All over the world in one city in one night...

Continuing my quest to seek out as many new bars and clubs in Wellington as I can, Saturday night I notched up a couple more for the list. Josh, Yaz and Eleanor invited me out, and we were planning on heading to Tupelo, but when the others arrived they discovered it was closed to the public for a private function. So I met them at the Buena Vista Social Club, where we sat in comfy lounges in a basement setting listening to Cuban rhythms and sipping Mojitos. Alex (she's a Glaciologist!) joined us a bit later, and then we decided to check out the old haunt of Havana, keeping the Cuban theme going. It, too, had been closed for a private function, and the dregs of said party were still in force, including a band playing Oasis covers, among others. Now, when confronted with a band playing Oasis covers, the best defense is to get the hell outa there, so it was back down to Cuba Mall where we decided $5 to get into Mighty Mighty wasn't plausible either, being the poor people we are (well, me anyway). Next door, Matterhorn, a really cool bar tucked away down a corridor, was free and had a band playing who Alex (she's a Glaciologist!) said were pretty damn good. She was right. The Eggs are a bit of a funk supergroup, made up of members of other Wellington heavyweights like Fat Freddy's Drop and the Phoenix Foundation. They had the place packed and jumping, well more like hip-shaking and grooving with their fat basslines, solid backbeat, pinging percussion and howling horn section. We all gave it a good nudge on the dancefloor, before Josh did his usual trick of slinking away unnoticed. Eleanor is really interesting, cool and a good laugh, beside the fact that she rode across South America on her own in 2004, and just brushed it aside as if it was nothing. Check out her amzing images of the trip here. Yaz, Alex and myself were the last ones standing (dancing) at about 2, so it was off home to watch the time trial of le Tour, and to see if Cadel could bring home the yellow. Johnny Klink rang me a couple of times to discuss the race and other topics, finally waking me up as the stage finished with Cadel failing to get the time needed for the yellow.
Second is an awesome effort though, best ever by an Aussie, but I think he really could've been more aggressive in the mountains. Maybe not. There is so much that I could say about this year's Tour, with all the drug scandals again, but what hasn't already been said? There's really no surprises anymore. I still love the sport, yes I hope there can be a more level playing field in future, but that's what makes it so interesting too, the lengths these guys have to go to just to survive three weeks of torture. Hopefully tonight I can survive one more stage and see the magnificent landmarks of Paris, always a highlight of the world's greatest sporting event.
This afternoon I'd planned to finally get back up to Makara with Marty, who just spent up big getting his drivetrain replaced. His rear derailleur need some TLC too, so I rebuilt it and re-fitted it to his bike. By the time we'd done this, the weather had turned to shit again and the rain was coming down just enough to make it undesirable. We drove up there anyway, and the carpark was full of guys and bikes covered in crap, so I pulled the pin but Marty and Mark decided that his new drivetrain should be made old in the quickest time possible. The trails are apparently getting pretty chopped up, and it's against my policy to ride in mud if I can avoid it. So it looks like tomorrow will be another Langster day, I'm really keen to try and crack a century on the fixed gear. That's gotta be good for the soul, if not the knees!