Not Blogged

Well, I've not blogged for a while. Seem to get tied up in other stuff and forget to blog. Lots of work going on at the moment to make the company a bit better and appreciating feedback as to which areas to focus on. Sad times last month when Dave one of my most reliable instructors left me to get a "proper" full time job. He must be regretting that by now...
That left a big hole in my staffing and has made me think about staffing for next year as I really relied on him. I think its time we had a full time member of staff for the summer at the least.

Still looking for that elusive premises in which to run the company but which has so far eluded me. There are so few options in this valley of places to get. Found a few but they are either ridiculous terms or too small or in the wrong place. I'm sure we'll find somewhere at some point between now and next March.

Lots of First Aid and Open Canoeing going on this winter. REC trainers qualification to finish off and also a few expeds to do to Scotland. Loch Shiel is looking good for February. Loch Ness next summer is also looking good again. Have missed my boating in Scotland. Got my 5 star to finish off too so all in all a busy winter ahead.

Summer's Coming

We folks it's been a long cold winter this year and we have seen an awful amount of snow and cold weather. But what with the clocks going forward this weekend(don't forget) I think spring has sprung and then summer will be here before we know it.
So far this year we have done a lot of mountain bike training and we've had the odd school group in.

The weather is due to break this week and rain is on the way so it might be time to dig out the canoe poles and paddles and head off onto the rivers for a bit of a play next week.

I have a good feeling about this year, we have a good number of fun jobs lined up for this year and some cool expeds organised.

Stay tuned and we'll keep you informed throughout the year.

Happy spring.

Spud

New Year

Well, thats Christmas out of the way for another year. The tree in the office came dwon yesterday and the tinsel too. We are preparing for the New Year ahead. Everyone seems to be saying it will be a hard year but we are confident that it will be good.

Lots of things to look forward to this year. Check this blog regulary to check out whats going on with us.

For now we are focusing on changing the website slightly so keeo watching this space.......

Christmas

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat, Christmas parties are being organised and alcohol is flowing. We are no different and have organised our staff christmas party for the 18th December.

We are also in the middle of sending out vouchers for Christmas presents. We are offering 10% off any booking made before January 1st 2010. Hurry and book that session you wanted to for next summer when the weather changes back to hot.

In the Big Smoke

A quiet week this week which has seen Spud venture down to London on Tuesday for the Community Care Families and Young People conference in Islington. The conference was part of our on going marketing plan for increasing our profile.

We had a stand with New Relflexions and were there promoting our activities and in particular our respite breaks for disabled young people.

The footfall on the day was good and we had lots of feedback so only time will tell whether anything comes from it. It was nice to meet lots of interesting people and show them what we do.

Having not been to London for over 7 years it was also a bit exciting for me but I am glad to be back in the wet and wild North Wales countryside.

Downhill Biking

Well this weekend was a first for me as I was invited to go along and try the uplift facility at a local downhill venue, Moelfre, nr Oswestry. Having never done any downhilling I was keen to have a go.

I arrived at Warren's house at 8.30am and he was there ready with his downhill beast and body armour, full face helmet and pads. My bike isn't specifically designed for downhilling but I did think it would be ok. I also don't own a fullface helmet so I had to borrow one from Warren.

We arrived at Moelfre and the rain just followed us in. Getting kitted up by the van my nerves started to kick in and looking around at the kit on show did nothing to calm them. I would like to think that I wasn't a bad bike rider but I was nervous. Kitted and ready to go we headed up to the uplift waiting point and waited for our lift. This turned out to be a tractor with a large trailer on the back and off we went trundling up the hill. Warren showed me the track as we climbed and to be honest it didn't look to bad.

When we arrived at the top I decided it would be a good idea to let everyone else go first and follow down at a leisurely pace.

Off we went down the hill and my first impression wasn't too bad. Grassy slopes with a couple of tentative drop offs and a few ruts. We passed the top section with little real problem and then the steeper stuff arrived. It was basically a sheep track down a fairly steep hill and with all the rain we had had it was very greasy to say the least. the best approach would have been quick with minmal breaking, however nerves were kicking in and I was particulary heavy on the breaks and slid down this section. Then came the flat out down section. I have tackled steeper sections before in the past but today wasn't to be my day and i fell off on this as well.

We moved onto the traverse and I coped well with this and even managed the slab and following jump to leave us at the bottom again.

Off up we went in the bouncy tractor to the top for another bash. This time things went better and I coped with the top section without too many hassles and we picked a different route down and no falls until I hit the steep section and off i can again. Once I had completed this we headed to the traverse and disaster struck. I don't quite know what happened but I fell off and ended up in a heap in agony. I pulled my helmet off and ripped at my knee pads and thought that i had broken something. Once I had calmed down I realised I had just twisted my knees and that was that. End of day for me. I hobbled back to the van while Warren did a few more runs until the rain came in heavier and he called it a day.

So after my day of downhilling Warren asked if I would do it again and the answer has to be yes, definately. It was good fun and I'm sure that after two or three more runs I would be happy with the whole route.

So here's looking at next time. Maybe when the trails are dusty and the sun is shining. Cos after all North Wales in the winter can be miserable. Lets be honest.

Quiet Week

Well, its been a quiet week this week, just our usual business of young people doing their outdoor education days as part of their school programme. This week we have been walking and indoor climbing.

Our activities manager, Craig, is off to Ireland next month to do his REC first aid trainers course so watch this space for more dates of REC First aid course in the near future.