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2009 WRAP UP

Well…we're at the end of another year and what an amazing one it has been…..
Here's a snap-shot month by month…

JANUARY - Highlight would be our Australia Day Camp at Elanda Point…

FEBRUARY - Aunty Jan's 49th birthday when we (she) rode the Dusk to Dawn 12hr at Canungra and came in 2nd!

MARCH - Aunty Kim wins the In2Adventure Dirt Crit and follows up by winning the Tre-x off-road triathlon the next day..

APRIL - We had a great time at the Keen Adventure Race #3 'A Journey through the Otways' after our very enjoyable Easter Camp at Noosa.

MAY - The Lunatic Fringe Mountain bike race - somewhere in northern NSW - was a special event - where the Aunties dressed as cows went 1-2 female in the 6hr event

JUNE - Geoquest this year was in the beautiful town of Forster NSW. Not a great result for the Cowgirls with a DNF after 40hrs on the course….we will go back and finish that last trek and paddle in 2010…

JULY - Our hometown mountain bike race the Noosa Enduro was the highlight with the Pomona/Kin Kin area putting on a picture-perfect day for the 900 or so competitors…yay, it didn't rain! Aunty Kim also ran 96km in the Kokoda Challenge and placed 2nd in Pomona King of the Mountain the following weekend….

AUGUST - Highlight would be our experiences out at the Manumbar Rogaine where we enjoyed the 15hr roving event…and Novak & Jo brought the boys out for their first rogaine…

SEPTEMBER - Aunty Kim finally wins her first Anaconda Adventure Race at the Gold Coast - and everyone else wins as well…!

OCTOBER - Hells Bells Adventure Race - in our own backyard….and we had Jo Thompson along for the ride in our team of Aunties…what fun!

NOVEMBER - The scenic town of Augusta hosted the WA Anaconda event this year - and it was all the more special for Aunty Kim winning 2 out of 2….but wait, there's more - after Aunty Jan's disaster in WA…she backed up 3 weeks later to race the Kona 24hr solo Mtb race at Forrest, Victoria - and managed to qualify for the World Championships in 2010!

DECMEBER - Just one week after the Kona - and still badly bruised from the impact of the very hard Mtb seat Aunty Jan finished Anaconda Lorne as 2nd Veteran female…and Aunty Kim won again to claim the Hat-trick

Kim rock hopping at the Lorne Anaconda race

Here's what the media had to say:
Aunty Kim Wins Lorne Anaconda race - it's a hat trick!
Click here for story

….then we went to NZ…..read about Kim's NZ experience here

2010 will, once again, be a big one for The Aunties and Tri Adventure….so here's a sneak preview…
January will see Aunty Kim in rehab from shoulder dislocation - see story above…
February is Aunty Jan's 50th Birthday and we have a huge day planned for everyone.
March will have us doing lot's of cramming for the big April/May events - Bribie Multisport, Anaconda NZ, Anaconda Forster, Red Centre MTB Enduro.. April/May - Just doing above events.. After that, well, there is so much to choose from…so there will be plenty of adventures to be had and we hope you can join us for some…See you out there!
:) Jan & Kim

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November

Well, as you read this I will be in Victoria competing in the Kona 24hr solo Mtb event… that's if I survived the road trip, solo….except for a car full of adventure gear and 2 Epics on the roof racks! Then hoping to recover through the week and race Anaconda Lorne on December 6th….will be great to have my own boat for this one! Here are some memories from November….

NOOSA TRI WEEKEND…
Our awesome Juniors excelled themselves, once again during this 10-day multisport festival - First up was the Endura Run Swim Run….Having practised the this format in our Splash & Dash series last season was a definite advantage as our incredible Brigitte won the event (and almost beat all the men..!), Tom came in ahead of Coach Kim and the others had very respectable times as well… I guess all that ocean swimming and soft sand running pays off eventually….so much better than following the black line in the pool and running on the black tar, we think!

Sunday morning we gathered at Turn 10 to watch the Noosa Tri riders on the 3km climb up Gyndier Drive. This is an institution now for the local Mtb fraternity…and we all had fun cheering on and commenting on riders as they made their way past our spot on the hill. It was great to see Jeff Toohey amongst the crowd - back from the brink after an horrific road bike accident… he was hit by a car (surprise, surprise…) about 6 weeks ago and has made a miraculous recovery from some very serious injuries…. Welcome back Jeff. The Aunties find this sort of spectating almost harder than the actual racing… but, like last year, we stayed till the very last rider, and accompanied her to the top of the climb with plenty of encouragement….she assured us that she was having fun, and had a nice bottle of Sav Blanc in the fridge, awaiting her return….really good to see she had the right balance there…!!

ANACONDA WA…
Once again, Aunty Kim comes home with the GOLD……Read on and enjoy….With a sold out field of 1500 (seems the folk in WA will have a crack at anything...) it was a little uncertain how she would go, but the experience that comes from many years of endurance racing counts for everything in these harsh but beautiful events...

The race commenced in the shadow of the Cape Leeuwin Lighthouse (spectacular SW tip of Australia..) and from there we rock-hopped and ran soft sand for 13.5km...

Kim rock hopping in WA

then plunged into the icy-cold clear water for a 1.9km swim over colourful reefs, then got in the boats and paddled in a choppy ocean for 13km...
Kim paddling in WA

Kim paddling in WA

before riding 32km on spectacular (sand) trails and some fun single track and got the runners on again for a 2.5km beach and rock run to the finish. What a day - the WA weather was kind to us - not too hot, not too cold, surf not big, but a little chop (just to keep us honest...) Aunty Kim lead from mid-way through the run and never looked back....As a veteran (now 42) it seems she still has the goods to crank it up and give those young girls a run for their money...

Aunty Jan's race went a little differently….Surprise, surprise….

"After seeding myself right at the back for the run start (obviously underestimating my rock-hopping abilities here…) I was a victim of the 2 'bottle-necks' on the course….didn't really mind this, as it was a chance for a rest and chat amongst the others in line….
Once in the clear I managed to plough through the field (well not that fast really, just faster than all those around me…) to make it to the run/swim transition rather chuffed with my efforts…..felt like a rock-runner - felt like Novak!!!
Sadly, I was about to be put firmly back in my place as the 1.9km swim was quite a disaster. With the help of another competitor I managed to squeeze my hot, sweaty body into the waiting wetsuit and plunged (sort of slowly..) into the lovely cold water…All going well, it wasn't till about half way when the cramps started….first in the toes, then in the calf muscles….stop and stretch…stop again…stop again, ask someone else to stretch my legs as can't bend over and reach toes anymore….This went on for the last kilometre and the swimming style looked a bit like something out of the 'special' Olympics… no, worse really, those special Olympians are good!….
Anyway, finally limping out of the water and hobbling 800metres to the swim/paddle transition, I was a little flustered, to say the least as most of those slow rock runners had now passed me back. I made my way to the borrowed ski (super-duper prototype Finn Molokai) Having test-paddled this craft the day before and feeling the boat was rather strange but ok, I was hopefully confident the conditions weren't worse than then…..Oh dear, the real disaster was about to happen - the swim was a breeze compared to the 2+ hours I spent on the paddle, a lot of the time under the boat, not in it as most paddlers are!…..
The wind and chop had whipped up and I was unstable and getting blown to Antarctica….After one inelegant capsize and several inelegant failed re-entries, I was helped by some very nice fellow paddlers…previous to that I had waved my paddle (sign of distress) to the rescue boat (who seemed to ignore me - maybe I was just such great entertainment for them, I don't know…)
Anyway, I finally got back in, only to fall out again (and this is only in the first 1.5km of a 13km leg…) I was at my absolute low point right here, right now…but as I have told many an athlete over the years, endurance sport is always a roller coaster of highs and lows, so what goes down, will eventually come back up - you just have to ride it out…..well, it wasn't happening just yet…I wasn't capable of riding anything….I was freezing cold and terrified, and questioning my whole reason for being in this god-forsaken boat in this god-forsaken ocean….!!! BUT… I kept paddling…more like a balancing act….finally rounded the buoy and wasn't one little bit comfortable until my both feet were planted firmly back on solid ground…..Oh, I really felt like crying…but, I was in a RACE…and it wasn't over yet… I had entertained the safety boats in the swim and now the paddle….someone's gotta do it - go me! Guess I can still ride a bike, Jeez, I hope so…and yes, I was away and pedalling…. Phew, here comes that high back again….So, cruising along, and catching a few riders, changed my day completely…. Even managed to catch up with the lovely guy who helped me on the paddle - and felt really bad going past him! 32kms later I zoomed into transition and Kim was waiting (she'd waited there for me way longer than expected…) I asked her how she went - and got the thumbs up - Wow….don't even care if I finish now - this was awesome… but I did, and had a grin from ear to ear as I did the final 2.5k beach and rock run to the finish. It's amazing how much of a spring was in my step, after nearly 7hrs of racing…..I was at the finish line - Woohoo, what a ride! Race Director JJ wasn't around for me to hug/slap and thank him for taking me out of my comfort zone - again! Now I'm finished, I feel like comfort is quite over-rated anyway…. I was able to thank him later on….I wonder if anyone else thanks him for torture/excitement….or maybe I'm just a glutton for this kind of punishment…. J…" Final comment - I learnt a lesson years ago about paddling a boat to suit my abilities - what was I thinking - I was good paddler???? Anyway, I think this is the problem with being a menopausal female - you just have to re-learn these things….Maybe I should hand over my decision making to someone else - as I think I've lost the plot!"

Jan amongst the wildflowers in WA Kim at Cape Leeuwin WA

As usual, we Aunties celebrated Kim's win with the obligatory champers and fish & chips (had the local shark - rather than it having us!) and thoroughly enjoyed our few days over West (didn't really enjoy the 5 hr red-eye flights both ways....) but guess that's the price you pay going from one side of Australia to the other... Bring on Lorne in 4 weeks time….AAAhhhh…!

FRIDAY SOCIAL MTB & PARKLANDS ….
As usual, our social girly mtb rides are a highlight…and on a recent Friday we opted for a longer than normal trip out to Forest Acres via a very scenic and painfully hot and punishing uphill slog and over the side of Mt Tinbeerwah - you can count on us not to go the easy way….AND it was 30 degrees and rising…..Full points go to Felicity (who is still riding in runners on flat pedals) who really toughed it out on one of the most rigorous rides we have done in a long time…!!! She wanted to turn back (to save us from waiting…) - but we wouldn't let her - promising an adventure to remember - and she got it, I'm sure…. I hope she has recovered and will thank me for this one day…. won't be for a while, I'm guessing… Anyway, we got to the top of the climb and stopped at the sign (see attached pic) and the girls were quietly relieved we WEREN'T going on to Kin Kin - and there is no sign of a WATERFALL at the moment either…. A sketchy trip on a steep single track got us down the other side onto Old Tewantin Rd….and we were all happy to get down unscathed and without a snake encounter…The rest of the ride was fun (I think - it was for me, anyway…) and under shade - and we rounded off the morning with coffee and snacks - and a good old chat…. J

The girls rest at the top

Then there was Saturday….Our Parklands experience was awesome…but Audrey might be scarred for life, after riding with big Al Wallace…Aunty Jan is scarred as well….We had a very intense session, that tested our sensory skills to the Nth degree….Al and Aunty Kim were cruising up the front - Audrey and Aunty Jan were clinging on at the back. It was a fantastic ride - and we managed to go over all our favourite areas including the very testing Cancer tree track and a new, exciting track where Al entertained us with some trick riding on skinny logs and little ramps all made expertly from forest materials…. super fun if you have the nerve…Al, we were very impressed!!!! This intense training will hopefully be the 'money in the bank' I need for the Kona 24hr next weekend….. Just gotta get through the road trip first!

So….that was November, and I'll report on the KONA when I get to a computer after catching up on some sleep…..Looking forward to riding some new trails down there….and hope I want to get back on the bike for Anaconda Lorne….we'll see….

See you out there!
Jan & Kim

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*****Exciting NEWS******

Aunty Kim Wins Augusta Anaconda race
http://www.anacondaadventurerace.com/asp/NewsInDetail.aspx?e=6&n=965

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October
End of October already…Where has the year gone???

SCHOOL HOLIDAY MTB RIDES & PADDLES…
We had some fantastic Mtb rides through the school holidays when we opted for the civilised start time of 8.00am. It was great to be joined by young rider Emil Vejby and also his friend Quinn who braved our long ride out to Ringtail State Forest. Also along for the ride was Emil’s dad Soren and our Melbourne friend Matt Tait (who’s always in for some punishment from the Aunties…) We enjoyed the trails out to Lake Macdonald, and back through Forest Acres… finishing with a quick blast down our favourite trails in Wooroi…. See pic of the new bridge built on Macandback Trail – last time we crossed here we carried bikes through waist deep water and negotiated slippery mud….

Crossing the new bridge

Other highlights recently have been our ocean paddles with whales, turtles and dolphins… it seems there are whales in every bay here at Noosa at the moment having a bit of a frolic on their way back to Antarctica – and, not to be out-done, the resident dolphins have come out to say hello when we’re out there too….it’s magical every single time! So magical in fact that Aunty Jan hijacked a strange surf-ski and Jules’ paddle and was half way to New Zealand before she came to her senses in the choppy northerly conditions (anything to get out of swimming!)…..not sure what she was thinking….was she following the whales to Antarctica?....don’t really know….but she turned back in the nick of time - just before she was lunch to some large undersea creature….Phew!

TEVA CHAMPS…
Yesterday saw the Teva Champs happening in Beerwah. Aunty Kim was invited to compete with the big guns, that would be Mountain Designs (MD’s for short)….and Aunty Jan was the roving reporter for the day and managed to Nav her way through the bike course quite nicely with a tattered and blood stained miniature map – not bad for a blind old Aunty! So, it panned out a bit like this…
MD’s were 3 minutes behind from the start when they dropped out of the first ‘challenge’ early… Not phased, they planned to catch up on quick transitions (wore clip pedals and runners on the bike, and bike helmets on the run!) which they did very nicely and found themselves in the lead after the rogaine….

Taking the lead in the Rogaine

Never looking back (except when Brett skimmed his leg on the head of the biggest red-bellied black snake in the world...) they forged ahead to win by a comfortable margin and take the winner’s cheque and perpetual trophy (and a bottle of champagne….Yum!) thanks to the Teva sponsors… Meanwhile Aunty Jan donned the helmet-cam and amused herself trying to interview some racers – didn’t get too many clear answers – but luckily got around the bike course and up the big hike-a-bike without seeing any monster snakes! The women’s category was taken out by the very gorgeous ‘Skirtsports’ girls, Narelle, Janie & Carolyn – who made the race much more feminine with their pink bits flying (as did Kylie Maduna with her lovely bike!) The award for persistence must go to Aunty Janie who lost a pedal on the bike leg and kept going for the next 20km doing one-leg pedal drill (see, that’s why you practice it!)….you go girl!
Our favourite boys team SCAR took out the men’s category… and it was great to catch up with other AR friends on the day including Greg & Deb from Area 51 and the gorgeous team BEAN – who are getting married they tell me – well, two of them are (that’s Susie and big Gav)… congratulations you two…What a lovely couple! …
For a ‘champs’ event, the race seemed rather short - MD’s winning time was about 3.5hrs…but everyone had a good time, and no-one complained about the lack of ‘challenges’…..Hmmmm…

KIM & NOVAK RUN THE ROCKS...
Novak Thompson is feeling good – and having his friend Mick from Sydney up here on holidays has inspired him to go out and do things exciting…Recently, when I dropped them (Novak, Mick & Aunty Kim) off at Sunshine Beach for a rock-run back to Noosa, I was a bit concerned on what might happen…so I jumped on the ski and paddled out to Ti-tree for a look at them hopping around the headlands…I waited quite a while –catching a few little waves at Ti-tree – but thought I might have missed them so paddled back around Boiling Pot with a guy on an outrigger…I queried him but he said he hadn’t seen anyone running on the rocks either… Feeling like I’ve abandoned them, I went back out, only to finally spy them, 3 gazelle-like athletes, making very light work of the sharp and slippery rocks, about to round the headland at Boiling Pot. Hearing their story later, I was in absolute awe as Kim described the way Novak jumped off the cliffs and swam, fully clothed, around un-passable areas, being hammered by the waves as he tried to clamber back onto the rocks. Kim & Mick watched from above – they opted to take the track in these parts – and were hoping not to have to go in for the rescue…. Mick was happy to survive without injury so as to go back to Sydney to compete in the World Masters Games …and Kim has bear-paw-like scratches down her leg and middle where she was left hanging by one arm on some tricky bits of rock and slid down a few metres to regain her footing… Glad I wasn’t watching all this, as I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to land the boat anywhere to help, and probably would have needed rescuing myself anyway… So, people…. Don’t try this at home, ok… It’s only for the brave and highly skilled (and completely crazy) athletes who may need to do silly/exciting things like this as practice for Coast to Coast or something like that …yes, and that’s the other thing… I think the boys have now convinced Kim to race C2C next year too…that will be Kim racing, Aunty Jan crewing…. Goodness, 2010 is shaping up to be a big one….can’t wait!

HELLS BELLS…
What a weekend with about 60 teams lining up for the 6th year of this event. Mooloolaba Primary School was the Race HQ this year – but we didn’t spend much time there…. We were bussed out to the start in Nambour…and had an enjoyable 13hrs getting ourselves back to the coast – well, as enjoyable as you wanted to make it! The race started on the Mtb and we had a punishing uphill climb to the first TA (we were feeling sorry for Jo already, having really done no Mtb riding except riding kids to school …) Here we left the bikes and did some spectacular trekking and an amazing swim through the canyons in the upper reaches of the Maroochy River…We opted to take the scenic route up the creek for the first CP (you know we like scenic routing…!) We made our way back to the bikes… and rode on towards our next adventure which was the archery…With a backlog of teams waiting to shoot, we decided to leave after the obligatory 36 minutes and head out to Pt Glorious where Jo did an abseil while the Aunties ran off to find some hidden pieces of map that would help us get to the next stage. We stuck the map together (with the sticky tape in Aunty Jan’s pack – you never know when you need sticky tape and lacker bands…) and rode off to find CP8 which was (mostly) a lovely flowing downhill ride…. (Nice reward for all that uphill slog earlier….) Using Map 4 (as per course notes) we took the easy route to the next TA which was a Camp near Wappa Dam. As Jo did the abseil earlier, she was able to sit out while the Aunties negotiated the High Ropes course with an exciting exit via Flying Fox…and whilst up there got the clues for the next 2 CP’s which we would go to on foot. So, along the creek we went and found the first CP in another rock-pool. Jo, being the best swimmer amongst us, stripped off and in she went… the other one was on a high point up the road….All was good except for a blow-out in the laces on Aunty Jan’s shoes…thought the laces on these shoes were stronger than steel…guess not…so we tied them up all over the shop, just so we could get back… and luckily the shoes weren’t needed anymore as we had some spares in our next box for the last paddle and run legs….

So, back on the bikes and out to Parklands (great Mtb area near Nambour) where we had to find 6 out of 8 marked CP’s and got to ride all that fun single track – in the dark! At our first CP, Jo got a broken chain….which was expertly repaired by Aunty Kim thanks the ‘quick-link’. We were off again…with local knowledge giving us a good advantage here. After exiting Parklands at the other end we had a lovely downhill ride where we witnessed the local teenagers out and about in the company of the local constabulary….Not a nice place at midnight it seems….Down we went and found the next TA right near the infamous Bli Bli bridge (which now has tram tracks removed….) and we got to work on pumping up our yellow boats for the paddle ahead. Later we heard MD’s just picked up their boat and ran with it for the whole paddle leg – not even pumping it up – and interesting way to do it – and great news for the guy at the end of the paddle who was deflating and packing up the boats…. He was probably hoping all the teams did the ‘paddle’ this way…but I think MD’s were the only ones! So, pumped and plugged, we paddled off into the darkness to find 2 CP’s on the way to Cotton Tree in the estuary near the mouth of the river. Aunty Kim was up front doing the Nav and she was going great until we made an error when looking for a 2nd bridge….seems the first one was a cane tramway which no longer exists…..so we did a bit of extra paddle training here until we realised the CP was back at the other bridge…and all along Jo was telling us that the teams following had all turned back….Sorry Jo, we’ll be more aware of that next time, I’m sure! We made our way to the next CP and then settled in for the long paddle down river – luckily with the tide – till we reached the beach at Cotton Tree. A bit cold now, we decided to ditch the wet clothing and wear our thermals for the last run to the finish – as the fear of cold from Geoquest was still in our heads….. We enjoyed the last coasteer...and a bit on the pathway…and were amused at the late night partiers being amused at us… We scanned every pandanus tree along the cliffs until we found the ‘lone one’…. Punched the card and ran to the finish….It was just after 3.00am and we were happy to be able to finish, clean up and get a couple of hours sleep before being woken up by the sun beaming into the car and Novak standing there with a bacon & egg burger – no we weren’t hallucinating - he had been around at the start and gave us some good advice when we were planning our course…then took the boys and found us at a couple of places along the way – and then he turns up in the morning with our brekky… how good is that – I’ll keep him in mind for a support crew in another race, I think…

Aunties at the finish

The race was won in record time by MD’s in just under 9 hours… Wow, I bet Craig & Louise couldn’t believe it when they turned up that early!! It was fantastic to see Rob Gowland and his men take out the male team category…after he had just beaten a bout of cancer….In third place overall were our friends Jase, Andy and Tim from ‘Ay-up Lights’ (must have been Andy’s secret yoga training that sealed it for them…) and the all girls category was, once again, taken out by the Skirtsports Girls – Narelle, Janie & Wendy - styling around the course in their flashy skirts…yep, they even swam in them…!

In summary, thanks to Craig & Louise and their crew, this was another great event. Something exciting around every corner… not too cold, and not too long….. We thoroughly enjoyed having an event in our own ‘back-yard’……and will be hoping for another one like this next year….

JUNIOR NEWS…
Just gotta mention our awesome juniors again…Noosa Tri/Multisport weekend has been and gone and our juniors (being too young for the Olympic Distance Tri) entered the ancillary events and showed some amazing talent. Wednesday at the Run/Swim/Run, Brigitte blitzed the field with a outright win in the Open women’s category (she was 3rd across the line – yep, beat all the men, except two!!!) Tom managed to come in ahead of Coach Kim – wow….has he improved!!...and Tim put in a stella performance as well. It was great to see them all front up for the Breakfast Fun Run and the Eyeline swim as well. Brigitte and Robyn went neck & neck in the Fun Run with Brigitte edging her out to take the win…but Robyn was saving herself for the 5km Bolt which was the next day – and she led out the girls on the first lap, which was her plan! Tom & Tim teamed up with Daniel for a team in the Tri and came in a very respectable 4th place…. These kids are all now training for schools State Trials which will be held on 8th November at Kawana…Good luck!

WHAT’S COMING UP….?
We’re heading west for the Anaconda WA event which is shaping up to be HUGE….and a little terrifying, I’m thinking… Anyway, guess we’ll cope with whatever they throw at us….and hopefully pop out the other end smiling…Adventure racing does that to you….
See you out there!
Jan & Kim

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September

Well, the month of September has been and gone and we are full swing into our Spring training here at Tri Adventure. It was a busy month for us as our Junior Tri squad has come out of winter hibernation and we had a huge weekend at the Gold Coast Anaconda as well. The weather here in Noosa has been perfect for Adventure Sport and we have been getting out there amongst it….. Here’s the goss…

JUNIORS..
Our very enthusiastic Junior squad are back training with 4 sessions per week to get them ready for the triathlon season ahead. They will all aim to qualify for the State Schools Tri Champs held next February in Redcliffe – and then maybe go to National Champs as well. We wish them all the best this season and hope they gain a wealth of knowledge for the ‘world of triathlon’ from our Tri Adventure style of coaching….

GIRLS ON BIKES…
We had one very special day on the Mtb’s this month when we rode Trail 5 from Pomona to Cooran on one of those picture perfect days….The girls thoroughly enjoyed the undulating course that was also challenging. On the way to Cooran we rode the trail that the Enduro course takes out to the road crossing – and so was able to show the girls how to hike-a-bike out of Snake Gully…
they were very excited about this new-found skill !!

Girls practice hiking out of Snake Gully

Then over the road and through the lovely single track, a few gates and some cow paddocks and we were into the peaceful town of Cooran for a snack before our ride back. We rode the whole Trail 5 back to Pomona and were amused at Jules doing some ‘scenic routing’ (secret women’s business…) along the way…. We decided the way back had a few more uphills….or was it that we were a little tired from all that ‘scenic routing’….Anyway it was a fantastic day for girls in Mtb heaven and we rounded it off with snacks and coffee in Pomona to finish off a wonderful morning.

GOLD COAST ANACONDA…
With outstanding results from everyone at the Gold Coast Anaconda Race we still can’t quite believe our amazing successes .
In case you hadn’t heard, Aunty Kim took out the women’s race (first win after so many 2nd’s) and yes, you guessed it….much champagne was consumed!!

Kim finishes Gold Coast Anaconda in 1st place

(Webmaster's note: See the media reports here & here)

Aunty Jan was just in it for fun, but ended up 1st Veteran as they gave the Open win to Kim….so a little bit more champagne was consumed ... also, we organised 3 Tri Adventure teams and they all came first in their categories!!!!
Very well done to…
Team Tri Adventure: Aaron and Hannah who only met the day before the race won the Mixed Team of 2
Tri Adventure Girls: Kirsty, Jaz, Brigitte and Kylie took out the all female team (came in ahead of the Hayley Bateup team!)
Sunshine Beach High Tri Adventure: Alyce, Jack, Robyn and Seb took out the Junior Team category – beating the all boy team from the Gold Coast!
Kim was excited to have spent much of the race alongside these kids from her school…and managed to run across the line with them too!

Kim & juniors…

Well done to other Tri Adventure regulars & locals as well….

Glenn Kirby: 2nd Male outright…..awesome result Bull!
Katy Watson: Took over an hour off last year’s time – good work gorgeous!
Bovine Beauties: Gina, Jules and Gail – 2nd in the female team (beat Hayley Bateup as well…you go girls!!)
Burn Calories not Oil: Karen, Audrey & Marius – 3rd in the Mixed Veteran Team
DJMJ: Local Andy Davison teamed up with some Gold Coast Hot shots – including semi-local Dev Lahey to take 3rd in the Male Team category
Simon Gilder: Overcame knee injury to run the full course this year – and toughed it out to finish in just over 5 hrs!
Nat Brown & Jo Evershed: Winners of the Corporate Female Team!
Rowdy & Beatrice: Placed in the Mixed Team of 2 category
The Ville Girls: Friends from Alstonville who placed 3rd in the pairs category!

It was an extremely hot, hard & hilly event (that’s the 3H thing……) and everyone who competed should be very proud of themselves. We hope to recover fully before the next one – that’s from the champagne overload, of course!

FRIDAY NIGHT NAV – THE FINALE…
The last of our Friday night Nav was an exciting affair with a ‘rogaine’ style event on offer. The question and answer format was a bit of a challenge for those participating, however everyone did their best and Melissa and Phil came up with the top points after Simon guessed a few phone numbers (thought Nat Smith was Nat Brown!!!... But then just put down his own number… That’s why we love you Si!)
Novak, Jo and the boys had another family rogaine and thanks Jo for the wonderful dinner you supplied us!!! Brigitte and mum, Alice, made an appearance ….and it was great to see some mother/daughter bonding…. We Aunties sat at first point sipping wine and watching the iconic Noosa sunset… and listened to the tales as the teams filtered in….. We really enjoyed this little series and we will do some more of these sometime in the future. See pic of Fynn Thompson getting ready to tackle the course – yes, we even get 4 year olds at our events!

Fynn gets set for Friday Night Nav

Next stop is Teva Champs on October 4th. Aunty Kim is a last minute stand-in for the Mountain Designs team… Tune in next month to see how it went….
Also – hope to see you all at Hells Bells on 17/18 October. We will be racing with Jo Thompson – and will have an enjoyable 24hr event in the Mooloolaba hinterland – well, that’s what we’re telling Jo….

Aunties Jan & Kim

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August Update

Well, the year is just flying by here at Tri Adventure. In just under 2 weeks we begin our campaign at the Anaconda Adventure Race International Series… yes, they have snuck in a race ‘across the ditch’ for some international flavour… and won’t the Kiwis love the tough Anaconda format….. We’ll have to be on our toes for that one! We start the series on the Gold Coast on Sept 20th…. This should be a fantastic event as we’ll be surrounded in many friends who are having a crack at it too – always good have familiar faces around! Anyway, here’s how our August panned out…

MANUMBAR ROGAINE…
We had a great time out in Manumbar (west of Gympie…!) for the 15hr rogaine on the weekend. They had various distance events on offer, but we opted for the 15hr ‘roving’ which gave us 15 hrs out navigating on the course (in 24hr period), camping and 3 hearty meals as well. All this for $50!!! Where do you get an event that ‘cost effective’ these days, I ask? The properties we rogained through were perfect for practicing our nav skills, and we found our way to all our planned CP’s & more with very little fuss….saw the most beautiful red moon sneak up from the horizon around 7.30pm and enjoyed the company of fellow rogainers around the camp-fire while stuffing down plenty of that afore-mentioned hearty food with a bottle of red…. Rogaines, like any low-key event, exist because of volunteer helpers, generous landowners and adventurous people willing to give it go….. The efforts of these people should be greatly appreciated as we know how much thought and time goes into the organisation of these things.

Novak & Fynn dash to the finish line!

It was really great to see Novak & Jo out with the boys for a family event – I think they got more points on Sunday than we did…kids and all…that’d be right, there’s no stopping Novak when he gets a map and compass in his hands…!!!

TRAIL CARE/CLUB RACE…
We were very happy to join the volunteer team for a working bee in our local forest recently…. The Trail Care crew usually meet once every couple of months to maintain the tracks in Wooroi Forest at Tewantin. The Aunties got excited with mattocks as we took down illegal jumps and helped groomed existing trails with many other volunteers. We are very lucky to have the use of this forest for Mtb riding and we appreciate the authorities helping to maintain the trails for us. Our Sunday morning of that weekend was taken up with the Noosa Tri Club event (which Kim participated in…) and afterwards, in contrast to that, we had a very peaceful paddle to check on our eagles down on Weyba creek…and it seems they are sitting on the nest! It’s so lovely to witness the life cycle of these amazing birds so close to the hustle and bustle of Noosa… just hope development doesn’t kick them out of their environment one day….

FRIDAY SOCIAL MTB…
Our regular Friday ‘girly’ Mtb ride often has some interesting highlights including the other week where we linked up with the Kenilworth guys (who organised the Big-M event) and we showed them our forest and how to ‘ride like a girl’….. It’s a hard job, I know, but someone has to do it!! They promised to return the favour if we ever decide to take a trip out to their spectacular forest… well, we did the Big M…but would like to see more, so just might take them up on that one!

LAKE COOROIBAH PADDLE/RUN…
Weather conditions were perfect for our paddle/run up to Lake Cooroibah. First time I’ve paddled this ‘winter’ without my booties on!!!! The run around the North Shore was spectacular with all the wildflowers blossoming (even Simon commented on this…) and we spotted a few eagles on the paddle back which rounded off the morning quite nicely. The Aunties even braved a dip in the river on our return and it was very refreshing indeed. Lunch (we missed brekky) at the new, groovy, hip café, Mooshka in Sunshine Beach was a lovely reward for our morning’s activities….

SENIORS BIKE RIDE…
I had a very nice time celebrating senior’s week (now I’m almost one myself…aaahhhh!!) when I joined in bike ride for them organised by the switched-on people at Travel Smart Noosa. Thanks Lee for inviting me along – it’s really fantastic to see our council getting behind the issues of community health and fitness, the environment and helping the seniors improve their social life too!!

ANACONDA TRAINING DAY…
Our weekend on the Gold Coast was very productive and we managed to get time on Saturday to go over the Anaconda run course again with John Jacoby to put up more pink tape….think JJ would have preferred another colour….but we had already put our girly mark on it back in July….so pink it is!!! The weather was like summer and the turn-out for the official training day on Sunday was excellent.

With the swim leg starting in the Currumbin Estuary this year it will be interesting to see how everyone goes with the tides and the sand shift….. It will be an ‘adventure style’ swim for sure…. Let’s hope the tide is on the way out on race day – but then that won’t help us for the paddle……Hmmmm….These events are always a little ‘out of the square’ – and this year will not disappoint… So, we all survived the swim and a group of about 20 set out on the paddle. With a bit of a challenging start out of Currumbin Alley, the paddlers made their way to the notorious Tallebudgera Bar where I watched on the groyne with Sam Maffett (as JJ had my boat – I was happy to relinquish it after I struggled in the swim!) A bit of carnage followed and John stayed in the ocean till the last paddlers were safely (if inelegantly) through to the flat water…..

The paddle to run transition was at the Connection Rd Bridge and it was now about midday and very hot – like over 30 degrees…. Knowing what was ahead, I was happy running with the back-markers and splashing in the creek for about 6kms – as this run course does…. We then had the 3k of bitumen which was the boring part before the huge climb up to the ridge dividing the Tallebudgera and Currumbin Valleys…. The spectacular views at the top were appreciated briefly before we descended into the deep dark rain forest off Trees Rd….. a few tricky bits here and it was a little cooler under the canopy. Down, down, down we went – knees and quads feeling the strain….. till finally we reached the bottom of the valley where we negotiated a mud puddle (mostly cow poo) and yours truly managed to unbalance on the log (story of my life…) and plop deeply into the yucky water right at the finish…..suppose it’s not complete without a bit of mud splattering …really…. The day was still hot and I was thankful I had a 2 litre bladder in my pack and almost drank the lot…..

A crowd greeted us at the start of the Mtb, including Jules, Gail and new friends Audrey and Marius…. We were excited about the ride – this being one of the most scenic mtb legs in any Anaconda event…. The punishing climb up Bains Rd had us all maxing out on our heart-rates and we were happy when we were over the gate and onto the trail. Most people have a love/hate relationship with this bike course that runs along the border track on the ridge between Qld and NSW….Its hard and hilly, but has great rewards for the 2 challenging hike-a-bikes….and spectacular views, of course! We shrieked with delight on the downhills and puffed and panted on the uphills – what a great journey! Aunty Kim was riding with the back-markers and managed to get herself in a bit of a tangle with her bike on the last technical downhill of the course….right in front of the group of beginners, who gingerly walked down the sketchy bit of dirt after witnessing Kimmy flip herself and the bike and eat the dust!!! A little shaken, but hopefully with no serious damage, she limped home with the group and required a bit of TLC – and some champagne with fish and chips to ease the pain…and help her sleep…

So that’s about all the latest news from us…. See us at the Anaconda Series over the next few months…then Hells Bells Adventure Race and many more adventures in between…
:) Jan & Kim

JULY UPDATE

We have had a very, very busy July - and possibly the biggest one, as far as distance travelled in events, we have ever had! Here's how it all unfolded……

GOLD COAST
We started off July on 'holidays' at the Gold Coast. The plan here was to get out and tackle the over-grown and flood-ravaged Anaconda run course before our "unofficial" training day on 4th July. We enlisted the help of the Ville Girls Caz & Alli, and together we spent ½ a day navigating our way and slashing through the thick lantana, wait-a-while, and other prickly stuff that had obscured the top part of the course as it descended off Trees Rd….We had great fun wielding machetes and getting the trail organised for the event. After that we headed over to the Tallebudgera Creek section of the run - which had been in floods earlier in the year (see plastic chairs lodged high up in the trees lining the creek) and hardly any markings from the race last year were in place…..This gave us scope to re-shape the course… and I'm sure there are now a few more creek crossings on the run (thanks to Aunty Kim!) We marked it all with girly pink tape - and this proved to be a success when we had our 'unofficial' run over the course as everyone made their way to the end without any problems. We went through the full paddle and mtb courses on the day as well, and it was great to get an early insight into the course after a year of floods etc….. The official training day run by Rapid Ascent is on August 30th…. This will be the last chance to go over the full course with experienced racers before the actual event on 20th September.

NOOSA ENDURO
The weather gods were smiling on us this year at our 'home' Mtb event. The Noosa Trails were in their glory as it had finally stopped raining and the weather was perfect for viewing scenery from all the lookouts on the course. Kim & Jan both opted to ride the whole 100km…might as well get our money's worth….and we were glad of our decision. Kim had an amazing event staying right up the pointy end of the women's field and finally coming in 3rd overall, 1st veteran…. Aunty Jan had a great day out riding around with Nic Fischer who was intent on completing the 100km with not much training…. He made it and, hopefully, was inspired to have a good crack at it next year….. Lots of our friends were out there as well, and special mention to team Tri Adventure - Jules, Jane and Gail - who had a great day out riding the 50km and entertained the other riders with their antics - and cow songs…. : :

KOKODA CHALLENGE
This event is a 96k trek through the Gold Coast Hinterland with a fund-raising and mateship focus. Kim was contacted less than 2 weeks out to fill a team with some experienced punters - one being Jackie Fairweather (nee Gallagher) whom she had know through the elite triathlon world years ago. Jackie, now based in Canberra, is now focussed only on running, and in the past year has focussed on ultra-marathon running…..yes, that's running a very long way at a very fast pace. Aunty Kim was inspired to give this iconic event a go - so agreed to fill the 4th spot in the team of girls.

Kokoda Challenge girls at the start line

Kim & the girls at the start line of the Kokoda Challenge

In short, this was an incredible event - about 300 teams of 4 set off from Mudgeeraba on the Saturday morning - some teams expecting to take over 30hrs for the epic journey over mountains, into valleys, around lakes, over mountains and finishing back in civilisation at the Nerang velodrome…. Aunty Jan was relegated to support crew - and we were a force in ourselves - This job was not an easy one….as our girls were hoping to finish in under 14hrs. We had to be organised and ready at the 5 check-points when our team came in for supplies.

Stand back - hungry racers feeding!

The day went perfectly until one of our girls was unable to continue at the 55km mark. Not sure what to do, the team eventually decided to continue on 'unranked' and finish what they started…. And this they did, amazingly bright and chirpy, and managed to finish the adventure in an incredible 13hours and 28 minutes…2nd team over the line and 1st female team!

There was a little time to relax

Aunty Kim was a little worse for wear the next day….but managed to recover quite well…. see below for details!

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN
With 7 days to recover from running the incredible 96km Kokoda Challenge, we set about getting some 'holistic' treatment for Aunty Kim's super-quads as she had entered King of the Mountain at Pomona before being asked to run Kokoda - and now didn't want to disappoint with an average attempt at this great event that has become very special to her over the years… A session of acupuncture on Monday arvo with some interesting advice from the practitioner about the 'muscle healing' properties of ginger began the week…. The Tuesday evening run session was 'go' with Kimmy managing a slow run through mostly flat terrain around Noosa - but every step an effort… Wednesday night we started the ginger poultices on each set of quads… and this seemed to have amazing effects…. The Thursday PM massage, coupled with another 2 ginger treatments rounded off the week of preparation ….. Saturday night we did the ridiculous and stayed up to watch the penultimate stage of the Tour de France live on TV - the climb up Mt Ventoux - but, luckily KOM is at 3.00pm Sunday, so had time for a sleep in and relax in the morning prior to the race!
So, how did it go???? Well, in short, she had the most amazing run and came in 2nd overall female…. not one twinge in the quads, and ran the fastest time she has run in 15 years (when she went sub 30 mins, and came 2nd as well !!) Chatting afterwards, she felt like she could do it all again….Hmmmm… I think we should celebrate instead, I suggested….the champagne, pizza and ice-cream was enjoyed and well deserved…

Make what you want of this episode - we wonder whether the 96km warm up run might have been the key to success - or the 100km mtb race 2 weeks out… or was it the magic ginger treatment????? Who knows, it might just be the strength, raw talent and mental ability of an amazing athlete……. That's probably it, I reckon……

FRIDAY NIGHT NAV
Our 2nd edition of this activity and we had a few more starters than last time - no playwrights to be seen - but a lovely night to be out and about….. Some of our awesome Juniors came along and Novak got fired up and dragged Tim around the course (gee, Novak runs fast!!....yes, we know that Tim!....and he reckons he's not fit…..well, there's fit and there's fit, ok!) Our little possie at First Point was a great place to enjoy a glass of red as the orienteers were out on the course….. Well done to everyone for giving it a go! Outstanding result to Juniors Maddie & Tobie for 'clearing the course'….and getting heaps out of their experience, apparently! But thanks to all of you who came along - those ones who were only drinking and eating too! Next session is Friday August 21st…. hope to see you there!

WHAT'S NEXT…?
Events coming up include….
20th September - Anaconda Gold Coast
17-18th October - Hells Bells Adventure Race
8th November - Anaconda WA
…and lots of other adventures in between…
See you out there!
Jan & Kim

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JUNE UPDATE

Well the months are flying by and we have nearly reached ½ way through 2009…..Hope you’re enjoying being along for the ride!!....we certainly enjoy providing it!! June was a busy month with our exploits at Geoquest and some very interesting rides out on the Noosa Enduro course…. Here are some of the highlights…

GEOQUEST 2009
The Queens Birthday long weekend always sees the Aunties - aka The Cowgirls - make the long trek down to NSW for the iconic adventure race, Geoquest… This year’s race was another epic and the full story, blow, by blow, can be seen here .

FRIDAY NIGHT NAV
We had our first little orienteering event on June 19 based at First Point Noosa. This location provided a brilliant back-drop for some different terrain around the area. We hope this session will gain momentum as the months go by as those participating enjoyed it immensely…. We did enjoy sitting at First Point sipping wine and watching the sunset….and the highlight of the night was when we were out retrieving the CP’s we had another find – a famous Australian playwright was lost and disorientated after a late walk in the NP….he was very pleased to see us (with our lights) coming towards him and the fact that we were able to guide him out safely…..(seems we made the paper with this exciting find and the lovely David Williamson was most gracious in his thanks for the ‘angels coming out of the darkness to his rescue’…(Webmaster's note: Read the newspaper story here) So, as you can see, a little event, but never a dull moment…. We plan another one of these outings next month…. Who knows what (or who) we’ll find next time!

NOOSA ENDURO ADVENTURES
The Noosa Enduro Mtb Adventure Race is coming up in mid-July and we have been taking some enthusiasts over parts of the 100km and 50km course during some of our weekend and weekly adventure rides. The rain has been coming thick and fast here over the last few months, hence, the forest is full of that #%* (that’s the M word)….so we are really, really experienced at all things MUD these days….and that includes ingenious ways of getting over raging creek crossings and puddles that have magically turned into LAKES!! Everyone joining on these outings have had the adventures they had hoped for….and sometimes much, much more. See pics of our antics as we cross the famous “mud hole” on Trail 4 which had gotten a little bit deeper since last time…..

Hmmm...wonder how deep this is?

Hmmm...wonder how deep this is?

Ok...better find another crossing.

There's nothing like good team work

THE BIG M CHALLENGE
This amazing ride was put on as a fundraiser for the Kenilworth State Community College…so we decided to take a trip around the 60km course to see some new trails. A small bunch of riders set off at 9.00am at a cracking pace… except Aunty Jan who held back, and saved her energy for the promised hills ahead…. The trails took us through the stunning hoop-pine forests, rainforest, creek crossings, mud, more mud, very sticky mud and red mud…..actually my wheels stopped turning at one point due to the mud factor….lucky it was on one of the hike-a-bikes late in the course...it was just a nuisance really, as the bike was too heavy to carry at that point but the mud never lost it’s ability to glue itself to my very fat tyres….. Anyway, all things aside, it was just fantastic…especially when I run into Aunty Kim waiting for me at one of the check-points (she had taken a wrong turn and missed about 20km of riding…) We rode together for the last ½ and enjoyed the trails aptly named Leg Warmer, Heart Starter, Mind-Number, Into the Gully 1 & 2 and then Heart Attack 1….we never saw Heart Attack 2…. Maybe they were 2 scared to name it….for fear of those who survived the first one would turn back – just in case! I mapped my course on the Garmin – so look out for a weekend ride out there in the future….There are lots of nice cafes in Kenilworth too….MMmmmmmm….

WHAT’S COMING UP
We’re heading off to the Gold Coast for a little holiday where we will be taking a machete to the overgrowth on the Gold Coast Adventure Race course and then staging our ‘Unofficial Training Day’ there on 4th July. This will be a great day for anyone wanting to have a sneak preview of the course before the ‘official’ day. Details can be found here
We’ll be out at the Noosa Enduro 100k so come up and say hello if you see us on the course…

Kim’s limbering up her super-quads for another crack at King of the Mountain in Pomona on July 26th, so come along and give her some support if you’re around…..

After that it, will be full swing into the Gold Coast Adventure Race, Hells Bells, Anaconda WA ,et al……

Hope you can join us for an adventure soon – see you out there!
Jan & Kim

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MAY UPDATE

Well, it’s been a very interesting month for us here at Tri Adventure - a couple of amazing events and some fantastic weekend adventures. We started the month (and ended the last one) with our Journey through the Otways at the Keen Adventure Race. Kim and Kev had a great result coming in 11th overall and 6th in the Mixed Pairs category with over 46 hours of racing under their belts. Kim’s detailed account of the event can be found here .
Aunty Jan was on volunteer/support duties through the week, which was a story in itself and then had a fun day with Andrew in the One Day Expose.. Click here to read her memories from the event. The Otway Ranges and the Great Ocean Rd area was a most spectacular back-drop for this type of event… and as you can see, we braved the elements, again and came out of it all with a great sense of achievement and satisfaction….Bring on the next one!

LUNATIC FRINGE
The name of this event had a curious ring to it – and we decided we might fit the bill to participate….Hmmmm…Yes, well, we were right! Here’s a bit of a re-cap….
After nearly 7 hours of travelling (we did stop for a pizza in Beaudesert…) there was a bit of confusion when we finally arrived there as to ‘where in the world’ this event was actually taking place…but when we found we were (sort of) in the right place – we set up camp and woke up in the morning to see everything clearer in the light of day!
What an amazing property we were at – roads and trails everywhere – and the race itself had the most awesome 11km track which we enjoyed immensely on every lap!
Making it our ‘Cowgirl’ theme weekend was very appropriate and added some spice to the intimate event – we rode the trails in our ‘Cow’ costumes to the delight of other participants… the whole event was hilarious, actually. If you have never been to a ‘Summer of Cycling’ event, you should put one on your calendar – they’re the ultimate, laid back, hippy style races ….and everyone is just riding and having fun…. only about 50 of us! We camped for 2 nights at this place – it said there were showers… but they were 2km away, so we just decided to stay dirty….it didn’t really matter…a bit of a splash with the camp shower took the mud off – and we met the most friendly people – everyone was up for a chat….
…and the results - well the Cowgirls came in 1-2-3 in the solo female category Kim, Jan & Gail or our alias Sissy Hankshaw, Bonanza Jellybean and “Cowgirl with Gun”, that is… Yes, we had well and truly gone mad – only that can happen at the Lunatic Fringe!! Our other cowgirl friends “the UDDER team” took out the 2-person female category…That would be Jane & Tobie…. We would like to see this event grow a bit more next year, so be sure to put it on your calendar – there is a 3, 6 & 12 hr option… You don’t have to be a Lunatic (but it helps!)….

POMONA WEEKEND ADVENTURE
With SE Qld engulfed in floods – we decided to take a ride on some of our favourite trails to Pomona, (why not…it’s only water!!) and climb our favourite mountain for some good, solid Geoquest training. We were happy to have the company of some of our special girlfriends and adventure seekers Shaun and Katie from Buderim. Luckily the Noosa area had been avoided by most of the harsh weather, but we had still had our fair share of rain, and the forest had not really dried out much at all.

It's a long way...

It's a long way to the top...

We had a very interesting creek crossing heading into the Yurol Forest and we sent Aunty Kim in as a ‘guinea pig’ before we all crossed cautiously carrying bikes…

Kim in creek

No crocs here...checking for drop bears?

Katie & Jane crossing the creek

River deep...mountian high?

...then continued to make our way via muddy/wet trails to the base of Mt Cooroora for a slippery climb. Some opted for a nice stroll around the base and head for coffee early, but us, die-hard Geoquest competitors (Shaun & the Aunties) needed to take the extra challenge for a quick climb up and back before we would allow ourselves the luxury of bacon & eggs at the Mtn Stop Café… After a long wait (I know, I ordered the bacon ‘incinerated’) we scoffed down the brekky and got ready for our ride back to town. Everyone was happy to take are shorter, more direct route home, but we were still able to take in some fun trails in the Tewantin forest before the end. Golden moment of the day would have to go to Jules for her ‘new-found addiction’ to Aunty Kim’s tow line. Most Adventure Racers know the benefit of being on-tow… but this was a first for Jules – and she was excited to grab the line at every opportunity….Good extra training for Kim as well….

Our weekend adventures are fun, relaxed and challenging at the same time. Feel free to join us on our next one!

WHATS NEXT
We are currently getting ready for our 5th Geoquest Adventure Race. This iconic event has been held in different parts of NSW since about 2002 and is always challenging, exciting and beautiful. Our team or Cowgirls should be swift this year and we will do our best to get through the 48hrs with good humour, good decision making and good experiences… Follow our progress on www.geocentricoutdoors.com.au

We have plans to enter the BIG M mtb event being held in the Kenilworth area on the ‘winter solstice’ weekend (June 20th) – a good opportunity to ride some new trails in area we haven’t been before…and this event is a fund-raiser for the Kenilworth school….

During the winter school holidays we will be ensconced at the Gold Coast for a week or more and plan to run some training days geared towards the Gold Coast Adventure Race (was the Anaconda) later in the year. Stay tuned for details of these…

The Noosa Enduro (our home town Mtb event) is on the 12th July, so we are up for a big ride that day – hoping the weather is a bit nicer than last year!

So, plenty to keep up occupied for a while…. Hope you can join us for an adventure soon…
See you out there!
Jan & Kim

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APRIL UPDATE

Well, at the time of writing we are madly packing and organising for our 3^rd KEEN Adventure Race. This amazing event is being held in the Ottway Ranges and around the Great Ocean Road in western Victoria. Kim and her partner Kevin Piercy – team TRI ADVENTURE – are super organised (with military-style precision) for their 5-day stage event and are trained up and ready to go…. Aunty Jan – team AUNTY DREW – on the other hand, has a little more time to organise her 1-day Expose with Andrew ‘Cupcakes’ Connolly… and will probably just throw some stuff in the bag at the last minute and forget the all-important COMPASS…. Lucky Cupcakes has learned to Nav!! Anyway you can follow our progress on www.keenadventurerace.com and we’ll have a few other stories unfold that didn’t make the headlines, I’m sure….

6 HOUR ENDURO – MTB RACE…

This inaugural event, run by Geocentric Outdoors, was held at the Slickers property, just north of Brisbane and, due to the recent precipitation in SE Qld lately, you could positively and 100% call it a MUD-FEST…. The Aunties decided to race solo again (6 hours during the day has to be way easier than 12 hours through the night….Hmmmm) and used the event as a lead-up to our big AR events coming up. We were lucky to have the Cracked Lips (Jane, Tobie & Kevvy) sharing our tent and lots of other Tri Adventure regulars down at the event as well. The muddy track proved to be extremely tiring with many areas completely unrideable due to deep, sticky mud and as the day wore on we all felt the fatigue grabbing us as we plodded, skated and slogged our way through the black stinky stuff!

Aunty Jan muddy on Lap 2!

Despite all this, the Aunties actually had a great day out….in a warped kind of way; it was really heaps of fun…. Aunty Kim excelled herself, once again, and won the Open Female category, and Aunty Jan rode steady to take out the Veteran Female category and 3^rd female overall…. There’s nothing like unleashing the 12 year old in yourself – and we found Mtb races do that for us! At the end of the day we washed our bikes, and our mud-encrusted bodies off in the pristine lake… which ended up looking like a scene from the river Ganges…..and probably ended up as dirty as this too….Click on pics of muddy Aunties to see them full size!

The Aunties eat chips post race

We hope to return to Slickers in late June for the Insomnia 24hr event – and bring a team of Tri Adventure regulars down for some more 12-year-old fun!

EASTER 09 ADVENTURE…

Thanks to Craig & Louise from Geocentric for advertising our Easter 09 Adventure on the Bribie Multisport website…. We were lucky enough to have some really interesting people attend our weekend! Click here for the wrap

WHAT’S NEXT…

Well after we recover from KEEN we will be in training for Geoquest which is based in Forster NSW this year. The famous Cowgirls will be reforming in a new line-up with the ever-present Bonanza Jellybean at the helm. Who knows what sort of adventure will unfold within the 48hr time-frame… Stay tuned for that and more….

See you out there! The Aunties xx

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* NEW * Adventure Fitness

Want to get fit – and at the same time enjoy Noosa’s beautiful National Parks?

Want to join in with a friendly group – and take in a coffee later?

If you just need that motivation to get out there, Adventure Fitness is for you. Tri Adventure now offers 3 sessions per week incorporating a long, scenic walk, followed by coffee and a couple of early walk-jogs to suit the Mums and workers….

Get yourself fit, strong and healthy for Spring – start now and see the results soon! …..And enjoy the beauty of Noosa while you’re doing it!

Click here for details

See you out there!

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What are you paddling ???

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Well the Epic Kayak may be the boat for you.
Tri Adventure has the Epic V10 L and the Epic V10 Sport available for you to try.

If you are interested in purchasing, we are working in conjunction with Epic Kayaks Australia to get you the best price and boat for your AR and Multisport needs.

Please contact us for further information.