Monday, November 30, 2009

Wonderful weekend

We had a fabulous weekend, chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool in the Rodney District, and indulging ourselves in post-HoBOO, pre-final-half-ironman-prep fish'n'chips, ice-cream and beer. We slept in, and wandered around the Matakana farmers marker for hours, sampling cheese and chocolate and pastries and wheatgrass shots and green smoothies, and buying organic goodies for a holiday park BBQ dinner. We swam in shallow water at the campsite in the late afternoon sun, and again at Goat Island marine reserve until we wussed out because of the stingrays...

But just in case anyone thinks we were out there slacking off:

After Goat Island, we climbed for 5 steep minutes until we got here:



Then turned and swore when we saw what was coming next:



Then endured another 15 minutes of constant pain, of grades topping out at over 20%, of steady climbs becoming our "respite", before reaching the triumphant top, and looking out at how far we'd come (see the sea in this picture?? well, we basically came from there).



...and then we rode for another hour and a half, but nothing quite mattered after that climb!

7 comments:

Andrew is getting fit said...

Rather you than me!

Rachel Harris said...

Mmmm, that hill certainly seems to have a wee kick in it, and yet photos never do justice to gradients I find!

Britt said...

oh you and your hills! I'm glad you take pictures so you can remember how far you came!

Mike said...

Very nice! Did you stay at the Goat Island camp site with the painted caravans? We love Goat island. Must get back there this summer.

That hill does look steep ... and as Rachel says photos never seem to do them justice! Tarawera Rd climb will be a doddle :)haha

Kate said...

Stayed in Sandspit Holiday Park, and just explored the whole area. Fantastic out there!

Unknown said...

Like the sound of those hills... I'm a bit jealous :-)

Captain Cactus said...

Nice climb! I'm jealous of your current season as we decline into rain and cold for the next several months.