There are a few reasons I still use Facebook. One of those reasons is random encounters with long lost friends in far fetched places. A few days into my trip to New Zealand, a bike mechanic friend (http://fieldwrench.blogspot.com/?m=1) noticed from my posts that I was in New Zealand and that he too was wrenching in NZ between seasons on the pro cycling circuit.
I stayed with him in Wellington for a few days. While he worked, I hit some single track at the Makara Peak Mountain Bike Park which is within riding distance from the city center. The trail was fantastic, and there was even a little jump park! I Captured one of the few gorgeous weather days of "windy welly" as it is affectionately named. But I also captured more than I'd bargained for.
At the top of the climb, I met a random mountain biker whom I chatted up. I asked him to take the above photo of me. Then asked to follow his line on the downhill.There were some great berms and a few sick technical bits which elicited profanity on my part. But I kept the rubber side down. Noting that I had more or less kept up with him, he invited me to keep riding with him. It turned out, I had hit the jackpot on chance random mountain biker encounters. It was his midweek day off work and he had planned to spend it driving from one cool mountain bike spot to the other. We hit up Mount Victoria and another spot that had a short downhill track with an ominous name that I cannot remember. We kept riding until he went into a jump a little too hot and broke his brake lever. So we ended the day dropping off his bike at Dirt Merchants. They run weekly women's rides from the shop, though I didn't stick around in the city long enough to ride with them. Of course we had to make an obligatory stop at Garage Project which turned out to be my favorite New Zealand microbrewery just across the street from the bike shop. I picked up some brews to go for a BBQ I was to attend later that night.
The BBQ was at my friend's coworkers house. I never saw the random mountain biker guy again. But the mechanics at the BBQ said they knew the guy and that crashing and breaking stuff on his bike was par for the course for that guy. The cycling world is so small no matter where you go.
At the top of the climb, I met a random mountain biker whom I chatted up. I asked him to take the above photo of me. Then asked to follow his line on the downhill.There were some great berms and a few sick technical bits which elicited profanity on my part. But I kept the rubber side down. Noting that I had more or less kept up with him, he invited me to keep riding with him. It turned out, I had hit the jackpot on chance random mountain biker encounters. It was his midweek day off work and he had planned to spend it driving from one cool mountain bike spot to the other. We hit up Mount Victoria and another spot that had a short downhill track with an ominous name that I cannot remember. We kept riding until he went into a jump a little too hot and broke his brake lever. So we ended the day dropping off his bike at Dirt Merchants. They run weekly women's rides from the shop, though I didn't stick around in the city long enough to ride with them. Of course we had to make an obligatory stop at Garage Project which turned out to be my favorite New Zealand microbrewery just across the street from the bike shop. I picked up some brews to go for a BBQ I was to attend later that night.
The BBQ was at my friend's coworkers house. I never saw the random mountain biker guy again. But the mechanics at the BBQ said they knew the guy and that crashing and breaking stuff on his bike was par for the course for that guy. The cycling world is so small no matter where you go.
I love this Karen!
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