The main reason for my lack of kayaking was due to a mountain bike crash in July that resulted in a torn ulnar collateral ligament MCP joint in my thumb (look it up on the internet if you are interested in what that does),  but the bottom line was that I couldn’t grip things, specifically kayak paddles, mountain bike handle bars and pints of beer.  To fix this problem, I had to have thumb surgery which involved stealing a tendon from my wrist and implanting it as a ligament in my thumb, then I spent a couple of months in a plaster cast while it all healed.  The result of all this meant no fun for me for the majority of 2009! Dan Heyworth

So following the all clear from my surgeon, what better place to test out my new thumb than in the Grand Canyon…  Here are a few of the pictures from the trip:

Photo by Dan Heyworth

Photo by Dan Heyworth and a tripod

Photo courtesy of Justin Smith

Photo courtesy of Jo Meares

Photo courtesy of Justin Smith

Photo courtesy of Justin Smith

Photo courtesy of Jo Meares

Check out the Brookbank Lancaster Blog for more details of the actual trip and keep an eye on XSport Magazine for a full trip report.

I’m in New Zealand until June on the next leg of my adventures, so stay tuned to Double2D…

Enjoy:

Thanks to John Hardiman for sitting in the sun and pointing a camera in my general direction

Here is what Ted has to say:

I have been quiet for the last year since my return from New Zealand, this is mainly due to the fact I have been playing in the hills. Returning to England at the start of May 2008 I had the pleasure of being sat next to three very attractive Norwegian girls for the ridiculously long time it takes to fly home from the other side of the world – this could only leave me with one option, get home, repack and fly to Norway!

Three months of playing with Norwegian fossens later I got the last ferry back to England feeling rather broke. A bit of work here and there over the very British winter season saw me scrape enough pennies together to plan the next adventure – seeing as I missed the Europe season last year I had a hankering to head back for some play. At the start of April this saw me heading for Corsica.

Photo courtesy of Pete Moss

On route of course there is some fun to be had, first stop was Lyon for a play in the sun.

Photo courtesy Lisa Bearpark

After Lyon we hit the Central Massive area for a day or two’s playing on the rivers.

So then it was time to head for the ferry and play with our destination, we headed straight for the kayak session gathering, which saw boaters from as far a field as the states making a show for themselves to sample the delights on offer.

Choose your camp spot well and be treated to a morning show on the beach.

One of the main reasons for kayak session holding a gathering on the island was to raise awareness of kayakers on the island and that we too travel far and wide to enjoy the delights on offer – one of the best (speak to some and they will say the best) rivers on the island, the Rizzanese, has the final stages of its damn being built as you read and next year will be under water for ever. Kayakers joined for a days paddle of this river along with the locals.

The locals gathering who oppose to the Damn and the following is just a small sign of how the generosity and local hospitality goes on the island which was very nice to see half way down a river.

The rain set in heavily on Corsica so we retreated for the more sunny climates of Italy.

The Plan was to head for the steep creaks of Val Sesia but to get there you pass through a mountain range, thanks to the power of text messages guiding us, we were told of a river that needs rain to get it going, a nice grade 3 – 4 was up our street, I forgot my camera on the river but if you look on a map maybe you will find it so here’s the river name at the take out.

So then on to our destination of the mighty Sesia valley, we arrive with a full tank of Diesel. Due to a faulty alternator back in Corsica costing a lot of beer tokens when the diesel runs out, we have to head home due to lack of funds – so in just over 2 weeks this is what we get up to.

Here are some more pictures from Ted’s adventures in Italy:

Special thanks to Lisa Bearpark, Ian Jones, Pete Moss & Ted Piper for letting us use the pictures

Well, I’m back on track now and off on my adventures again, starting with a month of creeking action in BC (Canada), starting next Monday

I’ll be updating Double2D again when I get back! See you in a month…

The next leg of the World Tour begins next week with Dan and D jetting off to Montreal, Canada for a week of big wave surfing and poutine!

The 3rd stint will take place in August with Dan leaving civilisation behind and heading of to Madagascar with a team of elite kayakers to explore some of the unexplored rivers of the red island!

Keep checking back throughout the summer for updates of our adventures…

After much thought we eventually decided that a DragoRossi Pintail XL would be our weapon of choice for the trip!

Find out more here…