For Liam White

Like Charity Said.

I would like to invite 2010 to calm down. It's been one of them weeks, riding continues unabated and the list of things that I have to do at work just continues to grow and grow and grow. I have my first round of class in Auckland next week, which has presented somewhat more of a challenge than ever as I do not have the personal use of a car. Long story short I'm cadging up and busing back. Busing. Hah! I haven't really caught a bus in years. And never inter-city. Truth be told I'm excited as all get out to be utilizing some form of public transport that isn't a personal car. I have a goal to ride up once this year, and planning for that excites me also. For the bus trip I figure I'll just load up on some Dan Carlin and I'm sure the three and a half hours will fly by. I also have a fancy for Kurt Vonnegut at the moment, and wonder if I will be unaffected by motion sickness then I can plow through Slaughterhouse 5. I'm raging an inner war to blow off work tomorrow and just go riding. Responsibility however, appears to remain a total bitch.

Two Hundred

It sure is dark as hell in the mornings.
Yesterday found hospital bike club reduced to myself, Jean Phillipe and my Dad (who, in a bizzare reversal of sorts, now flats with us four days a week as he works away from his home). Three guys. Three gears, One broken chain, the invention of Chainless XC. Some climbing over trees, the drop on Old Chevy, Humid. Humider. Beers. Riding with Dad again (61 years old. Rigid SS 29er) Chicken and slaw Tortillas. Mint.

Trees and Water

I saw Cabin riding his totally hot niner to work today, out by where we live as I was dropping Thom off from school. It confirmed to me that I've been a bit precious with riding my green bike on the roads, I read blogs innumerable where guys ride bikes of all sorts to all places. I have a friend who converted his track bike into a go anywhere bike packing rig and I recount with glee that Garth Weinberg rides a Raleigh 20 to devastating effect on 100km rides. A modicum of getting over myself was required. A cross check (or other type of bike of this type) is, frankly, years away. But I'm not doing too bad. with the weather clearing and myself bored and over caffeinated I resolved to head left out of my gate for a couple hours on the road before Rebecca went to her trust meeting so that I could get some exercise, have a bit of a cruise, take in some beautiful country and take some photos. It was grand. 2 hours with lot's of stops. 32x20 (nuts on the flat, happy on the climbs) and 41km.

I headed out first to Lake Okataina, where we shared the best Christmas we ever had with Nigel, Kate, Isaac and Georgie.




The water was dead still. It was rather eerie, even from a distance. Keeping on for another 15km towards Whakatane I came across a little jetty, side of the road, poking out into Lake Rotoiti.





Lovely

PSA

We've been lucky that Rebecca has been so healthy with both her previous pregnancies. There's been some problems this time around, however a scan today shows that both her and little pre-baby are doing well. There's still some pain and other things, but at least so much has been ruled out. The whole "Cancer" thing springs to mind alarmingly, along with a million other possibilities, all of them unpleasant,distressing and quite unthinkable. I want my egocentric invincibility back, please. Knowing that to all intents and purposes things inside are fine makes everything feel marginally more doable and far less stressful. 14 weeks on Thursday and on track to August and for this I am thankful.

Off Shore Off Shoot

Zing....

Sunday (Redux)

Audax

I like the idea of Randonneuring. Even the bicycles have begun to appeal.

Five Days Passing.

I Don't understand how busy this week has been. The past two weeks of afternoon shift late commutes coupled with early rising to help pregnant-kidney-stoned wife to wrangle kids + dirt rides + school enrollments ='ed a Dizzy headed ride home on Wednesday night. In fact, I could honestly say that I got home in the dark (despite my lights) via olfactory cues, the smell of the lambs in the huge fields that parallel my trip home, the tin like tang of rain. Madness. Whilst the legs felt good I was sure that if I coasted to a halt I could have fallen sideways and been asleep before I hit the road. The next day I did soak my feet in the thermal baths at Kuirau park though. That was nice.

My war with enrollments at university is OVER. I'm in. Officially in. About to get all post graduate and junk again. March 1 here I come. Although If I'm honest I'm more looking forward to a sneaky pint with an old friend after class. Nailing my entry into "ASSESSMENT AND DECISION MAKING IN MENTAL HEALTH NURSING" was a pleasing end to the work week, as was Hospital Bike Club on Thursday. Man, I had intended to take photo's but what with my eyes being blurry and hands tremulous the whole time it would not have worked out well. The reason for my shaky blurriness was that we were joined by Jean Michelle and Stealth Mode, two proper quick SS riders. It was a blast, and Jean Michelle and I played the game where the guy who was trying to follow the guy following Stealth Mode crashed and crashed hard. It was one each, with JP taking it out with a spectacular triple roll on the first down on Old Chevy. It all ended with me contemplating some hill sprints with guys 5 years younger and 30lbs lighter than myself(I sat up. Totally). Marinate that in two hours of hot and dusty and I'm a sweaty, dirty, bloody mess. Happy though and more inspired than I have been in a while to ride faster. Which is awesome. Riding with people who push you is real helpful I reckon.
In other news I fear I've started somewhat of a trans-Tasman incident. Liam White? Yeah. Liam. I'm calling you out. YOU!

Home Alone

Tuesday.

To Do List.

Get up

Eat

Drop Thom at school/Lola and Rebecca at play group.

RIDE

Get picked up

Eat

RIDE

Work

RIDE

Power Lunch

New Trail Day Is The Best Day.

It was just on dawn when I hit it this morning. One of the nicer things about being on a bike all the time is that I feel no pressure to "cram" when I ride in the forest. It was two hours of no pressure fun. The highlight being the new trail that is just bedding in at the bottom of Pondy New.

Today Was A Good Day (redux)

What a day. Seriously, if any of you Single Speeder types read this and live overseas and are considering coming over for SSWC10. Please do. There are many lakes just like this one (Okareka) real close to Rotorua.

Vegas PR notices aside, we were informed today that our house in Auckland has been re tenanted, which is a major financial strain off our shoulders. All in all a solid win for friday thus far. Dirt ride planned for the early am. Mint.

Keep it Hid

This week has been exhausting. Getting home from work via cycle each night at half midnight, then up by 0630 to help Rebecca with child wrangling has taken it's toll throw in the totally-not-unpleasant daily commute and additional dirt rides + a somewhat demanding full time job= recipe for fatigue.Yesterday morning was filled with shaky euphoria, easy chatting at my favourite place whilst my spoke done got fixed and a terror filled shopping trip. Today is a day off and will likely be as sneakily sedentary as possible. With the added bonus of pale ale if I'm feeling clever.In new wheel related news I'm Thinking about a Stan's Flow Rim for the front (if they do black) mated to a Gold hope pro 2 hub. Also thinking about the possibility of being a (second) home owner. Lots going on.

Sweet and Low

Monday passed in a blur of thunder storms, commuting via bike and working late. Lola was beset all night with vivid dreams of large insects buzzing around her cot. "Bees!! Bees!!". It didn't help that her pillow has a large flower on either side. At 0300 this was swapped out for a brown pillow, Lola was able to rest. All members of the household suffered broken, fitful sleep. Seven o'clock came very early.
Yesterday morning, with the the trails likely saturated, the children returning to school and play group and two hours up my sleeve I headed out on gravel roads around Rotokakahi and Tikitapu. It was a humid, green and very pleasing 39km of sandy, gravelly undulating double track
Plans to commute in were put aside as we had the 12 week scan an hour before work. All good on that front, with a funny, lovely, little skeleton-y pre baby kicking and swimming away blissfully. It goes without saying that seeing said creature makes everything "all the more real (ibid)" and last night, as I sat there at work, I found myself looking very much forward to August 11 2010.

Another spoke snapped on my front wheel yesterday ( tight, lefthand downhill switch back). It was annoying to have it happen at such a random and innocuous moment, however entry level wheels are as entry level wheels do. The apparent nessecity of having some new wheels built continually reinforced. I'll see what the professionals say, I'm leaning towards Hope hubs, however the ratchet-y plague of locust type noise that eminate from the rear are somewhat off putting. We'll see.