Beg, Borrow, Buy

At a time when we should be fine tuning the last of our race gear choices, we are faced with a race breaking problem. Three of our gear boxes which we sent from Australia over two weeks ago have not arrived due to delays in customs. We had been holding on to the possibility that it cleared customs yesterday afternoon and would get to us today however, after getting the run around we are realizing that there is a high possibility (or perhaps almost guarantee) that they won't show before the race start.

We made a list of the gear we are missing last night...it's really quite extensive.  We spoke to a few teams yesterday afternoon who have suggested they may be able to help with some gear and one of the shops have offered use of some old mountaineering gear. We are up early this morning to see what of the list we can try to beg,borrow or buy! Wish us luck, our goal has now turned from racing fast to just being able to race.

Crossing the Ditch

Some 8 months ago a plan was hatched over a Pot and a Parma at the local Warrandyte Pub. GODZone was to be the next big race for Team Dynamite Adventure to take on.  

It seemed a logical choice. Amazing scenery, tough and challenging course and the guarantee of mighty competition from the Kiwi teams. Training began later that week!

The race is now just two weeks away and the team are all pumped and excited for the New Zealand adventure!!!
With race headquarters based in Wanaka, we are looking forward to the 500+ km we will cover on the massive mountains, glaciers, white water, lakes and as always smashing it out on our mountain bikes!

About GODZone

"As an adventure racing location, you couldn't ask for much more than the Lake Wanaka region. It's a destination that really promotes the outdoor lifestyle, has unbelievably good access to a whole host of adventurous activities and enjoys a thriving sporting community."
This is how the race director described the location and we think it reminds us (perhaps on a slightly smaller scale) of our home town of Warrandyte. The 2015 Godzone adventure race will run from February 28 to March 7, with teams of four racing non stop over seven days in and around the Lake Wanaka region. Teams will race day and night, forgoing sleep as much as possible in order to get them to the finish line first. We expect approximately 8hrs of shuteye (notice I'm not calling it sleep) over the 5-6 days we expect to complete the course in.

The main disciplines including navigation while Trekking, Mountain biking and Kayaking will be there as expected, however we will also be Canoeing/packrafting, Mountaineering on fixed ropes, swimming and who knows what else! 

We are hoping we have done enough training to give this race a good crack after placing well at XPD in 2013 (5th), Geoquest in 2014 (6th) and numerous solid performances in local events.
Expedition adventure racing isn't a great spectator sport. We will often spend 24-48 hrs on the one leg in extremely remote areas and then spend as little as 5-10 min at the next transition before heading out again. In recent years, satellite tracking and online social media has brought the racing excitement through to family and friends back home. It allows them to follow where they are at any point on the course and receive live updates 24/7 from the media and race directors. We'd highly recommend "dot watching" us on your computer from home, though we will warn you it's addictive.  We will publish the live link closer to the race start, but you'll be able to get there via www.godzoneadventure.com  

We think the pictures from previous GODZone editions above shows that it was an easy decision to put this race on our bucket list and we can't wait for the fun to begin.







 

Hydralyte

Dynamite are excited to welcome Hydralyte as a sponsor. Hydralyte has always been a big part of our nutrition plan and has brought us back from some dark places while racing and training. We love it!!! 

Great Ocean Paddle

The team spent last Saturday paddling 26km from Torquay to Angelsea in the Great Ocean Paddle. The conditions proved to be testing with the wind starting in the North but then as the race went on it moved from NW to WNW trying to blow us backwards and offshore. Wind speed averaged 29kmh with gusts between 46 and 57 Kmh. In sailors terms 15-18 knots with gusts up to 26-31 knots.  It was great Godzone training requiring us to suck it up and tough it out.

Gus and Karina also managed to take out the Doubles mixed class. Well done guys!