Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year

To all my clients, colleagues, friends and followers.

I wish you all a very merry christmas and a prosperous new year.

May 2016 be full of adventure.

Mountain Bike Guiding on Exmoor

Today I was out on Exmoor guiding mountain biking for a group of six guys from the Clevedon area. Not knowing the area the group asked for a 20-25 mile route taking in some classic Exmoor trails.

Our day started and finished at Dunkery Gate. The route took in Dunkery Beacon twice, Webbers Post, Horner woods, Lucott Cross, Hawkcombe, Ley hill and Dunster Path. 

It was a great day with dry trails, lovely weather and a nice breeze. The views were pretty good too. We even found time for a quick stop in a tea room in Horner for a brew and an ice cream.

MIAS Level 1 and Level 2 Training

On Wednesday and Thursday last week I delivered my first MIAS (Mountain Bike Instructors Award Scheme) Level 1 and Level 2 Training course. Day 1 was delivered in the Bridgwater area and day 2 was delivered on the Quantock Hills AONB. The weather was stunning on both days with blue skies and sunshine.

The four candidates were staff from Bridgwater College looking to gain a qualification to allow them to take groups on non-technical terrain and assist other already qualified staff to take groups on technical terrain.

Over the two days we covered all aspects of the syllabus with a focus on the difference between non-technical and technical terrain, checking and maintaining equipment, leadership techniques and group management. The course also touched on basic navigation skills, legal responsibilities, ratios and access.

All 4 candidates successfully passed their Level 1 and are now trained at Level 2. 

If you are interested in becoming a mountain bike leader then get in touch for future course dates. 

Somerset Secondary Schools PE Conference

 

 

Today I travelled over to Westfield School in Yeovil to deliver an Outdoor Education workshop for the Somerset Schools PE Conference.

 

The day was organised by Dave Bullock from Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership (SASP) and covered a range of different sports and topics for teachers to book onto.

 

My Outdoor Education workshop had 16 booked on which was a good number. We looked at ways to embed and improve outdoor education into the secondary schools PE curriculum. This mainly revolved around structured team development activities, orienteering and shelter building. We also covered the cross curricular areas that Ofsted are looking for in all lessons and how to include them.

 

It was a cold wet day but all the candidates enjoyed the sessions and went away with plans to get it up and running in their schools.  

A Soggy day on the Quantock Hills

It was a very wet and soggy day on the Quantock Hills today with the 'A' group of Level 3 Public Services students from Bridgwater College. However, it was a lot of fun and the students enjoyed the experience. The pictures are a little blurry because it was hard to keep moisture off of the lens.

We covered around 8 miles starting from Dead Woman's Ditch and going via Crowcombe Park Gate, Triscombe Stone and Ramscombe before heading back to the bus. 

The aim of todays ride was to look at different types of terrain and group management in preparation for their assessed ride in April. The day finished by thoroughly cleaning and lubricating the bikes at the Cannington centre before returning back to the college main site.

Kayaking on the River Dart - Loop Section

Today I have been out on the 'Loop' section of the River Dart in Devon. The levels were pretty low but it was still good to get out and help coach on the Cuckmere Valley Canoe Club trip.

Mick and I drove down from Taunton to meet up with Steve, Andy and Dean from Cuckmere Valley who were doen staying on Dartmoor for the weekend. 

We looked at breaking in and out, ferry gliding, 'S' turns and river reading. Mick found some good jets for a spot of tail squirting as you can see in the images. Overall a really good day and great to be back out on the white water.

Mountain Biking with Bridgwater College Public Services Students

Today was the start of the most practical week i've had for a while. Three days mountain biking and a day teaching navigation on the Quantock Hills.

The Quantock Hills are also the venue of choice for the three biking sessions this week with Bridgwater College Level 3 Public Services students.

We started at Crowcombe Park Gate where the students started by getting themselves kitted out with all the appropriate equipment and taking part in a pre ride assessment to check their skill level. Following this we went on a short loop via Withyman's Pool and Halsway Post before stopping for lunch at the minibus.

After lunch we headed off towards Triscombe Stone and descended down into great wood before climbing back out of the valley and returning to Crowcombe Park Gate.

All the students did really well in the cold weather conditions. The day started at -2 degrees and finished at +2 degrees with snow showers.  

Thursday and Fridays sessions will mirror todays so there wont be too much to comment on but I will pop up some images. 

White Water Paddle-boarding on the River Barle.

To start the post Christmas fat burn I decided to take Dave Jackson up on his offer to lend me a board and have a go at white water paddle-boarding.

I have been coaching paddle-boarding on flat water for just over a year now but haven't had the opportunity to see if my kayak/canoe skills on the river were transferable to paddle-boarding.

Dave runs a successful outdoor activity delivery company called Active Adventure South West and has been running paddle boarding sessions to his clients for the last few years. Recently he has been getting more involved with the white water aspect of the sport.

We headed over to Dulverton to paddle a section of the River Barle down to Exebridge. A section I have paddled many time in both canoe and kayak. Attacking this section on a paddle-board adds a new dimension to white water paddle sports. Good water levels are required but more importantly you have to read the river a lot more. Due to the boards having fins, you can get them caught in the shallows on rocks, weed and other strainers. If you are not careful this will pitch you head first over the front of the board. A low stance is also required which tires your legs, using them as shock absorbers from the turbulent water. 

I borrowed a classic 10'6" Red Paddle inflatable from Dave. This board is really a recreational board used on flat water and small surf. It was fast in a straight line but hard to turn quickly. On reflection it could also have been inflated a little more to give the board more stiffness. 

Dave was paddling a board from Red Paddle called the 'Flow'. This board has been designed for flowing water. At 9'6" it is a foot shorter meaning in turns quicker, has a quad fin set up to minimise fin snags and is quite a lot wider. These differences meant the board turned quicker and was more stable.

As you can see by the images, it is a lot of fun running grade 2 white water. Getting wet is definitely part of the daily programme for this sport. I lost count how many times I ended up in the water and Dave had his fair share too!

A great day out trying a new sport. The only issue being i'm now hooked which means more kit to buy!!

Mountain Biking on the Quantocks

 

It was great to get back out on my mountain bike again with some friends on the Quantock Hills. Recently I have been very busy and days off have been non-exsistent.

 

we met at Crowmcombe park gate at 08.30, a gentle frosting on the ground and an amazing sunrise (forgot to take a picture).

 

Simon, Simon, Steve, Josh, John, Kev and I just went for a gentle trundle around for a couple of hours. Simon Fallows riding his new Orange Gyro 29er for the first time!

 

We took in a couple of trails that I intend to use for the 2015 Quantock Quake before returning to the vans at 11.30. Only a short ride as everyone had other jobs to do but great to get out.

 

Simon Hogg brought along a demo Scott Spark, Kev wanted to have a quick blast on it to try it out hence the picture of Simon pushing up hill. Not a usual image, he simply couldn't ride Kev's bike with its bent crank arm!!!!!

 

We must make this a more regular occurrence boys??

Open Canoeing with Bridgwater College Outdoor Education Students

Back out on the Bridgwater and Taunton canal today with the Btec Level 3 Outdoor Education students. Today was their last practical session for their 'skills for water-based outdoor and adventurous activities' module.

The 16 students were split into two groups of 8, each group attending a 3 hour session. One AM and one PM.

We spent the first half of the each session looking at bank based rescue techniques and on the water towing/pushing strategies. The second half was spent assessing their personal skills on flat water. A 10-15mph wind made the students have to think as their previous sessions have luckily been in very clam conditions.

All of the students have made good progress through the module which is great to see. 

Navigation Training with Bridgwater College PES

Today I was back at Bridgwater college after 3 days CPD. I was working with the Level 3 Public and Emergency Services students doing some navigation training as part of their ongoing training for their Expeditions module.

Our route took us out onto the edge of the Somerset Levels around Chedzoy and Stawell. We chose this area as it is possible to walk directly from the college without the need of a minibus. 

The main focus of the day was to continue with some basic navigation using map to ground and feature identification. As the day panned out we saw a variety of wildlife (Swans, Buzzards, Herons, Roe Deer, and the Alpacas pictured) and came across an interesting stile at the back of Chedzoy church.

The route covered around 14KM and allowed each student to leads legs on their own and track the route of their fellow students.