Told my lady to take a photo that makes me look good on a nice Norwegian spot….
and she did…. 😉
Its me close to Sjusjøen, and Nevelfjell and Hafjell in the back
Bjorn @Heidenstrom on Twitter
I’m training hard now. I have never paddled over 4000 km standing up before. But then again there is no human who has done that so I can lean on that fact.
It is many things that should go perfect and should be on order before I start…. At the moment there is still adjustments to find and there is still muscles that is not hard and mean enough. There is still some training and pratctise on things that could happen. I know that there always is things that happens. The things you dont think about.
What happened yesterday freaked me out for a second. I did my not-so-macho-more-kind-of-a-lady-scream, I almost pissed in my dry suit, and I almost fell of my board and in to the icy North sea….
I took the photo on the Lake Malawi in Africa. That lake is flat.
But I’m not paddling there, I’m doing Rhine and trying to find the best start….
The Rhine is not a lake and it’s not flat. It is a river. A strong river with masses of water going down from Swiss and German mountains. To high up and the river can be to strong…..
So, if a bold (and very pretty ) man is starting to paddle on the Rhine, then turning right on the connecting river Main, and then connecting the river Danube….
Then the bold man thinks; -where is the best kind-of-safe-starting point. Not to high because the waterfalls and rocks in the water will harm the paddling board (and the very pretty bold head ) 😉 if he flips in to the water.
Where is the safe place to start? I’d like to go as high up as possible, but can’t go in waterfalls (PS! I’m doing it stand up paddling )
Know anyone who know?
More Rhine:
The Rhine is a river that flows from Grisons in the eastern Swiss Alps to the North Sea coast in the Netherlands and is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe, at about 1,233 km (766 mi) with an average discharge of more than 2,000 m3/s (71,000 cu ft/s).
The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the northern inland frontier of the Roman Empire and, since those days, the Rhine has been a vital and navigable waterway carrying trade and goods deep inland. It has also served as a defensive feature and has been the basis for regional and international borders. The many castles and prehistoric fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway. River traffic could be stopped at these locations, usually for the purpose of collecting tolls, by the state that controlled that portion of the river.
Rest of the facts here; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhine
Bjorn @Heidenstrom on Twitter and soon on Rhine
Løper ut for å rigge en ny padletrening og mens du og jeg venter på at sola skal komme – så er det vel greit å dele litt Vinnie….
Stor idrett…:
Bjørn @Heidenstrom på Twitter og på ett padlebrett. Mao: Vinterbjørn i vinterdag somer Vinnifan i hele dag.
PS! Sjekk; www.rodekors.no og vurder om du vil henge med fra Rhinen til Svartehavet på ett brett fra 1 Mars…
30 days to my go go GO! situation… and I’m looking on the river Rhine and I know there will be hard days on that water, I know there will be hard work to spread the new information about people to help. I know there will be hard work to padle over 4000 Km, and I know ther will be hard times missing the kids and the lady….
But then I’m looking back on the photos from Africa.
I’m not working hard-…..
My photo is from Chogo Refugee camp. 10.000 inside.
Bjorn @Heidenstrom on Twitter and soon on the River Rhine
PS! Have a look on www.rodekors.no
Had a night at a hostel in Africa, where they really know how to secure properties….
The Shirt expedition 2009 – 2010, Norway – South Africa.
30 days to the next one; Rhine – Main – Danube – Black Sea. Stand up padling. World record attemp, and working with a new attention raid for those who need it….
Tell you soon…:-)
Bjorn @Heidenstrom on Twitter – and hope you’ll have a look on www.rodekors.no
Every day, when cycling in Africa, I met men like this. Often I asked where they was going.
Often the answer was; “I have 100 kg of potatoes and som other stuff, -so and I’m cycling 1 hour to the marked and then going back for more”
Took this photo in Tanzania on day 210. (ish)
Bjorn @Heidenstrom on Twitter and looking back on Africa
The photo is from my Facebook page… 😉
Please share the document under, – you know, one a evening when you have som spare time…
It’s the document that you send to a mate, who send to mate, who know a lady who Twitter a man who have information or a cup of cofee along the Danube, Black Sea or before Kiev.
This from my Google public document:
“You will be a part of padding 4200 km in the category SUP (Stand Up Paddling) and set a new world record in 2012.
You will every day show how to transport a project 100% environmentally friendly (*) The first one was going, the next two were cyclists and the next one is paddling.
You will be involved in further development of the world’s largest man-made humanitarian symbol (*) and the world’s largest single initiative (*) for humanitarian attention and involvement (*) You will every day get- and own the content, text, images, video, showing that their own website is vibrant and current.
You will use and say..”
100% of the document here.
Bjorn @Heidenstrom on Twitter
(Self timer photo on a roof I slept on in Aswan, Egypt border to Sudan)
I have a great trick for you if you are planning a big or a small trip. A 3 or a 333 days expedition or backpacking stunt.
I have a trick for you if you just are traveling to a new exotic country and you would like to have a good time…
The trick is; ask, ask, ask and ask. (and you learn, learn, and learn and make the right steps…)
I am superman in the field:
I’ll be paddling 100 days on the Danube / Black sea / Dneiper . I’m realy good on backpacking on my own. I’m a superman in the field. I’m smart in the jungels, the desert, the mountains and the forest…..
Because:
Because I ask and follow the locals. I’m not smart. I listen to the smart one. I’m not smart in Sudan. I ask the Sudanese, they make me smart.
If in the jungle – ask the jungle man. If on Danube – ask the Danube man. Don’t tell yourself that you are Bear Grylls. Not even Bear Grylls is Bear Grylls. It is the researcher in the Grylls team who make Mr Grylls good! The researcher that ask all the good questions like; “any snakes on this place we should thank about ….” “any mates in the next village that can help us be smart”
83 million experts:
There are 83 million people living close to the Danube, and that’s before I’ll start paddling the Black Sea. That means that there are 83 million people that probably know more about the region, the history, the glory and the potential dark or grey sides of the path the I’m on.
For me, thats 83 million experts and all I have to do is ask. Ask about everything and ask at least about the things that maters most. Like the question; “Hi mate, I’m traveling alone for the next 100 days and don’t want to be sick – where should I eat my next meals?
I asked that singel question 9867545678 times on the roads in Africa. I got the right answer every time. I was sick zero, null, nada, no times on my 333 days on the road from Norway to South Africa. My mate have been one week in Egypt, one in Marokko and one in Tyrkie. He was sick once, robbed twice.
So you will see that I’ll be asking for new mates every days. A new potential expert to ask…
Do you know one thing that I should know about Danube? Black Sea? A storry to tell? A mate that lives close?
Where is the best place for a cold beer on that river???
Bjorn @Heidenstrom on Twitter, 40 days to the start