I love Phil!

Because he did this for me!

Nice collage of our house, that we no longer live in...boo hoo!

Last Ride!

So enough of this swimming around in your own personal private pool drinking Martinis!

Time to get out on the bike for my last ride in the Flip Flops, before we move anyway...(hopefully I'll be back to ride)





I went out with a very buff looking Andy (damn him! and those new fangled Jim Weight things) and showed him the Muntinlupa trails. Despite the wet season approaching the trails were dry and sweet!


For a bit of fun he rode my hardtail and I was on full suss for the first time in ages (apart from a guided ride I did last week, but that doesn't count coz I was riding verrrryyy slloooowlllyyy)



Like every where else the Munti trails are seeing a lot of encroaching development. Some of the best Santa Rosa trails are now closed because houses are going to be built on them. Its a real shame because there are no public space in Manila, and it looks like the outskirts will soon be eaten up by development...

I wonder where future generations of Filipinos will have to go to get exposed to nature?

Pack it UP! Pack it IN! Let me BEGIN!

The packers are in....and they live to PACK!


We are pretty lucky in that my old company is paying for nice men to come in and do this for us.

I remember moving into my first flat in London. It took about six months to move even though I hardly owned anything! A few pairs of jeans and the entire Duran Duran back catalogue (on vinyl of course)...

It took so long mainly because my only method of transport was a 1970's Orange mini with no floor, it only cost me 90 quid! I remember having to use bungee straps to tie the record player to the inside of the boot to stop it falling through onto the road!

Of course all that's behind me now that I am a ahem..."retired businessman"...at least until I get a scooter in Taipei!


So yup we are lucky...although to be honest we are getting a bit sick of moving. In the last two 1/2 years we have lived in three countries. Singapore, Malaysia and Philippines. Four if you include the move to Taiwan...hopefully we will be there for a while...



One of the things I will miss about the Philippines is our amazingly beautiful house! Photo's just don't do it justice but I took these this morning. The idea was to combine them to make a collage thing...but..erm..I'm useless and don't know how to do it...


So imagine they are joined together... Who lives in a house like this? WE DO..DID! Well at least until the weekend!






The pool was the best part! You can jump off these rocks into the 2m deep water below....aaahhhh!



I fly to Hong Kong tomorrow to re-start my study for an MBA. Although its a serious trip I may combine a visit to Disneyland! In the meantime...I'm off for dip in the pool!

Stupid.....

Anyone that has ever been on top of a tall building with me (I can think of at least three people who read this blog)...will know that I am scared of heights...

Therefore, me doing this would seem a bit out of character, and maybe a bit stupid....

And they would be right...this is one of the most terrifying things I have ever done...


Although it looks like I have just suddenly developed phenomenal rock climbing skills I am in fact on a thing called a via Ferrata, translated as Iron Road they were originally developed to transport troops across mountains.

In a nutshell they are iron runs placed in the rock with safety lines that you clip yourself to.


Despite the look on my face and the apparent risk, I have been reliably informed that I was perfectly safe...well I am still alive...


So this is the first time that I have ever done anything like this, and the course was pretty hard by French standards (a TD for those interested in such things)


I needed some time to get into the flow, it was a bit daunting (well terrifying actually) at first. After a while though I forgot about the height, and the danger and just concentrated on where to put my hands and feet. I got completely focused and then a strange thing happened...I started to enjoy it...


So much so that I would probably even do it again. Its a great way to experience the thrill of climbing without any technical knowledge..


There are 20 or so of these things within a few minutes drive of Alpsun, another reason to visit...

Mmmm maybe I shouldn't have given them that plug...it was Alpsun Pete who suggested this madness in the first place...maybe he is exposing me to all this dangerous stuff because he wants to nick my bike....better keep an eye on him from now on....

Passed Out!

So I haven't posted for a few days because the "holiday" part of my trip to France turned into the "work" bit of my trip. I have been doing my Technical Mountain Bike Leaders course for the past week or so.


Our first session consisted of a nice Power-pointy jobby with beer and sandwiches, but the following day saw us straight into the practical side of things. We went out on a "guided" ride and shown various techniques such as warm up games and skill sessions. One of these involved riding around a midget really, really fast......without our bikes...



Following this we went out riding for 5 hours and were shown how, and how not to lead a group of mountain bikers across different types of terrain. All among the wonderful setting of the Haute Alps.



Our group was a mixed bag of people including Phil, who has been running MBMB an MTB tour business in Chamonix for 15 years. It was awesome to hear that with all his experience, even he learned loads on the course. We also had Paul, who is about to do a guiding season in Les Get. I'd never seen a guy on a jump bike doing 500mt climbs before....


On the second practical day we were all given a chance to guide a section ourselves and I got to try out my new improved "make climbs less boring and painful" technique, which worked incredibly well and amazingly didn't involve any form of lift access or combustion engine....

On the third day I was out for 5 hours doing a recce of my assessment route and deciding how to lead it. Do I lead this sections from the front or back? Where are the obvious stopping points? What are the dangerous or exposed areas, what would I do if I had an accident here? And of course the really important question...where the hell am I?


The assessment day was a nerve wracking affair and the weather was pretty bad. I led us out and the climb went well, no-one got lost and I managed to keep the group together.

Then Alpsun Pete broke his leg...

It was OK though as on previous rides he had broken his collar-bone, finger and had even got struck by a meteor and died...all in the same day...poor bloke, serves him right for being a roadie....

After I had dealt with my "accident" we had some nice single track with switchbacks followed by steep and slippery rock gardens that were made worse by the rain.

I thought this section was pretty dangerous even for experienced riders and took it easy, maybe a bit too easy according to OTC Pete (he was behind me screaming faster! faster!) After this we were at the bottom and my assessment was over....

Four hours later I found out that I had passed! I am now a trained Mountain Bike Leader for Technical terrain.....Woo Hoo!



To become fully qualified and get liability insurance I still need to log up a few more rides and improve my map reading. This will have to wait until I am in Taiwan.

For me personally though this is a bit of an achievement. Its something I would never have done if I was still gainfully employed, and many of the people I met on the course also used to have "proper" jobs but were now pursuing their dreams....they were an inspiration...


I guess should thank DHL for the opportunity....

Well maybe I won't go that far...but I am looking forward to testing out my new skills when I'm back in the Flip Flops...

So who wants a one handed wheelie race to the top of Santa Rosa?....

erm...I mean, who wants to experience a safe and enjoyable ride with an element of skills progression with newly trained MTB leader?