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The LifeCycle challenge came to an end after 2000km of riding from Brisbane to Melbourne. The annual charity bike challenge raises funds for the renal unit and renal Patients in Malta. This year the challenge took the riders downunder, the island continent of the four-seasons-in-a-day.




The 30 or so riders who took the challenge had one more thing in common, they all wore the Malta Buff® throughout the challenge. It was the obvious head and neck protection garment for such a trip with so many changes in weather conditions the Malta Buff® protected them in freezing cold days, strong winds and scorching sunny days. The Malta Buff® served its purpose nicely and the riders were all happy to show their Maltese colours throughout the challenge

23 rd and biggest edition of The Buff Malta Manoel Island Races

On Sunday 21 st October the Malta Canoe Federation held the Buff Malta Manoel Island Race which was the 23 rd and biggest racing event ever staged by the federation. This year’s focus was to organise an event which will promote the racing part of the sport in a less competitive manner by staging a number of fun, racing events. At the outset it was foreseen that the day’s racing will be interesting as just over 45 entries were registered for the races that took place.

The first event which took place was the 1 lap fun race round Manoel Island (2.7km) which was open for all kayak categories, exhibiting a variety of kayaks from the faster surf skis, the sea faring sea kayaks which were privately owned and also supplied by Gozo Adventures, as well as some open canoes. The congestion at the starting line was evident that even though it was a fun race, none the less a race was on. With the sound of the start gun the splashing of paddles on the water was nearly simultaneous. Having had the previous few days with Grigale winds, meant that the outer part of Manoel Island had some swell with which the paddlers had to negotiate. The first incident saw Adam Peterka, who just came back from the Czech republic Slalom National Championships, lose his balance and his racing cap in the process at the first turning point only to Eskimo roll his kayak in a swift and fluent motion to continue his race. Peterka’s brother, Jachyam, also a Czech National Slalom championship contender, followed close behind his brother Adam and by pure reflex grabbed Adam’s racing hat and continued on with the race. A show of sportsmanship was also demonstrated during the race when Matthew Schembri forfeited his fight for a placing for the medals when he stopped to help Gerald Degaetano who capsized due to a rogue swell whilst he was trailing by a number of boat lengths behind the race leader Chris Camilleri, who at the time was unaware of the situation which developed behind him. The finish line was crossed first by Chris Camilleri in a time of 14 minutes 2 seconds, followed by Simon Gauci and Peter Borg Costanzi with a time of 16 minutes 18 seconds and 16 minutes 50 second respectively. In the women, Nicki Borg Costanzi crossed the finish line in 16 minutes 17seconds followed by Iveta Leo and Jackie Brincat with a time of 19 minutes 10 seconds and 24 minutes 40 seconds respectively. Following some post race comments from the paddlers it was evident that the focus was to have fun and this was evident by the smiles that the paddlers carried on their faces whilst one by one they crossed the finish line. All the race results are uploaded on www.buffmalta.com.

The second event which took place on the day was the team event which required each team to have a racing kayak, a sea kayak and a canoe polo kayak, which the latter proved to be a bit tricky to handle in the swell that was formed on the outer part of Manoel Island. The route was once again a one lap race round Manoel island (2.7km). The racing was engaging to watch as each paddler took one for the team and gave nothing but 100% all for the common glory! The first to cross the finish line was the team formed by Matthew Schembri, Simon Gauci and Michael Aquilina with a combined time of 61minutes 40 seconds. Nicola Borg Costanzi, Konrad Bellia and Alex’s Rizzo’s team was just 8 seconds shy from grabbing gold in this competition by having a combined time of 61 minutes 48 seconds. In third place was the team formed by the Peterka family – Vit, Adam and Jachyam, who came all the way from the Czech Republic and who clocked a combined time of 64minutes 49 seconds.

To close of the events for the day, a number of 200m sprints were held for children all of whom promoted participation rather than a fight for the podium.

Following an eventful morning of racing, all the participants were given a medal as well as a demonstration on the various ways how to put on a buff! The Malta Canoe federation would like to thank all the participants who attended and made this event such a fun one as well as the sponsors for the event – Buff Malta, Gozo Adventures and Red Bull.

Mountaineer Dr Gregory Attard, One of the only two Maltese men who together with Marco Cremona conquered Mount Everest shared his views about Buff® headwear during his latest expedition. This time Europe's highest peak Mount Elbrus.

Elbrus is an extinct volcano, having it’s last eruption around 50 AD, and it’s crater (300-400 metres in diameter) is now filled with ice and snow. The mountain still retains it’s gently sloping, conical shape. The mountain has two main summits; the Western summit at 5,642.7 metres (18,513 feet) elevation and the Eastern summit at 5,621 metres (18,442 feet) elevation. The saddle between the two summits is at ,5416 merers (17,769 feet) elevation

On mountains headwear is key.
You need to keep your head protected and warm without limiting your visibility, range of movement. In addition you need to strap on your helmet, your head torch or GoPro. Hoods, balaclavas, beanies, neck gaiters, face masks…. Trust me I’ve tried them all …. These work great in theory but when you are really pushing the limits, things tend to move around and become uncomfortable. When you are out in the dark on your summit push and its blisteringly cold and the elements are tearing away at your skin you need something, which is comfortable, and stays put.

The hood Buff® is a fascinating peace of equipment. Its wind proof yet breathable making sure you don’t overheat. In addition combined with an original Buff® worn as a helmet liner it leaves very little exposed. In addition your goggles or glacier glasses won’t fog up as its very easy to breath though the fabric.

Simple, effective and cool…..

Last September ultra distance athlete Nathan Farrugia undertook the Ultra Trail Du Mont Blanc (UTMB) consisting of a 168KM trail run, with 9,600 metres of height gain in 46 hours. All this to raise funds for Inspire. Nathan was supported by Buff® products in this extreme event. Here's what he thinks about Buff® .




"It was a very cold and wet UTMB this year with the organisers forced to reroute the participants away from snow-bound peaks and passes. The conditions therefore made equipment selection all the more important. Together with Salomon and Buff® I made sure that I stayed warm and dry, reducing the high risk of hypothermia in the minus 10C temperatures. The Polar Buff® was my preferred choice, and it lived up to expectations perfectly!"

A bad day to have a bad day

I had fever. It was a stark, inescapable fact. After three months of training, I had screwed up in the last week. I knew this, but I refused to believe it. As I huddled in bed, shivering, I refused to believe it, willing strength into my legs and toughness into my head. It will pass, I thought, next Sunday I will kick ass. I must. It had been three months of gruelling, leg busting training, dragging myself endlessly up and down Lapsi hill...chasing Ramon's back wheel for forty seconds after painful forty seconds. It couldn't unravel in so short a time, could it?
Saturday I tested myself, trying to understand why my legs wouldn't turn properly. Rode 18km of uphill at tempo pace, while reason and my friends looked upon patiently knowing what I'd refused to accept.

Yep, the day dawned, and the legs were fried. It was the worst possible thing that could happen. Still I refused to believe it, chasing fruitlessly, struggling against my legs until I couldn't anymore and I had to stop, cough my lungs out by the side of the road watching the race ride past me up impossible gradients, endless merciless rivers of acerbic lava gravel punctuated by sharp rocks. I caught my breath, I got back on, tasting the coppery taste of failure. I had done 10km in the first hour. Would I make it in the time cut? I just struggled on. I couldn't find anything in my legs. Gel after sweetened gel washed down my throat, but it was like starting a dead engine. I would cough and splutter into life for a few seconds, and then settle into the torpor of turning my 24/34, revolution after painful revolution, head down not to look at the awful gradients I faced.

The forests were like a quiet funeral, shafts of sunlight stabbing through the grass as I ground up turn after turn. We burst out of the treeline into the awful grandeur of the volcano, riders bent double over their bikes as they struggled in the harsh hiss of volcanic lava, wheel turning in the fruitless battle of muscle against the endless, uncaring gradient. I felt like I was on the moon, breath rasping in my lungs as I watched the rocks piled on top of each other.

Then down the hill towards the finish, lava hissing under my tyres as I feathered my back brake, fighting the bike to make it to the end. After the hours of insane suffering, I had to make it to the finish.

I will come back to this next year. Damned volcano, I have unfinished business with you!