We're Here!

We're here! Or there, depending on how you look at it…A warning that this addition to our blog is exceedingly long only because internet is not an easy thing to come by when moving around as much as we have been this past week.  We’ll do our best to make them a little shorter and more frequent, beginning, perhaps in a couple weeks or after our travel through the more remote south island (of New Zealand).

The last few days in SLO went by ridiculously fast, and we would not have finished without some tremendous help from some amazing friends and family. We definitely didn't realize how long much of the essentials (of packing) would take to get accomplished. There is a huge lesson here, one that should be heeded by anyone new to moving (or rusty), but definitely if you're planning on going overseas...plan out how much you have to do and how long you think it will take. Once that's been accomplished, double it and you’ll then get an accurate timeline.

 It is incredible how much time there is in a day and how much can be accomplished, especially with two people moving about as fast as they can with synergistic actions, but it is still amazing how quickly a day can go by. Above all, however, we did our best to remind each other to BREATHE, even if it was in the form of a quick bike ride or swim- “forced” breathing during exercise is not such a bad thing!  Funny how we take advantage of the act of breathing and how those breaths tend to get shorter and shorter once a little stress is inserted.

Leaving SLO was surreal and in some ways very bittersweet.  It was near impossible to think we were leaving.  The only way we could do it was by assuring ourselves we would be back to visit in the next 6 months because it was too much to think otherwise.  The thought of leaving or not seeing some of our favorite people (in our lives) as often as we are accustomed to was not an easy thought.  However, we were lucky enough to spend time (usually in the form of eating) with friends and family in the last few days.  From going to the Baywood Farmer’s market with Sarah’s dad and hanging out with him, coffee with her grandparents, sushi lunch with her brother, to our friend Sandra’s “Wadsworth Bread” she made for us to enjoy hot in the car, or the brilliant quesadilla Sarah’s mum selflessly made for us to give us more steam to make it to Ventura, all fueled our love for what we were leaving.  We now understand the term bittersweet to our core.  Fortunately, we finally got to begin relaxing and unwind a bit before our flight, with Zeph’s parents in Ventura as well.

 The drive to the airport was interesting, especially since we had to take two cars because we had a lot of “stuff”.  Even after paring down to the necessities, with the bikes and their respective gear, we had A LOT of stuff!  We decided early on that, despite the hassle of the quantity and size, the two of us would be flying down with two bikes each plus a luggage bag (each). By the time we finished packing everything to go with us on the initial plane ride down, including clothes, spare parts, and necessity Clif product for the race, we went to the airport (huge thank you Mum and Dad for the ride down) with a total of four bikes, two bags of clothes, one giant bag of camping gear (tent, sleeping bags, etc.), Z’s Pedro's tool kit, and our two carry on and personal items each. For those counting, that's eight checked bags and four being carried on. We definitely had some interesting looks checking in, and a few more going through customs in Auckland, especially during our 1km haul between terminals (quite a hike at 5 in the morning after arriving in Auckland to sprint-walk over to the domestic terminal). In our defense, and thank someone that we had one, we could say we weren’t just on holiday.

All that being said, we made it to Wellington by 8 in the morning.  For anyone looking to travel to New Zealand in the future, the 11+ hour flight goes by surprisingly quick- Even if you aren’t deliriously tired and only wanting to look at the back of your eyelids!  For most, 11 hours is a long time to sit in one spot, but on Air New Zealand, it is one delicious meal, separated by some good movies (whichever ones you choose to watch for yourself), separated by some good sleep, then more good food in the form of breakfast, a catnap, then, Voila! you’re there!  We came off the plane to see Graeme waiting for us at the gate, which, to say was a pleasant surprise would be an understatement.  Aside from being Zeph’s Godfather, Graeme is a saint, in so many ways.  Zeph asked me after arriving what we should get Graeme in thanks for all he has (and continues to do) for us, and my quick and simple response- A Bugatti!  That is how huge it has been to have him in our lives.  He had been helping us find a vehicle, picking us up at the airport and filling his Volvo (inside and out) to maximum capacity, and above all, an unconditional support that makes all the difference in the world, especially with as many unknowns as we have/had.  After arriving, we quickly unloaded, with a bit of help from Graeme, freshened up to run a few errands, go for a quick bike ride, look for a new vehicle, and eat a wondrous Cambodian dinner with Graeme and 4 of his close friends visiting from the UK.  A note on Wellington…it is one of the most beautiful of cities.  We are not huge “city” folk, but Wellington pulls out all the stops.  Aside from being the capital of NZ, it is built on steep rolling hills giving it a similar feel to San Francisco, on a smaller (400,000 people) scale.  It is clean and pristine (especially by city standards) and has some of the best food in the country, as well as amazing botanical gardens and great nature preserves less than 5 minutes out of town.  Needless to say, it is a great place to arrive. 

Day two consisted of finding and buying a vehicle.  We had been looking for something large enough to fit our bikes and luggage and that had a diesel engine for reliability and better mileage. Having the bikes to have to carry with us helped narrow our search down to vans and SUV's, and with a ton of help from Graeme, we finally found our new ride. 

 We settled on a 1994 Isuzu Bighorn 3.1D. To translate for our U.S. readers, it's an Isuzu Trooper with a turbo-diesel v-6 (designed by Lotus which is supposed to make it handle better than the not-so-good reputation Troopers had for a while of being not-so-good handling).  Even on the first day we were lucky enough to get out for a spin on the road bikes.  While Zeph has been doing an amazing job of driving on the left hand side of the road, on the right hand side of the car, we will both attest that riding on the left hand side of the road feels flat out weird.  Thus, we have only done our best to seek out trails to enjoy on our mountain bikes since.  Graeme’s friend, Steve, took us out to Makara Peak mountain bike park, about 15 minutes out of Wellington, filled with lustrous, lovely, fun, flowing singletrack through New Zealand’s finest flora.

On Saturday, after 4 days in Wellington, we headed on the InterIslander ferry to the south island, beginning our journey toward the start of the race.  Ah, the minor detail of the race!  We signed up for a little event to make sure we made the journey to New Zealand in the first place.  Our logic, if one may call it that, was that if we didn’t find a way, aside from an airline ticket, to commit ourselves, we would never make it out of SLO’s doors.  So, we signed up for a mountain bike race.  Not just any race, but a 5 stage, 4 day, mountain bike race through the southern Alps on the South Island of New Zealand.  The AlpineEpic (www.alpineepic.co.nz) is only in its second year and has a following similar to other multi-stage races such as the TransRockies or the BC Bike Race.  For those of you interested in looking up where it is on Google Maps, it begins in Mt. Somers and finishes 4 days later at Lake Tekapo through what local New Zealanders claim to be some of the best scenery in the country.  Above all, it sounded, and fortunately still sounds like “fun”.  Oh, and it is not an individual race at all.  It is completed in teams of two so the two of us get to ride/race together against other teams of two for its entirety.  After taking the 4 hour ferry to the south island, we drove south to a favorite alpine spot that we visited last trip, Hanmer Springs.

  We found an amazing campground, slightly out of town and close to fantastic alpine singletrack that also happened to have better showers than most hotels.  We could easily have stayed here a week or more as it has the feel of a nice little European mountain town with a little Colorado and Wyoming mixed in.  That leaves us to this morning making our way to the finish of the race where we will leave our vehicle at our lodging spot, also enabling us to fantasize what it will be like to sleep in a nice bed, eat a great meal, and relax, during the possibly challenging moments of the race.  Tonight we are staying in Methven, about a 3 hour drive from our final destination, hoping to catch up on some internet usage, rest, and the Olympics.  Thank you for reading and we’ll do our best to get a blog addition out prior to the race which begins on Wednesday.  If not, please send your best thoughts, fast thoughts, healthy thoughts, and lucky thoughts to us in copious amounts from Wednesday through Saturday.  Thank you!