Danube to Beijing

Krasnoyarsk – time for testing the river speed

nic — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:07:33 +0000

I am now in Krasnoyarsk. I drove over 5000km to get here from Tampere Finland. The 5 days of driving went rather well. It was a long time in the car however in a way it was training for the record attempt.
Last Saturday I kayaked from Divnogorsk to Krasnoyarsk, a 35km stretch out after the drive. The average speed was 17kmph. For the record I need to average 18.72 or more to break it.
Yesterday, Sunday evening I met with Kate who is helping me organise the team of supporters that I will need for the attempt. I met Kate last year when I visited Krasnoyarsk. She has pulled together a group of people who are keen to help out.

Meeting the support team

Tomorrow, I will start my river testing from Krasnoyarsk to Lesosibirsk, about 450km distance that I hope to cover in 3 days. The weather is ok, a little cold but I have the needed clothing to cope. I have to carry all my gear, safety equipment, sleeping bag, food & water etc. Once I have finished testing this section of river I will know if it will be possible to make an attempt. I have always said if the numbers work I will attempt to break it. If the numbers don’t work then I will look elsewhere.
My fingers are crossed hoping the numbers will work.

over 200 km week.

nic — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:23:28 +0000

The 1st week in Czech and I was able to start training in the ‘red rocket’ as Andrew calls it. It was good to be back in the kayak. I had to get it set up again as the last person to kayak it was Andrew 2 years ago.
The week started for me last Thursday with a 40km effort. It was an effort as it was 20km up stream fighting a strong flow. As of yesterday I did just over 130km and half of that was against the current. With me only doing about 8mmph upstream I felt I was spending too much time going up and not enough time going with the flow. Today I changed my tactic and went from Steti to Decin, a 79km stretch of water with 5 portages due to the lock systems here. It felt good and with a good rest for tomorrow I will be ready to do it again on Thursday again. The plan is to do the course at least twice in a row. I do want to cover over 300km next week so in some ways it is easier. I have to leave my car at the train station and return to get it after the paddle. The kayak takes me about 6 hrs, an 90 minutes to get to the start and then another 3 hours to get back to Decin with the car. Turns into a long day however there is no other way I can do the mileage at the moment.
So, now it is resting up till Thursday

7 weeks to the attempt – June 1 & 2 2013

nic — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 08:48:49 +0000

Now in Europe and able to start the final prep for the attempt. Its been a challenge so far, finding the time to train the long miles, balancing work and family life. It is easier now as my focus is on the attempt. My wife, Nina, is supporting me through this and knows that it will be my only chance to make it happen.
It is not just kayaking more than 449.04km that I have to do. The additional support from others is so important that it will be a team effort.
Thanks to Karl at TSL for helping me make the GPS charger unit that I can use when I am attempting the record. Thanks to Carl from Adidas New Zealand (Euro Optics) for fixing and giving me new lenses for the adidas eye-wear that I will be using. Thanks to NoName (www.nonamesport.com) of Finland for the clothing that I will need for the attempt.
Next week I will be in Czech collecting the kayak and getting the gear sorted. The big miles will happen again from next Thursday as I get the body into the needed Zone.
As I only have a 30 day Russian visa, I need to make sure my time spend in Russia is used well. It will be nearly 2 weeks of driving and the other 2 weeks will be going over the river and then the attempt.
If you live in Russia and close to Krasnoyarsk then drop me a note if you can offer assistance. If you want to keep me company for the 6200km drive then let me know. It will all come together, I know that much. The count down is on… Bring it on…

Also, an attempt for the flatwater record is on the cards for June 15 & 16 in Finland. Its been approved so looks like it will also happen. Will keep you posted on both attempts…

280km week

nic — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:43:43 +0000

Last week was a week of increasing daily mileage. It started of easy with a 10km kayak and then each day it went up 10km. Day 2 was 20km, Day 3 – 30km, Day 4 – 40km, Day 5 – 50km, Day 6 – 60km and Day 7 – 70km. Covering 280km in the week felt good. Day 6 was the hardest with the mind asking questions however I made it through the session and day 7 I was in the game again.
There were 2 goals in the week. One was the completing the set program and the other to gather info about average speeds and how I will maintain a high average. The last day I averaged 10.3km per hour including 3 short stops, 1 x 3 min and 2 x 2 min. This effects the rests take on average speed is going to be a challenge as being in the boat for 24hrs without getting out will be difficult but not impossible. I will need to figure out a plan to ensure I keep the kayak moving even if I need to take a quick break.
I also started testing the GPS units. They are giving me more or less the same info. Earlier in the week I had a different user setup on each however synchronize them and the data evened up. The distance covered was within 50 meters of each other on the last session.
Next will be testing the back up GPS using sportstracker on the Nokia N8. I am also nearly sorted about how to charge the units whilst moving. The buy options the Garmin have are not useful for what I need so I have to make something that works for me. The Powermonkey Extreme powerpack worked well, I have not charged the GPS units by normal power supply since I have gotten the Powerpack.
OK, not much more to do, just more mileage and ensuring I get the necessary Visa’s for Russia (a challenge on its own)

Plans are being made and trip is on

nic — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:57:09 +0000

Into the 2nd month of 2013 and training is going well, this week will be a little less due to being married on Saturday however am on track to be in Krasnoyarsk about May 10.
Still have to work on the visa’s, Andrew will meet me there so the drive will be a bit tougher as I will be the only driver.
I am using a couple of Garmin Forerunner 310XT units to record the attempt. I have been sponsored 1 by Rubber Roofing Group, the other from Pizzaland. To power the units for the attempt will be a ‘Powermonkey Extreme’ unit that has a heap of power reserve (Just in case). My Nokia N8 will also be used as a back up.
Testing all 3 units and myself will be done over a 24hr period in March.
Final training will be done in Europe and in Krasnoyarsk Russia whilst testing the water speed. It will be a tight schedule as I need to be in Finland by June 15.
Still working on getting more sponsorship as the accommodation, fuel for the drive and other related costs still need to be covered.
All I know is, the body and mind will be ready. Everything else will fall into place at the right time.
Happy training everyone…
Nic
PS. Andrews update… Will be continuing my circumnavigagtion around NZ by bike, leaving Raglan on the 2nd of March and then heading down to Wellington via the west coast.Then catch a ferry over to Picton where I will head over the Molesworth station to Hamner Springs and then on to Dunedin where I will catch a flight back to Auckland.

24 hr World record attempt… the planning has started

nic — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 10:33:59 +0000

Last month I was in Krasnoyarsk (Siberia) Russia having a look at the Yensei river. It is a big river with potential big water flows. Its a perfect place to attempt to break the current Guinness World record for 24hrs in a kayak on flowing water which is set at 449.06km.
The attempt will take place next May / June 2013 when the waters are at the biggest. My trip this year was to get some local support and with this support I can mount a serious challenge.
In early May 2013 I will head to Krasnoyarsk with Andrew to test the waters with the hope the water speed being fast enough. Our kayaks are in storage in Decin Czech so thats our 1st adventure, drive 6500km to Siberia and then spend about a month there for our 2nd adventure followed by the return leg (adventure #3).
Stay tuned and soon we will have a page with all the info up and running soon.

Krasnoyarsk Stoby regional par…

nic — Sat, 15 Sep 2012 13:53:08 +0000

Krasnoyarsk Stoby regional park… #Walking 21.4 km in 07:40:35 and photos: http://t.co/j6T3FQ9T tracked with #sportstracker

Ride around Krasnoyarsk… #Mo…

nic — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 06:38:42 +0000

Ride around Krasnoyarsk… #Mountain Biking 24.8 km in 02:02:39 and photos: http://t.co/E8ZtLkZQ tracked with #sportstracker

1 year on and next adventure ready to go

nic — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 09:20:08 +0000

Hi all,
1 year has past since Andrew and I finished the bike ride adventure. I more or less took a year off training to rest the body and relax the mind. However it was not all rest, I was thinking about the Guinness World Record in a kayak for 24 hours in flowing water… After a lot of thinking I am now about to head off to Krasnoyarsk Russia to look at a stretch of Yenisei river with the record attempt in mind
This recon trip will see if I have the river speed plus I need to make some local contacts that can help us with the next challenge. Andrew will not be with me on this one, however next year he will be
We have decided to keep the site going for a little longer and use it for our upcoming adventures so stay tuned and look out.
I will be posting a few pics and note online over the next few weeks.
Later and all that

The Waitakere ranges cruise……

nic — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 01:47:58 +0000

The Waitakere ranges cruise… #Cycling 48.6 km in 02:28:40: http://t.co/JTwTNGEL tracked with #sportstracker