothills of the Drakensberg and suggested we go and hike "that sucker". He rustled up to other Capetonian mates, Simon and James and the date was set for early June.
The only problem was the discrepancy in the term - hike.
The Myth and I mission when we go, covering bigger distances than considered normal and we somehow failed to convey this to our coastal brethren. The food list should have given us our first clue - brie cheese, cucumber, baby tomoatoes, humus, cos lettuce, exotic mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and olives.....you get the picture. The Myth and I - well, Outback dried meals. lightweight crackers and snacks and some Jack Daniels for comfort.
There was plainly a problem looming which was exacerbated by the taking of the espresso coffee pot and ground coffee.
The plan was to hike up Icidi Pass to the cave on top and work our way across the escarpment to Easter cave before descending back down via Ntonjelana Pass. Hint: the best kept secret of the Mweni area of the Berg is the Mweni Cultural centre. What a fantastic base to begin from. Agrippa (head honcho) organised a taxi to get us to the end of the road which saved about 7km of walking and we organised with the driver to meet us four days later on another road with an aproximate time - saving another 5km of hard walking.
It was perfect weather - sunny and cool and before long we had stopped at the river to brew coffee! Confusion between GPS routes (new school) and map routes (old school) had us split up before long and eventually we re-united with a very tired James finally arriving at the second river stop. We'd lost time so we bashed our way further upstream before calling it a day and bivvying in the boulder strewn river bed.
Eish - the hike up the river to the looming exit and steep climb to the escarpment hung over us and the quads quailed at the prospect. But we made it and flopped down out the wind at the top. (This sentence does not do justice to the effort)
Re-arranging our route plans meant heading for Mbundini cave - which we missed, ending up at Rat Hole cave. Literally a long narrow passage with a slightly wider area at the back. Ian and James were offended at the name and its implications and decided to try and find Fangs cave. Nobody knows what they found but it was an overhang keeping out the worst of the cold.
The hike to Mponjawane cave was a big one with a howling wind which forced us to lean at crazy angles. while we walked. Many of the rivers were frozen solid on top of the escarpment. It was a long day but oh, so worth it. It is one of the most spectacular outlooks in the Berg: Mponjwane Pinnacle (Rockeries Tower) is mysterious and the view extends for miles over the community lands far below.
As it got dark, it started to snow. The flakes grew larger and world grew silent. It didn't last long but the morning still brought a white world and mist to five weary hikers. The descent down Rockeries was misty but there was no wind so clothes were stripped off as we descended. The views were non existent but every now and then the mist would lift her skirts and we would see massive cliffs and deep river cracks.
Then it was over. Bongani met us as promised (my feet and hips were very grateful) and it was hot showers, spare ribs in Harrismith and home to icy cold weather.
And now its off to Pietermaritzburg for the Ride2Rhodes - the first 6 days of the Freedom Challenge Race Across South Africa (www.freedomchallenge.org.za)
Now its months down the road.
I've found an editor for my Nanowrimo novels, @gardengodmother and I have started running more seriously even including track work, I entered Ride2Rhodes for some inspiration and I spent four days last weekend hiking in the magnificent Drakensberg.
Like I said....Busy, busy.
Ian had a drink to many last year when we were in the foothills of the Drakensberg and suggested we go and hike "that sucker". He rustled up to other Capetonian mates, Simon and James and the date was set for early June.
The only problem was the discrepancy in the term - hike.
The Myth and I mission when we go, covering bigger distances than considered normal and we somehow failed to convey this to our coastal brethren. The food list should have given us our first clue - brie cheese, cucumber, baby tomoatoes, humus, cos lettuce, exotic mushrooms, sundried tomatoes and olives.....you get the picture. The Myth and I - well, Outback dried meals. lightweight crackers and snacks and some Jack Daniels for comfort.
There was plainly a problem looming which was exacerbated by the taking of the espresso coffee pot and ground coffee.
The plan was to hike up Icidi Pass to the cave on top and work our way across the escarpment to Easter cave before descending back down via Ntonjelana Pass. Hint: the best kept secret of the Mweni area of the Berg is the Mweni Cultural centre. What a fantastic base to begin from. Agrippa (head honcho) organised a taxi to get us to the end of the road which saved about 7km of walking and we organised with the driver to meet us four days later on another road with an aproximate time - saving another 5km of hard walking.
It was perfect weather - sunny and cool and before long we had stopped at the river to brew coffee! Confusion between GPS routes (new school) and map routes (old school) had us split up before long and eventually we re-united with a very tired James finally arriving at the second river stop. We'd lost time so we bashed our way further upstream before calling it a day and bivvying in the boulder strewn river bed.
Eish - the hike up the river to the looming exit and steep climb to the escarpment hung over us and the quads quailed at the prospect. But we made it and flopped down out the wind at the top. (This sentence does not do justice to the effort)
Re-arranging our route plans meant heading for Mbundini cave - which we missed, ending up at Rat Hole cave. Literally a long narrow passage with a slightly wider area at the back. Ian and James were offended at the name and its implications and decided to try and find Fangs cave. Nobody knows what they found but it was an overhang keeping out the worst of the cold.
The hike to Mponjawane cave was a big one with a howling wind which forced us to lean at crazy angles. while we walked. Many of the rivers were frozen solid on top of the escarpment. It was a long day but oh, so worth it. It is one of the most spectacular outlooks in the Berg: Mponjwane Pinnacle (Rockeries Tower) is mysterious and the view extends for miles over the community lands far below.
As it got dark, it started to snow. The flakes grew larger and world grew silent. It didn't last long but the morning still brought a white world and mist to five weary hikers. The descent down Rockeries was misty but there was no wind so clothes were stripped off as we descended. The views were non existent but every now and then the mist would lift her skirts and we would see massive cliffs and deep river cracks.
Then it was over. Bongani met us as promised (my feet and hips were very grateful) and it was hot showers, spare ribs in Harrismith and home to icy cold weather.
And now its off to Pietermaritzburg for the Ride2Rhodes - the first 6 days of the Freedom Challenge Race Across South Africa (www.freedomchallenge.org.za)
Monday, March 7, 2011
Catching Up
We're well into March and there hasn't been a shortage of goings on especially on the cycling front. The Alchemy Trail is two weeks away and we spent the weekend checking out the BIG day. What a difference to September last year - green and lush and very overgrown. But I am getting ahead of myself. In quick order, these are the events done and lined up for the year. Alchemy is the big one for the first half and I surprised myself with being very motivated to get fit. I upped my game with at least 11-12 hours a week of spinning/cycling. This included a 90km race in the mielie heartland from Frankfort to Reitz. It poured in the night and we had short squalls of rain come hissing through the tall mielies to drench us. Although flat, it more than made up for difficulty with the soft squelchy mud. The Bielie Mielie festival was a hoot and we indulged in all sorts of local fare. Around about the same time, @gardengodmother and I entered the Wild Run - a 3 day trail run in September from Kei Mouth to Hole in the Wall. This required a good hard look at our training or lack of and tendency to injuries. So its been 6 weeks of intense work at the biokinetiscist, a visit to a running expert for assessment and an exciting structured training schedule. Its really nice to have someone else do the thinking for me. There was also the obligatory membership of the FFC. Fat Friends Club or any other version you like. December had been good to many of us, too good so we decided to motivate each other to get rid of the lard. @GadgetRules finally joined the gym and when not making excuses, pitches for spinning. @Kennaugh has been running and spinning a bit and we'll all made the effort to get out on the weekends. The weekend's recce up in the heat of the Oliphants River valley is for another post. But what a great riding and characters exist in the area. Stay tuned.
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