2012
23. December 2012Greetings and Merry Christmas to All
A quick recount after yet another year passes us all by. First up for me was the Coast to Coast multisport race from the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island across the country and finishing on the east coast. The traditional ‘touch-the- Tasman Sea’ prior to start then 3k run, 55k bike, 33k mountain run, 15k bike, 67k kayak and a 70k bike, finishing with ‘touch- the- Pacific Ocean’. A great event over 2 days and a superb effort by my support crew Phil and Val.
The next 6 months were in the USA, initially based in Southern California for some triathlon training and a very satisfying race in the ITU round in San Diego. Cheers John for the cycling coaching.
Relocated to Northern California and geared up for a beginners mountaineering course in Alaska. Met up with the group in Talkeetna and flew onto a glacier for 8 days of training. Great experience, great instructors and great group. Cheers guys and cheers to Bad Cook Ray and Mrs Bad Cook for your help. Following the urge to get back into flying aeroplanes created the next task. Bit rusty after not flying for 9 years so set to working through a US pilot’s licence. Many thanks to Yayoi for making her aeroplane available to me for flight training and cheers to Andy for the top instruction.
Also slipped across to Breckenridge, Colorado for the 3 day Brek Epic mountain bike event. The race webpage advised due to difficulty “not suitable for weekend warriors” but no mention about beginners, so with new mountain bike, we went forth. A steep learning curve but did finish with bike and body still intact. Fantastic trails at 12000 feet altitude and some stunning scenery. Great event.
Cheers for the help John.
Finished the North Californian tour with an Alcatraz swim. Great swim from the famous prison across the bay to the main land with the Golden Gate bridge in view when turning to breath. Team USAKIWIS were 4th when the times were tallied. Cheers Simon & Val.
Then it was across to Europe for a cycle race in Norway, cheers Geir, and then down to Berlin for a cold wet Berlin Tri.
Spain was next to catch up with the Spanish Gang from last years Tuk Tuk race. Cheers team.
From the south of Spain it was easy to zoom across to Tangier, Morocco for a quick visit. This country needs further exploring.
Back up to Hamburg for a Christening and the honour of becoming Godfather to two very lovely young ladies, Mary & Lucy. Thanks Svea and Ian for the honour though I did question their sanity in having a travelling gypsy adventurer as their children’s Godparent.
Next stop was New York for the marathon which unfortunately but quite correctly was cancelled due to the effects of storm Sandy. Nevertheless the Spanish Team organised by Nadia fronted to Central Park on the Sunday morning and joined several thousand others in doing their “marathon” around the park. Great atmosphere. Cheers Nadia.
That’s about it for 2012 folks. Currently back in NZ and working on cunning plans for 2013.
Hopefully everyone has had a successful year and all the very best to you all for 2013.
Ross
PS a few 2012 photos in the gallery
Posted on: Sunday, December 23, 2012 at 21:19 