Rowie resting in the undergrowth after an unsuccessful parking manoevour
Originally uploaded by m0rehu.
This was the day the taniwha struck in many disguises. The plan was for 9 of us to ride over the Otipi Rd to the Motu and return. This is a very tough 40k ride climbing from 300m to 850m over 7k then dropping to 250m over 14k to the Motu and then return. Check out The Mad Keen Mountain Biker's Road Trip by Ruth Connor for a great description.
Taniwha 1: At 7.00am Hedley rang to say that he had just backed his van and his and Teleri's brand new MTBs!!! into a post and would not be making the ride that he had organised.
Taniwha 2: Brian didn't turn up. Where were you?
Taniwha 3: On her first MTB ride since her separated shoulder event Lea rode for 30 minutes and then came off as her rear deraillieur snapped off! Look out Hedley, a taniwha is coming your way!
Taniwha 4: The photo shows Rowie in the undergrowth. Destry hit this spot, known as the forks, first, couldn't decide which way to go, so went straight ahead and over the edge. As Rowie arrived he wanted a closer look but misjudged and went over as well. In the most isolated spot in the North Island he ended up with a piece of glass jabbing him in the arse.
Taniwha 5 was a real taniwha. At the Motu I leapt in to a perfect swimming hole for a swim and photo op. I then dived to the bottom to meet a very large eel (1m) face to face. Swinging my arms wildly and kicking in mad panic I shot to the surface like an exocet missile with taniwha in pursuit. I landed on the rocks much to the amusement of Barry and The Boss. Check the photo of the taniwha with the other photos!
Apart from the taniwha it was an awesome ride, but most probably one of, if not the hardest MTB ride I have done. The climbs were relentless of between 1 hr and 2 hours each, but the downhills made it all worth it.
We were also able to offer assistance to two hunters who had a puncture on their 4 wheel motor bike. They used our bike pumps to keep pumping up their tyre. A few broken bike pumps now.
Condolences to Hedley and Teleri. Hope the bikes are fixable and covered by insurance.
3 comments:
We wish we were there, damage only done to rear wheels, and smashed back window of van. We managed to scrounge odd wheels to get us out for a two hour road ride just to get the bad feelings out of my system.
I am getting worried about you Maurie, sasquatch sitings one week, taniwha the next, what will the future bring? You did say the albino possum was an omen....
I had always heard there were big eels around those almost untouched parts but never really took any notice. Wow! for it to really happen to a highly respected member of this community just blows me away. Looks like you all had fun on what as I regard as the hardest ride around!!
Well done team!
What a load of rubish, that eel was at least 1.3 metres long! and I have never exaggerated about the length of anything!
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