Have you ever fancied the ultimate challenge? The ultimate terrain: heat, altitude, sand, rocks – the ultimate hostile atmosphere. Super Fun Days Out talks to Richard Cheetham, who recently completed the Atacama Crossing, 155 miles in 6 days across the driest desert on earth.
What made you do it?
It was the idea of friends of mine to find the most extreme challenge. We’re not elite athletes, we’re just normal people who fancied doing something extraordinary.
How did you hear about it? We just searched the internet looking for companies who organised extreme challenges, and we came across Racing the Planet, who specialise in ultra-marathons. The location really appealed, as did the kudos… the ability to say “I was one of the few people who’s run across the driest desert on earth.” We then looked on YouTube which gave us more idea of what it was really like as we didn’t know anyone who’d done it…
How did you prepare: physically and mentally? I’d never run a marathon before, and this race involves 6 of them, carrying all of your belongings, including 6 days of food. It took me 6 months to prepare, and the first time I ran, I could only run for 20 minutes, so this shows how possible it is for anyone to undertake something of this scale. I received a lot of advice from people and gradually the 20 minute run extended to an hour which extended to 2 hours and so on… There’s no doubt about it, it does require, for a period of your life, almost total dedication because to be ill-prepared in this environment could be very costly.
Mentally, you have to decide how important it is to you, and also over time, you learn to develop a habit of positive thought processes.
What experiences did you have in the race, how did you feel? I feared failure more than anything else as it was a massive financial, emotional and physical investment and because due to altitude sickness, I failed to reach the summit of Kilimanjaro. I knew what disappointment felt like. Each day the terrain varied but the heat was always the same, and the weight of the bag never seemed to get any lighter. During the event I met some really postive people and we shared our experiences each day. People came from a variety of backgrounds, different ages, mix of genders, it wasn’t full of Paula Radcliffe-style elite runners. Refreshingly, it was full of normal people. Blisters were the biggest challenge for most of us, and it certainly cost me a lot of time. It was an emotional roller-coaster, particularly as we faced 46 miles on day 5, which took all day, arriving at camp at midnight having started at 7.30am.
Finishing the race…
Crossing the finish line was just a beautiful moment – worth every sacrifice, and something that I will always remember. Everyone was very emotional, and I wish I could go back and re-live it again.
Advice for others
Immerse yourself in the event and its demands. You will experience bad days at training, but you’ll look back on those and remember that you will overcome it. The Theodore Roosevelt quote stayed with me the whole journey:
“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out howthe strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”
“Citizenship in a Republic,”
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
What would be your challenge?
Check out Super Fun Days Out , there’s a whole range of activities – which would provide you with a good challenge? We’d also love to hear more inspiring stories as well!
When I’m not having a SFDO, I will be found earning pennies as: The General Manager at SFDO! Working on updating and maintaining the site on a day to day basis as well as developing the new packages sites, products and future voucher scheme. Lots to look forward to!
Sum up a ‘Super Fun Day Out’ in 10 words:Fresh, Challenging, Engaging, Adrenalin, Exciting, Unreal, Awesome, Fear, Accomplishment
The most ‘Super Fun Day Out’ you’ve ever had:Kayaking down the River Rhone in 40C degrees, though the heat was not the fun bit.
Earliest Memory of a SFDO: Being taken White Water Rafting by my parents in the Rockie Mountains in Canada. I had a vague understanding when we were told it was one of the most dangerous rivers in the world, and what to do if we fell out to survive. Pure adrenalin ruled the actual experience though and it was amazing.
Craziest Sport You’ve Ever Tried:Probably the aforementioned White Water Rafting.
Next adrenalin activity you plan on trying: Zorbing looks fun so will have to try that at some point. I also really want to try quad bikes at some point.
Deepest Depth: What’s the depth of your average swimming pool?
Longest Distance: Never really counted. Probably somewhere between 15 and 20 miles.
Favourite Extreme Sport: From the ones I have tried it would have to be the watersports either kayaking or white water rafting.
Wackiest Sport You’ve Ever Heard of:Cheese Rolling (for at least the past 200 years) – There are few things wackier after all
Why you are involved in SFDO: Because they are paying me! No, Super Fun Days Out is a great company, with excellent prospects and a good purpose. All in all they are the kind of company I want to work for and see succeed. Getting to try some of their activities would just be a bonus!
Sum up your ideal day: ‘Love Life… Live It’:Wake up early enough to watch the sunrise and then have a nice hearty full English breakfast with friends. Pack up camp and spend a lazy morning kayaking down a calm and still river before changing at lunch to a large raft and taking on the rapids. BBQ in the evening with games, chatting and general merriment and then sleep. Oh and breathtaking views the whole time of course.
How I like to challenge myself:I like to think I would try (almost) anything once and that in anything I do choose to do, that I give it my best shot. I also am quite competitive and like to win, so it always good and challenging when the opponent is better than you.
Adrenalin sports I have tried include: Archery, Rock Climbing, Shooting, Camping, Horse Riding, Hiking, Hill/Mountain Climbing, Cycling, , Kayaking, Canoeing, , Water fun parks, , Tractor Driving, Laser Quest, Playzone, Golf, White Water Rafting, Karting, Assault Courses, Ice skating (never could stand up), Dragon boating, Sailing, wow more than I thought!
You know, any sport can become extreme – Bex had her first experience of #geocaching tonight (which involved little more extreme than climbing in a hedge, and up a bank) – but you can go to extremes:
The Stag-Do – An important tradition symbolising one man’s last hours of freedom. Gone, however, are the days of sitting in a smoky pub getting drunk until you can no longer walk. Tired of the traditional boozy evening that has become a mainstay of the male wedding ritual, the modern man expects more. The people at Super Fun Days Out, a young Southampton based company, believe that they can revolutionise the modern stag-do, committed to delivering an experience that will stay for a lifetime.
At Super Fun Days Out, it is this “experience” which is key. Drawing from a list of over 2000 companies offering over 80 different activities, the Super Fun Days Out team can put together the ultimate package, designed by the customer to their specifications. The focus is placed on the activities themselves, from Paintballing to Skydiving, from White Water Rafting to Abseiling, Super Fun Days Out has something for even the most extreme adrenaline junkie.
Created in 2009, Yaz El-Hakim, Hugh Bassett-Jones and Dominic Northcott are the brains behind the company. All three work at University of Winchester in different capacities where they met and made the vision a reality, after securing a ‘Business Start Up’ award. In 2010, Bex Lewis, a social media consultant, joined the company, and recently they received a further boost when they were able to employ Anthony March, a young Marketing Graduate from the University of Southampton, on a full time 3 month internship.
All in all, it is an exciting time for the young company, who now offer not only Stag-do packages, but also hen weekends, corporate events and custom made packages for all occasions. Already the most comprehensive directory of adrenaline fuelled activities and extreme sports, Super Fun Days Out will soon be able to offer its users the opportunity to book some of its activities directly online. With plans already afoot to offer a voucher scheme available to all Super Fun Day Out users, the site is fast cementing its place as the ultimate destination for all fans of extreme sports and thrilling activities in the U.K.
“The Festival of Speed is the largest motoring garden party in the world – a unique summer weekend that brings together an impossibly heady mix of cars, stars and motor sport ‘royalty’ to create the largest car culture event in the world. Held in the immaculate grounds of Goodwood House, this annual hill-climb event is a true celebration of motor sport and all things automotive.”
This is one event that, just one day, I’d love to get to! As the event claims “no other event combines such a diverse and authentic collection of cars and motorbikes with a star-studded line-up of drivers in one place.” The event includes everything from the most modern of cars, including current Formula 1 drivers, to vehicles from the 19th Century. “All cars and motorcycles are painstakingly selected to reflect the event’s major theme of the year, and to ensure their authenticity and provenance, all competing vehicles are presented in their original condition and livery.”
An appropriate way to raise money for a skateboard park, in memory of two young men – one killed in Iraq, the other whilst skateboarding on his driveway.
“What is so enticing about the underwater world? Physical grace: I imagine it’s like dancing for those who can, instead of being, like me, a person shifting gormlessly from foot to foot. But with 15m of water over my head, now we’re talking. You can shimmer, glide and hover with balance while the bubbles rise in slow spirals around you. Another of the paradoxes of diving is the relationship between mass and emptiness. There’s a calming insubstantiality about being at depth, an experience of both heavy materiality (have you ever tried to pick up a scuba tank?) and a very bearable lightness of being. Behind you the awkward fumbling characteristic of shoreline entries when, fully kitted-up in heavy surf, you blunder towards a thin crack in a reef’s edge, banging your knees and elbows on hard, resistant things. Before you is tranquil liberty, as you push through the same water whose eruptive surface moments ago threatened stability, injury and temper. Now it supports your every movement. You are poised. It is the only time I ever feel physically graceful.
Then there’s the light. Though some divers have a fetish for depth, and serious depth does have its attractions, the best stuff for a plodder like me is usually in the first 20m. I’d rather warm water, a wide variety of coral and strong sun above. The most abundant, colourful and zany, if not the most dramatic forms of aquatic life, live in the top 15m. Watching the play of strong sunlight over the breathtaking forms of coral heads or waving vegetation, with fish going through them at all speeds imaginable, and possessing all the colours conceivable, is bliss.”
Read the full story in the Times Higher Education.
‘Atacama: One man’s story of the race across the driest place on earth’
A lecture by Richard Cheetham, Winchester Sports lecturer and intrepid adventurer.
Wednesday 16 June, 18.00 for 18.30 in the Stripe Theatre. Seat bookings (maximum 4 per booking) taken now; to reserve seats, email enterprise.lectures or phone 01962 827578.
The Atacama desert is regarded as the driest place on earth, with temperatures daily in excess of 40C. In March 2010, Richard Cheetham attempted to race across it for charity – six marathons in six days in what is ranked by TIME Magazine as the world’s second toughest endurance race. Plagued by intense heat, altitude sickness, inhospitable terrain, water shortage and the inevitable blisters, this is his story of the race, and the battle to even get to the start as earthquakes made travel to Chile near-impossible.
Wondering what to do today? In the UK it’s a bank holiday, so where are you going? Weather’s not looking too amazing out of my window, but don’t let that stop you! There’s a great range of activities advertised on Super Fun Days Out via the search map – and currently we’re in process for some exciting new developments on the site (and on the social media) – look out for us over the next few weeks – you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Last year, we wrote an entry on Cheese Rolling, the annual event in Gloucestershire, and was returning to write some more information about this year’s event. How disappointing to realise that the event was cancelled due to Health & Safety concerns. Original fears that this was permanent closure were unfounded, but the Police and County Council have simply advised the organisers that significant changes needed to be made, and so the event is expected to return next year, albeit in a revised form. You can comment on the decision on the organiser’s blog here. It’ll be interesting to see how they deal with the ‘unofficial event‘ that seems to be in planning!
Discuss: Have you ever partaken in this activity, as a competitor or spectator? What was your experience? What changes should be made/avoided?
Have you ever been camping, ever wished you’d been camping?
Primary Induction
I was introduced to camping at a young age. I went to Twineham Primary School, where ‘Fletch’, our headmaster, always took the top two years camping in the summer (are you allowed to do that these days?!). We always camped in pairs, and here I can be seen with my friend Hayley holding the lovely sign we’d made for our tent – we called it “Hot Chocolate” – ah, those were the simple days… We went for the best part of a week, and I still remember many local walks, learning to appreciate the environment around us, and many evenings sat round the campfire toasting marshmallows. At home, with my brothers, we were always building fires… and rickety shelters in the woods which probably wouldn’t have kept us too dry…
Guiding
I was a very devoted Guide (as I understand many still are), and used to enjoy going camping with the Guides (as Brownies we’d had to stay in village halls, etc., so this was a really exciting step up!) . I took every opportunity to go camping – and look at those old school tents (suspect they now all have the ‘easy to put up (but not quite so easy to repack into the tiny bags) tents’. Before heading out on my travels I started the path to becoming a Guide Leader, and enjoyed helping to look after the group whilst camping… all those meals over a camp stove, searching around for wood, emptying the toilets (lovely) – I managed to avoid that one one year, as I was badly stung by a wasp and had my arm in a sling for 3 days – just ensured everyone else was doing it right!
Global Travels
Following Voluntary Redundancy, I decided I’d had enough of ‘playing it safe’ jobwise, and decided to experience the big wide world, in a trip encompassing South-East Asia, Australia, New Zealand and South America. A few opportunities for camping – and I’d always dreamed of doing the Inca Trail, and that finally came true (a couple of weeks later than planned, but that gave me 2 more weeks to enjoy New Zealand – really, 8 weeks isn’t enough!). Despite the fact that I ‘traveller’s sickness’ the day before, I was determined I was going to complete the Trail.. I just accepted that I would probably be the last in the group, which I was most of the time, but we had a great couple of guides who would come and chat to us. Another chance to experience some fine open air camping… and no need to put the tents up ourselves, as the porters on this trip were AMAZING (and I have to say cooked, in tents, some of the most amazing food that I ate in South America), taking down the tents after we left, trotting past us with gas cannisters and trays of eggs balanced on top, setting up tents, cooking food ready for when we arrived for lunch, taking them down and repeating the process (with sleeping tents) at our evening’s destination. The photo here is on a little ledge, near the one place on the trail that you can have a shower (sheer bliss, but really not worth the effort to be honest!), with a stunning view, and from where we would be woken at 4.30am in order to see the sun rise over Machu Picchu!
European Travels
On returning from my travels around the world (some experiences are making their way onto here), I signed up as a Tour Leader to take groups around Europe, the longest being 29 days around something like 15 different campsites in 8 different countries…. I really enjoyed it, and I think all the guests did too – aside from the up/down/up/down nature of move-along camping, and trying to race against the thunderstorm to put the tents up! The previous year I had travelled as a cook with the same tour company to a campsite near Barcelona. The photo that you can see here is the result of a very unexpected event – a whirling tornado. I am standing in what had been the ‘kitchen’, from which most of the utensils had disappeared (thankfully not hurting anyone badly as they zoomed across the campsite), and behind me is the space where my tent had been and a couple of other collapsed tents! The tornado struck around 11pm, when I was trying to sleep, hoping that I would wake up in the morning with all the storms gone… but no… suddenly I felt rather exposed, as my tent flipped over, and as I sat up, my airbed whirled into the air… never to be seen again. We then spent the next hour or so running round the campsite trying to rescue everyone’s possessions from the tents, and dumping them in the washrooms nearby, before sleeping in the disco for the night. The next day, the campsite disappeared under acres of washing as everything had been soaked through… and we all pitched in to get the tents back up (only 3 were irreparable)… by 2pm we were having lunch and it was a bit of a distant nightmare… but every time that the wind got up…! The company now uses a different/less exposed campsite – went there last year!
Tutorial on Preparing
Camping is really fun and enjoyable when you want to spend your days outdoors. You can go camping with your family or friends and make unforgettable moments in the mountains or in the woods. If you’re a beginner looking for a tutorial on how to build a camp this article might be helpful to give you some information. Here is a list of some steps you should take when you decide to go camping. Read full story.
More?
We’d love to hear about your experiences of camping, good places to camp in the UK, basic equipment you’d recommend (not my eye mask in Spain – crucial!), and indeed, stories of what you’ve done for a ‘Super Fun Day Out’
“A MAJOR new festival is coming to Scarborough in September. The “extreme sport 360″ festival will run between Friday September 17 and Sunday 19 at the Open Air Theatre.
It will feature competitions in up to six extreme sport events and will also include a concert, with a big headline act announced next month for the Saturday night.
Surfing, skateboarding and brush- boarding events have already been confirmed and the organisers, the Cirrion Group, are negotiating with three more sports.
The event will also link in with the annual motorbike races at Oliver’s Mount. Fiona Sidwell, chief executive of Cirrion, said: “Our ultimate aim is to build an extreme sports centre in Scarborough that will compete with the main European extreme sports destinations”
“Snowbombing is an exhilarating week-long whirlwind of momentous moments in mythical fairytale venues, delivered by a blizzard of brilliant bands and awesome avalanche of artists.”
Did you miss it – catch the awesome pics, videos, and reviews here, and keep an eye out for next year… More information on the Facebook site.
The Rough Guide to Adventures can be found on SeeSaw (a still Beta-version back catalogue of TV shows). This episode, filmed in 2008, allows Julia and Toby (the presenters) to “get physical as they test out some of the world’s most adrenalin-pumping holidays. They visit Oman’s Hajar Mountains and Southern Africa to try out rock-climbing, traversing desert canyons and much, much more.”
3.5 Hour Motorsport Event – Quad Racing & Off Road Karting
Only £72.50 per person!!!!
Quad Racing and Off Road Karting is a real blast, both events are highly competitive and require a completely different set of skills to be mastered.
Example Timetable:
The motorsport activities can both take place in the morning or afternoon, or either side of lunch. The event is wrapped up with a presentation where the fastest drivers receive medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd and then there is the opportunity for photographs on the podium.
Minimum group of 4. Read more on Garlands Off Road and Corporate Leisure, based between Birmingham, Coventry, Leicester, Nottingham and Burton Upon Trent in the heart of the Midlands. Check out their Facebook group.
As the Formula 1 season has restarted, with an exciting finish to the first race (1st Fernando Alonso (Ferrari), 1h39m20.396s; 2nd Felipe Massa (Ferrari), 1h39m36.495s; 3rd Lewis Hamilton (McLaren), 1h39m43.578s), I am reminiscing about my experience day out in a single seater at the Three Sisters Circuit… I was not quite that fast!!! It was such a great day… we started by being taken around on a lap in an MG to be shown: “A is for Apex; B is for Brake; T is for throttle”, then undertook 3 laps in the MG as a driver to see if we were up to being put into the single seater cars! I even got an A for something…
Then it was time to go into the single-seater car… all was going well until I stalled near the start line, so I was a bit behind by the time we hit the lap – the etiquette is that if another car is coming up faster, you need to pull to the side so they can go through, so I never really got my lap time up… and was quite busy waving at my friends who had my camera :-) Just as they went in and I thought – finally… they let the next set of cars out!! Still, I came off the track beaming – my friends said they’d never seen me so happy! Slightly frustrated at not having been as fast as I wanted, I then signed up to be a passenger in a car which most definitely had a twitchy back end…, 3 laps of amazing fun!!
“Due to the way questars are planned they attract people of all levels from beginners through to some of Britain’s best adventure racers. Both the one-day and the two-day races accommodate all-comers. … Questars Trio races have three stages – trail running, mountain biking and kayaking. Within each stage there are a range of checkpoints to visit. Each checkpoint has a value and the winners are those that have accumulated the most points within the time limit. The race is continuous. Transition between stages is all part of the race. Teams choose in which order to do each stage.“ See more on the website.
Above is a model indicating what was expected from Bournemouth’s artificial surf reef, which has now been open 3 months. Feedback on the reef is not good, with few surfers using it, indicating that “the wave produced is more of a “slab” than a “peeler”, meaning it is too steep and breaks too quickly. As a result most surfers are unable to stand up on their board and ride it for any length of time before they wipe out. Safety fears have also been expressed as the top of reef breaks the surface of the water at low tide, which has resulted in fins being ripped off boards.” However, “Danny Chilcott, a keen surfer and proprietor of Ocean Breeze B&B in Boscombe, said the reef could be fixed by a few “tweaks” but it should be done soon.” Read full article in the Telegraph. Let’s hope they can get it fixed, and we can enjoy good surf waves in the UK!
“During the winter of 1975 in Hawaii, surfing was shaken to its core. A group of young surfers from Australia and South Africa sacrificed everything and put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture, and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world. With a radical new approach and a brash colonial attitude, these surfers crashed headlong into a culture that was not ready for revolution. Surfing was never to be the same again…”
What’s even more fun that kite-boarding – how to do you take it to the next level?
In trading the traditional kite board for a kind of go-cart, Furman is able to soar across the Wrightsville Beach sand like a dune buggy would only without the engine.
You can get lifted 10-15 feet in the air if youre strapped in,” Furman says. And with speeds ranging anywhere from 40-70 miles per hour, this sport is almost as much fun for spectators as it is for participants.”
Next week sees Winter X Games, the legendary U.S. winter action sports event, come to Europe for the first time. Competing for Britain will be top snowboarder Jenny Jones, hoping to win another gold medal following her win at the recent U.S. event. Can she do it again? Find out by watching all the action LIVE online from 10th March, only at www.extreme.com powered by Freecaster.tv.
Following Amy Williams’ ground-breaking gold medal win in the skeleton at last month’s Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Britain’s winter sports competition hopes are once again pinned on a talented female athlete. 29-year-old Jenny Jones, from Bristol, is Britain’s only rider ever to win gold at the U.S. Winter X Games, which is held each year in Aspen, Colorado.
With a title like that, who wouldn’t want to read this book?!
“If you’re in the mood to explore what’s new and different in the daredevil human sport world, check out No Dribbling the Squid (Andrews McMeel) by Michael J. Rosen. You’ll get a front-row seat to such thrilling sports as octopush, elephant polo, swamp soccer, toe wrestling and professional shin kicking.
There’s the Wife-Carrying World Championships, held annually in Sonkajarvi, Finland; the Mudslinging Festival in Chiba, Japan; and, in a small Spanish town, something called the Devil’s Jump, where babies are lined on mattresses for contestants to long-jump over – a tradition that justifies itself by the belief that it takes the devil out of the infants.”
“The author admits most of the sports covered in his book involve inebriation, anesthesia, unusual equipment and choking hazards – often all at the same time. He also warns these are not things people who have certain phobias – fear of heights, depths, speed, fire, tight places, and a few we’ve never heard of, like emetophobia (fear of vomiting) and myxophobia (fear of slime) – should try at home.”
Trevor Harris, taking up rock climbing about five years ago, knew he was trying something with a pop culture reputation for being “extreme.”
Harris, who spoke with The Telegram Wednesday, said he was surprised to find climbing a less dangerous, more satisfying sport than he had imagined.
Enamoured with his experiences, over the last three years, he has taken on the task of completing a documentary on the climbing community in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Harris said “Breach: A Newfoundland Climbing Film” is meant to put on display the real story of rock climbing, something other than the dangerous and death-defying images popularized by scenes in movies like the Chris O’Donnell vehicle “Vertical Limit” and “Cliffhanger” with Sly Stallone.
“There is a lot of misinformed speculation about rock climbing,” said Harris, who pointed to the movies “farcical” and dangerous action scenes.
He said it is a myth that climbing is not a safe sport.
“It’s scary, but it’s not dangerous,” he said, adding his film “Breach” devotes part of its time to encouraging non-climbers to consider trying the activity.
Ultimate X is Cape Town’s largest extreme sports lifestyle event bringing the adrenalin and excitement of extreme sports to over 3,000 consumers in an urban environment. On Sat February 20 2010, the V&A Granger Bay site will be transformed into an extreme sporting paradise. Burning rubber, searing adrenalin, high jumps & sunshine will create an unrivalled vibe.
The official Olympic site is making great use of Twitter to demonstrate what is going on at the Winter Olympics: the above is effectively a series of Tweet Clouds demonstrating the big topics on Twitter at the moment, and Olympic Tweets pulling the Tweets of those involved in the action. Plenty of videos to catch up with too!
A weekend away… and the start of the Winter Olympics is missed! If you want to know what’s going on, and the results of those sports that you’ve missed, check out the schedule on the official site.
The list of sports included includes the following:
Alpine Skiing
Biathlon
Bobsleigh
Cross Country
Curling
Figure Skating
Freestyle Skating
Ice Hockey
Luge
Nordic Combined
Short Track
Skeleton
Ski Jumping
Snowboard
Speed Skating
There is of course extensive news coverage, including in the Telegraph and the Guardian, and there’s a number of iPhone apps!
Was this old saying ever as pertinent as when applied to participants of extreme sports? But they’re fun to take part in and sometimes even more fun to relive later in the pub, especially the hairy moments. Of course a little bit of discomfort following sporting endeavor is quite normal, pop an ice pack over the sore bit for 10 minutes and you’ll be fine. What do you do with the more serious injuries to muscles and joints though and can you prevent them in the first place?
Springing to Action I hope it’s obvious that significant cuts, bruises and pain from high speed falls, collisions and wipeouts should be assessed by qualified medical practitioners asap. It should be equally obvious that wearing the right protective kit and paying attention to your instructor’s advice and warnings is an essential part of living to ride, fly or jump another day.
My work as a chiropractor brings me into contact with the less life threatening but nevertheless debilitating joint sprains and muscle strains that you might hope will just go away with a hot bath and a couple of Ibuprofen. The reality is that even if the pain goes away the body stores a memory of your injury in the form of a pattern of compensation making muscles and joints work subtly differently. Muscles get shorter and weaker, joints get stiffer, ligaments come under increasing strain until one day, you, the hero of many an extreme sporting moment bends over to stroke the cat and collapses to the floor writhing from the agony of a prolapsed disc.
Living to Fight Another Day To avoid this you have to view regular visits to the chiropractor, osteopath or physio as part of your training regime, helping your muscles and joints to get the full benefit of the exercise you’re doing instead of being at risk of a repetitive strain injury. Great core muscle strength is a very helpful attribute in anyone but especially in those whose sports require balance, strength and stamina. The best practitioners these days are familiar with modern thinking about rehab exercise and should be able to advise you.
If you do pick up a knock or a sprain/strain, first apply an ice pack for 10 mins at a time over the painful area, do this up to once an hour during the first 24 hours. Compression bandages over a sprained joint can also help to preserve function and speed return to activity. Don’t wear the bandage for more than 48 hours though or you begin to develop a reliance upon it. Make sure to call your friendly chiro/osteo/physio and get ironed out, you may live to regret it if you don’t.
At the very least give me a call and I’ll be happy to give any Super Fun Days Out customer some free advice over the phone.
Apologies if you have come to our site in search of a particular post… we are too! We have had a “slight” issue with our database, and are current reconstructing all our entries – please be patient as we track them down. Hugh is doing an excellent job with this!
“Urban sports are much safer, when compared to extreme sports. You can probably guess by the name, extreme sports involve much greater dangers. In many cases, the execution for extreme sports is hazardous and involves more skill. The human limit is constantly being tested and pushed in extreme sports. The return for taking on such risks is an irreplaceable adrenalin rush.
If you are thinking of taking up a sport, start by assessing the activities in your area. It could be street soccer, skateboarding, stunt biking, or even basketball. As long as the sport takes place in the city, it’s considered an urban sport. Take note of the similarities from these sports activities.”
Get prepared for urban sports with the full article.
I came across this site from Whistler (which I’ve always associated more with deep powder, but of course there have to be plenty of summer sports!), which appears to cover anything Mountain Bike.
Pages:
News (pictures)
Reviews (helpful and indepth)
Trails (with a starring system for how good they are)
Photos (if you lust after cogs, these are for you)
Videos (crazy stuff)
and lots of opportunities to interact with other bike heads!
Visit the site, which describes itself as: “WhistlerMountainBike.com is a site focused on biking in Whistler. Featuring videos, photography, guest rider stories, reviews and covering all aspects of mountain biking we strive to be your information source for all things mountain biking in Whistler.”
Having caught up with some of the developments in 3D as featured in the Consumer Electronics Show, and seeing just how BIG 3D is expected to become in the next few years, I did a little searching, and came across this production from last year…
“Pro Surfers Julie Cox and Kyla Langen, the two featured surfers in the film, are both longtime surfing competitors and aficionados. Cox, a talented longboarder who also works for the California Surf Museum, has competed in contests around the globe – winning California coalition events and consistently placing in the top 10 of international events held in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. On the other hand, Langen’s radical, aggressive style is pure excitement. She’s surfed professionally in over twenty countries and works with the Cousteau Foundation’s CELP program as a youth instructor. Both women are also surf coaches and share an intense affection for the sea.
“Julie’s lyrical, flowing surf style is a joy to behold. Her empathy for the ocean is truly inspiring,” said Executive Producer James Humann of Lucid Dreams 3D. “While Kyla’s style is like listening to rock ‘n’ roll – daring, brash, reckless – and her love of the ocean is completely infectious.”
Unlike other surfing documentaries, Physics of Surfing is a 35-minute educational film that uncovers the physical science of ocean waves and the art of surfing. In this captivating presentation, the filmmakers explore how energy moves through water, building and combining its force, traveling thousands of miles over the course of weeks until the ocean floor underneath disrupts the wave’s formation and causes it to pitch up and collapse. The film also investigates the science behind various surfing styles and how surfers instinctively address such notions of gravity and buoyancy while using the energy of motion to ride waves.”
Sport England’s chairman, Richard Lewis, has urged sports projects not to miss this week’s Active Women funding programme deadline.
Applications to the fund – which will invest in projects and programmes targeting women from disadvantaged communities and women caring for children under 16 – must be received by 5pm on Wednesday 3 February 2010.
“This is a real chance to create new opportunities for women whose circumstances make it more difficult or less appealing for them to play sport,” said Richard. “I am calling on all community groups and sectors, especially those who work with these women but who may not have considered applying for sports funding before, to submit relevant applications for high quality projects.”
“Stephen set up a company called Global Breakthrough Ministry and staged a very popular arena tour around the US, which mixed extreme sports and evangelism. A spin-off video called Livin It, which he directed, has gone on to sell 500,000 copies.”
There’s some awesome pics of skateboards in the air on the site, from the event, hosted in 2008.
Miranda Sawyer meets with Stephen Baldwin, soon after his eviction from the Celebrity Big Brother house: full interview.
On our site we have some of the most hits around this growing phenomena called ….. Segway Racing. Heard of it? I was recently lucky enough to go to the US to visit family when all of a sudden there were about 7 people just bombing down this road. When I say bombing it, I don’t mean 70mph, but easily 15ish mph, which I imagine on 2 wheels and holding on to handle bars (white knuckle ride) would be quite exciting. Although they were just on the road. This got me thinking of some questions:
Are they legal to ride on the roads if so how old do you have to be?
How fast do they actually go?
How much do they cost to buy?
Here are the answers to the best of Google’s knowledge:
While in general no state prohibitions exist in the United States, local regulations may exist. We recommend that you check your local regulations prior to use in public areas. An updated list of domestic regulations by state is available at http://www.segway.com/regulatory.
Between 6 and 12.5 mph (so 15ish was a reasonable guess).
If you have used these I would love to hear from you as it is very much a growing sport over here but the trend may catch on as we have a relatively small island compared to the states.
Craig Philbrick and Matthew Scarfe are taking part in the famous 2010 Mongol Rally, in a team named “Got Milk“.
“The world is just a little bit too safe. Gone are the days where the edge of the map called you forth to discover what lay beyond – satellite maps and GPS have it laid out before you leave the armchair. What if you want things to go wrong? What if you want a bit of unknown in a world full health and safety measures? What if the words “adventure travel” conjure images of old ladies on a guided tour to Everest base camp with all the danger and real adventure neatly removed? What you need is the Mongol Rally.
Imagine yourself in the middle of the gargantuan Kazakh desert, your car slowly being shredded by the dirt track your map says is a motorway, completely lost hundreds of miles from civilisation with no back up crew to rescue you. Just you, your wits, your increasingly brown pants, a car that the laws of physics say shouldn’t have got you past Peckham Rye and a slightly angry looking man with a gun.
If this all conspires to make you think, “my goodness that’s a terribly silly idea” the Mongol Rally is probably not your cup of salted Mongolian tea. If, on the other hand, you think “hang on by gad, that’s exactly what I need”, you’ve found your calling, so read on to find out what you’ll be doing next summer.”
The event is not just for adventure, but Team Got Milk are taking part in aid of Mercy Corps… and they’re still seeking sponsorship.
“A third of the way around the earth, from Europe to Mongolia via a plethora of countries most people haven’t heard of in a car that has an engine with no bigger than 1 litre. Starting from England, Spain and Italy, the rally finishes in the Mongolian capital Ulaan Baatar around four weeks and a whole heap of adventure later. It’s between about 8 and 10,000 miles depending on the route you choose to throw your trusty steed at. We don’t believe in telling you what to do or where to go as this is supposed to be an adventure not a cosy guided driving tour, so the world is pretty much your oyster.”
White Air was founded in 1997 by extreme sportsman Nigel Howell. Starting as a wind and surf-based event due to the attraction of the UK’s superb beaches, it has rapidly expanded and now is the most prestigious international festival on the calendar involving some 40 sports on water, land, beach and in the air – combined with arts, music fringes, and extensive entertainment including the awesome Live Stage which features 2 huge nights of music on the beach front with top level groups each year. Event held in Brighton, West Sussex.
Watch the video from last year, and take the opportunity to sign up for an Early Bird ticket for 2010 (if the dates are anything like last year, expecting weekend of 18/19 September):
“Here will be chances to try the gear from various manufacturers but also the chance to learn the art of Mountain Boarding and ride the hill, join in the Skate clinics, Parkour and the art of free running, Thundercat Powerboats, Paragliding, Winddisc, or learn the basics of Kitesurfing, Windsurfing and Surfing, have a go on the Mountain Bike trials course, introductory in Land Yachting, or even to have a go at Paddle Surfing, try the Aqua Skipper, Paramotoring, Flyjumping, Land Windsurfing and the Camtrike! And if you still have the energy why not try and climb the wall!. If you fancy something less energetic why not try out our Graffitti workshop, the Freequay Tent or Digital Dj Mixing with the top pros!”
Eastbourne Extreme is one of the biggest FREE extreme sports festivals in the UK. Featuring a huge line up of air, land and water based outdoor pursuits, it takes place over 2 days on Eastbourne’s Eastern seafront from 10am to 5pm each day. Enjoy the music video from last year (warning: some explicit lyrics):
Attractions
Take advantage of free have a go taster sessions, see exciting demonstrations and cheer on national competitions from:
UKWA windsurfing
Thundercat Powerboat Racing
Sailing at Spray Watersports Centre
Jet ski displays
Seated rowing
In-line Skating displays
BMX bike displays including the Animal Relentless Bike Tour
Urban Shadows Parkour (free running)
Land yachting
Kite Buggies, Kite Flyers and Kite Surfing
VW Bus Stop tour
Also features EBM Live music event on the Extreme stage, plus shops, food stalls and children’s rides.
The signs are plastered on mountain bikes, skateboards and surfboards everywhere: “If you’re not on the edge you’re taking up too much space”, “Face your fears. Live your dreams”, “You have no friends at 200mph”.
Extreme sports slogans have never impressed me, especially those that implore me to jump off buildings or bungee platforms. I’m a sedentary sort of person; an adrenalin rush for me is drinking milk past its use-by date or returning my DVDs a day late. Danger isn’t my middle name.
It is slightly odd, then, that I find myself in a nappy and dangling from the edge of a 10-metre cliff with only a rope as thick as my thumb stopping me from splattering on to the rocks below.
I’m abseiling in the Glenworth Valley, a 50-minute drive north of Sydney. I’m not here to conquer my fear of heights or yell “gnarly” as I jump off a cliff. I’m looking into some unusual family history.
“Cooke’s suit split as she bent over just seconds before jumping into the bobsleigh with her team-mate Nicola Minichiello for the two-woman event.
She seemed unaware of the technical malfunction however, despite the amusement of one of the officials, who was filmed laughing moments after the accident.”
Read full story – unsurprisingly, the video has become an internet hit.
According to this press release from Active Mate, climbing and extreme sports can make a man more attractive to a woman – doesn’t seem to appear the opposite way round – wonder if we can see the original survey!
“A survey by psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman ranked 15 common sports into a “sexiness scale”, with 57% of women finding climbing the most attractive sport, closely followed by extreme sports (56%), football (52%), and hiking (51%). Bottom of female respondents’ list came golf, with just 9% of their vote.
Men, Wiseman discovered, said they’d be most attracted to women into aerobics (70%), yoga (65%), and the gym (64%). Bottom of their list came bodybuilding (5%), rugby (6%), and – again – golf (18%). The online survey polled 6,142 people.”
Visit the site to find a screening near you…. there’s some amazing extreme sports caught on camera, and reminds me why I’ve wanted to visit that area for such a long time – one day!
“If I die, it’ll be doing something enjoyable – it’s got to happen sometime, why not today?” Visit the website of ‘Tough Guy‘, “The original and toughest test of its kind anywhere in the World. Run on the last Sunday in January, you will need every last ounce of mental and physical strength you can muster to rise to this challenge. Your fear of heights, tight spaces, fire, water and electricity will be tested to the max. Everyone bar the very toughest will be beaten!” If you’re feeling fit enough, there’s still time to enter, and it’s not restricted to ‘guys’ either!
ITN Source describe it as a “horrific two-mile obstable course in the Tough Guy race in Staffordshire, United Kingdom, designed by a former Grenadier Guardsman near the village of Old Perton. The annual race starts in the village with an eight-mile run, before competitors have to wade through energy-sapping mud and plunge into ice-cold water to reach the finishing post. As if this wasn’t bad enough they also have to negotiate flames, smoke bombs and taunting marshalls.The course is so bad that runners are required to sign a disclaimer which reads: “It’s my own bloody fault for being here” just to take part.”
Paintball is a fantastic fun activity, where mums, dads, kids, grandparents, and business teams, get to run around in the bush doing an adrenalin-fuelled activity, but in a safe environment.
And it’s great exercise when the adrenalin gets going; the sweat pours off even when you’re just standing! 2010 is going to be a big year for Adrenalin Paintball. The environment is unique to visitors from Wellington. Owner and top ranking paintball player, Jason Newport, says “There’s so much to do up here. It’s a family’s haven really. It’s all here for the taking.”
When Rotorua hosted the first national Volcanic Paintball Tournament, it wasn’t held in the bush. It also wasn’t a playground for war games by trigger-happy adrenalin junkies. It was at the Rotorua stadium, and kicked off a strong movement to get paintball out of the war-game mentality and into the sports arena.
Jason Newport from Adrenalin Sports in Paraparaumu is a driving force behind this change in attitude about paintball. “I liken the game to chess; it’s very strategic, and a lot of fun,” he says. “I love being able to present this sport to people.
Jason, a national competitor in the sport, has represented New Zealand in the Australian Masters. He also won the first and second Rotorua tournaments.
I can’t find any more information on this festival, aside from that it was around this time last year… looks like fun! YouTube descriptor says it was under-attended, but looks like thos who were there had a complete blast!
It is less than a month until the Winter Olympics start. What will you be covering?
I’ve got six or seven events to cover. If I get to see the skeleton in Whistler and ice hockey final in Vancouver I’ll be a very happy man. The ice hockey is going to be insane.
Whitelines is one of several magazines which are now available as an iPhone app. Here’s how they describe themselves: “Whitelines is the UK’s premier snowboard magazine. Printed in a coffee table format, it combines incredible images from the most respected photographers in the industry with in-depth articles that get you amped. Every issue of the magazine comes gift wrapped with a quality snowboard film and is filled with information for all types of snowboarder – from trick tips and backcountry advice to far flung travel features and high profile interviews. Whitelines is aimed simply at fellow riders – not a clique – offering a unique UK perspective on the whole world of snowboarding.”
Earlier we mentioned ‘The Eddie‘, and looking back, found an awesome clip on YouTube… look how lazy those surfers are – being towed out on a jetski (ha ha), and see how proud they are of their mashed-up surfboards!! Want something a little more gentle – look out for the surf hotspots in the UK.
Finishing the race…
