Great things come in bike size boxes!!

Over the last month or so the weekends have been pretty full-on, organising our wedding which was a time consuming as riding a bike! Bex and I have enjoyed this weekend - no more organising and running round like yoyos! Bex decided yesterday she wanted to race the Revolve Womens Mtb race at Makara so we cruised out there to check out the course, my new bike wasn’t ready so I got my running shoes on and ran round the loop to prepare for the Crazyman next weekend, I felt really good and finished up feeling like I could do a few more strides. Bex felt quite confident on the bike after not really doing any riding since Karapoti and she actually enjoyed a few sections which have been a little tricky on previous rides. Her race today went well, finally she is raving about loving the downhill sections! She showed a consistent steady pace as the race wound it’s way up to the summit, then relaxed and had some fun on Zacs, Northface and Starfish, Swigg to finish 7th. I was supporter and photographer for a change with Rex, his partner Ange coming in the top 10 also.

Friday afternoon I get a text from Bex saying “come home quick there’s a surprise!” – woohoo! Knew my new bike had arrived! I was like small boy opening his first box of lego.

This is what I got..

Yep, I went for the hardtail. I loved the full suspension but deep down I love the hardtail, there’s nothing better than nailing a descent on a hardtail and working to stay smooth, I like to move my bike round, use rocks to jump over nasty bits, pre-jump down slopes to hold speed, a lot of the time I will ride descents and not pedal but just use the bike and pump. I got that style from my Bmx racing days. Coming down North Face today at Makara was a blast! The bike was holding so much speed and was super responsive on corners.

My Bergamont Platoon Team is so European, I love how the Euro’s present their bikes, the colours (blue/white/exposed carbon) are spot on. The machine looks amazingly fast and it is. Set up with my race wheels the bike weighs in round 9kg or just a tad over. I am really excited to race this bike, watch this space!

It’s already had a few demos today, Rex got upgraded on the way up to the summit as I swapped with him (couldn’t resist a bit of single speed time!) and the Bushlove boys were loving it! Don’t be shy….come and have a look when you see me out and about!

So it’s all on for the next two weekends with Crazyman for both Bex and I then we’re off to the Moonride in Rotovegas…..whoop whoop.

Clean your bike…keep it sparkly!

Im back!! A married man!!

Well what a blast! Bex and I got back from our honeymoon which we had up in Kerikeri staying in a cottage on a small farmlet overlooking the Kerikeri inlet, it was amazing waking up to the views each morning. The bikes were left behind for a change so we made the most of our running shoes with a few runs and exploring missions round the area before hiring a car to explore the region over the next 4 days and then driving down to Auckland to fly home. We got out for a really nice kayak up the inlet out towards the coast to a area called Wharau which took us about 2hrs of paddling plus a few stops to do some fishing from the kayak. Bex had a few small bits but I hit the jackpot and cauht a small snapper..wohoo! I hadn't been fishing since I was about 10yrs old , I quite like fishing but I am not into going any further with them so that can be someone elses job..I will quite happily eat it though!

I've had a nice break from the racing and now I am definately getting that urge again to get racing! I have an addiction for searching the race calanders and finding a race to do somewhere in the country or in Australia, I have a plan which will take me to June then from there if it works out I will be hitting the local cyclocross race series in Wellington plus a few weekends up on the mountain.

The most exciting part is that I will be getting on my new 2010 Bergamont machine, I am yet to decide if I should stay on the Fastlane Team full suspension or go to the Platoon Team carbon hardtail? I have heard from alot of people this season that I should be on a hardtail because its faster? But for me..I go fast when I am enjoying the bike I am riding and this season the Fastlane Team has been a brilliant bike to race so my decision is heading that way again..or will it? WATCH THIS SPACE!!

Hope everyone is keeping fit and enjoying themselves. Catch you on the bike soon.