R&R in NZ

Forest, hills and water. That’s NZ!

In February 2019, R&R was able to check off a bucket list experience. We visited both islands of New Zealand. Every view was eye popping. It’s as if we were trapped in a national park the entire time. The coastal towns were busy with tourists and water activities and the middle of the country is mostly golden farm land for free range sheep, cattle or vineyards with a dose of the Southern Alps providing for a more rugged alpine experience.

We brought our helmets and shoes in hopes to get a ride in and luckily we were able to on pretty cool trails in North Island town of Rotorua (home of Crank Works Rotorua and enduro racing). The town is pretty sweet with a cool city center that’s kinda like a market with shops, cafes and stores not far from natural thermal pools and streams. The town sits on a volcano practically so warm thermal air shoots from the ground in random places like back yards, side walks and parks.

Rotorua bike stand

Thermal lake in a local park in Rotorua.

The area where we rode bikes is called Whakarewarewa Redwood Forest (pronounced Fah-kah-reh-wa-reh-wa; reduced version of Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao, meaning The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao, often abbreviated to Whaka by locals). It’s best described as a system of trails that look like a plate of spaghetti on a map. Noteable features of this particular place have mountain bikers (and other trail enthusiasts) in mind: there is an outfitter at the the bottom with all that’s needed to rent, fix and set up bikes; there is a cafe with coffee, snacks and ice cream; clean bathrooms with showers; and the coolest shuttle system around - a guy drives riders in an old rickety bus up the mountain about 10 minutes on winding gravel roads to a drop off point where then the riders get off and either ride higher up or go down.

Basecamp!

Enough room for all the trail users!

Our shuttle ride.

On our first run, we decided to ride higher while still fresh. Roxy was babying a knee injury so it was slow go but doable. Our rentals were full squish, heavy duty bikes and since we were so close to sea level, we didn’t have to deal with altitude! The trails were super fun. Pretty natural in the trees with roots and rocks. Oh, by the way, we were riding IN a rain forest where the trees shaded the trail so though it was a warm day, under the canopy of the bush, it was cool and dark. We had to take off our sun glasses in order to see! We did a few runs and on the last one opted to take a route that was new and not on the map. We got a bit turned around and ended up asking a couple of locals who happened to ride by how to get back. After a long day on the bike, in shorts, while our home trails were covered in a foot of snow, we sat in the sun sipping cold drinks and dreaming of never coming home.

A local saying hello (look closer at my helmet).

The bush.

Ryan making this steep exit look easy.

Never a bad view in NZ!

INSPIRED BY WOMEN WHO RIDE

This past weekend was R&R's first Women's Only Ride Right MTB School. We had all levels from never ever to seasoned racers. They all had their reasons for signing up.

There was one student who had a kid who rides but mom has only tagged along to keep her kid safe. Well now mom can do some of the same things her kid does and together they can progress and share the sport. That's awesome! Another student has let her speed be her guide. Once she allowed herself the time to slow down to learn the nuances of the skill, when she sped back up, it was like seeing art on a bike. Yet another was suffering from being married to a dare devil and felt by learning techniques she could ride better with her significant other. After the clinic when he arrived to pick her up and saw the elevated box we had the students ride off, he was like "She rode off that? Awesome!" And there was everything in between from riders trying to find their mojo after sever crashes or just getting back into it after life got in the way. Whatever it was, they were all brave and courageous students who took on each skill session with laughter, focus and a shared camaraderie that regardless of why they were there, each of them was missing something and hoped by taking the class they could tap into it.

It's amazing and fun to watch the skills that bubble up to the top when they're given the time and attention. I will never tire from seeing confidence replace frustration. Smiles for miles!

I really really enjoyed this class. I hope to do more women's only. I forget sometimes how scary it was just to go over a simple log many years ago because I didn't have the information to do it and how many times I crashed trying. I hope that through teaching women to ride better, they can go on to inspire others and show that it's never too late to be a badass. 

Congrats to the June 2018 grads of the first-ever Women's Ride Right School!

Getting Your Mojo Back

For those of us who actually have all four seasons, Spring is upon us and it's time to ride. I don’t know about you but the first few rides on dirt, after being away for a while, can be shaky. I find myself looking down at the rock or root instead of far ahead. I sit more than I should, my foot position is wonky and my timing is off. 

Sound familiar?

As a good friend and skiing instructor said, “No hurries, no worries.” So, be easy on yourselves as you head into the forest for the first time. Take this opportunity to get your mojo back and relish in the moment of rediscovery and retraining that mind/body connection. 

Some suggestions to get you prepared:

Check over your bike! Here are the ABC’s of bike readiness:
(A)ir - Check that your tires have the proper air pressure. How about your suspension?
(B)reaks & Bolts - Look at your brake pads and brake levers. Do a quick once over of the main pivot bolts, saddle bolts and headset (the thing that attaches the fork & handlebar to the bike).
(C)hain & Cables - Do you need to lube or maybe even replace your chain? If you don’t have a chain checker tool, ask your LBS to look at it. A worn chain wears out the chainrings much faster than a newer chain. How does your shifting feel? Warn or stretched cables can affect shifting and cause dropped chains.

Once at the trailhead:
Spin around the parking lot. Shift in and out of all of the gears. 
Practice breaking hard to test that your equipment will do what it’s told. 
Bounce up and down on your suspension and adjust as needed. 
Clip in and out of pedals to make sure our cleats are tight and working properly.

Now that your equipment is ready, are you? Maybe pop over a few curbs, practice leaning the bike side to side and for/aft. Practice level pedals, being relaxed and looking far ahead. And lastly, take a long, deep breath. Smell the dirt. Hear the wind and get back in touch with your mojo!

Ride Inspired!