Pre Selections HPP


More of Tom Clare's photos here: 
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1538072443152109.1073741838.1457141951245159&type=3



One Selection event down, and it was straight to HPP to squeeze in some last minute training. I was really excited to have a slightly warmer session at HPP (topping 12 degrees when we arrived), but my muscles were definitely feeling the higher intensity of Saturday. Straight from cold, I did four competition rides, before Ibbo suggested making inlet a little bit stickier. However, this drastically backfired as the ramp became stuck at very steep and we could not bring it down. 

We had broken inlet. 


The pressure of the increased water meant the ramp could not flatten out and so stayed steep, holding water back for the whole of the course. Everywhere was now way too shallow and formed big stoppers so no one could paddle. The water level had dropped by over a foot down stream of inlet. A crowd had also gathered in all the excitement of the changing water. All we could do was ring for some help and wait for the whole course to be shut off, and then turned back on. Inlet was back after about an hour, but actually it was no stickier than before, and if anything a bit flushier!


I carried on doing competition rides, but had to change my ride around a bit with the slightly different configuration. I also kept practising McNasty's which I have now been working on for a while, and had seemed to click in the morning. 

After lunch, it had quietened down a fair bit, after the excitement/rush of having inlet back. Jake and I kept paddling right up until the speed hour where you can only paddle downstream to allow the WW Racers a chance to train. 


In hindsight, I had a very productive day and although I didn't exactly practise any new moves, I could definitely feel the progression of my current moves and of my ride as a whole. 



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