Bikes & boats, Paddles & pedals
Posted on 01 Jul, 2010 by Lynne Walker | Filed under Blog • Mountain Biking • Sea Kayaking
Sometimes parts of your body just tell you that it is time to dust off the other toys and get out there with them. There then comes the problem of getting the new set of muscles into shape.
I had – somehow – injured the medial ligament in my right knee. It became sorer and sorer so I went to the physio who threw everything at it. The orienteering in Donegal was a mixture of pain (right leg uphill) and OK (right leg downhill). However at the orienteering assessment session at the end of the holiday I had to run a short distance and this was major pain.
Once we were home I decided to see how I got on cycling as this had affected my right hip / IT band before. The good news was that it felt pretty good and the knee was happy with it as well. So, a few easy cycles along the road, mainly flat and I felt like doing more. We were out at Benmore Gardens with Paul’s Dad for his ‘Early bird’ bargain bacon roll, tea and cake. I had cycled there, it was a glorious day so I mentioned to Paul that I was thinking of returning by the Glen Kin & Heritage trail tracks. He thought this was a poor idea as it could put too much pressure on my knee with the steepish uphill.
So, what was the alternative – explore Glen Massan. It was ages since I had been up there so I set off up the road and then along the track to the farm. Once on this track I could see a new forest road leading south-west towards Loch Tarsan and Glen Lean. Looked like a good one to explore.
The surface was good but the gradient was quite steep in places! There were also high timber piles beside the track (actually leaning precariously over towards the track!) and I was careful to avoid the bark debris on the track in case of a puncture. The track took me to the watershed and I began to descend towards Loch Tarsan . . . and then I saw where the track went to. It ascended the hillside (in a south-easterly direction) towards Glen Lean. I also had no idea if it continued through or came to a dead end. Eventually I turned back and retraced my steps. Subsequently Gill & Andy have said it does go through, is steep in places, actually so steep the laden forest trucks are unable to ascend the slope so the timber is being brought out through Glen Massan. I will return to do the complete loop.
What did Paul say on my return? Basically he was not best pleased but there have been no ill effects and I enjoyed my cycle. My butt needed a bit of a rest afterwards though and the bike was very dusty!
We have not been in the sea kayaks for just over two years. It was time to dust them off and reintroduce them to water. I think Paul also felt that it would keep me out of trouble as this low/no exercise bit was not suiting me very well at all.
Loch Eck is very convenient – it is a reasonable size for day paddling, you can get away from the noise of the main road and you do not have to wash the kit after use as it is fresh water.
Puffling, my Nordkapp, was very dusty so the sponge was employed when we got the kayaks to the loch. It was great to slip into the kayak, felt comfortable and then to be paddling again was even better. I was slightly concerned about balance so had a fair bit of ballast but I need not have worried. The day was bright and little wind – just enough to deter the midges. We decided not to overdo things the first time so paddled to Bernice, landed for a quick snack bar and then returned, covering about 10km total.
This was repeated a couple more times, exploring the south or north ends of the loch. The north end also allows you to paddle up the River Cur until it becomes too shallow.
We also joined Chris & Barbara for a quick morning paddle from Kirn to Blairmore Pier. This was salt water and so kit had to be rinsed afterwards. There was also a brown tinge to the water, not just the surface but the top metre or so. It seems that this is a type of algae growth probably due to the higher levels of nitrates in the water. The effect we found was that it made our hands slippy and so gripping the paddle was more difficult. It was as if you had left suncream on your palms after applying it. However it was pleasant to be out on the sea, dodging Western Ferries and other sea traffic.
The knee is improving and hopefully I will be out running again soon. However the lump on my left leg is infected (I think it was all the kneeling beside casualties outside on the First Aid course last weekend), a horrible load of pus is oozing out so I am now on antibiotics for that!
I am a level 4 orienteering coach and a qualified Assessor & Coach Educator. I have been orienteering for xx years and have coached on many foreign tours.