Harry, a veritable spring chicken at a sprightly 74, has competed in endurance canoeing and kayaking events for over 20 years.  A few weeks prior to 4th KOM Challenge, Harry 'phoned Scribe, after reading an article about our pending Berry Bash in August "Push On" and September "Push On".  The aficionados of paddling in small boats will know that -
*        in a canoe the paddle only has one side, U sit on a seat up higher and there is no rudder; and
*        in a kayak the paddle has a left and right hand blade, U sit on a lower seat, plus U have a rudder to steer the thing.

Both of these small boats have been around for yonks.  In the old days canoe competition was more popular than kayaking, possible 'cause they were cheaper as well.  However, scope for innovation has not unsurprisingly been much greater for the Kayak, whereupon recently the trend amongst yuppie exercise addicts leans heavily twds state of the art sea kayaks which are much faster and more responsive than the humble canoe.

Harry has paddled in a canoe the -
*        404km Murray Marathon from Yarrawonga to Swan Hill over 5 days with the longest day 96km  -  twice;
*        250km Berry SA. to Morbin SA. over 3 days of canoeing   -  once; and
*        111km Hawkesbury Canoe Classic from Windsor to Brooklyn Bridge over 1 day -  several times.

More recently, Harry has competed in the Kayak Winter Series for Windsor Kayak Club, which comprises 10 x 20km races presented by 10 clubs all over NSW over 10 months from Feb to Nov.  Each event attracts between 130 and 170 paddlers competing over 10, 15 or 20km events.  Harry still competes in the 20km events.

7 years ago in 1999 Harry added road cycling to his aerobic exercise regime and has completed the -

*        200km "Around the Bay"  -  once;

*        200km Audax Rail Trail from Wangaratta thru Beechworth, Bright 'et al', and back  -  once; and

*        200 Audax Alpine Classics from Bright  -  twice.

With the above exemplary pedigree, 'twas little wonder that Harry climbed all 11 KOM Climbs, some twice and one thrice.  Harry's front cranks are 50/34 and has a 12/25 rear cassette.  So KayakMan's lowest gear is 34/25 which means for every pedal rev, when slogging up the below steepest KOM Climbs, Harry's rear wheel rotates 1.36 revs which puts a big load on Harry's quads -
*        Fountaindale Rd to Saddleback Mountain, Kiama has a max gradient of 17.7%; and
*        Jamberoo Pass with a max gradient early in the 18.8km climb is 15.18%.

Scribe was the only other cyclists to climb all 11 KOM climbs during the 4th Berry KOM Challenge.  Scribe's lowest gear ratio is 28/28 meaning his rear wheel only rotates once which logically is a lot, lot easier.  Scribe wouldn't have gotten up half of those 11 climbs using Harry's 34/25 gearing.

Seemingly a teetotaler, lithe Harry would have a very low BMI and would easily rank in the top 1% VO2 for his age.  The guy is an amazing athlete who regularly puts fit males half his age to shame when competing in endurance events.  A key to KayakMan implacable athletic success is his placid friendly demeanor which enables him to assign all his energy to his highly efficient cardio vascular system with zero fuel being expended on nervous energy.

Tyro and Harry at Cambewarra KOM

Slogging up Tourist Rd during 4th Berry KOM Challenge, where KayakMan completed all 11 KOM Climbs, some twice and one thrice.