Singlespeed Worlds Day 4

After a bit of a break I was feeling better on day 4 so headed back out on the bike with the guys. We decided we'd have a more leisurely day, enjoying the trails and taking a few pictures whilst we were out.

Dave told us we were soft & rode some dropsI feathered my brakes on the Tickler (dad-joke copyright N Drummond)
and groundskeeper Nidley finally showed us his treehugging side
It's hard not to have fun when you're out riding bikes with your mates somewhere like this
It was Flys birthday so after lunch we went out to the Luge, a series of concrete tracks set high above Lake Rotorua that you get to by gondola

The tracks wind down the hill like ski slopes, and even on the simplest track you can pick up a fair bit of speed and have some close races. I'd love to see the casualty statistics for this place.
It was at this point we found out that one of our number had a bit of a fear of heights & wasn't that happy about the chairlift. So naturally when the lift stopped one time we had to bounce the cable. Fortunately it was taken in good grace.
He was very obviously in his 'happy place' on the gondola on the way down too...
Tomorrow was race day so we had to attend 'race briefing' that night. This was a very serious matter

Race briefing was pretty simple - have fun, be nice, ride bikes & drink beer but remember - don't drink beer and ride bikes.

After that there was a competition to see which nation would hold the next Worlds. Naturally this involved hats & clothes pegs

But the action off-stage was just as good - well, it was for Fly anyway. He seemed to be enjoying his birthday...

Singlespeed worlds Day 3

Day three in New Zealand was a bit flat for me - I'd managed to tweak my back during the previous days exertions so I took myself off riding duty and decided to take it easy. I had a lazy morning, stretched a lot and had an easy ride and a mooch around Rotorua. Checked out a few bike shops, had a few coffees, stocked up on anti-inflamatories & painkillers - the usual sort of thing you do on your day off.

I decided the hot tub at the back of the apartment looked like a good idea so I ran myself a nice deep steaming-hot bath but as I settled into it the blue skys suddenly clouded up and rain came out of nowhere. I tried wearing sunglasses & submerging everything but my eyes & nose, but it wasn't quite the relaxing soak I was hoping for.

I wasn't alone in having some time off the bike - some of the guys went sledging, a form of white-water rafting where you use a body-board type float with handles to try & prevent yourself being beaten against rocks until you drown. Personally I think it's the invention of some drunken kiwis one night in a pub - 'how can we get the tourists to pay us to make them REALLY uncomfortable' - but the guys seemed to enjoy it. And the gods obviously agreed, because by the time they returned the skies were clear and they made good use of 'my' hot tub

Singlespeed Worlds Day 2

Wednesday dawned cold and damp. It was a shock to the system for the Queenslanders to feel the nip in the air, and that combined with the late night and the timezone differences (3 hrs) lead to a slow start.

We managed to make it out to the trails in the late morning - it was beautiful out there. The forests are farmed redwood trees which drop pine needles onto the ground which form a lovely tacky slightly springy surface. Perfect for sculpted bumps & berm-laden trails that undulate along the hillsides on trails verged with silver ferns between stately towering trees . It's a surface that makes you want to ride faster, to corner more, to keep going.

Unfortunately our confused bodies thought otherwise and hunger pangs drove us back to the motel for traditional NZ 'Fush & Chups'.

After lunch we headed into Rotorua for a 'Tiki Tour'. This was a freebie laid on by the organisers to show us the sights (and smells) of the town. For those that don't know, Rotorua sits above a highly active geothermal area which pushes hot water out into lakes, streams and craters all over the town

Along with the steam comes the smell of sulphar that hangs over the entire town - apparently you get used to it. Although it takes your breath away at first All this water is at 60 - 70 degrees - hot to the touch, and also used extensively in the town for the many spas, swimming pools, hot tubs, saunas, steam ovens, etc etc etc. It also leads to some barren semi-volcanic areas with bubbling pools of near boiling water spitting scalding mud separated from the recommended path by a sturdy line of rocks
Rotorua also has a proud Mauri history - this is a traditional meeting hall by the lake covered in amazing carvings

After the Tiki ride we had a quick shower and then headed back into town to register for the race, grab something to eat and check our our race (or party animal) swagAfter this the night carried on in a fine style. We ended up in a club with an incredibly exotic pile of bikes in the back room As you can tell from the lack of gears, the club was mainly full of americans with novelty facial hair. It was a fun night, best summed up by the pictures of a tree I felt inspired to take at (checks timeon photo) around 1am

Singlespeed Worlds Day 1

Both Nidley & I are travellers that like to get to the airport early, especially when checking in big luggage. On Tuesday we were so keen that we got there 30 minutes before check-in opened, and got to be first in lineOf course early check-ins means early beers - well the sun is over the yard-arm somewhere
The flight over on NZ Air was pretty good - the funniest part was the look on Nidleys face when he asked for a beer from the stweardess and was given the option of Speights Pure or Export. The Pure came in a Red-Bull shaped can, and as he said 'the best bit about the beer was that there wasn't much of it'.
We got into Auckland and got through customs & immigration with no problems. It was the first time I'd used my Australian passport - very exciting in a fairly dull way. Of course it means I need to memorise a new passport number now, because it's always in the overhead compartment when you're filling in the immigration form.
Once we transferred over to the domestic terminal we bumped into some other riders we knew so retired to the bar. Just as we were leaving we heard our names called for last check-in - another first for me. We ran down to the gate and quickly boarded the plane, which was small enough for us to apologise to every sinlge passenger individually.
There wasn't even a door through to the cockpit so you could peer out of the front as we landed. I think the plane was too small to do any damage if it was hi-jacked.
Once we got our luggage we jumped into a shuttle-taxi - a great idea they have in NZ, minibusses that drop you off at your motels when they're full or there are no flights immediately due for not much money at all. We actually made it a group with one more person than the bus should legally take, but the driver just suggested that if we crunched up at the back we'd all fit in. Our first view of the more easy going NZ lifestyle :)
We got to the motel and along with the milk, towels and keys the owner handed us a beer. The rooms were small but functional, and the front room very quickly became a bike assembly point
Take a good look at that carpet - we didn't see much of it for the next 6 days...

Singlespeed worlds

Just back from the Singlespeed world championships in Rotorua. What a week! This picture pretty much sums up the holiday...

and this the race

Pictures here - http://picasaweb.google.com.au/Dogtank/WSSWorlds - and I'll flesh out some text around them later in the week...

This one's for Gordy

:)

Sunshine!

As you probably noticed from the pictures below, the sun has finally re-emerged. Yesterday was incredibly windy - far too windy to be riding road bikes any distance - and the trails would have been sopping wet - far too wet to ride mountain bikes, especially those that need to be 100% clean for impending international travel - so we were forced to celebrate the good weather with a social beer ride.

One of our number decided to take advantage of Brisbanes new 'city cycle' scheme, an excellent bike-rental system that has recently been introduced. There are now hundreds of bikes scattered round the city at various rental stations, and once you've joined up you just wave your card in front of a reader, select your bike and you're off!

The idea is that they're to be used for short trips around the city, so rental prices are pretty cheap - the first half an hour is free, then there's a sliding scale. And once you've dropped a bike off at a station you can simply wait for a couple of minutes and check out another one. And if you need to find a bike station and you have an iPhone there's an apple app out there to assist.

I hope that this catches on as it's a fantastic idea. The main problem is the nanny state helmet laws over here (mandatory for all bikes) which means that you need to carry a helmet round with you before you can take advantage of it. But from the reactions we got yesterday with just one city bike, people seem interested. Check it out at http://www.citycycle.com.au/ .

The bikes are pretty heavy, but that does mean they make good anchors to tuck regular bikes behind on a windy day


whilst you're relaxing and enjoying a brew or two
Lipton Ice Tea of course.