Messages posted by: sprockett

We are going to Mui Ne on the 11th of December until the 23rd for Kitesurfing, Its a great spot if you like water sports.

I am using a helmet mounted camera and solid state recorder.
http://www.chasecam.com/pdr/pdr100.htm
It takes a lot of practice to keep your head steady. Mainly just looking straight ahead and not looking left and right makes all the difference.
Most Mpeg recorders dont record enough data to cope with fast movements.
what are you using?
Matthew

Sorry about the slow reply...
I found a spot in taiwan, run by a guy Tony.
Excelent guy with a great attitude and place. He runs a bunkhouse style hostel(about HK$100 per night) and does surf training to the local univarsity surf club.
http://www.spot.com.tw/
His place is also perfect for windsurfing and kitesurfing(6m kite)(he has hire gear)
http://www.windguru.cz/int/index.php?go=1&lang=eng&vs=1&sc=83755&wj=knots&tj=c&odh=4&doh=22&fhours=180
Well worth a visit

Ive done the first edit of the video (bit of a hurry, more to come later)

Action Asia Challenge Hong Kong 2007

Just click on the link

Sprockett

I have a problem...
As a few people do. I live in the new terotories and I have problems getting to the races so early in the morning..
Especially when it is somewhere like Poi O.
Mainly I have to get to Central by about 7.00 !
I have found the Kwun tong ferry goes to North point, but not that early that means a Taxi I am a tight fisted fellow and they dont like taking bicycles.
This year I'm trying a new approach. at about 5.00pm the day before (thats today) I will cycle down to the Kwun Tong ferry (about 20 minutes) take the ferry to north point. Then ride down to central, take the ferry to Mui Wo. Stopping at the super market for some Pocari for the race, some water, a can of beans and a bottle of red wine. I will then ride over the hill to poi O.
Put up my tent on the beach. Heat a can of beans over a fire/cooker drink my wine and sleep like a baby.
There are showers and toilets so no problems there (even a resterant if youre not as tight as me)
So If you arrive for the race and see a lone tent with some loud snooring type noises coming out Just yell "Hey Sprockett time to get up" you might even get a cofee out of it.
Even better come and join me bring your own tent.
Maybe next Poi O race there will be a race vilage the evening before.

Remember AR is not just about the race its about the journey.

See You Tommorrow

Exactly what i was thinking...

So Far I have been my primary sponsor. But I am employed by a large HK based company... "Wellcome"(remember the free Bananas at the HK AA Challenge) If I could put their name on a race shirt it would probabably cover the cost of the shirt , entry fee, and more free bananas.
(Any elite HK atheletes want to carry me around the course? you can join Team Sprockett) and we can work on free Bananas

Congratulations on getting the new sponsor AAE, Hope it brings more events to Hong Kong.

You mention Getting a shirt with sponsors logo (that would be me) for as little as US$45, am I missing something. The best i can find is a Running singlet @ US$29 but minimum of 10pc, is their a special package for us?
If their is i would definatly be able to sponsor some (for myself and team mate)

Thanks

I have a partner but if you want to train...
Matthew (Sprockett)
39 years old (Birthday Today)
Tseung Kwan O district.
3 years sprints 2 years challenges. MTB racing 15 years... (snow boarding , KiteSurfing, Beer drinking)
10KM 45min, 42Km 3hr 40min
spraggs@netvigator.com

The races are fast approaching...
Who has a race partner/traing parther?
I Know I do...
After doing the sprints solo for 3 years, getting a race partner sure steps things up a bit.
Training is now more scheduled and regular, races are more competitive, transport more convienent(he has a car).

The biggest hurdle to comptitive racing is getting a partner
If you post details below like minded racers can get in contact...
Its going to be an awsome year of racing.\
We Need...

Name:
AGE:
Address.(District):
Race experiance:
10Km/42km best time:
Email address/Phone number

Dancing butterfly...
The forum is newley added and the idea is to get people together, this will happen as it grows.
As the races get closer we will be trying to get people together for the Challenge races.
In the challenges you must race as a team, and it is benifical if you train together. Ideally you would live close to your race partner and have done some sprint races together as you will need to know each others needs and anoyances ( I talk too much while racing, but my partner has learnt to take it). He has a car and is willing to help me with race transport which takes care of the other part.
There are always people willing to train with, its just a matter of finding them.
If you PM me with details of where you live or post in the new thread "Looking For Training Partners" with your details we will get you sorted.

Dancing butterfly.
Taxi's will take mountain bikes, But a far cheaper option is to Hire a Van, They are a lot cheaper than taxis and can take up to 5 bicycles and riders.
I use this company ph 27899999 sorry I dont know the name, but they have access to 100's of vans and they are at least 25% cheaper than taxi's.
The other option is a soft bike bag, I had one in New Zealand, you would remove the wheels and put the frame in one side and the wheels in the other side. It had a sholder strap and was good for taking the bike on the bus. It then packed small and would fit in a small Back Pack to use at the end of your ride.
Havent seen them in HK but I am sure Flying Ball or E-Bay might be the go.

Sprockett

You can hire from sai kung, follow the waterfrount around to the east and when you arrive at the small beach with the resteraunt/bar.
You can also rent from Long coast seasports. http://www.longcoast.hk/engpage/pricing/equipment.html

Hope that helps

Hi heather.
The pocari was enough, topped it up with the beers when I got to Tai Lo Wan Dai Po Dong resteraunt.
Sun Block was an issue.
I lathered up in a so called waterresistant block and re applid to my upper body once. I was traveling shirtless towards the sun. so my back recieved very little damage.
BUT I recieved Severe sun damage to my Legs(swolen up to 30% normal size and severly blistered) Belly was BBQ'D like a pig also blistered as were my arms.
I have been in severe pain all week and am still suffering discomfort. I have lost at least one layer of skin from my whole body and am left with many raw areas onto which I am applying antibiotic burn cream. My legs are just starting to return to normal size and the blisters are all burst (the entire surface of my legs arms and chest/belly were basicly 1 big blister)
I thought of stopping and covering up while kayaking but I had trouble finding somewhere to stop in order to open my dry bag and get dressed.

I have suffered terribly this last week all because i took my sunblock for granted. A word of advice is to get a good UV blocking shirt and pants, reapply sunblock as ofter as you can and try not to be on the water in the middle of the day when the sun is at its highest.

It was a wonderfull day but when the sun went down it was time to pay. I just hope there is no permanent damage.

With the weather being so wonderfull this past week, I decided to pump up the old inflatable... Kayak and go for a paddle.
I had been discussing the possibilities of paddeling from Wong Shek Pier in the Sai Kung Country park around to Tai Lo Wan in the same area with some friends.
So thats what I did, just 2 liters of pocari and 3 power bars and me.
It was a very enjoyable day only with a slight head wind to contend with and a small chop at times.
When I was at what I thought was the half way point (about 3 hours in) I rounded a point and realised I was there, only 3.5 hours. The Dai Po Dong resteraunt was humming with activity and the Beer was very cold.
As I was in an inflatable I deflated it, rolled it up put it in my backpack and hiked over the hill to the public ferry back to Wong Shek Peir, Which I had just missed.
1 hour to the next one... Not for me. Out came the kayak and after a few pumps (at the awe of the onlookers) I was on my way home and was sitting waiting for the bus as the ferry came in.
It was a wonderfull trip, next time I will take a tent and stay the night then continue on to saikung the next day.

ActionAsia Challenge short video

Action Asia Challenge 2007
Enjoy

I would like to see this happen, and for it to happen it would require responsible event organizers and competitors.
If an event could be organized where you would be disqualified from the race and all future races for littering, (all water bottles / gels, bars Numbered) I would be all for it.
Maybe not even a race, an Eco adventure/experience promoting the environment and wildlife would probably soften the government.
I can recall some very enjoyable kayaking around the fiords in NZ probably more enjoyable then a lot or the white water kayaking I have done

Its all about gaining the respect of the government before draging 200 competitors on a frantic adrenaline filled organised cahos around and through these "Untouched?" places
If you are able to organise something like this count me in.

The most common injury I recieve would have to be damaged shins caused by going too hard through the river gullys, otherwise its thigh strain with all the steep stair climbs then the hangover caused by all the free FOSTERS.
Best suggestion is to just enjoy yourself, if you feel you can go harder do it, if not dont.

Can anyone explain the red tide threat...
I understand it is an algee bloom... I hear it is not harmfull to humans?
so why do they close the beaches?

I think their Paranoia is justified, if you just take a walk in the country park... People litter everywhere even within 5 meters or a litter bin there is water bottles and Power bar wrappers!!
If you open the reservoir to Kayakers and kite surfers

you must also open them up to other recreational water craft. And if you have ever kayaked past a Junk trip there is a trail of litter behind it.

I wish it wasn?t so but it is. It would be so nice to kayak in the high island reservoir

MOre videos..
These are hosted by YouTube and are closer to the 10 minute limit, which means lower quality.

Poi O Motorola 21-10-2006
Mountain Bike stage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6W3_wy3UiI

Run and Kayak
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYhPh50F5zs

I have often wondered how to get practice and training in a kayak in Hong Kong.
Watching other kayakers in the Action Asia races there is a lot of room for kayak training.
Out of frustration I purchased an inflatable Kayak (1 Man White water capable, Gumotex Safari) My team mate also purchased 1x 1 man and 1x 2 man (he has children hence needing 2). This solved the training problem for us but not everyone is going to go out and spend that sort of money to train.
So what other options are there?
Does anyone have any suggestions of where we can hire kayaks for training / pleasure?
I know Action Asia have a large quantity of Sit on Top kayaks, but I believe they spend most of their time in storage at considerable cost to get them out each time.
Maybe it is viable to get somewhere near a beach to store a few so we can use them. (Does anyone live near a beach with a garage space they can donate / rent?) I?m sure we can talk Michael into letting us do something like that, maybe charging a minimal charge for using them. It would be nice to have 10 or so boats available so we can have some real fun.

MM
Its a good comment about quality.
Most of these free video hosting services (youtube, MSN Soapbox, Google Video) give you a max of 10 min per clip and 100mb size limit.
For best results i have found 4-5 min using the full 100mb gives you a good quality clip. can always chop them up into 7 or 8 movies.
If you can MM, could you move this post to the action asia events forum, I must have had 1 too many powerbars last night when i posted this.

I've been videoing a lot of the sprint races in Hong Kong for a while and I've finally got a setup that does a good job.
I don't want this to turn into a for sale thread, but if you are interested it costs around hk$1000 to hk$1500 for a complete setup.
PM me if you want more info.
The purpose of this thread is for people to post their videos of adventure sports.

So Heres the first

Action Asia Repulse Bay Video1 FEB 2007

Action Asia Repulse Bay Sprint

Kitesurfing Boracay Philippines

Boracay CNY 2007 kite

Glen Just to clarify...
A hard tail will always be faster (maybe not on a gnarly downhill) but over the entirety of a long race the fatigue factor kicks in. The jarring the hardtail gives you and the time out of the saddle over the rough terrain.
For example... on my hardtail (yes I still have one be it titanium) when I get to rough terrain I have to get out of the saddle and ride the bumps out normally quiet hard to peddle hard through this as the rear wheel is bouncing through this, on my full suspension (High quality) I can remain in the saddle and pedal hard. The rear wheel tracks well without bouncing and the power is constant.
I am not knocking hardtails as I really enjoy riding mine, but with the modern materials and configurations I believe Full suspension bicycles have an advantage on rides over 1 hour (off-road)
Just remember buy light and you only need 3 or 4 inches of well dampened travel front and rear.

Sprockett

I hear there is a lot of good Mountain Biking in nepal. Would be good for a 10 day adrenaline rush


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