Beautiful New Zealand.

North Island blisssssssssss....

Seriously fun. In a nutshell, this is New Zealand's North Island. We've all tossed around the words buffed, railing, bermed, rediculous, ripping...when describing trails. I'd have to say that this place is the true home to all of these over-used collections of letters. I'd like to write more but time is of the essence here as we ride day after day on our way north to Auckland and a one-way flight back to wintertime and reality. So, i'm going to keep this short, and as sweet as possible. Today is day nine in a row of pedalling, we're in Rotovegas now, one of the hot spots for NZ mountain biking. Tomorrow....we ride more...I'll be back soon with more news from the trails of this riding mecca.

One of the dreamiest shuttles. Ever. The ride rocked too.

Breakfast on the pier, great way to start the day.

Post ride dip in a refreshing lake.

Alexandra, Clyde and Ohau.

Our great adventure continues in the land of the long cloud...as we move north the landscape morphs. As i write this im gazing out over teal green Lake Ohau and the surrounding peaks. We're near where Lord of the Rings was filmed, you can imagine how unreal this place looks. More to come....

Super fun riding in Alexandra. We didn't want to leave...

Robbie with Lake Ohau in the distance.

Queenstown, NZ - a center of the universe

As the plane descended through the clouds and the mountains yesterday to idylic Queenstown in the South Island of New Zealand, I was glued to the window taking in the spectacular views. I'd forgotten just how beautiful it is here -everywhere you look it's like a postcard. Queenstown is nearly perfect, set on the shore of a huge lake surrounded by impressive peaks. We built out bikes and went for a short spin just out of town and found a killer little stretch of singletrack and then the group converged on the beach in the evening sunshine for some wine and cheese and beer and a welcome to NZ cheers! Today we're off to Wanaka for a pedal on the Sticky Forest trails and then an afternoon heli drop and 5000-ft descent. It's going to be a great day...!

Bike-build stands at Auckland Airport...how civilized!

Dreamy.

Big!

Brand new New Zealand

I've spent a considerable amount of time in this far away land, actually with my skis in tow. When I think of my favorite times in this life that I've lived, I can help but be transported back to NZ and it's outerworldy landscapes and very gracious and adventurous people. I fell in love in, and with, New Zealand and I've longed to return ever since i left. The winters were cold though - not bitter like Montreal or Moscow, but a damp-chilly like Bellingham or Belfast. I am looking forward to getting off the plane in Queenstown to summertime and it's stunning setting on March 1, 2011 on our Silver Fern all-mountain trip. It better be summer, or else! From the boys at Anthill Films, a clip with Gee Atherton and Steve Smith. Killer riding. NZ...see you soon!


Follow Me - Behind the Scenes New Zealand from Anthill Films on Vimeo.

Disco Man seen at SSWC in New Zealand last week

I don't ride a singlespeed but i must admit i like the thought of such a simple machine to throw my leg over and ride trails on. Then i peruse the antics at the Single Speed World Championships that were last week-end in Rotorua New Zealand and i'm even more intrigued by the single speed world...I love getting dressed up and riding mountain bikes. Check out this guy's helmet...it's party time!

Oh hey. We're going to New Zealand on March 1, 2011 for our annual 12-day Silver Fern trip. Want to ride Rotorua singletrack too? Come join us!

Ride Aotearoa...land of the long white cloud.

Did you know that the Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa which means land of the long white cloud? Me neither. One of my absolute favorite aspects of travel is the planning, researching and dreaming process. I eat it up, all of it - landscape, culture, statistics, weather, economy, singletrack...you name it, i want to know before the plane touches down. Today, i learnt a few neat things about NZ on Wiki: NZ is notable for its geographic isolation. It's situated about 2000 km south-east of Australia and it's closest neighbours are New Caledonia, Fiji and Tonga. During its long isolation it developed a distinctive fauna dominated by birds a number of which became extinct after the arrival of humans and the mammals that they introduced. One such bird is the moa which was hunted to extinction by the Maori. The reason that the South Island is nearly treeless is that the Maori set the forest on fire to hunt the moa.

Hey enough about flightless birds...why don't you just come on down to NZ with us March 1, 2011 on our new 12-day Silver Fern trip? It's going to be fun...

Pretty crazy that this big 'ol bird roamed New Zealand not long ago.

Silver Fern: a New Zealand road trip

11 nights & 12 days. What can be packed into this limited time? In the country of New Zealand as it turns out, a whole lot. This new trip promises to ride a good chunk of NZ, undoubtedly one of the planet's most beautiful places. From the rugged, high snowy peaks of the Southern Alps, to the Canterbury Plains and seaside singletrack near Christchurch, to beautiful Nelson, then over to the capital Wellington and it's rolling green hills, to Lake Taupo's geothermal landscape of volcanos, to Rotorua's vibrant Maori culture and lush old-growth singletrack and finally into Auckland for final night festivities and the flight home. A road trip from one end to the other, are you in? It's XC with a little all-mountain sprinkled in and in the heart of the southern summertime. Silver Fern, come join us next March!

photo: Derek Frankowski