Upgradeitis

A common problem amongst the mountain biking fraternity, I have now found upgradeitis to be very much alive in the sea kayak community as well. As try as hard as we can, it is difficult from eyeing off another's boat/bike and not getting kayak or bike envy .... or is it just that everybody likes new toys.

As others have also mused in their rationalisation of catching upgradeitis, I will also argue that there is a perfectly rational reason to get a new kayak. (imagine serious music playing .... like in Schindlers List)  The  kayak that I have just sold was a perfectly good kayak, in fact it was a great carbon/kevlar, Canadian made, excellent expedition kayak for me .... but it was too big for me unless I put on a lot of weight or am carry a weeks worth of water. It was kind of a Kombi of kayaks, well made, well designed and very capable.

BUT, I needed something that put a smile on my face on day paddles, something that would stretch my skills and maybe even scare me a little. SO, as I have rationally argued, I have on order what could be seen as more a sports car of kayaks .... like a Porsche vs Kombi.

Behold below, the Valley Nordkapp LV .... shortly coming to a beach near you.  :-)

15 minutes of fame

Easter 1985 - I was walking south from Dead Horse Gap to the Old Tin Mines through some tall mountain ash trees when we stopped to talk with a couple of other walkers. One of them said to me, "Hey, aren't you the guy on the cover of Wild?".

Puffing my chest out a little and trying not to seem too pleased at being recognised, I replied, "Yes, I am" .... to which he said, "I thought so .... I recognised the shorts."  It was clear that my 15 minutes of fame was over before it had even started as my shorts were more famous than I.

And yes, that is me a quarter of a century ago with more hair and a little less weight. There have been many great adventures in the outdoors for me since then .... and I am happy to note that I am still out there enjoying new adventures.

What do these 3 have in common?

What do the three men below all have in common?

A man with a can - pink spray paint to be exact:

A man with a dog:

A mountain biker without a bike:

Answer: They were all on top of Mt Maroon on Easter Saturday.

The man with the can, spray painted the wrong way up with his can of fluro pink paint which upset the park rangers no end as now they have to scrub it off with wire brushes.

The man with the dog wasn't quite sure where he was going but both man and dog seemed to be enjoying their walk.

The man without the bike was doing a bit of cross training. Of all three, he was the only one not to harm the national park environment that day.