Now that the disaster that was the cricket season is over (3 wins, 12 losses) I'm back on the bike again. I had been thinking about doing one of those 100 km events but on the basis of how I feel after today's effort there's no way in hell I could make the distance.
For your edification here is the route.
And here's the height profile.
65 km and I'm absolutely poked.
If there's one thing in life I hate above all else it's moving house.
So guess how I've been spending my weekend?
This is the state of my bedroom at the moment as I wrestle with my overly large library.
And the living room is not a hell of a lot better.
Seriously it has been bloody awful and I have to say I'm not overwhelmed with felicitous feelings for my former landlord who chose to put our old home on the market and cast us out onto the streets 10 days before Christmas. The only solace in it all is that the property market is now apparently on the slide so the evil bastard is likely to get his comeuppance.
Hah!
Anyway moving in Wellington is a little different top moving anywhere else. The city, while reasonably picturesque, is cursedly hilly so access to properties can be a bit like ascending from base camp at Mt Everest. My new flat is a case in point.
The movers (yes I shelled out for movers as there was no way in hell I was lugging all my crap around), well their faces dropped when they saw what they were faced with.
It was sort of like scaling an alpine pass. This shot shows the little path that they had to wend their way up while staggering under the load of my worldly possessions.
Then there was worse in store ... what every mover fears most.
Stairs. Lots of them with nasty twisty turns. Just what you need when you're lugging a 48" TV. I almost felt sorry for the poor bastards. However the fact I was paying them about 90 bucks an hour did temper that emotion to a slight degree.
Anyway this shot gives you a rough idea of the height difference from my carpark to where my flat actually is.
I figure the movers earned their pay, and so did they. Poor buggers were absolutely shattered at the end of it and not happy that they still had two other jobs to do.
Naturally I was very grateful and promised that I'd use them next time I moved. Their response; thanks but really we'd rather never see this place again if we can help it so consider contracting some other suckers.
I've been in Wellington a little over a year and a half now and I'm still getting my head around the wind. Honestly I really should just recall what it was like the last time I've lived here - back when I was in high school two decades ago.
You see there's always wind in Wellington (though today was the exception to the rule) but it tends to come in only two directions; north and south. Most days it's either one way or the other.
Bad luck for me then yesterday when I did this ride.
When I left it was a gentle northerly. A bit of a nuisance but not that hard to push into and there's always the pleasant thought of having it behind you on the way home.
Can you guess when the wind changed to the south?? 5 km short of the Totara Park turn-around.
Bastard!
Here's another in the list of mountainbike trails that I've been posting here from time to time. Today's little number is the Tip Track. As you can tell from the picture it's a groovy little descent.
And you can even stop to admire the view on the way down.
Take it from me it's a track you want to always do in the downward direction. Biking up it would require a fortitude not found in mere mortals.
Though I understand there are some fitness freaks that can get to the top in under 30 minutes - not me though.
Where have I been? Blame Facebook. It's the greatest timewaster I've come across in an age thanks to Scrabulous. I've been play Scrabble almost incessantly for the past 3 weeks with various friends scattered from NZ, to the UK, and Papua New Guinea.
I guess it has its benefits - apparently "qi" is a word and so too is "jow". There's nothing like having some more useless information to add to the burgeoning list.
Anyway it seems the grip of winter (not that Wellington really has one) is loosening and spring is on the way. I guess this means I've run out of excuses not to be out and about on the weekends and trying to lead a semi-meaningful life.
Mind you Wellington's a bit of a weird place for socialising. The profusion of civil servants and other assorted professional types means there's a certain degree of decorum that I'm still coming to grips with. You see I'm a Canterbury boy by nature so I'm more used to the slightly more relaxed attitude that exists down there. If you feel like going out in Christchurch wearing jeans and a shirt you can pretty much get away with it. A little bit of scruffiness is perfectly acceptable there. Not so in the capital though. Here if you're going out you have to be reasonably presentable and woe betide you if you turn up wearing anything from Hallensteins. For a bloke that managed to get away with not wearing a tie until he was 33 I'm finding it a wee bit of a shock to the system. A few weeks back my trusty old boots ($29.95 at the Warehouse) finally gave up the ghost leaving me with no option but to buy another pair. The Wellington fashionista (or should that be facisnista) got to me and I've ended up with a new pair of $350 dollar footwear.
Gulp!
God help me when I finally get around to buying the shirts and pants to go with them. I suspect I may need a bank loan.
It's a rare weekend in Wellington that you are lucky enough to be blessed with two clear, calm, and sunny days. Luckily for me this has been one of those occasions. They're few and far between but they're bliss when they happen.
So as promised. Here's Deliverance.
This bit is at the top - note the gnarly tree rooty goodness. There's more of that all the way down. I would have taken more photos but I was too busy concentrating and staying on my bike. It's the sort of single trail that if you fall off it then you end up falling a very long way. Having a 40 metre tumble down a hill side was not high on my list of priorities.
Anyway after giving myself heart failure on Deliverance I decided it was time for some serious sifting. So after a little back trail negotiation I ended up at Hawkins Hill. 
See what I mean about it being a glorious day!
Actually scrub that. You can grab me by the hand and lead me there, but just make sure there are mountainbikes involved.
I'll hope you'll excuse the rather oblique and inane references I'm making but I've just discovered another mountainbike trail up in Karori. And it happens to be called Temptation - hence the really bad pun.
It's a beaut' wee trail. Not difficult or technical but it flows really well and is possibly the easiest way to get up the dreaded Wrights Hill (word of advice - going up the road on a bike is a real drag).
And it has some surreal little glades, nooks, and crannies to take you by surprise as well.
In the next post (or thereabouts) I'll introduce you to Temptation's bigger, and slightly more intimidating, sister. Her name's Deliverance and she is aptly named.
Occasionally, just every once in a while. Wellington will put on an absolute stunning day. Luckily today was one of those days and what better way to make the most of it than get lost on a mountainbike on the hills behind Maungaraki. This is the same place I was blathering about a few weeks ago .... however it really is a fantastic place to explore.
Seriously it's another world up there. No-one about but the occasional sheep and the odd (and I mean that literally as well as metaphorically) walker. Bliss, and all within 20 minutes of Wellington.
This is looking north-east towards the Rimutakas.
While this is the view to the north-west. Somewhere way up in the distance is Pauatahanui.
Any bets as to whther this is autumn's last gasp before the crap winter weather arrives.
This just goes to show you can build up your cause all you like, but at the end of the day there's one person who will always prick your balloon.
Or shit on your bubble.
While mountainbiking is my first love (apologies to any girlfriends past and present who may be reading this) I also have a lot of time for flirting with road riding.
Call it the other woman if you will.
Anyway while you take you life into your own hands riding through urban Wellington (note to motorists - kindly learn to indicate, give way, and NOT cut corners) it's nice to find a safe, and relatively scenic little ride within minutes of the city centre.
There's a lovely little road that runs from the Ohariu Valley up to Makara and the top end of Karori. I especially like this little gorge area.
Flying through here is a lot of fun. Though it can get a little tense if you run into 4WDs coming the other way (that whole corner cutting driving on the wrong side of the road thing - again!)
Unfortunately it seems some friend(s) of society also consider it a good place to trash stolen cars. If you live in Wellington and have had your 1980's Toyota Corolla sedan pinched then I've got some bad news for you.
Don't you just love the way they ripped everything out of it. Even so far as taking out all the seats (bar the drivers, and taking the wheels just before torching it.
All that energy misdirected on stealing a worthless piece of shit car. Obviously they're not what you'd call criminal geniuses.
With the return to work beckoning I decided to have a crack at a local mountainbike trail that I previously hadn't tried before. Makara is a lot of fun but I felt it was time for a change.
This little gem is called the Fenceline and runs around the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary. It's a tough wee ride because, if you follow the fence, you follow the line of the hills meaning there are some tough climbs to do. Granny gear is your friend. Though you wouldn't know it from the picture above.
This one however may give you some idea. That climb to the top left is the sort you swallow your pride and walk up. Unless you are truly and extremely fit all you'll achieve from biking up there is a heart attack.
Mind you the view from the top makes it all worthwhile!
