Galaxy Travel NDuro Winter Series Race 1

after over a year since my last race i finally decided it was time to get back into a bit of racing and the Galaxy travel NDuro Winter Series seemed like a good place to start as they are always fun which to me is a big draw card. 2 weeks of moderate training and it was race day. it was awesome to see so many people show up to participate and so many familiar faces, most of them rather surprised to see me on the start line.  i got straight back into the groove and was really enjoying the trails, ended up winning the womens overall, very stocked. looking forward to seeing you all next months for some more hurt up the hills and fun through the trails.

Sunday away ride with a bunch of like minded people, a few colourful bikes and perfect weather, what more can you ask for??

thanks Graeme Murray for the pics!
www.graememurray.com

ride / workbee / ride on western okataina track

wow what a day! 

it did take 3 weeks to organise this, since we are all too soft to go out in the pouring rain, but we finally did it and i would say it was a success on all fronts. so the mission was to fix a river crossing on the western okataina track and as a reward ride there and back with a slight detour to the trig. 

the riding was fantastic, the scenery stunning and the crew were doing a fantastic job, well done everyone!

thanks for taking the pics Nick Lambert (zeroseven)

this sums it up: " Yesterday a few of us along with Simon Tuck from DOC rode into the Western Okataina to put a culvert across a washed out stream crossing. A fresh frosty start but it was an awesome day! One more stream crossing to get a bridge and the trail will be fully rideable from Miller rd to Okataina. Cheers to everyone for your help!"

skills session with Martha from Singapore

Martha from Singapore sent me this photo after our skills session together. 

We were enjoying the stunning view before heading down the trails, what a stunning day. 

like a kid in a lolly shop

i tend to ride the same trails most rides since i prefer those trails over others, every so often i start getting bored of them and have to find other trails to keep my interest up.

sometimes i don't realise what i am missing when riding the same trails most rides.  

but when i get to ride a new trail with different features and characters i realise what i have been missing.

there is a challenge of having to adapt to the trail, a charm in getting to know and understand it and it sparks up that passion for riding that i felt when i first started.

here is a taster of what we will be able to ride soon, it's called Boulderdash. i can't wait!

bring it on! :)

a little easter away ride to Waihaha Hut

we decided it was time to scope out a ride we hadn't done before. Waihaha Hut Track had been on our list for quite sometime now so  it was about time we had a look.
the weather was perfect, sunny but not too hot. there were a few rather dark clouds hanging about but they never found the courage to do anything more then look intimidating, luckily for us.
the ride is not very long, it's 9km to the hut and bikes are not allowed beyond there. but the scenery is super stunning with big smooth boulders, crystal clear rivers and massive native trees so you get plenty to look at and admire. the track is quite technical in places with steps and ruts and roots to keep you on your toes and in places you will have to carry your bike but not for long. unfortunately it was also rather overgrown so in some sections of trail we were battling for room and couldn't see the track for the overgrowth. but the awesome downhill sections and the stunning views made up for the bit of grovelling we had to do. we got back to the car with massive grins on our faces.

and not to forget, we also saw a common Robin on a tree right next to the track. the little bird was not fazed at all by our presents, it was quite special.

Whakapapa on Mount Ruapehu - great fun and stunning views