First full day on Aotea Island and first ride in New Zealand. The last time we were here, I rented a bike. A full suspension Santa Cruz from time immemorial, meaning cable brakes and so on. Not the Commencal or even the Zasker for that matter. I remember needing to take extra care two years ago, and, back on it, my extraordinary room for improvement is again made obvious. May it come to pass.

The plan is to get climbing time in. I’m sick of having to cut rides short and am always ready to have reduced recovery times. Over and over, the experts say To get better at climbing, climb. We’ll see.

Midway through and high above it all.

The White Cliffs viewed from the trail.

Did you know that Oakland and Auckland and Bay Area and Barrier, spoken that is, are indistinguishable?

Where we are staying is a stunning mile and a half walk on the beach from M R and Mme J’s place. It was closer to a trudge tonight. 🤔