Garda

Training with Nathan and Gooby... always a race back to the dock!

Well this must be one of the best places to go sailing this time of year. It warm, windy, fresh water and sensational food!!

fortunately we have been reasonably diligent with the weight loss and we can enjoy a few of the local dishes. Sam and I seem to be comfortably under 160kg now so should be in the right range for a moderate to windy regatta here and if the first week is anything to go by we should expect a fair bit of breeze. Today has been the only day so far with less than 12knots during race time...

Anyway we don't start for another 10 days or so, so back to the training track for more practice!

some links :

http://www.fragliavelariva.it/

http://www.49er.org/

Kiel

Don't have any photos of Kiel, not too much to see there!

We had a pretty tough regatta, not too much breeze, sailed all races below 10 knots and some below 6 knots. But no excuses!

We did not manage to qualify for Gold fleet, missing bey a few points after wasting plenty out on the race course in the first five races...

Then we sailed 3 races in Silver fleet which we had some consistent results and ended up on top of the point score for that fleet and therefore 26th in the regatta....

The Long and the short of it was that we had a little race practice and ironed out a few more things before the worlds, and now we are very much appreciating Italy and all Garda has to offer!

Will definitely have some photos of this place soon!!

some numbers...

4 days,

19 hours total in the saddle,

345km distance travelled,

9011m elevation gained,

17318 calories burned,

0 flat tyres,

no crashes,

two worn out humans!

What a week!

We had our final day in the Alps today, and the weather was sensational, 20-25 degrees blue skies...

We took on Col D'Izoard, started from Briancon, then south to Guilestre, then over the Izoard.

again the views were breathtaking, easy to keep your mind off the pain being suffered!

The Dauphine Race is coming along the same route tomorrow, they will do the Izoard also from the south and finish in Briancon, pretty sure they might be a little faster than us!

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8425243

more fun and games in the mountains!

another tough day at the office....

http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8419412

probably our best day weather wise so far, some incredible views from col de croix de fer.

the Alps day one and two...

Alpe d'Huez day 2, nice view!

During time off in between regattas Tom Slingsby and I decided we needed to spend some time riding in the mountains. We have found a great B and B run by a very friendly english couple, Allan and Lynne, just outside Le Bourg d'oisans in the middle of the French Alps. We are basically at the door step of Cycling's Mecca Alpe d'Huez. This place is Cycling heaven and we are getting very well looked after, plus the beds are sensational!

you can find them at: www.bourgdoisansbandb.com

the view from the descent on the south side of col D'iseran 8 June

I have a Garmin GPS which collects all the useful information on our rides.

Day one: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8408342

Day two: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/8414427

Needless to say the views are out of this world, absolutely surreal, if you can bring yourself to actually be able to breathe and take it all in, its hard work up here!

We have another few days here soaking up the fresh air, then I am north for Kiel week and Tom is off to Sardinia for the F40 worlds...

Holland Wrapup

Yesterday we finished racing in Delta Lloyd regatta. 

We finished in 20th place on the scoreboard, but as our first look at the European circuit we can take plenty away from the regatta. 

Nathan and Iain won the regatta well, sailing a step above the fleet for the last four days. We have some work to do to push up towards that level, but very much looking forward to the challenge!

the last few days of the regatta were pretty much a light winds affair, we now know that 164kg is too heavy for these conditions so will have to be watching the waistline over the next few weeks...

Our next regatta is Kiel starting on the 19th June, www.kieler-woche.de/eng/englishdefault.php 

Sam is away with the family in Greece for two weeks and I am preparing for a big bike ride, the Dragon ride in Wales on the 14th June, www.dragonride.co.uk/