Allan Coyne

ac1975

Allan Coyne

Loves travel and adventure. Having moved from Ireland to Australia trying to keep family and friends updated as this pale face turns into a whiter shade of pale face.



Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Broome July 14th 2013

Just a few snaps since Niamh has come back down. Don't worry folks I'll be sending here back to you all in September, Bubbles you'll have your mate back then.... read more
10 km to go
CIMG1654
decking

Oceania » Australia » Western Australia » Broome April 30th 2013

Some pics to go with the update... read more
Cable beach
chlorine control units
Diesel generators


Hey folks, down time in Fitzroy, 38 degrees outside (can't train in that heat just yet) humidity a killer so I can get all the blogging upp to date. Hope you are keeping well AC... read more
bedrooms
community housing 1
fitzroy at daybreak

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch February 18th 2012

I woke at 2am having dreamt that I had slept through the start of the race and then settled back down until 03:45 when I woke before the alarm went off. I set about getting kitted up and cooking my Flahavans porridge. The tension amongst the competitors was tangible and each competitor was left alone to carry out their pre race routine. At 04:45 Niamh was up and ready to head to the transition at Aikens and we had a final run through of the transition requirements and approximate times that I would hope to be at them. As Niamh exited the racecourse turning right I headed left on the 5km cycle warm-up to where we positioned the bikes and shoes. They were positioned numerically and all kit was left there with the exception of the ... read more
downstream
access all areas
freebies


So here’s the story of how things went down in New Zealand. On the second Friday and Saturday of February every year the world’s elite Multisport Racers and the weekend warriors gather in Kumara (a small village) on the west coast of the south island of New Zealand to attempt to cross the country as individuals or paired teams. Everyone gathers at the town hall for a pre race banquet and race briefing on the Thursday evening and this is preceded with registration at the local racecourse where 95% of competitors camp out awaiting their event. The 2 day individuals and teams start their event on the Friday morning at 6am when the support crews leave the competitors and head to the first transition area at a place called Aiken’s corner and the competitors cycle 5km ... read more
dry run
CIMG1366
CIMG1367

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Greymouth February 9th 2012

I was told by Jan that the river kayaking was different on the Waimakkarri to anything I would find in Ireland so on his advice I was hiring a new demo model of his Eclipse Total xl for the race. A Carbon /Kevlar constructed boat weighing in at 13kg. It looks good and I was hoping it would get me down in one piece and upright. I put in for a training session and immediately felt the difference, the boat sat up in the water a lot more than the racing kayak I had practiced in and the rudder system so much more efficient than the tiller/rudder system employed on my boat in Dublin. So having seen the river during my run training earlier I thought I could see the lines I would take but the ... read more
nice day?
looks flat road but is it?


After feeding the body and having a wash we went to see the start area of the race at Kumara Beach. Another one horse town literally as it has a racecourse, a shop, a town hall and that’s it. So 800 teams and their support crews (thanks again Niamh) all popping in for a cup of tea and to register for the race tomorrow should be fun, probably the biggest thing to happen out this way since well last year’s race. Today was bike day so we drove from the beach start up the gravel track and onto what the kiwis call a slight incline on paved road; slight incline means mt Everest steep. We stopped off at the run to bike transition and I jumped onto the bike. 55kms of rolling hills with a 7 ... read more

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch February 9th 2012

I know that the 4 hrs on the treadmill during my 14 hrs of hell at the PSLC was mentally draining but I can honestly say that I have never had a more focused 10km run as I did yesterday. You see Niamh and I picked up our new compact lodgings on Monday morning and then went to Sumner beach the finish of the coast to coast. A small beach nothing special except for 2 things one the coast to coast and the second the amount of houses devastated by the recent earthquakes. Houses literally falling off the cliff side and others halved as the foundations gave way. The roads are in a brutal state and will make for an interesting ride into the finish especially if in a bunch. Puncture kit essential on Saturday I ... read more

Oceania February 6th 2012

Having had a few days of light training and recovery in Los Angeles its been all go ever since. We had a 13 hour flight from LA to Aukland, drama through customs having to declare all the watersports equipment for the Kayaking and my runners, bike, basically all my kit had to be declared and not forgetting my Jacob's Fig Roll bars for D Day and my Flavaghans Porridge oat flakes. I need my porridge after all. So we got through, all the gear allowed and flew to Christchurch. I know in the current age of instantaneous multimedia news reporting that natural disasters such as the Christchurch earthquakes are so well covered that one might assume that they understand the issues that might arise but I know my perception was so far off the mark. Niamh ... read more
southern alps
shut down
who;s next

North America » United States » California » Los Angeles » LAX February 1st 2012

Finally we packed all the kit and with thanks to Glen Richardson we got to Dublin Airport for 05.15 for the flight to London. Unfortunately the travel agent gave us 2 separate bookings so we had to check the bags in at Dublin, collect in LHR and wait 4 hours before checking in for the flight to Los Angeles. Why is it so hard is it to eat healthy meals when on the move?? Convenience foods no thank you. 12 hour flight from Heathrow to Los Angeles was covered in 10.5 hours but the 2 hour delay getting through US emigration not so healthy for the head. Must say Air New Zealand were fantastic, (they covered the cost of getting the race kit including bike from london to Christchurch, getting it home however is a different ... read more
spinners or sinners
marriott gym
14 hrs of hell




Tot: 0.145s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 15; qc: 86; dbt: 0.0772s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.2mb