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Andy - probably drunk
Had a Brothers Gwynn stag do the other weekend, and with Andy being the first to step up to the plate, and Mike as best man, the boys did a stellar job and arranged a perfect weekend in the Lake District with a few family, friends, and family to be.
What happens on the stag stays on the stag and so I won't say too much except a good time was had by all! We had some great activities lined up and first up was some ghyll scrambling, and not, as somebody mis heard 'girl scrambling' which is an altogether different activity. Ghyll scrambling is basically sliding and scrambling your way down a stream, which at the best of times is great fun. Add to that the recent flooding from the record rainfall and this was the middle of December, and most of the group promptly pulled out. The remaining few of us really enjoyed it, and the picture was taken on the run out to the start.
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Sunday we hit Whinlatter, which is an awesome trail. Most of the group tackled the easier route, then a few of us hit the Northern Loop which has to be the best track I've ever ridden. The last part of it was pure joy and just flows so well. I managed to get really out of shape on a series of jumps, but amazingly managed to pull it back together. Credit to the bike which I absolutely love even though I spend as much time fixing and tweaking as I do riding it... Andy (who sportingly wore his fake moustache and party hat on top his helmet for the whole day) now wants a full suspension ride, but apparently has to sell one of his other bikes first.
There's been some incredible action in Hawaii the last couple of weeks. I watched the Eddie comp online and been watching some of Pipeline, and even though it's all slightly fantasy-like compared to the UK, it is pretty inspiring. The mid week surf I scored was fuelled by some of this action and although the waves weren't quite on par, they were a good size. I was amazed to find 12 people surfing one of the Northern Reefs so I drove on to get some bigger beach break action. First out of the van was the SUP, but I quickly changed it for my 6'10 and caught a few before dark. There was a lot of water moving about and was actually pretty sizey, but good to get out and have a good rinsing! Watching the action and having some spare time (having said that I feel busier now unemployed than I did employed), I've decided to do a trip overseas. Firstly looking at Australia, then South Africa, and finally Cape Verde, as the flights are a lot less than £1200! Probably heading over for a couple of weeks in early January, doing it all on the cheap and going for some quality waves. If anybody else fancies it, drop me a line!
