The Earth Race Documentaries.

Byrichard

Sometimes I stumble across documentaries that I feel excel in their genre. One such documentary is Earthrace: The Power Boat Race around the World. This is a one and a half hour documentary charting the fundraising, awareness building, race preparations and then the actual race, including logistics and more.


I like this documentary because the editing rhythm is in keeping with the story. The story is told in a logical and chronological order with no excessive editing, no breathless commentary, no excessive use of music. It is one and a half hours exploring the project from its start until its temporary conclusion.


I like the use of timelapse for the Panama canal where we see the boat move in next to the container ship. I think the explanation of why the skipper had liposuction could have been explained much sooner in the documentary. I think it’s in the second documentary that we hear that the bio-diesel that was made from fat was used to first start the engines.


Some documentaries are filmed within a period of weeks or months but this one was filmed over four years. As a result the chronological structure of the documentary also makes sense. I was able to watch over an hour before I took a break, and then watched it until the end.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euXj_egklF8


If you find this documentary interesting then there is a follow-up documentary about the successful circumnavigation of the globe.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wo69hDvDNjo

An 80-kilometre ride

An 80-kilometre ride

Byrichard

Yesterday I set off for a bike ride planning to go from Nyon to Gland, and then up and around before heading back to Geneva and then from around Versoix riding back to Nyon.


Instead of this I rode from Nyon to Gland and decided to go further and once at Gland I rode a little further and I ended up in Rolle. In Rolle I continued going thinking I’ll turn off and head to the top of Aubonne and ride to Geneva. Instead I went up to the Signal de Bougy and from there enjoyed the ride back down towards the foot of the Jura. I continued this way and when I got twards Trelex I ran out of water.


Looking towards Rolle and Geneva.


I thought about stopping at the petrol station but didn’t think “If I continue to La Rippe and Divonne I can find a water fountain. Eventually, I did, in Crassier. I took on a little water and cycled on the cycling/walking path to Divonne, went around part of the lake and then headed back to Switzerland. Once in Switzerland I turned right and headed for Versoix via the top route. I went down the road that passes by the observatory and then at the roundabout near the swimming pool I turned left and when I got to the intersection where I had to choose between Mies and the petrol station or going left I decided to go left.


By this point of the ride I was running out of energy to pedal. I stopped for a minute or two and then set off again. I was running really low on energy and I had just enough strength to keep moving forward. When I was crossing Borex towards Signy I was feeling so tired that even my arms were fatigued. I really felt low in energy. I finally made it to the station, got an electrolyte drink, some chocolate and headed home.


When I got home I collapsed on the couch but that wasn’t enough so I lied on the floor for a few minutes, just to rest a bit. It’s rare for me to exhaust myself like this. I did do two of my regular rides in a single ride.


I did cycle up from the lake side to the Signal de Bougy. I did race one postal bus down a hill and try to go faster than a TPN bus as it crossed the border. In theory I should have stopped around Trelex when I ran out of water but didn’t.


According to the Suunto watch it will take me 89 hours to recover. I’d call that a success. I went from wanting to do a fourty kilometre loop to doing an 80 kilometre loop, with a nice climb thrown in.


I was probably tired because I did this 80km ride on two pieces of money cake, without a proper lunch. 😉 This circuit took me about three and a half hours with no stopping for the first hour and a half or even beyond. With two or three snacks I would probably do this ride without suffering so much.