Dusty Dalby.

"What is the point in this?"

I said it. Covering a distance of about 23 miles in 26 degree heat, at first I was happy but then it slowly turned my mood fouler and fouler.

The start was a sure sign of things to come, a "technical" dismount occurred and after that a great big hill which killed my chest and required me to stop and hold up Tim and Chris. But once I'd had a shot of my inhaler, which, I don't think actually worked we were on our way again in the baking heat and an occasional cool breeze.

The first few miles didn't really seem that technical, even some of the black optional routes. It was just long, flowy and very dusty. However, on these long flowy sections, I found it very difficult to keep my speed up and keep up with the others. This frustrated me a little and in my frustration and lack of concentration my foot slipped off my pedal and it landed right in the middle of my shin. Now accompanied with a bleeding gash or two in my leg, I decided to follow the guys down a gnarly rock garden, after which my brother tells me, "the world cup girls don't even do that, they cut down the side!" I was happy but I barely clung onto my bike as it buffeted me round like a raging bull.

After a while, the more technical downhills started to appear. I was tired and I wanted to enjoy them but simply could not push myself to ride as fast as my brother or Tim. There were also very tight downhill berms which lead to a lot of skidding around and praying that I wouldn't top out over the edge.

The home straight was gruelling, my stomach growling for food, my empty bladder a sign that this was too much. We eventually made it back to the centre. The last run down was a relief as my parent's van appeared in the gravel car park.

Although a challenge this was, it's something I know is doable with more riding in and around Cumbria. This will become comfortable.

Crazy times.

Whilst living in Penrith without a car, and without the majority of your friends around, boredom does tend to take hold and it sends you on adventures rummaging through bookcases and boxes shoved under your bed. On one particular adventure I came across my old Whitelines magazines and started flicking through the beautiful photographs and witty articles which make this magazine so special to me.

One article in issue 86 particularly interested me, called 'Will this hurt?' It questions why as beginners, or even as pros, we throw ourselves into snowboarding risking life, limb and humiliation. Eventually the answer appears. CURIOSITY.

In all outdoor adventure sports we've all had that one challenge that just pushes you completely out of your comfort zone, even when you just think about it, let alone do it. I've had plenty of these, waterfalls in kayaking, tomb stoning, and the sport that's really pushed me lately has been mountain biking. One quote from the magazine stood out from all the rest. It tells you of the experience we've all probably had; to "stand firm , shush the voice, trust in your ability to do this thing... and then go". It's something I've had to do countless times standing before a section of boardwalk, urging myself to do the obstacles that present themselves to me on the way round the ride, and to try things which I've made my nemeses.

I think this moment of quiet is incredibly important, it's that moment where you're completely in focus with what you're about to do. The curiosity can finally be answered and we won't be forever questioning why we didn't do something. We won't be tormented by questions of 'what if?'

Whitelines magazine

Job Seeking

Job seeking, for me has never been difficult. I've always walked straight into it and settled very quickly into the £100 or £200 pounds appearing in my bank account on a weekly basis. However, now I have found myself completely jobless, it's beginning to scare me at how hard it seems to be able to get a job. Everyone I know seems to be working which leaves me with nothing to do during my days other than to eat or if I have the car go somewhere to do something.

I feel as if I have no purpose and that what ever I do has no meaning because I haven't looked forward to doing something. Nor have I had the time in work to think about what I wanted to do. I have too much time to think and too many choices. But the thoughts and choices just don't seem to lead anywhere.

It's not like I'm not trying though. It's just nowhere seems to want an intelligent, responsible and well mannered student to work for them. Sometimes I feel it's just beyond me. But I know I have to keep trying and once I have something, just settle for it. Take the boss peering down on you because you made one tiny mistake whilst others sneak off and do "naff" all. Take on extra shifts because you feel you won't get asked again. And feel worthless for those pennies that will, in the end, make you feel better about being a student.

Summer Adventures

Now that I finally have the car back from the grasps of my brother the weather in Cumbria has actually taken a turn for the better. Tim and I decided to make the most of this and do a short ride around Askham Fell. The sounds were marvelous, the wind was just littered with bird song and the sun shone hotly for the entire time we were out.





The second trip was an outing to Black Moss Pot on Langstrath Beck. We saw the sunny weather here (in Penrith) but driving up the Borrowdale valley it soon became clear that it was going to be cloudy although humid. The walk up past Stonethwaite was pretty straight forward, every pool we passed looked extremely inviting and we made mental notes as we went on.


You know how walks always seem longer when you don't know where you're going? Well Black Moss Pot was exactly this kind of situation for me. It wasn't far at all but the walk seemed to drag for miles. As we arrived music blared from some speakers and I instantly knew the local youths were hanging around. I wanted to go back to the places we had seen previously but Sammie was adament on jumping in here and seeing what it was like. As soon as I saw she was enjoying it despite the youths above us, I knew I had to have a piece of the icy cool waters.


Having splashed around for a while we pulled on some layers and walked back down to the pools we had seen before. On entering them it was noticably colder and refreshing in comparison to Black Moss Pot. However it didn't put us off swimming and crawling behind waterfalls. We then finished the day by drying ourselves in the sun on a flat, hollow sounding grass verge.

Although I enjoy university, and learning, I think life is meant for days like these
.
All photos courtesy of Tim Hall

Finnish Canoe Expedition Part 2

Pinks and oranges started to appear as the sun slowly sunk to cast an even glow on the horizon. The colours were truly incredible and I felt privileged to be there. We were all in complete awe of what was happening around us. Magnificent and alive. Away from everything.

I couldn't see! I shut my eyes and I couldn't see again. I allowed my eyes to focus on something and realised that the sun rise was so bright it blinded me. It was awesome. However, the sun rise was no where near as beautiful as the sun set. It was 4 am so I decided to fall back to sleep.

Mother kestrel woke me up bringing in the first feed for her chicks and then warded off a hooded raven. It sounded as if the water had risen and I worried, but for the first time camping in Finland I did not fear for the loss of a limb due to frost bite. I was warm and it felt incredible waking up like this.

The morning was extremely tranquil and I wanted to make the most of the morning by paddling in windless conditions, alas the boys slept in.

Back on the lake the weather was closing in which made it seem so much less spectacular than the previous day. The going was relatively tough although time seemed to fly by as Cal sprouted useless fact after useless fact.

Eventually we made it back to Kuru. The prospect of hauling the boats back up to the campus sat heavy on our shoulders and the now reappearing sun put us all in for a nap on the porch.

A really cool experience. Cheers guys.

Finnish Canoe Expedition Part 1

Two days, Seven Students, three canoes and a sea kayak. What do you have? You have a plan in the making. Apparently. This is the story of our original expedition plan only shortened.

I've always had a bit of an irrational fear of canoeing but it was a decision that I had to compromise on. No one mountain Biked and there was no snow for cross country skiing, so it was canoeing. With the gracious help of the wilderness guides, the boats were brought to the house, from which we would walk 200m to the lake side. Although this seems relatively short, it still proved difficult with the amount of stuff we had to take.

Finally after a lot of pulling, shoving and sweating we made it out onto the lake and were beginning our journey to our island destination. Paddling on flat water, I find is never fun and requires much more effort. However, the Finnish wildlife helped and put on a display quite like none other I'd ever seen. Gulls and terns swooped around the many tree clad islands, squawking and dive bombing us as we passed.

We pulled up on an island to find a local bird enthusiast. He beckoned Matt to take some pictures of the nests that littered the island. He didn't speak English but it was amazing at how a few hand gestures are understood between any human being.

Back on the lake again and we had a slog of a paddle into a fairly strong head wind. I was not happy, especially as I was sat in the front and would not be able to take breaks to rudder the canoe back into position. The clouds above me formed and deformed. Shapes which were indescribable, some which were. Animals and people. This cloud watching really allowed my mind to drift and forget that we still had about an hour's worth of paddling still to go.

On reaching the island I was amazed at how in the middle of it all we were. Seriously close to nature. I felt like an intruder. Our man made materials scattered over the rock. I wanted to tidy but doing so was futile. A lot was learnt from the island. How a young kestrel defended her eggs, how a pair of Canada geese would shreek if we got too close to their nest and how beetles would always find their way into the darkest depths of your sleeping bag.