Page 20 - Wish Stream Year of 2016

Exercise ICARUS CADET
OCdt Malan
With just three weeks until the adventur- ous training exercise, and with Regimen- tal Selection Boards, Ex MARTELLO’S SHARPSHOOTER and a Sovereign’s Parade still to go, the news that our parachuting instructors had dropped out was a devastating blow to the six members of Ex ICARUS CADET. However, motivated by a desire to partake in an exciting and hard planned AT expedition (as well as a desire to avoid being sent hill walking in Wales!), the resilient members of Ex ICARUS CADET were undeterred in their endeavour to convert the exercise into a mountain biking expedition within an extremely short time frame. After much hard work and successfully securing an instruc- tor, the plans were nalised and the six Of cer Cadets of Ex ICARUS CADET departed on a ve day, intensive mountain bike trail leader’s course. Every Of cer Cadet was ecstatic at the thought of leaving wet Camberley and reaching sunny Spain!
ride along the Rio Guadiamar river. The best environment for technical mountain biking was two miles east of Palomares del Rio where the Of cer Cadets were able to test and develop their skills on the variety of single tracks available in this area. There was also a theoretical side to the course, focusing on general safety, risk assessments, bike maintenance and the various stages of the MBCuk course progression.
The route from Bormujos to Aznalcazar was the most physically demanding day, covering a dis- tance of 52 miles over dif cult terrain. This ride took us well into the Spanish country side and gave Of cer Cadets the opportunity to see a side of Spain they would have been unlikely to otherwise see. Equally, it gave Of cer Cadets a chance to practice the fundamentals of downhill mountain biking technique. OCdt Francis was also lucky enough to be given the opportunity
For the rst two days in Spain it
rained torrentially. Of cer Cadets
took this as an opportunity to
explore Seville. As well as wander-
ing around the streets and explor-
ing various rental options, Of cer
Cadets went to see a bull ght,
an event of great cultural signi cance in Spain. Evidently Seville was a city of enormous variety and personality, an excellent place to be based.
Over the course of the next ve days Of cer Cadets, led by their excellent instructor (Chip Rafferty), undertook long distance single track trail rides from Bormujos to Aznalcazar and a
(L-R) OCdts Francis, Marsden, Malan, Linehan, Rahman, Horler celebrating after achieving their Trail Leaders Award
to practice puncture repair, twice! Overall, Of cer Cadets had an excel- lent day’s mountain biking whilst also leaving us thoroughly regretting not buying padded shorts!
Another day of particular note was spent east of Palomares del Rio. This was a densely hilly area with
a variety of single tracks as well as some spe- cially designed terrain for mountain biking. This gave Of cer Cadets a real opportunity to put into practice the theoretical aspects they had been taught. A number of demonstrations were given by Chip which the Of cer Cadets then attempted to replicate under Chip’s instruction. Due to the nature of the demanding terrain, Of cer Cadets
(L-R) OCdts Marsden and Linehan navigating the technically demanding Palomares Del Rio area
Of cer Cadets took this as an opportunity to explore Seville.
18 SANDHURST