Who said spring was on it's way? The lumpy bits near Clifton & The Flats say different! The girls, the old men, Cathy & Kath did the farmhouse session last night. The river was down, but there was a cold upstream wind. Geordie thought I was soft, wearing pogies. I thought Ralph was soft, doing a paddling machine session. Ralph probably thought all those who didn't turn up at all were soft! Michael, Norm etc. are really the only hard ones - they did Beeston!
A few others were out doing their own thing, but I expect it was winter where they were too.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Clifton in the Light with the 8 minute group
It somehow just feels better to do the time trial in daylight.
The group who chose to start on 8 minutes was an interesting pack. Nick was the slow boat, although an early diamond gave him a ride until we met Tina the Limpet near the Toll Bridge. Mind you sleeping in the car until 2 minutes before your start hardly counts as a warm up, so the group swapped Tina in & Nick out, up to Clifton.
The traffic started near the bridge when Heather & Alison's K2 crunched a few times as they went over the rocks giving us a clue of where not to go.
Wes led the group to the turn, as it broke up, but I managed to stay there & did a bit of work, losing all except of Tina by a length or so. We slowed slightly while Beth took a short ride near the Toll Bridge on the way down, but the rest was pretty uneventful with a bit of choppy water before the flats & more traffic ahead. I tried to slow for Shob as well, but Cathy & the rest of the traffic was too fast, plus that feeling of Geordie & Dave bearing down, meant it was a bad idea.
The timekeepers went into hiding, but eventually came back with it all sorted. Most of the 8 minute group finished within a few seconds of each other & with their times, are now the 9 minute group. Shob managed a PB without the ride!
A member from a few years ago came in with a view to joining again, but the evening finished badly when JH discoverd that his car had been broken into & his GPS nicked.
The group who chose to start on 8 minutes was an interesting pack. Nick was the slow boat, although an early diamond gave him a ride until we met Tina the Limpet near the Toll Bridge. Mind you sleeping in the car until 2 minutes before your start hardly counts as a warm up, so the group swapped Tina in & Nick out, up to Clifton.
The traffic started near the bridge when Heather & Alison's K2 crunched a few times as they went over the rocks giving us a clue of where not to go.
Wes led the group to the turn, as it broke up, but I managed to stay there & did a bit of work, losing all except of Tina by a length or so. We slowed slightly while Beth took a short ride near the Toll Bridge on the way down, but the rest was pretty uneventful with a bit of choppy water before the flats & more traffic ahead. I tried to slow for Shob as well, but Cathy & the rest of the traffic was too fast, plus that feeling of Geordie & Dave bearing down, meant it was a bad idea.
The timekeepers went into hiding, but eventually came back with it all sorted. Most of the 8 minute group finished within a few seconds of each other & with their times, are now the 9 minute group. Shob managed a PB without the ride!
A member from a few years ago came in with a view to joining again, but the evening finished badly when JH discoverd that his car had been broken into & his GPS nicked.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Lincoln Marathon
The day dawned … well hardly! What’s this disturbance in the middle of the night? Oh Yeah! The first proper marathon on the calendar for 2007, but why get up so early? The clocks leapt forward an hour last night & you have to get up early for Waterside. But George, Brian & Tim are the only ones who were hard enough to do the D race - 34.5 miles of mud, blood & tears. I exaggerate … slightly!
No just Lincoln, but force of habit on Kath’s part meant that we then had hours to kill before leaving. Just as we were walking out of the door, a phone call from one of the girls meant that we got to NKC late anyway!
Arriving at Lincoln, the long traipse from the car park to the club substituted for a warm up as usual.
It was a reasonable turn out by NKC for the familiar windy ditch crawl on the Fosse Dyke, although the sun felt warm if you could find a hiding place from the wind. Ages ranged from 10 to 60 something, made up of 4 seniors, 9 veterans, 3 juniors & 1 lonely Lightning paddler. In fact he was so lonely that no one turned up to race against him, so Tadek valiantly paddled the 4 mile Div 7/8 race with Geordie.
The Vets dominated Div 7/8 K2 with Heather & Alison in 1st place followed by Kath & Tony whose total age was well over 110, in 2nd place. Other notable performances came from Rex, winning Div 5 by so much that he was half changed before the rest of his race arrived back. Norm & Cathy managed a similar feat in Div 5/6 K2. I plodded round the 8 mile, Div 4 race, at the opposite end of the field to Ralph. My spirits lifted slightly as I caught, Steve Riley from Anker Vally, but he promptly retired from the race. Baggy needs a mention, as the only NKC paddler lucky enough to do the 12 mile course, finishing 2nd to Chas Fleeson of Anker Valley in the final sprint. Congratulations on promotion for Sarah, Shobhanaa, Rex & Ralph. You can read the rest of the results for yourself. The link will be on the NKC website as soon as the organiser sorts out the tangle in his computer & posts them on the Lincoln site.
Well that’s a few white & blue mugs on the shelf & a stack of points towards the Hasler Trophy then!
No just Lincoln, but force of habit on Kath’s part meant that we then had hours to kill before leaving. Just as we were walking out of the door, a phone call from one of the girls meant that we got to NKC late anyway!
Arriving at Lincoln, the long traipse from the car park to the club substituted for a warm up as usual.
It was a reasonable turn out by NKC for the familiar windy ditch crawl on the Fosse Dyke, although the sun felt warm if you could find a hiding place from the wind. Ages ranged from 10 to 60 something, made up of 4 seniors, 9 veterans, 3 juniors & 1 lonely Lightning paddler. In fact he was so lonely that no one turned up to race against him, so Tadek valiantly paddled the 4 mile Div 7/8 race with Geordie.
The Vets dominated Div 7/8 K2 with Heather & Alison in 1st place followed by Kath & Tony whose total age was well over 110, in 2nd place. Other notable performances came from Rex, winning Div 5 by so much that he was half changed before the rest of his race arrived back. Norm & Cathy managed a similar feat in Div 5/6 K2. I plodded round the 8 mile, Div 4 race, at the opposite end of the field to Ralph. My spirits lifted slightly as I caught, Steve Riley from Anker Vally, but he promptly retired from the race. Baggy needs a mention, as the only NKC paddler lucky enough to do the 12 mile course, finishing 2nd to Chas Fleeson of Anker Valley in the final sprint. Congratulations on promotion for Sarah, Shobhanaa, Rex & Ralph. You can read the rest of the results for yourself. The link will be on the NKC website as soon as the organiser sorts out the tangle in his computer & posts them on the Lincoln site.
Well that’s a few white & blue mugs on the shelf & a stack of points towards the Hasler Trophy then!
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Mix & Match K2
Last night was the last of Mix & Match sessions for this winter - so we must be into summer training. I don't think the weather agrees!
The session was a particularly good one with 7 seniors (mostly veterans) & 3 juniors taking part. Although a bit chilly, the river was calm, the wind fairly light & a bit of daylight for the first half. The girls showed just how ready they are to get started on this season's racing, by stroking 3 boats powered by the "old men." Actually that includes me, although mine was powered by the "old woman!" One of the most enjoyable sessions this winter!
The session was a particularly good one with 7 seniors (mostly veterans) & 3 juniors taking part. Although a bit chilly, the river was calm, the wind fairly light & a bit of daylight for the first half. The girls showed just how ready they are to get started on this season's racing, by stroking 3 boats powered by the "old men." Actually that includes me, although mine was powered by the "old woman!" One of the most enjoyable sessions this winter!
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