A class re-union after 24 years - very surreal....

Class of 1981

It was really quite incredible, on the 25/6/2005, the 13a got together for their first (proper) class reunion (there was one before very shortly after the Abitur, but hardly anyone attended, we were probably glad not to have to see each other again....).
If you like to see/read more (in German), have a look
here.
This blog is in creation, so bare with me.... more pictures will be added and also hopefully my old classmates write a few bits....
(Andrea)

U2 and the discovery of a new European Metric Measurement

Well off we went to Glasgow in a bit of a rush. I had the joy of dental root treatment half an hour before traveling. Straight to the Weeej to meet the rest of the people that were joining in the "Corporate Fun". Suitably wined and dined, campaigned and bussed we arrived at Hampden Park. (The support acts had been and gone by this time). It was quite exciting in amongst all the other folk, searching for the entrance to the stadium, the jostle for the toilets, women sprinting through the gents, climbing the stairs to see the hallowed ground. And the awful realisation that the seats we had been allocated were hopeless. Well they were worse, fecking hopeless! 90 degrees to the stage, level with one of the large panels that formed the end with no view of the centre piece video wall in any way. Completely pants. I haven't started on the quality of the sound yet either....

Abandoning our seats next to the smiling man with the Labrador and stick, we wandered off to find a standing spot. We managed this getting a three quarter view only to be moved on by security with a hearty "take your seats please". I was ready to leave, but we stuck it out.

We paid a sh*tload (thats the new Euro metric measurement, ten times bigger than a "Lot" ), of cash for this. Twice £229 for the whole package inc dinner. Hopelessly ripped off....Drop the debit! Too right with these ticket prices!

U2" were allegedly great as I would expect. I was quite upset that Andrea had spend this amount of cash on this event. Even more so as it never really kicked off for us.

Great atmosphere with awesome tunes. Video wall went down well. Especially for those who could see it, we never really got beyond the Video Wall Concept phase. The usual show from the worlds greatest supergroup. I will have to buy the DVD to see what I have missed.

Been an awesome month though:

Chamonix Mountain Biking
U2 at Hampdump
British Superbikes at Knockhill
F-1 GP Magny Cours
Tickets to Live8
Still to come, Fun Lovin Crims...

Bring it on! More later.. Rick

Glen Tilt tour

Yesterday saw us tackling the beautiful Glen Tilt for a third time. The wounds from last weekend had healed somewhat and the weather looked promising.
We set off from the Blair Atholl car park at 12 noon, and ached up the immediate steep hill, and a long one it is too....
A clever shortcut Rick had worked out saved us the way down to the cottage at Shinagag and back up the hill, but required a river crossing...as he knows how much I hate to get my feet wet, he offered to carry me across....I accepted. If I had known tho' how many streams, puddles and generally boggy surface were to cross still, I hadn't bothered....

Nobody but sheep
Great rocky descent to Daldhu Lodge for a well earned lunch. Then up the long steep track up to the pink house (the ones who've done this tour know what I mean). And I was chuffed to bits to manage this for the first time without having to get off and push. I even had a few gears left and enough air to keep talking, to Rick's dismay !!
Anyway, at Fealar Lodge as it's called, we filled up water, played with the dogs (or better we made silly faces and they barked for Scotland), had a muesli bar and, with the knowledge that it is mostly downhill from here set off with a smile on our faces.
Dog thing
Which was wiped off a minute later as on the steep ten meters up the meadows behind the Lodge, the shit hit the fan.
Ricks chain broke, got caught in the rear mech, and as this all happened on full power application uphill, wrapped the mech about 180 degress round backwards and subsequently bent the hanger. My immediate thoughts where to find somebody in the Lodge who would hopefully help us to get back down to the car park. But no, my man is sooooo clever and he had all the right tools and knowledge to fix the mess at least good enough to make it down (well, almost....). So, 40 minutes later we set off again.

Fixer
Over the meadow, finally descending into the gully to the river, where both of us got off at the bits with the murderous drop-offs to the left. I still have to talk to somebody who actually cycled this...
And then, the view of the Glen always blows me away, Scotland at it's best !! Over the iron bridge at the falls, great track all the way down the glen, and apart from the worry if Rick's bike will hold, all was well.
Of course the chain had to break one more time, about 3 miles before the end. A quick fix and then an easy roll back into Blair Atholl.
35 miles, 7 hours ellapse (would have been about 50 minutes less without the breakdowns). Hard, but superb, one of my all time favourites....
Bikes packed up quickly and then the big reward, a stovie and beer stop in Dougie McLean's Taybank Bar in Dunkeld. All is well with the world.....
(Andrea)

Chamonix "training camp" 9 - 13 June

View from the chalet
Day 1

Relativity

Everything is relative. Relative fit. Relative fast. Relative steep. The question is, relative to what. Today I had to compare myself to some seasoned bikers.
Off for our first ride at 10.30am, cracking up at 11am already, wondering why ever I decided to do something like this. The hill up to the Argentiere GLacier was super steep and I couldn’t get enough oxygen into my lungs as I was trying to keep up with the others. 2 guides with awesome skills (Ben Fogle lookalike Ed and Chris), 3 Geordies, "Positive Pressure" Kev, Paul and Mark, and 2 scousers, "Kamikazee" Neil and Paul, all with calf strength that makes Arnie blush.
Once I followed Rick’s advice to go my own pace things settled down. Great biking, open flowing forest trails on the Northern Valley side. Awesome scenery and weather for sun factor 20. Biere du Mont Blanc blanche on Chamonix's main square in the Bar Nationale afterwards. All well again.

Well earned beers in Bar Nationale

Day 2

“The weather will be like this till Monday!”

Says Piff (short for Epiphany, what a name…she works in the chalet). Scorgio.

Busies in the morning

Great start to the day, windy downhills down to the valley of Servoz, then up a mountain, 700 meters altitude in under 1 hour (I think....). I slowly ground my way up, at the back of the pack but not trying to keep up with them and I made it without too much pain or getting seriously out of breath. Hm, progress to yesterday then !
Lunch break with a view

After lunch and expensive coffees it was all downhill to Chedde, mostly singletrack, over lots of roots and rocky stuff, great fun. And best of all, I was not limping behind. Nice.
Back to Les Bossons on the train. Well, some went on to Bar Nationale for beers. Yes, Rick and I.

Waiting to be fed

Day 3

Downhill day widda boss


Positve or negative pressure - that's the question

Cable cars and a wee mountain train, no uphills. Says company boss Phil in the morning. Well, they always have to put one of those ups in, which make your eyes bulge out, ‘just those 4 serpentines’ but oh was it worth it !
We started off down to Les Houches, took the 'frique up to La Chalette. First downhill off the day, technical and steep but brilliant.

Ed in action

On the 'frique again back up and over to the other route, Chemin de Rocher – part of which was 3 miles exhilarating singletrack downhill in one go. The smell of boiling break pads and the burning sensation in your forearms on a windy, rocky, rooty trail thru the woods….awesome, everbody was buzzing with excitement! Some more downhill with tricky switchbacks, Kamikazee Neil's end was nigh ….back up with the wee tramway and on the trail from the morning again. Home, beers, happy.

Some wounds to compare today then, one over the handle bars each between me and Rick and on the 3rd run I tangoed with the bike just having stopped avoiding a fall only to loose balance towards the valley side….

Injuries

Ah well, not as bad as Neil who shot straight out off the path missing the switchback, downwards vertically, bashed his leg big time but what really hacked him off was that he bent his frame. Day finished for him unfortunately.

Kamikazee Neil and his broken bike


Day 4

Piff was wrong

The weather didn't hold, big storms, so we packed the bikes (well, Rick packed and I helped...) and went up the Aguillere du Midi as the storms subsided...what a place !
Aguillere du Midi
(Andrea)

Whistles....

If you own a MTB and go regularly on trails in all weathers, you will often hear a whistling noise. At first it will not be clear as to what this is but it soon becomes obvious. Its your wallet in freefall.... Just getting ready for this trip and getting the bikes up to scratch is costing a fekking fortune. Stuff just wears out at an alarming rate. Rear disc brake, £120, pads £45 (three sets), replaced bent disc, £50, cushion for wallet to land on, priceless!

But at the end of the day its going to be great. Checking the weather in Chamonix gives us 21 degrees and clear skies.

This is me up at 06:00 in the morning to clear some of my work for the day leaving me with a less soiled conscience about The Devils Staircase to Fort William via the West Highland Way, today. On a flier to Glencoe and back. Just hope the weather holds. Then Thursday the final maintainance of two new chains and a set of cables. Hurrah. Off to book the parking at Newcastle airport......(Rick)

Gearing up for Chamonix !

Off Thursday afternoon from Newcastle directly to Geneva, biking Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and potentially Monday morning in Chamonix.... back in the UK late Monday night. And that's just for training.
The big one shall happen at some point in August, a circumnavigation of the Mont Blanc on the mountain bike (hopefully mostly on it rather than falling off or worse, pushing it !!!). 5 days, 3 countries, 4 passes, 200 km making 8000 mtrs ascent... Why some might ask ??? I think I might have a midlife crisis. Hmm...
Well, what I've go for sure is PANIC (yes, in big letters). Am fighting panic with mantras, Must get Stronger, Must get Faster, Must get Skillfullerererer....(Andrea)