Grant, Kate and I met at the Boss's and headed off to Amokura with the intention of going right through to Waiotahe. Grant had a date so we decided to head to the ford at the start of the big climb and return. It was a good decision as it meant the rest of Sunday wasn't zonked out like it usually is.
The climb was tricky as there were a lot of washouts and plenty of gorse, blackberry and bush lawyer.
It soon became clear that Grant had developed some great skills on his mtb course. The photo shows him comfortably handling the tank trap - he was the only one to do so.
Grant coached us all the way home and what I remember is ankles down, elbows out and hold on loosely. Kate had a bit of a nasty fall landing on her knee but got to her feet and soldiered on.
It was a great ride with a cooling swim at the Boss' on return as you can see in the photos.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Latest Learning Matters Column
Schools have certainly taken on a much larger role in our communities than they were originally intended to. Schools were set up so that teachers could teach knowledge and skills in what was considered to be the important subject areas and so that students could learn these things. The result is that students emerge from the other end either with necessary qualifications to attend university or the necessary skills to be employed to do the range of jobs our communities needed done.
This situation has certainly changed in two main areas. The first is that schools now seem responsible for areas beyond these subject disciplines. Schools are now called upon to be responsible for developing self-esteem, promoting acceptable values, addressing issues such as obesity, and providing a wide range of sporting and cultural experiences even down to free and expert coaching. This is all important stuff and schools, especially when they form strong partnerships with whanau and the wider community, do a great job within these areas.
The second area is hugely important and I am not sure if the wider community is fully aware of its importance. I am talking about qualifications.
It is impossible to make the point strongly enough that every child must gain national qualifications while they are at school. There may still be a few low-paying, usually seasonal jobs with little real long-term security, which are available for people without qualifications, but these types of jobs are declining fast.
Schools must have as their main priority the achievement of national qualifications for everyone of their students.
The good news is that this is a possible reality for every student. We have the proof at Opotiki College. Once again, the 2008 NCEA results have shown that every single student who completes five years of schooling at Opotiki College is guaranteed national qualifications. Not one student who completed 5 years failed to achieve NCEA.
The results from the Year 12 group (those who have completed 4 years of secondary schooling) are particularly impressive as well. 85% of those who completed 4 years with us achieved NCEA Level 2 – only 13 students failed to do that and the vast majority of them achieved Level 1. Those who have neither simply need to complete one more year and they will achieve one of the NCEA qualifications.
At Year 11 (3 years of secondary schooling) 65 % achieved NCEA Level 1. If the other 35% return and complete a further year they are almost guaranteed qualifications at the end of Year 12. The guarantee is rock-solid if they complete the further two years available to them!
A student, for whatever reason, who drops out of school in Years 9, 10 or 11 is choosing a future without qualifications so therefore a future without secure and rewarding employment. A student who stays for a full 4 or 5 years is making quite a different choice with hugely different consequences for their future.
The bad news is that we as a school cannot do this alone. Every responsible adult in the family and every adult who has an influence over a young person must make that child attend their school every single day and, preferably, in the best possible state for learning.
As far as national qualifications are concerned if you get them here we will get them there. Inspire your child to aim for at least 4 years, but preferably 5 years, of full attendance at secondary school. If this happens there will be a whole lot of learning and learning matters!
This situation has certainly changed in two main areas. The first is that schools now seem responsible for areas beyond these subject disciplines. Schools are now called upon to be responsible for developing self-esteem, promoting acceptable values, addressing issues such as obesity, and providing a wide range of sporting and cultural experiences even down to free and expert coaching. This is all important stuff and schools, especially when they form strong partnerships with whanau and the wider community, do a great job within these areas.
The second area is hugely important and I am not sure if the wider community is fully aware of its importance. I am talking about qualifications.
It is impossible to make the point strongly enough that every child must gain national qualifications while they are at school. There may still be a few low-paying, usually seasonal jobs with little real long-term security, which are available for people without qualifications, but these types of jobs are declining fast.
Schools must have as their main priority the achievement of national qualifications for everyone of their students.
The good news is that this is a possible reality for every student. We have the proof at Opotiki College. Once again, the 2008 NCEA results have shown that every single student who completes five years of schooling at Opotiki College is guaranteed national qualifications. Not one student who completed 5 years failed to achieve NCEA.
The results from the Year 12 group (those who have completed 4 years of secondary schooling) are particularly impressive as well. 85% of those who completed 4 years with us achieved NCEA Level 2 – only 13 students failed to do that and the vast majority of them achieved Level 1. Those who have neither simply need to complete one more year and they will achieve one of the NCEA qualifications.
At Year 11 (3 years of secondary schooling) 65 % achieved NCEA Level 1. If the other 35% return and complete a further year they are almost guaranteed qualifications at the end of Year 12. The guarantee is rock-solid if they complete the further two years available to them!
A student, for whatever reason, who drops out of school in Years 9, 10 or 11 is choosing a future without qualifications so therefore a future without secure and rewarding employment. A student who stays for a full 4 or 5 years is making quite a different choice with hugely different consequences for their future.
The bad news is that we as a school cannot do this alone. Every responsible adult in the family and every adult who has an influence over a young person must make that child attend their school every single day and, preferably, in the best possible state for learning.
As far as national qualifications are concerned if you get them here we will get them there. Inspire your child to aim for at least 4 years, but preferably 5 years, of full attendance at secondary school. If this happens there will be a whole lot of learning and learning matters!
Monday, February 9, 2009
Redwoods Again
We've just had another outstanding day at the Redwoods. Leigh, me and Lucy met Hedley and Teleri and Marg at the Boss' and we setoff for Rotorua after some pretty horrible coffee! There we met Hilton, Matthew and Linzi and we headed into the tracks.
Leigh and Marg did their own thing and we lost Lyndsay. After hitting Tahi, Creek and Mad Not To we climbed up Hill Rd where we picked up Sarah. After a very hot climb we tackled frontal lobotomy and found ourself at the start of the National Downhill where Hilton was photographed in the starting chute!
We had an awesome ride down Billy T before climbing Hill Rd again to take on The Corners. This is the best track in the world! All downhill with dozens of beautiful berms. Unfortunately Sarah's seat couldn't cope and blew apart!
We dragged ourselves along Spring Roll and Sweet n Sour before plummeting down the awesome Mad If We Don't. We then hit the Dipper which is a great track to finish on, though a few got lost.
At the carpark we dined on watermelon and muffins.
Just over 4 hours of mtbing! A perfect day apart from the branch that gouged my arm on the third track.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
The Broken Seat Post Memorial Ride
This week we decided to take on the full link road in the Blue Mountains to Pakihi. This is the ride during which, in Feb 2007, I snapped my seat post and did a bit of damage! It was also notable because this is the first ride Lea has been with us for a few months. Could she cope?
Myself, the Boss, Hedley, Teleri, Destry and Lea headed off from Hanaia at 7.30am and made our way to the Blue Mountains. We had our usual slug up to Valley Station Rd and enjoyed, once more, The Dip. Lea bailed out on her first attempt but started again and nailed it.
We had a relentless, crushing, steep haul up what was once a nice forest trail, but is now a bulldozed forestry road, in very hot conditions for what seemed like hours. The problem was that the carving of roads and skid sites had obliterated lots of the tracks and we spent 45 minutes and a few dead ends until we found the rest of Mangakakaho Rd which eventually became Pakihi Rd.
Once we were on the track we had some shade and more aesthetic surroundings with some awesome downhill and, unfortunately, some more punishing uphill.
We paused for a moment of respect at the place where the seat post broke and then continued on our plummet down to the Mangakirikiri on what must be one of the longest and quite treacherous in places downhill in the area. It was great to follow Destry down on his fully-suspended limousine and get a bit of an idea of the best lines. Unfortunately, Teleri wasn't close enough to hear our warnings about a concealed deep rut. She found it though and hit the ground pretty hard.
The last 30m to the Mangakirikiri is most probably more difficult than the three sisters from last week but I gave it my best shot in a slidy/ridy sort of way.
A swim at the Pakihi Bridge was awesome as it has been a very hot day. The final 30k home along the Pakihi, Otara and SH35 was a bit of a slog with most of us just hanging on and struggling up Tirohanga and Hanaia Roads.
We launched into watermelon and beers still cold from Friday night's festivities. This ride was a hard slog and I haven't been so shattered in a while, but it was another great adventure in this piece of paradise we call Opotiki.
Best trails, best people, best post-ride and best school! Check the photos!
Myself, the Boss, Hedley, Teleri, Destry and Lea headed off from Hanaia at 7.30am and made our way to the Blue Mountains. We had our usual slug up to Valley Station Rd and enjoyed, once more, The Dip. Lea bailed out on her first attempt but started again and nailed it.
We had a relentless, crushing, steep haul up what was once a nice forest trail, but is now a bulldozed forestry road, in very hot conditions for what seemed like hours. The problem was that the carving of roads and skid sites had obliterated lots of the tracks and we spent 45 minutes and a few dead ends until we found the rest of Mangakakaho Rd which eventually became Pakihi Rd.
Once we were on the track we had some shade and more aesthetic surroundings with some awesome downhill and, unfortunately, some more punishing uphill.
We paused for a moment of respect at the place where the seat post broke and then continued on our plummet down to the Mangakirikiri on what must be one of the longest and quite treacherous in places downhill in the area. It was great to follow Destry down on his fully-suspended limousine and get a bit of an idea of the best lines. Unfortunately, Teleri wasn't close enough to hear our warnings about a concealed deep rut. She found it though and hit the ground pretty hard.
The last 30m to the Mangakirikiri is most probably more difficult than the three sisters from last week but I gave it my best shot in a slidy/ridy sort of way.
A swim at the Pakihi Bridge was awesome as it has been a very hot day. The final 30k home along the Pakihi, Otara and SH35 was a bit of a slog with most of us just hanging on and struggling up Tirohanga and Hanaia Roads.
We launched into watermelon and beers still cold from Friday night's festivities. This ride was a hard slog and I haven't been so shattered in a while, but it was another great adventure in this piece of paradise we call Opotiki.
Best trails, best people, best post-ride and best school! Check the photos!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Reintroducing Ourselves to the Three Sisters
Today, Brett convinced us to recce a proposed new track for the Blue Mountain Blast as our old one has been wrecked by those bloody foresters! He had found a new way to get from Valley Station to King Rd and it only took hime 12 minutes on his 400cc motor bike!
So the Boss, Hedley, Roger, Karl and Kate and I headed off from Hanaia and met up with Ross and Mike at Waiaua where Hedley put a new chain (not bought from Hickey's!) on Grant's bike who then drove to Young's where we picked him and Bruno up. At the skid we met Louise who joined us and Brett who was on his 70cc motor bike.
It was fairly uneventful to Valley Station Rd (though it is always a tougher and longer climb than I remember each time) and we charged down the Dip, turned off, went the wrong way, backtracked and then ended up walking most of the way up some steep ridge to King Rd which only took Brett 12 minutes on his 400cc motor bike previously! This photo and others in the album (click here) show the terrain he took us over.
It was great to reach King Rd and hurtle down, full of anticipation and trepidation. towards the waiting, and particularly grumpy, Three Sisters. They did not disappoint and looked as if they had a hard time and wanted to take it out on us. Grant was a Three Sister's virgin and hurtled himself down and, despite a few skid outs and minor falls, conquered them well. We all had minor incidents but to impress were Roger, Hedley, Ross, Kate and Louise who rode quite a bit. I stayed sort of attached to my pedals, seat (by way of stomach) and handlebars for most of it. but Grant struggled to call it riding.
From there it was a great charge up the Mangakirikiri and it's many creek crossings with a beautiful swim in one deep pool to cool off.
When we met Vaughan and his son at the skid he told Mike ( who had turned up at cycling 2 weeks previous without a helmet) that he had locked his car for him at Waiaua as Mike had left it open!
We got back to Hanaia for coffee and baking supplied by Hedley and then a few of us headed to the Harbour Swim to be kayak safety people.
Hell, we have a lot of adventures!
So the Boss, Hedley, Roger, Karl and Kate and I headed off from Hanaia and met up with Ross and Mike at Waiaua where Hedley put a new chain (not bought from Hickey's!) on Grant's bike who then drove to Young's where we picked him and Bruno up. At the skid we met Louise who joined us and Brett who was on his 70cc motor bike.
It was fairly uneventful to Valley Station Rd (though it is always a tougher and longer climb than I remember each time) and we charged down the Dip, turned off, went the wrong way, backtracked and then ended up walking most of the way up some steep ridge to King Rd which only took Brett 12 minutes on his 400cc motor bike previously! This photo and others in the album (click here) show the terrain he took us over.
It was great to reach King Rd and hurtle down, full of anticipation and trepidation. towards the waiting, and particularly grumpy, Three Sisters. They did not disappoint and looked as if they had a hard time and wanted to take it out on us. Grant was a Three Sister's virgin and hurtled himself down and, despite a few skid outs and minor falls, conquered them well. We all had minor incidents but to impress were Roger, Hedley, Ross, Kate and Louise who rode quite a bit. I stayed sort of attached to my pedals, seat (by way of stomach) and handlebars for most of it. but Grant struggled to call it riding.
From there it was a great charge up the Mangakirikiri and it's many creek crossings with a beautiful swim in one deep pool to cool off.
When we met Vaughan and his son at the skid he told Mike ( who had turned up at cycling 2 weeks previous without a helmet) that he had locked his car for him at Waiaua as Mike had left it open!
We got back to Hanaia for coffee and baking supplied by Hedley and then a few of us headed to the Harbour Swim to be kayak safety people.
Hell, we have a lot of adventures!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Counter Sabotage
What's happened to my counter? One minute I'm surging past 8000 on my way to the party for 10000 and the next minute I'm back to 3000!
Monday, January 19, 2009
Mangakirikiri Revisited
This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago as I was attempting that famous final creek crossing.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Te Waiti With a Hangover
Sam (at front) after having being rescued from going over the side.
Originally uploaded by mlabraham@xtra.co.nz
This photo shows where Samantha went over the edge attempting to ride the slip that we all (apart from Shane Armstrong!) walk. Sam, who is at the front here, was only prevented from plummetting at least 10 metres down this slip by the protruding ponga log sticking out in the foreground.
The Boss, Roger and Hedley headed off from town, while David, Samantha and I drove to the Pakihi East bridge, and then Ross picked us up closer to Te Waiti where we met up with Teleri and Kate who drove to the start because they had Bruno the dog.
This is a spectacular track with some fine native bush riding, some scary steep falling away from the track stuff, some tricky and slippery creek crossings, small bridges and larger creeks to cross. Check out the photos here.
I only went over the edge once but Hedley was there to save my bike. I never thought I would be so pleased to land with legs either side of a tree at the top of the drop off!
The hangover made it hard work and my head felt every bump on the ride. I also got little sympathy. All enjoyed this beautiful ride with Teleri testing her little fear of heights in places.
It was great not to have to ride all the way home into a strong northerly and heavy squall as the Boss, Hedley and Roger did. We then enjoyed very strong coffee and cakes and muffins (thanks Ross and Roger) back at Hedley and Teleri's.
Maraehako Holiday
Last week we spent Wednesday to Saturday camping at Maraehako, a wonderful piece of paradise we try to get to every year. We arrived on Wednesday afternoon and after setting up camp and cooking dinner we sat around the fire with the Shove's, Pease's and Destry and Nicky.
The next morning, after a run, I decided to explore likely fishing spots in the kayak after listening carefully to the fireside talk. I planned to not be a whimp and paddle out in open sea. The sea was perfect so I spent 90 minutes paddling up to a k off shore, heading east for 3 ks and then back west and around Whanarua Bay where I was attacked by a jet fighter-pilot-like seagull about 8-10 times. I had to beat it off with my paddle.
That afternoon we went fishing around the rocks. We saw some good-sized fish, but only managed to pull in a very small snapper which was sent back to grow. That night we tried surf-casting but just got dealt to by small fish.
I was up and gone by 7am the next morning and was concerned to see there was quite a swell running so my plans to head out to open sea were shelved and I decided to drift along fishing close to the far eastern point of the bay.
I immediately caught a small trevally which I cut up for bait and then promptly landed 3 nice tarakihi, losing at least 2 other good fighters. That was enough so after hooking another trev for tomorrow's bait I headed in after having hunted and provided.
After fishing we wandered up to the Macadamia Cafe at Whanarua for lunch. We then had another afternoon enjoying the process but not the product of fishing. After a great feed of fish that night we joined with the firesiders and had a few beers watching an impromptu fireworks shows ans spotting sputniks.
The next morning was even rougher so I went to the same place. It was quite uncomfortable with a swell and strong wind. I lost my first tarakihi over the side as I was transferring it from net to sack but caught another and a good sized trev which we brought home and had for tea.
We had a great time away and got back in time to go to Barry's 40th, hence the hangover today.
Check out the photos from Maraehako.
The next morning, after a run, I decided to explore likely fishing spots in the kayak after listening carefully to the fireside talk. I planned to not be a whimp and paddle out in open sea. The sea was perfect so I spent 90 minutes paddling up to a k off shore, heading east for 3 ks and then back west and around Whanarua Bay where I was attacked by a jet fighter-pilot-like seagull about 8-10 times. I had to beat it off with my paddle.
That afternoon we went fishing around the rocks. We saw some good-sized fish, but only managed to pull in a very small snapper which was sent back to grow. That night we tried surf-casting but just got dealt to by small fish.
I was up and gone by 7am the next morning and was concerned to see there was quite a swell running so my plans to head out to open sea were shelved and I decided to drift along fishing close to the far eastern point of the bay.
I immediately caught a small trevally which I cut up for bait and then promptly landed 3 nice tarakihi, losing at least 2 other good fighters. That was enough so after hooking another trev for tomorrow's bait I headed in after having hunted and provided.
After fishing we wandered up to the Macadamia Cafe at Whanarua for lunch. We then had another afternoon enjoying the process but not the product of fishing. After a great feed of fish that night we joined with the firesiders and had a few beers watching an impromptu fireworks shows ans spotting sputniks.
The next morning was even rougher so I went to the same place. It was quite uncomfortable with a swell and strong wind. I lost my first tarakihi over the side as I was transferring it from net to sack but caught another and a good sized trev which we brought home and had for tea.
We had a great time away and got back in time to go to Barry's 40th, hence the hangover today.
Check out the photos from Maraehako.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A Day in The Redwoods
Leigh, Lucy and her friend Sam, and I had a great day in the Redwoods today. This photo shows Sam and Lucy racing around the berms on the perfect tracks in the Redwoods in Rotorua. Click here for the rest of the photos.
Leigh spent her time riding the Tahi, Creek and Dipper several times for about 3 hours.
Me and the girls headed off over Tahi, Creek, down Mad If You Don't and then slugged it out for about 45 mins up Hill and Tawa Rds to the top of Billy T. This was an awesome 10 min grade 4 swoop down some neat but bumpy and tricky trails. We then hurtled down G Rock, Chestnut, the Rollercoaster, Chop Suey, Spring Roll and Stir Fry before hurtling down the great Be Rude Not 2 and then finishing on the sweeping berms of The Dipper.
All-in-al we were cycling for 4 hours! Tomorrows race from Magpie Park to Torere and return is looking like hard work now.
We had a great day in Rotos finishing up with a humungous feed at Fat Dog.
To top it off, when we dropped Sam off her Dad, David, offered me the use of his Giant TCR as he was sick of my grizzling on the blog about my heavy hunk of steel!
Maybe tomorrow's ride mught not be as bad!
Leigh spent her time riding the Tahi, Creek and Dipper several times for about 3 hours.
Me and the girls headed off over Tahi, Creek, down Mad If You Don't and then slugged it out for about 45 mins up Hill and Tawa Rds to the top of Billy T. This was an awesome 10 min grade 4 swoop down some neat but bumpy and tricky trails. We then hurtled down G Rock, Chestnut, the Rollercoaster, Chop Suey, Spring Roll and Stir Fry before hurtling down the great Be Rude Not 2 and then finishing on the sweeping berms of The Dipper.
All-in-al we were cycling for 4 hours! Tomorrows race from Magpie Park to Torere and return is looking like hard work now.
We had a great day in Rotos finishing up with a humungous feed at Fat Dog.
To top it off, when we dropped Sam off her Dad, David, offered me the use of his Giant TCR as he was sick of my grizzling on the blog about my heavy hunk of steel!
Maybe tomorrow's ride mught not be as bad!
Friday, January 9, 2009
Hectic Week
On Monday night a few of us gathered at Marg's for a dinner to farewell Pete who is off counting fish for 7 weeks down in Timaru.
On Tuesday it was road cycling night and once again my big hunk of steel (i.e. my road bike) proved burdensome over the last k where I find it difficult to foot it with the others in the sprint over the final hills. Those buggers who don't take their turn at the front early on need to lie awake at night feeling guilty. This sort of riding should be a team sport where we all work for the good of the group.
Wednesday saw our first Round Taupo Relay traing run. This was quite difficult with Jarod, Destry and Brian setting quite a torrid early pace while Rachel walked off for her training. We managed the Woodlands loop in 30 minutes which is quite solid for our first run. I immediately developed my regular back and hip aches so Leigh dragged me off to buy new shoes to replace the sad, old tired three year old ones.
It all caught up with me on Thursday's mtb race where I finished last. I did the High Course and struggled in the heat though I managed to ride as much of the uphill as I usually can. The goat track was as awesome as always but I did slip a pedal coming out of the hairpin and further on my haandlebars hit the side and I nearly bounced over the edge. The bush section was not as slippery as it has been but I did have 2 falls. The second fall resulted in my chain ring punching into the back of my calf and tearing flesh. It was a painful ride to the finish.
I'll attempt a run this morning if my calf is ok. Today brings doing maintenance on Lucy's bike to prepare for a day in the Redwoods tomorrow and helping Lucy to prepare her room for painting (a green aand purple ombination - that's my girl!) As well, Lucy and I plan to go fishing with Kurt this afternoon and evening,
On Tuesday it was road cycling night and once again my big hunk of steel (i.e. my road bike) proved burdensome over the last k where I find it difficult to foot it with the others in the sprint over the final hills. Those buggers who don't take their turn at the front early on need to lie awake at night feeling guilty. This sort of riding should be a team sport where we all work for the good of the group.
Wednesday saw our first Round Taupo Relay traing run. This was quite difficult with Jarod, Destry and Brian setting quite a torrid early pace while Rachel walked off for her training. We managed the Woodlands loop in 30 minutes which is quite solid for our first run. I immediately developed my regular back and hip aches so Leigh dragged me off to buy new shoes to replace the sad, old tired three year old ones.
It all caught up with me on Thursday's mtb race where I finished last. I did the High Course and struggled in the heat though I managed to ride as much of the uphill as I usually can. The goat track was as awesome as always but I did slip a pedal coming out of the hairpin and further on my haandlebars hit the side and I nearly bounced over the edge. The bush section was not as slippery as it has been but I did have 2 falls. The second fall resulted in my chain ring punching into the back of my calf and tearing flesh. It was a painful ride to the finish.
I'll attempt a run this morning if my calf is ok. Today brings doing maintenance on Lucy's bike to prepare for a day in the Redwoods tomorrow and helping Lucy to prepare her room for painting (a green aand purple ombination - that's my girl!) As well, Lucy and I plan to go fishing with Kurt this afternoon and evening,
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Another Outstanding MTB Adventure With The SOBS
This picture of Sam anticipating the next few seconds is what our adventures are all about!
Today, Shirley, Boss, Nicole, Karl The Visitor, David and Sam joined me, Leigh and Lucy for coffee at Hanaia before we headed off up the Motu Rd, Gaskills Rd and Block Access Rd to journey down the Mangakirikiri and out the Pakihi. We met up with Grant and Dog on Block Access Rd.
We hurtled down the Mangakirikiri track with Lucy and Sam catapaulting into a prickly bush, Karl going over the handlebars after running into a low-hanging branch which David then hit and got bloodied and thrown from his bike. Karl, Sam and I also came to grief attempting to ride the slippery logs.
The 40+ creek crossing were quite difficult with a lot of water and rocks. Leigh impressed with a growing confidence and technical ability. Unfortunately Shirley insisted on following my advice and ended up having a couple of swims with one involving a painful knee knock!
The final creek crossing is in the photo attached where most of us attempted an impossible crossing. I hope to receive Karl's photos of my complete submerge on my second attempt (and then destroy them!)
We then rode back to town for coffee and muffins at Two Fish (thanks for having a credit card, Nicole) before the final haul home for Xmas cake.
Check out the full set of photos here.
Today, Shirley, Boss, Nicole, Karl The Visitor, David and Sam joined me, Leigh and Lucy for coffee at Hanaia before we headed off up the Motu Rd, Gaskills Rd and Block Access Rd to journey down the Mangakirikiri and out the Pakihi. We met up with Grant and Dog on Block Access Rd.
We hurtled down the Mangakirikiri track with Lucy and Sam catapaulting into a prickly bush, Karl going over the handlebars after running into a low-hanging branch which David then hit and got bloodied and thrown from his bike. Karl, Sam and I also came to grief attempting to ride the slippery logs.
The 40+ creek crossing were quite difficult with a lot of water and rocks. Leigh impressed with a growing confidence and technical ability. Unfortunately Shirley insisted on following my advice and ended up having a couple of swims with one involving a painful knee knock!
The final creek crossing is in the photo attached where most of us attempted an impossible crossing. I hope to receive Karl's photos of my complete submerge on my second attempt (and then destroy them!)
We then rode back to town for coffee and muffins at Two Fish (thanks for having a credit card, Nicole) before the final haul home for Xmas cake.
Check out the full set of photos here.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Leigh leading up a tough climb
Here's Leigh leading Hedley and Barry up a tough climb on Armstrong's Farm! See the previous post for link to full set of photos.
Super Seven!
Seven superbly honed athletes were able to successfully manage the tight, downhill hairpin on the goat track on Friday's MTB ride. There ere a couple of firsts: Brent is the only rider to fail on his first attempt, walk back to try again, look down the track and then walk it again! Barry is the only rider to walk it from 20 metres before it even starts to drop.
The super seven are me, Jarod, Aaron, Dion, Roger (on second attempt), Ben and Karl.
Ben also impressed the crowd with a clean leap over The Mud Hole and in the process bent his seat post!
The bush section was very slippery and provided some specatcular slips and falls. Roger had the best dismount, leaping clear off his bike to avoid travelling with it into the creek. David slipped out of control and took the photographer out! Further down the track Jarod had a spectacular crash negotiating the mud. But like several other intrepids throughout the ride he didn't let it beat him and he had another successful attempt.
The photos are on flickr but I must have bumped a setting and many of them are in large format so I hope they don't take too long to download.
The super seven are me, Jarod, Aaron, Dion, Roger (on second attempt), Ben and Karl.
Ben also impressed the crowd with a clean leap over The Mud Hole and in the process bent his seat post!
The bush section was very slippery and provided some specatcular slips and falls. Roger had the best dismount, leaping clear off his bike to avoid travelling with it into the creek. David slipped out of control and took the photographer out! Further down the track Jarod had a spectacular crash negotiating the mud. But like several other intrepids throughout the ride he didn't let it beat him and he had another successful attempt.
The photos are on flickr but I must have bumped a setting and many of them are in large format so I hope they don't take too long to download.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Fish of the Week
This is not about my recent successful fishing trips, but it is the title of Steve Braunias' latest book which we got for Xmas. It is a collection of his columns from the Sunday Star Times since 2005. He has a neat perspective on both major events in New Zealand and the mundane events which usually pass the rest of us by.
One of his columns is about blogging and just about made me want to give up.
One of his columns is about blogging and just about made me want to give up.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Long Time Between Posts
Once holidays start I get out of routines, one of which is keeping the blog up-to-date.
It is the first day of 2009 and I'm sitting in bed drinking good coffee while Leigh reads interesting bits out of yesterday's Herald.
We had a quiet New Year's up at the Boss' where we caught up with the Sykes' who are camping there and also with Cath Kan and Simon who turned up to camp as well with their two neat boys.
Xmas day seems quite a while ago. It was a neat day with my sister Janine and her two kids and our son Thomas home. Adrian (from work, not the Shields one) spent the afternoon with us and we had a BBQ for a late lunch.
Activities since include fishing at Blakes and catching 2 snapper, a 2m shark and 2 stingrays last Sunday, having 15 teenage friends of Lucy staying for the night and lounge floor on Sunday night, tidying the garage and store room on a wet Tuesday, and spending the day with the weedeater bringing my walking and MTB track under control.
I'll post some photos when I can get myself, the computer and camera together at the same time.
Oh, I nearly forget, I'm a skyper now and can't understand why we never clicked on to it sooner. I've aalready spoken with 3 long lost friends: Ron (ex Galloway St flat from 1976-77) from Gisborne, Chris (ex same flat) now Deputy VC at James Cook Uni in Townsville and Brent (ex same flat) now in Rotorua.
See you in cyberspace!
Have a great Ne4w Year!
It is the first day of 2009 and I'm sitting in bed drinking good coffee while Leigh reads interesting bits out of yesterday's Herald.
We had a quiet New Year's up at the Boss' where we caught up with the Sykes' who are camping there and also with Cath Kan and Simon who turned up to camp as well with their two neat boys.
Xmas day seems quite a while ago. It was a neat day with my sister Janine and her two kids and our son Thomas home. Adrian (from work, not the Shields one) spent the afternoon with us and we had a BBQ for a late lunch.
Activities since include fishing at Blakes and catching 2 snapper, a 2m shark and 2 stingrays last Sunday, having 15 teenage friends of Lucy staying for the night and lounge floor on Sunday night, tidying the garage and store room on a wet Tuesday, and spending the day with the weedeater bringing my walking and MTB track under control.
I'll post some photos when I can get myself, the computer and camera together at the same time.
Oh, I nearly forget, I'm a skyper now and can't understand why we never clicked on to it sooner. I've aalready spoken with 3 long lost friends: Ron (ex Galloway St flat from 1976-77) from Gisborne, Chris (ex same flat) now Deputy VC at James Cook Uni in Townsville and Brent (ex same flat) now in Rotorua.
See you in cyberspace!
Have a great Ne4w Year!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Latest Learning Matters Column
I know a lot of people think that teachers are always on holiday, but I can assure you that by the time we get to mid December we are looking forward to break. This break allows not only time to relax with family, but also to reflect on the year that has gone and to begin preparation for the coming year.
What we really hate is when a new policy or programme is thrown at us in the last few days before we break for the summer. Such timing reduces the opportunity to have some input into quite important decisions.
I was horrified to hear on Thursday that legislation requiring regular testing of students against set standards at all year levels is being rushed through parliament and will most probably be law by the time you read this article.
I was aware that such a programme was National Party policy before the election and attempted to alert as many people within the education sector as possible. I accept that the National Party is now in government and has the right to introduce its policies. However, I would have expected that such a major policy would have been debated through the select committee process so that those of us in the education sector could have given some feedback.
The result is that schools, from primary to secondary, are having imposed on them a programme of regular testing against targets without any consultation with schools. I would have liked to know what research exists internationally which shows such a process has a positive impact on learning and achievement.
The United States introduced such a programme several years ago and was called “No Child Left Behind”. It is now more commonly known as “No Teacher Left Standing”! Most importantly, however, this programme has resulted in the United States languishing in 42nd place on the International PISA testing scale while New Zealand is in 3rd place.
If it is such a worthwhile programme and has value for teachers and students, I wonder why time wasn’t taken to explain this to principals and teachers. Rushing it through the week before Xmas, without consultation, only serves to raise suspicion that the proposal would not stand up to rigorous and vigorous debate. I fail to understand why we could not have been involved in such a debate in the early part of 2009.
During my sabbatical I saw first hand the consequence of such a programme. I saw principals as administrators rather than as educational leaders, I saw teachers who concentrated on teaching to the tests and being stressed by the uncertainty of the results, and I heard stories of students being turned off the joy of learning as most of the year was spent preparing for tests. This is not the educational environment we want for our country.
Hearing this news has certainly put a dampener on my festive season. You can, however, be assured that the leaders of schools in your district are determined to protect the elements of our education system which are envied by the rest of the world.
To all of you who either work in the education community or who support it by getting your kids to school in the right frame of mind for learning I wish an enjoyable summer where you will get the chance to spend quality time with your whanau. I look forward to your continued strong involvement in 2009. And remember: learning matters.
What we really hate is when a new policy or programme is thrown at us in the last few days before we break for the summer. Such timing reduces the opportunity to have some input into quite important decisions.
I was horrified to hear on Thursday that legislation requiring regular testing of students against set standards at all year levels is being rushed through parliament and will most probably be law by the time you read this article.
I was aware that such a programme was National Party policy before the election and attempted to alert as many people within the education sector as possible. I accept that the National Party is now in government and has the right to introduce its policies. However, I would have expected that such a major policy would have been debated through the select committee process so that those of us in the education sector could have given some feedback.
The result is that schools, from primary to secondary, are having imposed on them a programme of regular testing against targets without any consultation with schools. I would have liked to know what research exists internationally which shows such a process has a positive impact on learning and achievement.
The United States introduced such a programme several years ago and was called “No Child Left Behind”. It is now more commonly known as “No Teacher Left Standing”! Most importantly, however, this programme has resulted in the United States languishing in 42nd place on the International PISA testing scale while New Zealand is in 3rd place.
If it is such a worthwhile programme and has value for teachers and students, I wonder why time wasn’t taken to explain this to principals and teachers. Rushing it through the week before Xmas, without consultation, only serves to raise suspicion that the proposal would not stand up to rigorous and vigorous debate. I fail to understand why we could not have been involved in such a debate in the early part of 2009.
During my sabbatical I saw first hand the consequence of such a programme. I saw principals as administrators rather than as educational leaders, I saw teachers who concentrated on teaching to the tests and being stressed by the uncertainty of the results, and I heard stories of students being turned off the joy of learning as most of the year was spent preparing for tests. This is not the educational environment we want for our country.
Hearing this news has certainly put a dampener on my festive season. You can, however, be assured that the leaders of schools in your district are determined to protect the elements of our education system which are envied by the rest of the world.
To all of you who either work in the education community or who support it by getting your kids to school in the right frame of mind for learning I wish an enjoyable summer where you will get the chance to spend quality time with your whanau. I look forward to your continued strong involvement in 2009. And remember: learning matters.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
NZ Secondary School Mixed Touch Champions!!
Today the Opotiki College Mixed Touch Team won the title as NZ Champions by beating St Andrews in the final with a 6-5 victory. Simmon Howe scored on the final hooter! What a great way for Kahi and Shayla to finish their time at College!
We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions!
We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions! We are the champions!
Meremere Merriment and Madness
This could be quite a long posting as it has been a while. I wont mention the last two awesome rides we have had, especially last weeks to the trig and down Upper Paerata Rd when the Boss face-planted on that mean downhill before the trig, or my hurtle through the air to end up upside down in the manuka, or Jared's role modelling to get a few of us (Destry, myself and Grant) to successfully ride the tank trap. It was an awesome day. I wont mention my road cycle on Tuesday with one chain ring when I rode my fastest time (23.40) - not bad for an old fella with a big lump of steel for a bike. I wont mention the Thursday night MTB when I rode my heart out over the High course and successfully managed the hairpin on the hill side only to finish last across the line to hear Leigh say "What happened to you? Where have you been?"
I haven't posted recently because work has been flat out.
But this posting is about today's great ride into the Blue Mountains and down Meremere Rd. The Boss, Hedley, Teleri, Destry, Kate, Dennis and Brian met at my place for coffee at 6.15 am and at 6.45 we headed off to pick Grant up at the bottom of his drive. Since he wasn't there Hedley and I biked up his long and steep drive to find he wasn't there either! We pressed on and found him and Hilton waiting at the gate at the top of Block Access.
We tackled the first climb and made our way down Valley Station Rd. I got to the mud hole and waited with the camera and tried to encourage the others to ride through the middle. They were too clever. As I was packing up I saw Dennis arrive, and without any encouragement he rode the middle, came to a rapid halt up to his forks and parted company with his bike. While making sure he was OK the Boss turned up and did exactly the same thing. Check out the photos which show the whole ride.
We then took on the Dip. The track was in great condition and it was great to see most people take it on successfully. See previous posts of Grant and Teleri taking it on. I think the Boss and Dennis may have had a wee walk.
We arrived at the creek and Hilton and I attempted a tricky crossing which came to a wet end. He and I and Grant were able to find the bridge in the creek and lift it back into place.
We climbed out of there and ground our way up the forestry road to the military track which we tried to navigate but the forestry bastards had clear-felled the area (natives as well) and a lot of it was over the track. We continued climbing the forestry road and Hedley sent us down some bush-covered cliff face (Hilton rode quite a bit of the top bit very skilfully) and we ended up back on the military track.
There was a tricky log to jump over where I took some photos. Once again most people managed it. Just after Teleri completed her successful manoeuvre Hedley arrived and tried to leap it with both wheels off the ground and came to grief. Just watch Teleri, Hedley, and learn how to ride skilfully!
Once again we hit more tree fall and had to scramble up the hillside in the hope we would find the forestry road again. The photo with this posting shows the start of that journey with the chain gang getting the bikes up the first bit. The other photos show the rest of the tough climb to the road.
After some more tough climbing and some awesome downhill with the occasional large pothole to leap we arrived at the start of Meremere Rd. I jokingly suggested I go ahead and when I catapault over the side I would stop there and take photos of the others doing so!
The downhill was great and speed was high. Unfortunately the tight right hander had a left sloping camber and my trip through the scrub was halted by a manuka which caused me to leave my bike and land on my back at great speed several metres away entwined in more scrub. I recovered from the winding and realised no bones were broken. As I was emerging I was met by Hilton skidding out of control and attempting the same manoeuvre as me. He was able to stay attached to his bike.
The mad cap dash to the bottom continued and the highlight of the creek crossing was Dennis pitching into the water so that he could wash the mud from his previous unexpected dismount off himself and his bike. One bruised bum!
What else could happen? As we were hurtling down the Motu Rd there was a loud explosion as Hedley's tubeless tyre exploded off his rim and he came to a clattering halt almost bringing us down behind him.
It was reasonably uneventful from there so 5 hours after we departed we made it home at the same time as Leigh, Lucy, Shirley, Marg, Sarah and the young O'Dwyer girl arrived from their Tablelands jaunt.
There we feasted on coffee, juice, beer, muffins and crackers and cheese while some soaked in the spa pool.
What a great day!
I haven't posted recently because work has been flat out.
But this posting is about today's great ride into the Blue Mountains and down Meremere Rd. The Boss, Hedley, Teleri, Destry, Kate, Dennis and Brian met at my place for coffee at 6.15 am and at 6.45 we headed off to pick Grant up at the bottom of his drive. Since he wasn't there Hedley and I biked up his long and steep drive to find he wasn't there either! We pressed on and found him and Hilton waiting at the gate at the top of Block Access.
We tackled the first climb and made our way down Valley Station Rd. I got to the mud hole and waited with the camera and tried to encourage the others to ride through the middle. They were too clever. As I was packing up I saw Dennis arrive, and without any encouragement he rode the middle, came to a rapid halt up to his forks and parted company with his bike. While making sure he was OK the Boss turned up and did exactly the same thing. Check out the photos which show the whole ride.
We then took on the Dip. The track was in great condition and it was great to see most people take it on successfully. See previous posts of Grant and Teleri taking it on. I think the Boss and Dennis may have had a wee walk.
We arrived at the creek and Hilton and I attempted a tricky crossing which came to a wet end. He and I and Grant were able to find the bridge in the creek and lift it back into place.
We climbed out of there and ground our way up the forestry road to the military track which we tried to navigate but the forestry bastards had clear-felled the area (natives as well) and a lot of it was over the track. We continued climbing the forestry road and Hedley sent us down some bush-covered cliff face (Hilton rode quite a bit of the top bit very skilfully) and we ended up back on the military track.
There was a tricky log to jump over where I took some photos. Once again most people managed it. Just after Teleri completed her successful manoeuvre Hedley arrived and tried to leap it with both wheels off the ground and came to grief. Just watch Teleri, Hedley, and learn how to ride skilfully!
Once again we hit more tree fall and had to scramble up the hillside in the hope we would find the forestry road again. The photo with this posting shows the start of that journey with the chain gang getting the bikes up the first bit. The other photos show the rest of the tough climb to the road.
After some more tough climbing and some awesome downhill with the occasional large pothole to leap we arrived at the start of Meremere Rd. I jokingly suggested I go ahead and when I catapault over the side I would stop there and take photos of the others doing so!
The downhill was great and speed was high. Unfortunately the tight right hander had a left sloping camber and my trip through the scrub was halted by a manuka which caused me to leave my bike and land on my back at great speed several metres away entwined in more scrub. I recovered from the winding and realised no bones were broken. As I was emerging I was met by Hilton skidding out of control and attempting the same manoeuvre as me. He was able to stay attached to his bike.
The mad cap dash to the bottom continued and the highlight of the creek crossing was Dennis pitching into the water so that he could wash the mud from his previous unexpected dismount off himself and his bike. One bruised bum!
What else could happen? As we were hurtling down the Motu Rd there was a loud explosion as Hedley's tubeless tyre exploded off his rim and he came to a clattering halt almost bringing us down behind him.
It was reasonably uneventful from there so 5 hours after we departed we made it home at the same time as Leigh, Lucy, Shirley, Marg, Sarah and the young O'Dwyer girl arrived from their Tablelands jaunt.
There we feasted on coffee, juice, beer, muffins and crackers and cheese while some soaked in the spa pool.
What a great day!
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