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bikes, friends, MTB, NZ

Killers & one of the best NZ rides I’ve done

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A chance to sit down & think for the first time in a week. My nice week with no shift work was rudely interrupted by a call from my boss last Tuesday, one of the other supervisors had fallen ill & could I work that night? Home for a few hours for a quick nap & it was back for a very quiet (thankfully) night shift. Enough time for a sleep & to pack my bike up for the upcoming weekend’s adventure & it was off up town for The Killers concert at Vector. It didn’t take too much persuading for Stephen (Te Puke friend) to get me to fork out the money some months ago & I had been looking forward to the night since then. If Stephen’s excitement was anything to go by it was going to be a great night – and it certainly was! I can’t speak from much experience (it must be over two years since I went to a concert – & that was nice & mellow in a vineyard), but what a fantastic concert – a large crowd particularly excited to see a good band, with an accomplished showman up front. Most of the old & new favourites were included in the set & with the live performance, some songs became new favourites & stuck in my head for the next two or three days. Unfortunately, it was straight back to work at midnight following the concert – not too bad, another quiet shift. Worked a bit later in to the morning (due to starting late) & it was rather difficult to get to sleep with sun higher than usual after a night shift – the ringing ears probably didn’t help all that much either.

Well rested, Thursday afternoon was spent packing for riding the Queen Charlotte Track over Easter. Thankfully, all our gear was being water-taxied between overnight stops – so packing didn’t require too much thought, just throw as many warm clothes & riding clothes in that I could find. A pleasant enough flight to Wellington (no aerobatics on landing, which was a bit of a disappointment) & then it was outside to wait for a bus to Elizabeth Gray’s. A sudden southerly blast quickly had me hunting out my down jacket & it didn’t take much persuading from some old guy running a shuttle for me to jump at a $20 ride to Karori & be dropped at the door (much better than lugging a bike bag from the bus stop) – plus I figured he was out late at night trying to earn some money, so he may as well have mine. It turned out to a bit of a marathon shuttle ride considering there were only three others to drop off in the central city & me. Unfortunately, one of the others was not sure where she wanted to go – Cuba St or a little way towards the Aro Valley; of course when we got to the house up the Aro on a tight windy street, no one was home & we trekked back to Cuba. Normally this wouldn’t be too much of a problem, but the driver never strayed above forty in very light traffic. I was pleased to finally get to Elizabeth & Nigel’s – where they were celebrating the completion Elizabeth’s book, well done Elizabeth! It was just as well that the celebrations were winding down when I got there as someone had to get up early the next morning to drop me at the ferry.

Arriving at the ferry terminal half an hour before our departure on Good Friday morning (also the first day of the school holidays) wasn’t the best idea – it was chaotic! Somehow I managed to find the group – or rather they found me in the bedlam; I was the only clown wandering around with a bike bag, so maybe I wasn’t too hard to spot. I only really knew one of the thirteen others, so quick introductions all around (I somehow became “Brendan from Pukekohe” – not a way I had previously chosen to define myself, but I suppose there is an element of truth to it), checked our baggage in & pushed our bikes on to the ferry to stow them with the trucks & so forth.

The ferry was at capacity (1650 apparently) so seats were scarce, spent a lot of the voyage outside looking at the view (I hadn’t been on the Interislander for over eight years), bumped in to Sarah & Andrew who I had met at Elizabeth’s wedding two months before, got to know some of the riding crew, enjoyed the nice swells & not being able to walk in a straight line as we entered Cook Strait & generally tried to pass three and a half hours (why did I leave my book behind?). The ferry was a little late getting in to Picton & it took an eternity just to fight through the hoards to get anywhere near a visual on the baggage carousel & another age for all our bags to appear.

Those delays gave me little time to assemble my bike, get changed, have some lunch – but that was all achieved (didn’t manage to get any water for my Camelbak) with a minute or two before we set off on the water taxi for Ship’s Cove & the start of the track. On the way we spotted & then circled a large & very playful pod of dolphins – most excellent to watch. We unloaded off the water taxi along with another group of four mountain bikers & a few trampers. Thankfully (I was later to find out just how much so) I managed fill my Camelbak with water & the group set off in dribs & drabs. The track certainly does not lull you in to a false sense of security at the start – it was immediately up a very steep hill & before I was walking parts of the climb & struggling to keep the front wheel on the track for some of the parts I was riding. With that rude awakening, it was good to see every one at the viewing platform at the top & the enthusiastic Dutch guy from the other group of cyclists kindly snapped our only group photos of the trip.

Of course now, we had a sweet downhill in front of us & another smaller climb. I was impressed to pass a family that had two primary aged children out riding the track – we didn’t see them after the next rest stop, I wonder how they got on. At the next rest stop we regrouped, admired the view through the clearing down to the Sounds, & learnt not to feed wekas wearing short fingered gloves – fingers are much tastier looking than muesli bars. By now it was cooling down quite a bit & we moved on to more good down hill.

As the QCT is a popular tramping track, it is well benched, mostly pretty smooth & had small bridges over most of the small creeks (which of course would be larger when it’s not autumn) – these bridges were quite fun, as typically you would go back along the side of the hill towards the stream, there would be a nice bermed corner & then the bridge would be about a metre inside end of the berm – this often caught me unawares, but somehow I never when front wheel first in to stream and over the bars. Down at water level we emerged on to a stony beach & it was great to watch each rider walk in to the clearing from the track with a broad grin plastered on their face – such was the quality & enjoyment of the preceding downhill. From here it was a gentle ride around the sound’s edge to Ferneaux Lodge (most of the group carried on to Miners’ Camp) – where we stayed in the backpackers’ accommodation for the night (& the guys had the pleasure of cold showers). It was a chilly night, but that didn’t stop us cooking our barbecue & eating it outside. When it was proper dark, a short stroll back the way we came to a small collection of glow worms; on returning, we found the campers had started arriving as Ferneaux had a bar & kitchen & pool table and the campsite didn’t – or maybe they enjoyed our company!

Bags packed & ready for the water taxi at 0900 & on the bikes – just a short ride around to Miner’s Camp, but it did have a challenging swing bridge to try & ride across with out hitting the rather narrow side wires & netting. Craig managed it quite well, I got half way across & then got wonderfully tied up. As most of the campers were still decamping, four of us took the opportunity to do a side trail up the valley to some old mines. Really we just rode & walked up a steep old road for half an hour, wandered down an old mine shaft, deliberated on whether to go any further & then rode back down the steep hill.

I managed to get stuck in my pedals crossing a stream on the way back down going too fast & ended up going for a swim – thankfully my camera didn’t get wet, although it was pretty close. Also, I was glad that the day was shaping up to be pretty warm as my left side was soaked. By the time we got back, some of the group had started off & we tootled off with the remains. We had soon climbed enough to be rewarded with yet more spectacular views up Endeavour Inlet – we also managed to find a much better camp site (note for next time) than Miner’s. Mostly a pretty gentle part of the track, some through private land & then quite a bit of freshly benched & cleared track (apparently this bit had been closed recently).

Reaching a junction we could either head to Punga Cove & then up to Keneperu Saddle (partly on road) or up to Keneperu Saddle on walking track.

Three of us headed up the walking track & it took less than fifteen minutes & was a much gentler climb than the other way – middle ring the whole way. A brief break at the top & we met Brent riding up the road – he was convinced that everyone else was in front of him, so we let him carry on while we went back down the walking track (most enjoyable)

& rolled on around to Punga Cove where we found most of the others finishing their lattes! Getting back up to the saddle was a bit more a slog & the climbing continued in the brilliant sunshine up some more steepness & then in was in to some pretty flat downhill to a beautiful lunch spot overlooking the Sounds & where we had gone on the water-taxi the previous day. By the time we got there, Brent & Shaun had worked out no-one else was in front of them & had been waiting patiently for over an hour in the sun.

Following a pleasant lunch it was pretty much riding along the ridge for the rest of the afternoon. This consisted of a bit more pushing up hills that were too difficult for me too ride, regrouping at various shelters, a lot of sweet downhill & more struggling to keep an eye on the trail as the views were so spectacular they often pried one’s eyes away from what was about to roll under the Kenda up front.

Gradually our view changed from across to Tory Channel to looking across Queen Charlotte Sound to Picton – this must have been the only part of the track which was immediately above a very large drop, interspersed only with a lot of friendly looking gorse.

The downhills kept getting better – on one such one we whizzed past another group congregated on the side of the track. We were to learn later that the Dutch photographer from the day before (not the old man from Scene 24) had had an off on a straight piece of trail, sounded seriously concussed & was choppered off to hospital – thankfully he was OK after a night in hospital. By now we were on the other side of the ridge looking across to Keneperu Sound – somewhere along here I had to stop as (other) Brent had managed to get his derailleur twisted over backwards & in amongst the spokes (snapping one). A few trackside tricks from Craig had the derailleur back in the proper orientation & the hanger bent back in to approximately the correct position – it didn’t look good for making it the rest of the trip. Another long downhill to the top of the road in to Portage – it’s always good fun giving a better rider a head start & then trying to chase them down, it must have taken me a good ten minutes to catch – the last twenty metres always proved elusive. All of a sudden we were spat out on the road (the track carried on the opposite side – we would have to ride back up to rejoin it tomorrow) & it was a quick cruise (for most of us) down to Portage. Shaun wasn’t happy with the cruise down, passed Nikki on the outside of a big left-hander & then quickly found it wasn’t nearly as big as it looked! He managed to get the back wheel all the way around, bring it back in, almost save & then end up lying on his back in a ditch laughing a lot. A pity I missed the action, but it was still pretty funny when I got there a few seconds later.

The backpacker accommodation at Portage Resort was much more salubrious than the previous night – not that that is much of an indication – & the showers were hot. Some braved the rather chilly swimming pool & some braved the jellyfish & chilly sea – I was quite happy to be showered & clean. Dinner was a mixture of various packet pastas, risottos, MREs – Anna helpfully showed us why you shouldn’t put foil packets in the microwave. Eventually we vacated the dining room for some of the other guests & moved down to the bar. After the two side trips, falling in the stream & the day’s ride (especially the hills) it was an early night for me.

After a much warmer & quiet night’s sleep, it was get up, make porridge, pack up, & wait for some to have countless cups of tea & then the slog up the road again to rejoin the track. The road was just the warm up for the climb up the highest point on the whole track. It started off manageable & then got steeper & steeper – I was pleased at how far I got, but once I was off & walking, the walking became intermittent & more frequent. For not the first time, I was extra pleased that it was autumn & not the middle of summer. More great views of course & a small stop to explain the intricacies of SRAM missing links we were finally at the top (turned out to be a top), we regrouped & polished off the marshmallows. After all the climbing the downhill turned in to a big series of switchbacks (with some decent plunges over the size) that had nice ruts going in to them that turned pleasantly in to berms. It certainly kept one on one’s toes; the last part of that downhill was a big wide open grassy chute that was extremely bumpy that shook me to pieces – I’m just glad I was on a soft-tail.

Shortly after Brent’s bike completely packed a sad & the derailleur hanger snapped off – he was left to singlespeed the remainder of the track (this didn’t always go smoothly as the soft-tail kept altering the chain tension). The track going down to the Mistletoe Bay road was lovely & flowing & most enjoyable; all of a sudden it changed back in to switchbacks for the last little bit – Emma managed to miss the first one completely & just pulled up in time as she missed the turn completely. I don’t think that was what the fairies meant by spending time alone. Crossing another road, we were around Mistletoe Bay & the track gently wound its way up & around the next headland – around which we made good time. Pulling up at some sort of picnic table, there were now views to Anakiwa as well as Picton – heading out in a boat & going for a waterski looked pretty good. It was another wonderfully clear skied day, but as there was little to no wind sailing looked like a worse option than normal.

Gavin was nominated to lead off & a group of four tore off down what proved to be another fantastic flowing downhill. I found myself at the end of the back of the next group of three; about half way down we whizzed past Paul remonstrating with someone on the side of the track. By this stage of the day we had passed many more walkers & a few cyclists walking the other way (this last day was much more accessible for day-trippers than the previous days) & it was pretty easy to tell that these weren’t two friends catching up after a chance encounter in the middle of nowhere. We got the low down of the scared Australian woman’s tirade at selfish mountain bikers (with the husband & son making themselves scarce), mixed with plenty of sarcasm & reason & manners from Paul at our final lunch on a pleasant beach (except for the sandflies). Being Easter Sunday, we were disappointed to find that if we had have been a bit quicker we could have partaken in an Easter Egg hunt all around the small bay that was well thought out by some fortunate kids’ parents – as much as we helped them, they did not share the spoils. Just a short post-lunch ride & we had completed the 70-odd km Queen Charlotte Track (Shaun managed to get our first puncture of the ride about one kilometre from the end!). What a thoroughly enjoyable ride, great track, fantastic panoramas, excellent people to ride with – if you can ride a mountain bike, I recommend you do it.

Hunting around the sprawl of Anakiwa (home of Outward Bound), which turns out not to have any shops a few of us finally found a B&B that would feed us (mmmm cheese & tomato toasted sandwiches) & let us use the most impossibly large & impractical binoculars that I have ever seen. They also provided us direction to the YHA – always handy to know where you will be sleeping. The YHA turned out to be another step up in our QCT accommodation with comfy beds, big screen TV, over 300 DVDs & a multitude of board games – & best of all, a good shower. I was very well beaten at Guess Who, made a late comeback but still lost a game of Excuses, & cleaned up at Extreme Trivial Pursuit (a spontaneous variation that does away with the board & wedges). Hauling our bags off the jetty, we scrubbed up & caught a courtesy van (driven by someone who should have been sober & perhaps was) to the pub with no EFTPOS. Big old country pubs are fantastic, but eating our various fried meals (the works burger was rather impressive) did rather feel like sitting in a distant great-aunt’s living room full of old faded photos, curios & knick-knacks. The landlords were away for the long weekend so we were graced with a marvellous Liverpudlian (& apparently Wayne Rooney’s cousin) accent & barmaids wearing Easter bunny ears. Eventually we moved out to the lean-to-esque outdoor area with darts & pool table (I managed one of my much poorer efforts at pool); our hosts must have been warming to us faster than an Australian tramper, as the fire was soon lit, replacement shuttle drivers were found so we could stay later & we managed a couple of complimentary takeaway bottles of white. After persuading our shuttle driver to have a pint with us, it was off in to the night – with most of us glad that we hadn’t biked the ten or so kilometres to the pub without lights.

If the effing post had not have been broke, the bar may have been less well stocked by the end of the night

I’m glad it was autumn, or else I would probably be hooked by now

Not too much of note on Monday – pack, ride back to Picton on the road, dissemble & pack bike, ferry to Wellington, hurried goodbyes to half the group (sorry if I missed you), shuttle to airport, fly to Auckland, home by 2030. Mind you, the shuttle driver was the antithesis of the old guy I had on Thursday night – he was a third his age, drove aggressively, threw the passengers all over the back seats, swore a lot; the other passengers & I were thoroughly entertained by it all.

In an addendum of the previous update which is not nearly as exciting as the QCT, but probably more momentous – Adele & I went halves in a nice big loan from the bank, which means that we now have a house. Adele is very much loving living in it (it is in Timaru, so if I’m lucky I may get to stay there one day) & furnishing it & sharing it with a fellow junior doctor.

bikes, event, friends, hiking, MTB, NZ

General catchup

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It’s been a while & although there are no momentous occurrences, a few little things have happened over the last couple of months. Working as the Melter Relief Supervisor over summer meant a rather mixed up shift roster over the months when the other supervisors (understandably) like to take leave. Consequently, I took a few breaks when I could get them.

First up at the end of January was the best part of a week down in Palmerston North for Liz Gray’s wedding. Going down to Palmy for five or six days when everyone else has gone back to work was a bit of a stuff up – there was very little to do. I took my bike down, of course, to try & start a little training in for Karapoti (early March) – one decent ride up to the windmills (the big ones) through Ashhurst, a ride down memory lane (really the Bridle Path beside the river – a much ridden path while I was at university) & a ride in to town. I also managed to get hooked on Scrubs & watched the first two seasons (& I probably read a book too).

The wedding at Wharerata at Massey on Friday afternoon was great (got to meet Nigel [the groom] for the first time) – for Palmerston North, it was insanely hot in the late afternoon. A nice small service in the garden, caught up with a few people I hadn’t seen in a while & even managed some photos (my camera has been well rested so far this year).

Somewhere around this time (just after Waitangi weekend – it’s easy to remember when one checks the riding diary), I got a letter in the post telling me that my application for UK citizenship had been accepted. I was strangely, for me anyway, excited about this – it turned up earlier than expected & meant that I could start planning a move to the UK & a holiday in the States on the way. I also had to go down to Wellington for the citizenship ceremony at the High Commission – this I was able to tie in nicely with my trip down for Karapoti. So after said trip at the start of March, I officially became a Brit – now I just have to learn to drink warm beer, wear socks with sandles & complain about everything – especially the weather. Unfortunately I didn’t beat my Karapoti time (which isn’t particularly flash), which I was quite disappointed by.

I think I had three nights down in Wellington – stayed with Elizabeth & Nigel in their quite interesting house. Apparently it was the Yugoslav Embassy (I think an official residence is more likely) & it’s a big old house that is held by the Public Trust on behalf of Yugoslavia (in case the country ever returns!). I saw Mum briefly as she came up for the ceremony – always good to catch up. Unfortunately, it rained quite heavily on Friday night before the race & it was still drizzling on Saturday morning. Not long before the start I realised that I had managed to leave both of my spare pumps at home – a sure sign that I would get a puncture. About ten minutes before the race was due to start I finally found tent that was selling bike stuff – however, they were almost as disorganised as I was & hadn’t unpacked anything yet. We spent another five minutes unpacking all the boxes (that were labelled very vaguely) trying to find the pumps. After the gloves, bottle cages, shock pumps, saddle bags, gloves, bottles & every other imaginable bicycle accessory we finally found the pumps – saved!

The race started off in a drizzle & was the normal fast gravel to start with. Half way up the warm up climb there was a small descent across a small stream & up again – there must have been a decent rock coming out of it & I was glad no to be joining the many on the side of the track repairing punctures. Unfortunately quite a few minutes later I was on the side of a climb changing a tube in the rain. Just as well I had a pump – pity it was a piece of junk & took ages to inflate my tyre anywhere close to where it should have been. Back riding, but taking it easy & trying no to get a snake bite. Survived the first proper climb & congregated with a lot of riders at a clearing at the top of the Rockgarden to do some maintenance (much lube going on etc) & managed to borrow a really nice little pump & get my rear tyre up to a good pressure. About that time some one came running back up to the track to where we were to tell the first aiders that some guy had fallen off & broken his arm. We had to take it pretty easy & there was so many riders that weren’t keen on breaking ourselves that we formed a procession walking down the Rockgarden – not nearly as much fun, but it was slippery & we survived in one piece. Survived more pushing to the top of the Devil’s Staircase & really enjoyed the nice long down hill – pity I punctured again. This time I was replacing my tube with three others & ended gifting my holed tubes to another guy whose weren’t repairable. Easily made it up the last hill (had helped that I had had two big breaks repairing flats!) & had a quick ride out down the gravel road with some other rider & almost got swept down the river just before the finish.

Was glad to finish, & I figure the forty minutes extra was down to the two slow puncture repairs & all the extra mud & traffic. Altogether I was happy with how I rode & wasn’t feeling too tired at the end – but most of all happy to survive the rain & mud without breaking myself. It was also a bonus that I got the rental car out of the paddock without getting stuck or damaged. Wonderful to get back to another fantastic Elizabeth-cooked meal.

No big riding trips since then – many laps of Puni & Hunua on the singlespeed & I think a couple of trips to Woodhill have been the extent of it. In a swallowing-one’s-pride move I have started swimming lessons – I finally decided not being able to swim to save one’s self was not really good enough & I should at least give learning to survive in water without a life jacket another a go. So far, kicking in the water is ridiculously tiring – it is so much easier to ride a bike for a few hours than kick a few lengths of the pool!

In the last two weekends I have done more tramping than riding – it’s starting to weird me out a bit. (As an aside, I did manage to see Tendulkar score a test century at Hamilton – which was a lot more satisfying than our batting). Last week it was up Mt Pirongia – everyone kept telling me it would be muddy, but thankfully it wasn’t (just as well for Jane, as she left her boots behind). First up it was a 500m climb to a trig which took about forty minutes.

From here there was only about 200m in altitude to the summit. But of course, it was a typical ridge track – must have been seven or eight descents followed by ascents. But we made good time & got to the summit in two & a half hours. Pretty good views, but a bit too much cloud encroaching from the horizons to give clear vistas. We decided to carry on to the small hut (six bunks) for lunch. The hut has only been there since 1980 (put up as day trampers kept getting lost & caught out – something we weren’t planning on doing, especially as I was only carrying my Camelbak) – but surprisingly had a stocked refrigerator (which we assume was for the builders of the new track that started from the hut & went down the south side of Pirongia).

Going down wasn’t a whole lot faster, but we did stop to climb a rocky outcrop (Adele would be proud). A great day’s walk – pleased to be back at the car six hours after we left – not so pleased to get home in time to see the Warriors get beaten by the Broncos & lose more players to injuries at the start of the season. This weekend just gone was the annual walk to Homunga Bay from Waihi Beach – a pleasant stroll on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon; best of all I stayed with Dave & Rosey & Evah, did not too much, slept in & finished the new Jack Reacher.

Other titbits – I haven’t worked a twelve hour shift in ten days & should not have to do any more, my new British passport has turned up (only three weeks – quite impressed) & it’s time for Conchords…

bikes, family, MTB, NZ

Penguins, dolphins, doing not much & chairlifts

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With the work roster & covering the other supervisors’ leave, my brief Chirstmas holiday was a couple of weeks late this time around. Nonetheless, I made it back down to Oamaru for the second time in a month. First time I had been to The Last Post for many years, but a pleasant dinner there all the same. The next day it was Mum, Dad, the softtail & I off down south to the Catlins for a few days. Unfortunately, Adele was discovering the joys of shift work & being a house surgeon & couldn’t join us for the weekend.

Going through Dunedin it was great to catch up with the Dunedin Waytes for lunch before we were through Balclutha & winding our way to Curio Bay on the western side of the Catlins. We arrived at the lovely holiday house Mum had rented on the beach to find there was no power – much investigation and the, logical, occurence of a power cut was determined. We settled in to the first of our numerous fresh ham, salad & new Oamaru potato meals. Over the next three days we relaxed a lot (bliss – no phone, cell phone reception, TV, or internet) & read a lot, explored the beach & rocks, went on a few drives to remote beaches, went to Slope Point (the southern most point of the South Island), bushwalked & watched the wildlife. The highlight of the wildlife was the Hector’s dolphins playing in the surf just out from the house & the ten or dozen cute little yellow-eyed penguins just around the point. The penguins came ashore from early-evening onwards (they also left early in the morning – but there was no way we were going to be able to see them then!) & were fascinating to watch. Also one of the best meals out in ages in the middle of nowhere at Niagara Falls in an old school house – massive mussels & beautiful snapper.

Our three days of doing not much in particular ended with a typical Pheasant tiki-tour to get us to Queenstown. Managed to take in Bluff (first time I’d been there), Riverton & Tuatapere (funnily enough, been to those places before), and Five Rivers on the way. Itching to get on the bike again, it was quickly assembled in anticipation of riding Coronet Peak in the afternoon. I couldn’t wait so thought I might ride to the top of the gondola hill & ride some of the sweet single track down. By ten o’clock I was baking as I rode/pushed up the track (it’s been a very long time since I’ve pushed up a gravel road – possibly Karapoti, two years ago – which I must train for, as that is coming up again in five or six weeks) & conscious of keeping enough energy in reserve for the fun in the afternoon, I got half way up, admired the view, caught my breath & enjoyed the single track down.

Coronet Peak didn’t disappoint (except I expected more trails – only two, of the three marked on the map, were open – so not a lot of variety) as the novelty of getting a ride on a chairlift four hundred metres up the hill didn’t wear off all afternoon. Of course, coming back down was much better – it took a while to get used to a rock-based track after all the dirt & mud at home. But I thoroughly enjoyed my eight runs down & the chance to perfect riding certain corners, drops & jumps that were causing problems at the start of the day. The views over Wakatipu, The Remarkables & Arrowtown weren’t bad either. To save Dad driving all the way back up to pick me up, I graciously rode down the road to the bottom – it was such a burden, ten minutes of pedalling at around fifty or sixty kilometres (slowing down for the hairpins of course). The day ended well catching up with family friends Charlotte & Jane and then the Queenstown (& Christchurch) Waytes.

A mad dash back the next day saw us breeze through Otematata (there’s a new shop!), stagger at the sight of all the water spilling over the top of the Aviemore, meetings in Oamaru & then dinner with Adele up in Timaru (where we stayed the night before Mum & I flew to Auckland).

around home, bikes, family, friends, MTB, NZ

Graduations, reunions & a spot of riding, of course

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With the mix & match roster of being the relief supervisor, December has been a bit of a mess as far as routine goes.But that can hardly be blamed entirely on work rosters as there have been a few little trips around the country.First up, was Adele’s graduation in Dunedin – I managed to fit in six days down south.Flying in to Oamaru for the first time (it has always been fly in to Christchurch or Dunedin & then drive to Oamaru) was quite exciting & small planes are just great – you get that feeling of the tail slewing all around the place on take off & can watch the pilots & the instruments from your seat.I was amused to see that the emergency response vehicle at the airfield was a rather dated Nissan Sentra (all three doors of it) – after that I was even more thankful for an uneventful landing. Out for dinner – the start of too much food, a pity the table smelt like it had been cleaned with a bacteria-ridden cloth, it was like being back in the flat again.

Thursday, I made the mistake of wearing jeans for the trip up to Timaru. It turned out to be stinking hot & Dad & I spent the afternoon traipsing around houses – it turned out that the first one we looked at was the best & Adele & I are now in the process of buying it together for her & another doctor flatmate to live in. After a trip to the accountants, which was pretty much an excuse to talk about mountain-biking in the North & South Islands, it was off to pick up Adele from work (where she had the tragic finding of no air-con in the hospital) & back out to the chosen house to give her a look. Having concluded that house-filled afternoon, Adele quickly packed for the weekend & it was back to mighty Oamaru (mmmmm roast).

More unpacking & repacking later, we managed to leave on time on Friday morning for the trip down to Dunedin. On the way we stopped & looked at the farm that is being cut up in to lots & Mum & Dad intend buying one & building on it for their retirement (if that ever happens). With mountain & estuary views, it’s a nice spot – although it maybe a little cold that far south. While Mum was at an appointment & Adele picked up her gown, Dad & I did the honourable Pheasant thing & read the paper. That exhaustion over it was a rush to check in to our rooms, get flashed up & then back to the university for an appointment with a photographer. Lots of photos ensued, thankfully not too many with me in them. In between Mum giving & gleaning photography tips, there were plenty of us looking suitably proud – a shame we never got one of the clock tower without a pesky red car in front of it. More rushing around as Dad & I hurried out to the airport to pick up my Uncle flying in from Australia & Adele got ready for the med. ball that night. Having arrived at the airport, we quickly realised when there was no sign of Geoff that we had no idea which flight he was on, which airline he was flying with or even if he had come direct from Sydney or via Auckland or Christchurch – so we went to a café. He eventually turned up. Couldn’t go too wrong with a steakhouse for dinner that night, even if we did have to sit in the fish bowl at the front of the restaurant.

Off to Med school prize giving for Adele, Mum & Dad while Geoff & I lazed around & ambled around the university & Dunedin on Saturday morning. After lunch it was off to George St to watch all the graduands parade on past towards the Octagon & Town Hall. Brisk walking between town & the hotel & another change in to slightly flashier clothes & it was off to the Town Hall for Adele’s ceremony. Due to our lower status, Geoff & I were relegated to another hall to watch it all on the big screen – this turned out to be a blessing as apparently it was ridiculously hot up the top of the town hall. Much pomp & ceremony later I’d seen a few people I recognised & missed a few I should have recognised & Adele finally graduated as a doctor – well done. Following the guest speaker, who typically talked a lot about themself, it was a good night of socialising with various friends & family.

As we had Geoff with us, it was the tourist route home on Sunday morning – via Middlemarch & Dansey’s Pass. The biggest surprise of this was meeting the mother of one Adele’s best friends from her days in Te Puke in a charming cafe in Middlemarch – got to love NZ. Another beautiful day (I’d been pleasantly surprised by the weather so far – all Dad wanted was rain for the farms) & nice trip over the Dansey’s punctuated by a flat tyre on the way down & we were back home again. Monday the weather packed in & was spent pottering around & applying for the house loan. Flying home Tuesday morning the huge 19-seater had a whole four passengers on it (as opposed to three whole passengers & two halves) – back to work just for a change.

A day and a half of work was more than enough & Wednesday afternoon the car & bike were loaded up & it was off to Rotorua for the night. I had been persuaded by a Te Puke mate, Brendan (spelt the correct way), to help out on a school mountain bike camp (it didn’t take a lot of persuading to be honest). The clincher was it was a day of being shuttled to the top of the largest hill in the forest on a bus & riding down multiple times. It was a bit of fun & there was some amusement provided by the novice riders; generally it was a slow day & we seemed to spend a lot of time sitting waiting for the bus or sitting on the bus – I’m sure that was good riding time wasted! But no uphills was great – just as well as we went further out on the last run around a slight hill most of the riders were pathetically walkers. Still a good day & a rush back in the afternoon to the Franklin MTB club Christmas barbecue – the highlight of which was the rather chaotic game of bike football. Bike football is of course riding around on a bike trying to play football without putting your feet on the ground. Really it was a game of chicken as when the ball found a bit of space four or five bikes (& riders) would rush at the ball & invite certain carnage until the ball was kicked about a metre or so.

Enough frivolity, managed to fit work in on Friday before flying off to Palmy to see Dad (second time in four days – what the?). Dad & all his siblings (five altogether) were getting together for a little reunion – first time in three and a half years – & I didn’t really need much of an excuse to head south & catch up with them all & also with mates from my time in Palmy. Not that there all that many left to visit any more – somewhat unsurprisingly. A great weekend hearing all sorts of old stories, eating too much great food (Spostato is always good) & even enjoying a bit of sun (the wind was still there of course & there seem to be more windmills every time I go back) – I never knew there was such a large rose garden at the Esplanade.

After that rather filled week & a half I managed to fit four days of work in (including two shifts) before a smaller trip – back to the Bay of Plenty for more riding (mainly). Armed with the latest edition (7th) of the NZ MTBr’s bible – the Kennett Bros book – Luke, Neil & I set out on Saturday for the Tree Trunk Gorge ride. This turned out to be around the top of the Desert Road. Unfortunately, the weather forecast was pretty miserable and funnily enough the weather was pretty poor too. Overcast most of the way to Turangi & then it started raining. The drive down was hardly uneventful (it never is in the Galant – there is always some rattle to listen to & guess where it might be coming from); this particular trip made more exciting by Neil’s bike not having been tied on to the bike rack too well. Without wheels (in the boot for various reasons), the bike was rather light & after passing a car (fortunately) along Broadlands I was wondering why they might be flashing their lights at me. As it turned out, Neil’s trusty stead was slowly making its way to a drop of certain peril off the end of the bike rack. When we stopped, the barends were a lot shorter from bouncing along the road & it was dangling off the bike rack by only one side of the rear triangle – a close thing indeed.

We made it to the Pillars of Hercules with all bikes in tact (bar ends excluded). The ride started in the drizzle over the new swing bridge, which is so high you can’t really see the Pillars, and then proceeded to climb (mostly gradually) for a good twenty minutes through really nice bush (its attraction also due to it sheltering properties). Coming in to a clearing we were all of a sudden sitting on the side of the windy part of the Desert Road & it sure was raining. Due to it being a weekend & miserable weather, there was only light traffic so as we proceeded to get soaked riding up the rest of the windy part we weren’t knocked over by any stray cars or trucks. Reaching Tree Trunk Gorge it was downhill for six kilometres, which got us even more drenched, before reaching the start of the shared track.

The track itself was a nice gentle gradient down, not too technical & a lot of fun. It was generally pretty wide for the first descent & the track was covered in lots of small leaves. A chilly ford crossing later it was a pretty good climb up for five or ten minutes – which had all of us walking at various stages. The final piece of track back to the car was more technical & still very enjoyable. After loading up & getting out of our wet clothes it was off back to Rotorua & then Te Puke. Sunday was much less travelling for the ride – a trip over to Rotorua with Brendan & Richard – & a much easier ride – a cruise around A-Trail, Tickler, Bunny Jugs, Rollercoaster (surprisingly overgrown at the start – just shows how popular the shuttle is), Dragon’s Tail & the Exit out. A bit of test match watching back at the Wilsons before on the road again home.

With working Christmas Eve & Christmas night shifts, Christmas this year has been a bit of a write off – but I did get a good Christmas dinner at Doug’s parents’ place (thanks), which meant I didn’t need to eat again well into last night’s shift. The Peace has had a upgrade in the forks department – thanks to my first TradeMe purchase in ages – I no longer have to ride a fully rigid bike when I want to go for the one gear option.