Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
This is a catch up post on four fun activities I've done in Kuwait over the past few months. We went to the camel racing a while ago then in the past few weeks I have done a team time trial on a road bike, the North Face Challenge and today we went to a firing range.
Camel Racing
Camel racing is a genuine Kuwaiti experience. It felt special because I know I couldn't do it at home, we race horses there instead. Despite this, we certainly have plenty of wild Afghan, pest camels across most of my country, as shown on these maps. When you go to the camel racing club (every Saturday from 2pm they race) you'll be allowed to walk straight into the grandstand where there are lots of large leather lounge chairs. It looks like some first class sort of affair but there are no restrictions and you can sit anywhere. A friendly man involved in the racing came over to us as soon as we arrived and happily told us in perfect English what it involved, then encouraged us to go downstairs where we could take a short ride on a camel, again for free. He then showed us a better place to watch the racing, right at the finish line against the rail. It was a most unexpectedly pleasant experience. We watched a couple of races like this before deciding to join in the race ourselves.
I don't mean we jumped on a camel (which isn't done anyway as they use robotic(!) jockeys) ... I mean we joined the spectators racing along next to the camel race in their cars!!! What a fantastically Kuwaiti thing to do. It was a real jostle. The crowd of cars going along was about 30 strong and they got in very tight together, jockeying for position to stay near the front but not get ahead. Luckily camels are slow. I'm glad I had a couple of friends with me so we could take some video as I had to watch where I was driving. I'm glad I'd put in a few months of training on Highway 30/Fahaheel Expressway beforehand otherwise I wouldn't have had the balls to join in.
Anyway, it was a great day out and quite interesting to see how a race like this was managed given the jockeys were radio controlled little whipping machines which even had speakers on them through which the driver in the car could whisper to the camel to encourage it along with the little spinning arm with a whip attached to it. The camels didn't seem too perturbed by the whole situation but some of them looked pretty exhausted by the end of what were quite long races - 4km+, and one or two were foaming at the mouth by the end.
Team Time Trial
I joined BIKE, a mostly Filipino bicycle club. We ride 50 odd kilometres every Friday in the biggest bunch ride I've ever been in, about 50 riders. It's quite well organised with a support vehicle at the rear and 2 riders in the pelaton have walkie talkies to communicate with the vehicle too. They are a wonderfully friendly and fun bunch of people to hang out with and I'm so glad I have joined. What wonderful people are Filipinos. I have mainly made Indian friends in the 10 months I've spent in Kuwait but meeting all of these Filipinos lately it's like discovering Kuwait all over again. By the way, I joined Plumae, a literary migrant writers guild for Kuwait also run by Filipinos but they are wanting to attract writers from all backgrounds. I'm their first convert :-) Another nice thing about the rides is that they have a big breakfast afterward and we can all hang out and get to know each other a bit. I really like it and will keep going back. Another reason why I want to keep going back is they are organising some races. Because I was getting sick of not competing in cycling here I started the Mutla Ridge Racers Facebook group and we did 4 or 5 rides in the lead up to the North Face Challenge. But they were nothing like the team time trial BIKE arranged a couple of weeks ago.
The team time trial was a simple rectangular circuit around the soon to be dismantled new(!) Al Jaber stadium on the 6th Ring Road. Yes, they botched the construction such that the pitch is now a dish shape and apparently this whole new stadium has to be pulled down. No matter, it made a lovely backdrop for our race. I was very lucky to get a place since I'd only joined BIKE the day before and an organisor was nice enough to give up their place for me to have a go. One of my team members had actually come to one of our Mutla Ridge rides so it was good to go with someone I knew. The race was simple, 4 laps of the circuit and we had to be careful as it was a bit wet - although having some rain showers kept the temperature down which was good. Predictably, we buried it on the first two laps and had to work out some issues with sticking together. By the third lap we were a bit exhausted and let up the pace a bit. But we were starting to get a sense for how we each rode and began to ride as a team. By the fourth lap we were beginning to look like a unit and showed good awareness of each other on the last southward edge into the wind maintaining a steady 30km/h. Turned out we must have done all right because we ended up 3rd! Was a great way to get back into proper cycling and racing in Kuwait.
The North Face Challenge
Life is just better when you take the initiative. Through setting up Mutla Ridge Racers I met someone who was planning to do the North Face Challenge. He was I think quite keen about the group because it was a nice way for him to get in some training for the event, which had a cycling leg on Mutla Ridge. We ended up making this the route for most of the rides we did. Through his encouragement I signed up for the Challenge too, and it certainly lived up to its name!!! I've never really done one of these things before but had heard of such events back home, like Tough Mudder and the Kokoda Challenge. I guess the most extreme physical event I've ever done is the Oxfam Trailwalker Brisbane, 100km in 48hrs which I wrote about here.
So what was the Challenge? It was nearly 15km of running, 12km of mountain biking and an obstacle course to try to kill you off if you survived everything beforehand. Making it particularly tough was the wind and sand picked up by it and blasted over participants' aching bodies. I had my jogging shorts on so got nailed. My legs actually turned red from being hit by the sand. It hurt. It was also a really weird feeling running along, leaning forward into the wind with the windward side of my face covered by my hoodie to keep the sand out of my mouth. Strange because the sand made quite a loud sound hitting my skin but I felt somehow disconnected from it, like I was inside a shell. I guess it's because I've never heard myself being pounded by sand before.
Anyhow, needless to say it was damned tough mostly because I put no training in whatsoever apart from weekly rides. I ended up going along with a couple of BIKE members who were similarly slow but steady and we kept each other going with encouraging shouts and taunts. Four laps of the circuit running meant 4 ascents of the Ridge. This is about 600m and is a good 50m vertically. So the gradient wasn't terribly bad but definitely quickly weeded out the unfit ones like me. Anyway, as they say this was a challenge not a race and I'm glad I did it even though I had to walk some sections. I'm glad I've been involved in races before and plenty of long bike rides so I used this experience to manage the urge to burn all my energy at the start by going fast.
The most memorable bit really was the obstacle course. This started with having to flip a heavy truck tyre 10 times, not something I was really up for after running through a sand storm! I tried to lift the tyre before the race just to see what it was like and found it very heavy even then so I'm impressed I was able to do it afterward even once. The next bit was to run through a little pool of water they made then climb over the back of a dump truck! After that was done we had to get down on the ground and crawl under some wire netting like you see in any military training camp scene in a movie. Now that I was nice and wet and covered in sand I had to duck under 4 rails then stagger up a hill and back again to a rope tied to another tyre. Thankfully this was a quite a low profile one and just had to be pulled toward me with the rope then dragged back to its original point. Last of all I had to pick up a sand bag and carry it over the finish line about 50m away. Getting over that finish line I had a real sense of achievement. I really felt like had completed an actual challenge. Everyone got a medal - and we all deserved one I think.
It was nice to participate in an official sporting event in Kuwait and I hope to get involved in some more.
Mayadeen Shooting Range
Today we went to a firing range, checking off a bucket list item for many of us I suspect! I shot a magnum and a rifle. What a thrill. Must admit, walking into the gallery where there were about 6 other guys holding guns was nerve wracking. I've never been in that sort of situation before and yes it was obviously safe to do because they didn't all go psycho and turn around and shoot me but the thought still did cross my mind that my life would be over very quickly if something went wrong. Another thing I noticed in those first few minutes assessing this situation I'd put myself in was that the Filipino instructors were quite muscly, especially the one directly in front of me. They also appeared to all be standing quite close to their customers. Obviously it was all quite safe but it is interesting to reflect on the assessments and observations that went through my mind when being confronted with 6 strangers firing loaded guns 2 metres away.
Anyway, we didn't have to wait long before a spot opened up and I was ushered over to the bench and shown how to load and hold a .44 magnum. The only thing I know about this weapon is that it was a bit of a sought after piece in Half Life because it was shiny and killed things faster. It also looked more badass and, you know, isn't that what the cowboys all used? Anyhow, I was very quickly distracted from these thoughts of how cool I was when I pulled the trigger. Nothing can really prepare you for what you discover has happened to you after doing that. The gun jumps up. There is nothing you can do about it. You might think you were gripping it hard with two hands but really, when you pull the trigger the next thing you're aware of is the gun pointing up toward the ceiling and the echo of the bang ringing in your ears.
I think it took my body and brain the first six shots to really begin to freak out, because for the first 6 I shot a very nice cluster all inside the ring around or in the bulls eye. Then I think the adrenalin and or shock started to kick in, along with my arm getting tired from holding something which basically smacked it with the force of, well, the recoil of a .44 magnum every few seconds. So the following 8 shots were a bit scattered but it was a satisfying experience when the sights lined up, I squeezed and connected, via a bullet, with the centre of the target. For a few moments in that generally terrifying experience I had the pleasing sense of controlling a weapon. Something that flashed across my mind about cowboys though was that it would be terribly tiring in a fight because it's so heavy and the recoil is so shocking and powerful that you wouldn't have a chance of getting your aim right. I guess I need to do a few more North Face Challenges.
- comments