Transitions

It's been a hectic few days, since leaving Rotorua on Thursday. Our last day in Vegas we were a little bit shagged from the previous few days riding, so we did the tourist thing and went out to Te Puia, the site of the boiling mud, geysers and Maori cultural displays. It was pretty cool, our guide was a pretty funny dude, giving the Aussies and Poms a hard time, and vise-versa. We saw real live Kiwis (birds, not people, seen plenty of them), and a traditional Maori gretting ceremony with lots of cool singing and hakas, wood carving and of course the gurgling, spraying stuff. In the arvo I decided to get a last taste (for now) of the sweet trails, and headed up on my own as Keeds was onto his third Southo and Coke. Once again I tried to do trails I hadn't done before, and made the looong climb up tp Billy T, the newest trail in the park. Overnight rain had made it a little slippy, but it was a nice ride down, linking up with Chestnut and Rollercoaster. Another 2 hours and 25km in the legs, and I was sated. In the morning we packed up and went into BikeVegas to see the guys, Dave the owner has offered me a job there if I want it, and I'm thinking it could be worth it for the amazing riding. We headed towards Mt. Ruhapehu in the arvo, planning to stay at the Chateau, oh yes indeed old chap. Getting there before the 3pm check-in, we decided to head up the mountain to try and see Crater Lake, which is in the news as it is about to 'breach', basically one of the walls holding in the water is very close to collapsing, and will spill it's contents down the mountain in the next few weeks. We caught the ski lift up as far as it would go, then were told it was another 2 or 3 hour trek to the lake. It was getting too late in the day tro risk it, so we trekked up a way to some snow drifts, which was cool enough for us. arriving back at the Chateau, I made up a story that my parents had been in an accident and we had to get to Wanganui. The guy bought it, and we drove to the pretty little river city and spent the night arranging a ferry for the trip over the Cook Strait the next day. Somehow I managed to double book us, and on arrival in Wellington on Friday, we were in a fluster as we tried in vain to contact the booking agency to cancel the extra booking. But no-one at the ferry company knew anything about it or us, and eventually we got a standby spot, got the other bookings cancelled (they actually hadn't been booked!) and we were on our way. Three hours later we were docking in Picton, and then another couple of hours drive to Nelson. What a cool place this is... on the top of the island, coastal, mountainous, a cool vibe and trails. Well the trails aren't as good as Rotorua, no way, a lot of steep ups and very technical downs, not a great deal of flow, but we really only scratched the surface. Helping us to scratch that itch was 'Wayne Train', a local XC/Tri/XTerra guru we met at the markets this morning. We were cruising around the stalls, checking out the local produce (oh boy, the locals...) and I spotted a nice bike at a stall. Got talking to Wayne, and asked if he'd like to take us on a spin, which he happily agreed to. A top bloke, and a hell of a rider, ripping our legs off up the climbs, and railing the nasty switchbacks and drops on a 3.5 inch XC bike with sketchy tyres and flat bars, saddle up! I was skating around with seat down and fork at 140mm, while Keeds tested the human-catching abilities of the trees as he launched a wooden drop and overshot the next turn by a good 15 metres. They used these trails for the National XC round a few weeks back, that's REAL XC racing right there. Wayne punished us some more uphill on the way up to 'Centre of NZ', a lookout over town. I left the camera in the car again, so no pics yet, but I'll get some when I come back in a week or so. Could be here for a long time yet, the city is so damn cool, there's work apparently, but the trails will have to pick up their act a little to rival Vegas.

Plenty to look at...

Lots of good scenery in NZ, be it natural or otherwise.

M6; about the only BMW that doesn't look like a Toyota.

Some Merc; about the only one that doesn't look like a Falcon.

A brick on wheels; a very fast brick, but still a brick. (For Benny, he's a bricklayer apparently...)

I don't know how that got in there..... but I no complain.

Hooray Taupo, Hello Vegas

Sunday was our last day in resort heaven at Taupo, with Keeds taking a rest day, while I forced myself onto the bike for a last jaunt around Craters. I found some new trails/trails I hadn't done before, like Ferret, Fast Eddie and Inwards Goods. Then it was up the Grinder climb to reap the sweet Buzzard downhill. It rained on me pretty hard up the climb, but by the top it was all clear again, and the fun began. At the bottom I decided to cross over to the Drone trail, which was still being bedded in last time I rode it. Then I discovered a new trail, Outback. It was real nice, quite a long loop, meandering through the pines then up through some new growth and climbing steadily before ripping back down and around and up n down and... you get the idea. Very cool. To finish off I chose Coaster, always a good buzz. Back along the highway to the resort, a solid 30km of trails. A nice way to end our Taupo stay.

Monday morning we loaded the Laser to the hilt and did the quick drive up to Rotorua. The interesting odours announced that we were in town, and it was to the motel (slightly more modest at $69 a night, but very good location, better pillows than the resort, and a friendly couple running it) then straight onto the bikes and up into the Redwoods.




Drop In NZ Aussie stylee!
I took Kedan on roughly the same route that Timmy had taken us on last year, and the hills soon took their toll on the K-man. 'K' certainly doesn't stand for 'Klimber'! We did Gunna Gotta, A Trail, Tickler, up another big climb to Hot X Buns, then up again to Chestnut Link, Rollercoaster, Chop Suey, Spring Roll and Sweet n Sour. B Rude Not To sent us back down towards the 'intermediate' trails, and we tooled around on the flowing bermed corners and little jumps as we made our way back to the car. All up about 36km's, and the legs were aware they'd been used.




Today it was a beautiful sunny morning, we've been blessed with fantastic weather all trip, only a few showers, and we aren't envious when we see the soaring temperatures back in Aus on the news at night. We hit Redwoods about mid morning, and the car park was chockers with all types of riders hitting the trails as today is a public holiday to celebrate Waitangi Day, NZ's day of Federation of Chiefs in 1835 (according to the nice old Maori man I just asked in the net cafe!).

We did a few trails down below which I'd never done before, and it was a nice easy warm-up which kept Kedan (and me) happier. We then hit 'A' Trail (sweeeeet flow), and back up to Chestnut, and a few other new-to-us trails on the way back to the car park. I've never seen so many women on bikes as I have in the last two days, and hot ones on hot bikes too, who can ride! We spoke to a couple on Specializeds', an Epic and a Stumpy. The Epic girl was a Czech who lives here now, and her Kiwi friend.
By the time we got back to the car we were empty of leg and stomach, with another 40km under our belts. I've done 140 off-road k's in 4days, and am feeling like a bike rider again. Lovin it. I'm seriously thinking that this is MTB heaven, and I'm a bit more impressed with the town this time. The guy at Bike Vegas spotted me and said "you've been here before!" after my last visit to the shop. Everyone is real friendly and it's been a good stay so far. We'll probably stay a few more nights here then head back down towards Welly for the swim across to the South.

Craters, dams, falls...

We have been here in Taupo since Thursday, and have been living it up, Resort stylee... Half price vouchers ROCK!!

Kedan is a photographer! Check out this sequence baby! Awesome model though, makes his job easy... Kawakawa trail.

First day here we rode Craters of the moon, but K's bike has been playing up all trip and he finally cracked and almost threw it into the scrub. Next day he took it to the local shop for some new cables and outers, which were very ordinary. But the problem was still evident, ghosting in a couple of cogs, so I swapped wheels with him and discovered it was the cassette to blame, so a newy and a chain fixed it up. Paying retail sucks! Friday morning while the bike was getting pampered, we played 9 holes of golf at the resort course, not too shabby for hackers. Then we checked out the Huka Falls jet boat, and splurged on a wild ride up the river. Freekin awesome, heading straight at trees in the water and flicking it around them at 80kmh, madness. We met a Japanese girl, Nana, who was squealing with delight (from the boat ride, from the boat ride). Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me, but it would've got soaked anyway. The arvo we rode down to the falls, where we'd been up to in the boat, and it's an amazing sight, pumping enough water down to fill an Olympic sized pool every 5 seconds. There is a great singletrack ride along the river down to the Aratahaia (?) Dam, whic opens up every 2 hours, and we got there just in time to witness this spectacle. The rush of water into the valley was cool, filling up in minutes. before....After...(well, during)

Then it was up to Craters again, and we did the climb and the sweet descents of Buzzard, Son of Buzzard and the way cool Coaster. We were pretty shagged by the time we got back, so it was into the pool and then a Hell pizza (that's what the shop is called) and crashed out hard after watching the movie 'Garden State', very cool flick (mmm Natalie Portman). Today we headed out to Kinloch, a lakeside hamlet of the rich and richer, where we were told there was a cool ride up the Kawakawa Bay track. And we weren't disappointed. It climbed, twisted and rolled through ferny bush, with some techy rocky sections. At the top the view was breathtaking, but the ride back down was even better. We had trouble removing the grins from our faces, and Kedan needed to take a rest stop to recover. Now I sit here in the internet cafe, typing as fast as possible so I can go and have a beer. We called out "NAAAAANAAAAAAHHHHH" in the main street, but I don't think she can understand our accent. One more day here, then it's onto Rotorua on Monday. Stay tuned.

Rooted

Literally. The legs are tired after more riding in the last week than we've done in the last month back 'ome. Today we did a slow crawl/push up to the top of Kiriwhakapapa trail,
the one that has some slippy roots and leaf mulch in sections, and some nice smooth straights as well on the way down. Pretty much unrideable going up, but not tooo bad coming down, if you're on the ball. A mistake could be deadly. You don't wanna lose your head. Where is my mind? Keeds was taking it easy on the way down so he didn't risk crashing and re-injuring his knee, so I sent him ahead with the camera so he could get some snaps of me in full sick root mode.
We did the little loop at the bottom, which is quite nice, small rolling climbs, but our legs were giving up at the slightest hint of a grade. Having said that, we are getting stronger and fitter, so Freemo et al you'd better watch out when you get here, we might be able to keep up for a bit.


**How about some comments? What's goin on back there? Don't be shy now...

Inclinations

The sound of heavy rain on the tin roof during the night didn't bode well for today's riding plans, but a clear sunny day was what we got, so we jumped in the Laser and did the sightseeing thing, first stop Waohine Gorge. I wanted to make it across this bridge, which I only got about 20 metres across last time. This time, watched by a group of abseilers and a nice retired couple and their dog, I had to do it. Keeds had first crack, but was soon back on terrafirma. I gritted my teeth and headed across the wildly swing wire structure. Yeah, it was a bit freaky out in the middle, but I got to the other side no problem.


This is the view from the other side. Cool little waterfalls all along the banks.
Then it was a drive up to Mt. Dick lookout. At the top Keeds yelled out "EEEEVVVVAAAAAHHH" but I guess she didn't hear. There were a couple of guys on MTB's halfway up, and we spotted a trail off to the side of the main road. No idea where it went or what it's like, might check it out some other time. After lunch and a nap in the sun, I got the itch to get on the bike, so I woke up kedan and we drove out to Cross Creek to the end of the Rimutaka Incline, the old railway line over the Hill. 45 minutes of steady climbing, in a gale force wind in places almost blowing us back down the hill. Once at the top, we quickly turned around and bombed it back down , through the long tunnel slowly, through the shorter ones flat strap.
This is what it looks like lit up by camera flash... it's nothing like that when you're riding through though. The method I use is look straight ahead at the light at the end, elbows out and keep the pedals turning. Kedan's method was get off the bike, freak out, and try to follow my silhouette.
This is what it really looks like. Concentrate on the dot now. Head up. Elbows ouCH! Scrape. Repeat. Go home. Beer.

Blown away

Here's how it should be: no-one descends for free. Downhillers should be made to ride to the top before being allowed to come back down. On a hardtail. The descent is the reward. Ya don't eat ya greens, ya don't get dessert. I thought of this while suffering like a dog again while climbing to the Peak today. I'll approach Parliament about it this week.

Anyway, we had another good day today, did a few tracks we didn't do on Friday, such as Upper and Lower Leaping Lizard, a new track to get back up which is pretty ordinary, which we dubbed "Dying Hedgehog" coz we found a little spiky fella on the trail and he looked a bit worse for wear. From the peak we railed around Zac's Track (the one Christian freaked on) then back up to the peak and across Ridgeline. It was blowing a gale up there, but it's a real fun trail, challenging and flowy with a few little drops and some rough corners. To finish off we did SWIGG/Starfish, which is the perfect way to finish a ride. The pain of the climbing was soon forgotten, and even celebrated, on arrival at the carpark.

We then went for a drive around, out to the Makara cemetery where my Grandad is buried, then down to the harbour for a beer and snack at the Mac's Brewery. Mmmmmmac's! Tried their 'Hop Rocker' Pilsener, a fine beer. The wind on the harbour was nearly blowing us off our feet, and these kids on scooters were getting blown along at about 15kmh! Then it was up to Mt. Victoria Lookout, spectacular views of the city in all directions. I really like Welly. Houses built on the sides of sheer cliffs, steep hills all round, just a good feel to it. If only it wasn't so windy. On the way back home, we passed a backpacker's hostel... I screamed out "EEEVVVVAAAAAAAAAA", but she mustn't have heard. Wind probably.

Tomorrow we'll probably stay closer to home, and do the Rimutaka Incline and MikiMiki trails. If my legs have stopped aching by then.

Augie Marchin' on....

Melbourne stalwarts Augie March have topped the Triple J Hottest 100 for 2006 with their song 'One Crowded Hour'. After the abysmal choice of Bernard Fanning last year, it seems people with actual taste voted this year. Cream always rises to the top, while shit sinks like something really shitty and heavy in a bucket of shit.