Meet the Paddlers....

No heroic exploit is complete without some, erm, heroes. Sadly, they are in short supply these days having mostly been maimed by dragons in earlier times. As such, we've gone for ordinary(ish!) humans instead and here they are!

Back row (L-R):

Mark - Known for lurking around photocopiers in search of adventure, Mark is currently digging a trench from Newton Rigg Campus to the Solway Firth. When we told him that a key reason for the Challenge was to symbollically link University of Cumbria campuses, he took it all a bit literally :-)

Wendy - Leading donkey-whisperer and luminary of Carlisle Canoe Club. She's a great white water paddler and therefore posesses the nearest thing to expertise we can manage

Ian - Lecturer at the School of Forestry, but (strangely) can't tell the difference between a sycamore and a monkey-puzzle. Must be some sort of front. Ian's collection of outdoor sports equipment would fill a very large room and, in fact, it does!

Mike - Hat designer to the Stars, Mike's first love is wandering the motorways of England by lamp-light. Apparently he likes looking in the drains best. We worry.

Andy - Better known for reclining beneath motorcycles, Andy prefers soreen loaf to vitamins and has made a lifelong study of world pies. He's the only Southpaw in the group and is famous in the fleshpots of Burkina Faso.

Kevin - As you can see from the picture, Kevin is the only member of the group to have a paddle. The rest of us use teaspoons. Kevin is an Ethnomusicologist, but I'm afraid that I've no idea what this means and it isn't on Wikipedia.

Front row (L-R):

Tom - Another Forestry dude, Tom prefers Bhutan to areas that are more traditionally known for their forests. When not leaping into cold lakes, Tom scours the world for rare and exotic ingredients for his own range of high-end shampoos.

Jasper - Our squadron-leader from a sea kayaking point of view, Jasper is the only one of us who can navigate at sea - which might be useful. When not paddling, Jasper likes to go sailing and when not sailing, he likes to paddle.