WWW 2022 Venture North Trip
Our www trip this year we went up north towards Sigiriya where we embarked on a journey as a group where we rode almost 200 km and did an abundance of activities along the way.
Day 1: We embarked on our adventure at 5:45 where we arrived at school while it was still dark. When everyone started to roll in we packed up the bus and we were off. We left at about 6 am in the morning, we all thought we were going to sleep but we were too excited to sleep. We got to a point on our drive where we thought I couldn’t take any longer. The trip lasted for what seemed like days. The guys were all on the same bus as me and I decided to bring out the snacks, as we were all starving. We brought out what we called the “buffet” where everyone contributed snacks and we all shared everything. We had a really good time on the bus ride up but we finally arrived at the spot we were biking from. We got off the bus and stretched out our legs after a 4 hour bus journey. We filled out water, got our helmets on and found our bikes which were all set up for us ready to ride. We got on our bikes, sweat already dripping from our foreheads as it was sweltering hot and I had to take a big drink of water before we set off. Listening to Peter (our guide) for the safety debrief we set off as one group going along beautiful canals and rural roads. As we pulled onto the canal we had our first fall which wasn’t the greatest start. But they got up and carried on. One of my favourite roads was the first day as it was long, smooth and flat and I rode no hands for a couple kilometres before the road had to come to an end as we turned on to the main road which brought us to where we were staying. After turning down onto the dirt rocky road we stayed down. It was a bumpy ride but we made it to camp where we rode down a steep hill to the bottom. We settled into our rooms and had yet another safety/rule debrief and we had to refill and get back on the bikes. We went on a 24 km ride which didn’t seem as bad considering we did 10 km just a couple hours before. I didn’t remember much of that first day ride but we settled down for dinner which was really nice and went to bed for the first night.
During this first day I think I mainly focused on LO (learning outcome) 2 where I developed new skills of biking in different terrain and how to maintain an all day pace that a group of bikers can follow leading the group at certain points throughout the day.
Day 2: We started by waking up at 6:30 am which was quite hard the first day. However, the bed was really comfortable and I had a good night’s sleep. I decided to take a shower which was the worst idea of the trip, because it was absolutely freezing but I pushed through and made this a daily event. We came down for breakfast and packed our day bags ready for the longest ride of the trip. 47 km! This was one of the worst sounding rides, being long and challenging. We passed beautiful scenery, lakes and rocks. It was an incredible ride with long smooth roads. This is where I rode 2.8 km with no hands on a flat long freshly paved road. I was near the front lots of the day with some of my good friends and some new friends from MYP 5. At 12:30 we stopped by a beautiful lake where we were able to swim and cool down with only 10 km to go. The lake was freezing like all the water seemed to be in this area but pleasantly refreshing and a well needed break. We came back up to the road for lunch excitedly and we got plain bread, plain omelette, plastic cheese and a very limited amount of curry packets. Very disappointing and very underwhelming and undernutritioned for a day we biked 47 km. We got back and had an hour and a half to shower, swim and relax after a hectic day of biking. We all decided it wasn’t as bad as we thought it would be however it was still a challenging day and with that we gathered around a table to get ready for our bike workshop. The bike workshop was really interesting and we saw how a bike can be taken apart completely and then we as a group reconstructed it. I put in the suspension forks. It was a really interesting experience and we learnt a lot from it. Fast forward to dinner. Groups 2 and 3 were outside relaxing and socialising while group 1 slaved away in the kitchen. Food finally came out at about 7 and everyone went full Gordon Ramsay on the food rating it and criticising it. However, their chicken was really well cooked but the noodles were not. The noodles were somehow soggy and squishy but there were chunks of raw but burnt noodles in the mix as well, it was interesting to say the least.
During the second day I definitely focused on LO 4 where I showed perseverance and commitment to get through the challenging 47 km.
Day 3: Again we started by waking up at 6:30 am where I took my freezing cold shower, which never got easier. We got ready, packed up our day bags, filled our bottles and went down for breakfast. We had time to finalise our day bags and to refill our bottles and brush our teeth. We came down and set off up the steep hill which lots of us managed to do and we were off to Sigiriya area where we biked about 20 km up and around Sigiriya which was a beautiful ride and really peaceful. We stopped by Sigiriya to have a cooking lesson with a local family. They were very accommodating and we all had a go scrapping the coconut and adding spices to the curries and we all sat in a mud hut and had a good time. Then finally lunch was ready and we had the best curry I have ever had. It was incredible and we all wolfed it down afterwards we got on our bikes and my group went off to shop. We were going to make fried rice, chicken and steamed vegetables. We got back and got to work. Our group split into 3 groups, chicken, rice and veg. Myself and Ava started with the rice and we did a really good job and the chicken group did an incredible job bringing the chicken to a new level and we produced dinner. It was definitely the best compared to the other days and everyone enjoyed it. However, we didn’t make enough and everyone was extremely hungry. We had evening entertainment and went to bed.
During the third day I focused on LO 5 because as a group we did a great job communicating and collaborating to get dinner out.
Day 4: We started by waking up at 6:30 am where I took my freezing cold shower AGAIN. We got ready, packed up our day bags, filled our bottles and went down for breakfast. We had time to finalise our day bags and to refill our bottles and brush our teeth. We came down and set off up the steep hill which lots of us managed to do and then we set off to Sigiriya area again where we had a 35 km bike ride to Pidurangala where we had a 10 minute climb to the top. When we got there the view was breathtaking. We had a whole 360 view of the country where we were. We spent some time up there, had a snack and took lots of great pictures. As a group and with the boys. We came back down and biked to lunch which was a nice change from the omelette sandwich we had grilled chicken and chips which was really nice. We then went to buy snacks and after lunch and a small break we biked 10 km back to camp. Day 4 was by far my favourite. We got up so much and had such a fun time with the whole group. It was amazing, after we got back we went for a swim in the river and group 3 went to cook dinner. We had a nice refreshing swim and then a nice (not) cold shower. At this point I was excited to get back to a warm shower where I didn’t get hypothermia when I got out, which wasn’t on the risk assessment. And we waited for dinner. We got dinner and it was really creative and fun to eat but still couldn’t beat our group. My group ran entertainment and we did a trivia with a twist. Where the 2 groups had to run and grab a bottle to answer the question. It went successfully and everyone had a great time.
During the fourth day I definitely focused on LO 4 where I showed perseverance and commitment to get up Pidurangala and facing my fear of heights by sitting by the edge..
Day 5: We started by waking up at 6 am today and we packed up our bags as we went back. We were going straight to the bus in the middle of nowhere. I took my freezing cold shower for the last time. We got ready, packed up our day bags, filled our bottles and went down for breakfast. We had time to finalise our day bags and to refill our bottles and brush our teeth. We came down and set off up the steep hill which lots of us managed to do and then we set off on your last ride 32 km down a beautiful canal with amazing views and we got to the bus. We all high-fived and we had finished WWW. What an experience this was my favourite WWW. We had lunch and drove back.