the mutual wave

I have concluded that here in NZ, when two cyclists traveling in opposite directions on the same road pass one another, it is not custom to acknowledge the other with a wave. Back home, the wave represents a sense of like-mindedness,  a bond that cyclists seem to have with each other for the simple reason of being cyclists.  Here, when I initiate the wave to a fellow passerby, the response is almost always, "see the wave, ignore the wave, look back at the road." I will not be discouraged. I WILL participate in a mutual wave exchange.

I quit my job! This is a VERY good thing. The chefs in the kitchen were a particularly hideous breed of mean. I would walk into the kitchen feeling happy and light-hearted and would exit feeling like life just wasn't worth living.  After being sworn at countless times,  I decided I just couldn't handle it anymore and I walked out. I was working 40+ hrs a week and it was starting to conflict with my training. So I quit, and that's that. I'm so much happier already.

This also means I'm not tied down to Nelson anymore. I have loved exploring the area, but have a huge urge to move on and travel down the east coast of the island. I'm thinking about following the mtb series from Nelson on Feb.13, to Christchurch on Feb 20th, to Nationals in Dunedin on Feb 24-27th.

We'll see where the wind blows!

just as i'm about to start my ride yesterday, I notice a wee situation:

me noticing

the wee situation

close call

I came very close to hitting a parked car yesterday while fiddling with my ipod. Those things come out of nowhere sometimes. I almost went over the handlbars as a I made my emergency brake...not an exaggeration. Looked about, nobody saw. Phew, still cool.

Hmmm, what's new. OH YES! Thanks to a mtb amiga Steph who discovered this exciting mtb event, I registered for the Karapoti Classic! Never heard of it? I hadn't either until today as I surfed the website and immediately sent in my money for registration and an event Tee! Normally I don't go in for these types of T-shirts because they're usually extra-large and cotton, but I figured I should splurge on this once in a lifetime opportunity and go for the women's physique, dry-fit option.

The race starts like this...

Has a lil bit of this...
(Maybe he just got bit by an eel)

And ends something like this...

I think those are only two river crossings. Did I mention that the rivers here are festering with eels and that eels have teeth? Just saying. I'm going to be bookin' it out of that water so fast. Leeches are my biggest fear in life, and in my mind, eels are bigger, scarier versions of leeches...WITH TEETH. (otherwise I'm an animal lover)

I'll have to take the ferry from the South Island where I am now to the southern tip of the North Island for this race. I had wanted a reason to take that ferry anyways so this is perfect. 

Well that's for now, time to hit the roads!

eb

Yesterday was a lovely, sunny day so I decided bike to Cable Bay,
about 25 km away from where I live. The picturesque inlet is made up of a long pebble beach with a mountain on either side, making it somewhat of a hidden gem. It has been so useful having my bike with me here in Nelson. I’ve been able to explore so many places that would otherwise be impossible to see by foot.

Cable Bay

In Nelson (and I think in all of New Zealand) it is mandatory to wear a bike helmet. And this is not a joking matter! If you embark on a two-wheeled adventure without a helmet you are sure to be pulled over and fined $55.  Furthermore, you cannot get back on your bike after you have been stopped. You need to find some alternate form of transportation to get back to where you started and return to your bicycle once you have the appropriate safety attire. I think this is brilliant! The roads are so busy and the roundabouts so confusing (at least for me) that cyclists are bound to get hit once and a while. We should totally do the same in Canada, agree?

WB in NZ

Last week I went on one of those Wednesday night group rides with a local bike shop. Five of us showed up and as usual, the ride started out with a long steep ascent full of switchbacks. At the top of the first hill, we reached a seemingly vacant farm field with a sign reading, “If your dog is caught disturbing or worrying sheep, the dog will be DESTROYED”. For the first time since I’ve been in New Zealand, I was glad to have Oli safe and sound in Sudbury Ontario. Had he been with us, I guarantee he’d be “worrying” the sheep. And imagine seeing your pet be DESTROYED?! Gees louise, intense. 

About an hour into the ride we came upon a woman laying in the middle of the trail, holding a potentially broken ankle. We called an ambulance but because we were in the middle of nowhere, we were not accessible by vehicle. Luckily one of the riders was equipped with a Garmin 705 complete with a GPS that "knows no limits" so he was able to give the HELICOPTER!!! paramedics precise coordinates of where the traumatic incident had occurred. We waited for about an hour, comforting the wounded lady, testing out each other’s bikes, and kicking the ground aimlessly until we spotted a far away chopper heading our way. After we full-body flagged the helicopter down, which probably wasn’t necessary as they had our exact coordinates, a paramedic jumped out and came to the lady’s aid. The pilot let down a wire and the woman was taken up up and away! And that was the end of our ride. It was getting dark by then so we all just biked back down the mountain and went our separate ways once at the bottom.  

The beach in Nelson

Today it is pouring outside. So hard. It's going to be a wet 2 hr ride today!

Free sunscreen on the beach sponsored by the skin cancer society!

Wild Betty

I've been here in Nelson for 6 days now and it is beautiful. So far it's been hot and sunny almost everyday. I've been staying at different hostels throughout the week while I try to find a nice room to rent. I've check out a few places but none of them are exactly what I'm looking for. Also, today I got a job! I'll be waitressing at The Honest Lawyer Pub starting today at 3:30! http://www.honestlawyer.co.nz/

More about mountain biking: The trails here are stunning! mountain after mountain after mountain etc. There's a nice bike shop downtown that runs a group ride every Wednesday night. I joined in last week and two friendly locals brought me to some really sweet trails with tons of climbing. Looks like I'm going be get in great hill climbing training this winter!

Two days ago a met a girl about my age who is in Nelson for the exact same reason as me! She races elite in Switzerland and flew over to NZ with her BMC mtb. She said she races for some Swiss BMC MTB team over there. She plans on racing the big NZ Cup race in Nelson on Feb 13th too and doing some of the mini local races here in town. I think we'll try and do some long rides together. Pretty cool, small world.

I lost my running shoes :(.  I can't remember the last place I saw them but think I left them on the plane. I didn't notice until yesterday when all I wanted to do was go for a run in the hills. In the end I went for a run anyways, without any shoes. Being barefoot was actually kind of nice, but my tootsies are sore today. I don't know what I'm going to do without my runners...

Sittin' in the airport chewing my bubble gum

So here I am,  in the Los Angeles airport. I'm very happy to be here. I wasn't sure if I would make it.  I was supposed to fly out of Sudbury on Dec 31st, but as my travel luck would have it, all flights out of the city were cancelled for the day due to fog.  That's coo. not. Because I was flying with 3 different airlines, only my first two flights were insured. I had to rebook the other 4 flights on my own expense, and a hefty expense it was. Ian ended up just driving me to Toronto to avoid being affected by the heavy fogs of Sudbury again.  I'm here now on a 5 hour layover. Just chilling out by the food court, sitting by a plug with   some people on their iphones. Maybe I'll try to make a friend. "you need a plug to eh? yeah, hehe, me too".

In case you have been sitting on the edge of your chair wondering what on earth I decided to do with my bike, I chose to pack it in a huge plasma TV box. I can't really see over the box as I push it down the airport walkways. This has encouraged several "small girl, big TV" jokes from other travelers.  funny funny funny. But actually, sometimes they're funny.

Alrighty, that's all for now.
Merci pour avoir lu ceci,
erica