Friday, September 01, 2006
World Mountain Bike Championships
The world mountainbike championships were held in Rotorua last weekend. I should have planned it a bit more, but I procrastinated until the last minute then decided that I would go so I missed out on carpooling. Its a 6 hour drive, one way on some very interesting New Zealand roads. Actually the road condition is pretty good, but there are some tight turns that sneak up on you. I've noticed a distinct lack of potholes in NZ roads (not cold enough for it), that alone makes the driving much easier.
So I woke up at 2:45 Saturday morning and got my stuff ready, then started to drive out to Rotorua. I've already seen some pretty impressive rain storms in New Zealand, and this morning rates with the best of them. Shortly after I started driving, there were several slips (aka landslides) on the motorway (aka highway) that brought traffic to a halt - good thing I woke up so early!
I missed a lot of the drive because it didn't get bright until 6:30 or 7:00 am, but I did manage to see some excellent views. heres a nice one I saw (check out the gallery with the link on the left for more photos, and higher resolution):
This is part of the desert road, very sweet looking. Its also close to a region of motorway owned by the NZ Army, that says "warning explosions, gunshots, at any time" or similar. A sign like this in North America would be on the national news!
Rotorua is located on the edge of a large caldera lake, which is still active. There are fumaroles and other interesting features all around, and a 'rotten egg' smell. I didn't get a chance to check out anything besides mountainbiking, but I can't wait to go back.
I arrived for the downhill, and I've got all sorts of movies of it (can't share them on the web, too much bandwidth). The pictures I took didn't turn out because of the low light conditions, too blurry. XC turned out a lot better. Overall the event was great, I met some excellent Kiwis (even saw some Kiwi birds at Kiwi Encounters, which was nice), and had a great night out on the town. Luckily a nice Kiwi let me crash for the night on her living room floor, so I didn't have to camp in the woods (note: I should have bought the warmer sleeping bag!).
Heres a couple mtb shots, theres way more on the gallery and at http://www.2006rotoruamtb.com/:
Major wheel taco (bad photo, I know)!
Canada best placing was 3rd for the Womans XC, not bad! Everyones favorite, Alison Sydor placed 9th. Seamus McGrath placed 25th for Canada, and Kashi Leuchs was the top Kiwi at 16th. Here's the give'r shot:
A weekend full of cheering for everyone, very little sleep, way too much driving, and a some fun on the town left me with some great memories, and a nasty cold (which is why I'm at the computer on a nice sunny day).
So I woke up at 2:45 Saturday morning and got my stuff ready, then started to drive out to Rotorua. I've already seen some pretty impressive rain storms in New Zealand, and this morning rates with the best of them. Shortly after I started driving, there were several slips (aka landslides) on the motorway (aka highway) that brought traffic to a halt - good thing I woke up so early!
I missed a lot of the drive because it didn't get bright until 6:30 or 7:00 am, but I did manage to see some excellent views. heres a nice one I saw (check out the gallery with the link on the left for more photos, and higher resolution):
This is part of the desert road, very sweet looking. Its also close to a region of motorway owned by the NZ Army, that says "warning explosions, gunshots, at any time" or similar. A sign like this in North America would be on the national news!
Rotorua is located on the edge of a large caldera lake, which is still active. There are fumaroles and other interesting features all around, and a 'rotten egg' smell. I didn't get a chance to check out anything besides mountainbiking, but I can't wait to go back.
I arrived for the downhill, and I've got all sorts of movies of it (can't share them on the web, too much bandwidth). The pictures I took didn't turn out because of the low light conditions, too blurry. XC turned out a lot better. Overall the event was great, I met some excellent Kiwis (even saw some Kiwi birds at Kiwi Encounters, which was nice), and had a great night out on the town. Luckily a nice Kiwi let me crash for the night on her living room floor, so I didn't have to camp in the woods (note: I should have bought the warmer sleeping bag!).
Heres a couple mtb shots, theres way more on the gallery and at http://www.2006rotoruamtb.com/:
Major wheel taco (bad photo, I know)!
Canada best placing was 3rd for the Womans XC, not bad! Everyones favorite, Alison Sydor placed 9th. Seamus McGrath placed 25th for Canada, and Kashi Leuchs was the top Kiwi at 16th. Here's the give'r shot:
A weekend full of cheering for everyone, very little sleep, way too much driving, and a some fun on the town left me with some great memories, and a nasty cold (which is why I'm at the computer on a nice sunny day).
# posted by Chris LeBlanc @ 6:17 PM 
Comments:
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Pretty sad that the first comment on your site is from an advertiser, the second from yourself. :)
I only got the email this morning so thats my excuse.
I only got the email this morning so thats my excuse.
# posted by 
: 4:44 AM
: 4:44 AM
Hi Chris!
Nice pics, but I have to say, winter in NZ doesn't look like Real Winter. But that's a good thing, I bet!
Good to hear you're getting well settled in. Hope you'll continue to post regularly on your blog. I want to hear more about the little things in life that are different from life in Canada.
Anyway, got to get back to work. It's my first day back after vacation and the backlog is calling...
Nice pics, but I have to say, winter in NZ doesn't look like Real Winter. But that's a good thing, I bet!
Good to hear you're getting well settled in. Hope you'll continue to post regularly on your blog. I want to hear more about the little things in life that are different from life in Canada.
Anyway, got to get back to work. It's my first day back after vacation and the backlog is calling...
# posted by : 6:32 AM
: 6:32 AM
Hey Bonny,
I'm glad you like the blog. You're right, winter in NZ is pretty wimpy compared to Canada. However, the drafty, poorly insulated houses, and somewhat underpowered heating systems (mine especially) make it colder indoors than most houses in Canada. It would be great to transplant a nice modern Canadian house to NZ, you'd spend pennies to heat it.
I shouldn't knock Kiwi houses though, some of them are very interesting. They're very 'open concept', and rarely more than one storey high. I've been in a couple that have exposed rafters that look amazing, very nice woodwork.
Thanks for the post,
Chris
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I'm glad you like the blog. You're right, winter in NZ is pretty wimpy compared to Canada. However, the drafty, poorly insulated houses, and somewhat underpowered heating systems (mine especially) make it colder indoors than most houses in Canada. It would be great to transplant a nice modern Canadian house to NZ, you'd spend pennies to heat it.
I shouldn't knock Kiwi houses though, some of them are very interesting. They're very 'open concept', and rarely more than one storey high. I've been in a couple that have exposed rafters that look amazing, very nice woodwork.
Thanks for the post,
Chris
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