Mt John - Lake Tekapo

Jag forsoker alltid att fa ut mesta mojliga da jag kor fran Central Otago till Christchurch, genom att stanna och kolla in nya bike trails pa vagen. Den har gangen bestamde jag mig for att testa Mt John i Lake Tekapo. Trailen ar nara stora vagen och jag planerade att bara stanna och kolla upp den, utan storre forvantningar: bara en benstrackare. Det visade sig vara en jattefin, stenig trail langsmed Lake Tekapo, och naturligtvis, da jag ser en skylt som sager ""Mt John summit" och pekar upp mot ett berg, da maste jag ju bara kolla in den med... Det som bara skulle bli en benstrackare blev till slut ett litet aventyr med ett berg involverat. Min nyfikenhet har tagit mig till vackra platser tidigare, och det gjorde den aven den har gangen- 360 grader utsikt over Lake Tekapo omradet. Nya Zeeland overraskade mig annu en gang med annu en fantastisk plats.

"I always try to make the most out of my drive from Central Otago to Christchurch and stop to check out some biking trails on the way. This time I decided to stop at Mt John in Lake Tekapo. The trail is close to the main road and I planned just to go and check it out, without any great expectations: only a leg-stretcher. It showed to be a very nice, rocky trail along Lake Tekapo, and of course, when i see a sign saying "Mt John summit" pointing up a rather big hill, then there's no other choice but checking it out... What meant to be a 30 minute ride ended up being a nice little adventure involving a mountain. My curiosity has taken me to nice places before, and it did also this time- a 360 view of the surroundings of Lake Tekapo. New Zealand surprised me again with another amazing place."

Little Sunday mission

I sondags cyklade jag och Isaak 9 km fran dammen till Roxburgh pa Clutha gold trail. Isaak hade jatteroligt och lyckades ta sig nerfor de mest tekniska delarna av stigen utan att satta ner fotterna :).

" On Sunday me and Isaak biked all the 9 km from the Dam to Roxburgh on Clutha gold trail. Isaak had an awesome time and he managed to bike down the most technical parts of the trail without putting his foot down :)." 

Isaak on Clutha gold trail.

In my backyard

I'm lucky to live right on the foot of a big mountain. The highest peak is around 1600 m. One of my favorite "littleish" loops is a 700-800ish m climb on a dirt-road, and down a pretty steep grassy track called Bullock track. The burning feeling in the legs is soon forgotten when you get to the top, the view is amazing and the feeling of being in the loneliness of a mountain is humbling.

 I've been down Bullock track a few times now. The first time my fingers burned more than my legs (from hanging on the breaks), but after a few times I have actually started to really enjoy it! Last time was slippery, which is good because it teaches me not to break so much (which means go faster), and also I swished past two big bulls without being able to stop. Bulls in paddocks still freak me out a bit, and without being able to stop I had no choice of turning back.

Dirtroad.

Snowcovered Dunstan mountains in the background.

A piece of central Otago.

A piece of central Otago.

Bullock track.

My new blog: A blog about mountain biking

I've decided to split my blog into two : one "living in New Zealand blog" and one blog focused on mountain biking. I realized that my blog Helenas blog: Let it Roll... or Life is an Adventure was taken over by my passion for mountain biking. So here it comes, my new blog "Let it Roll". Here I will post photos and stories about my adventures mountain biking,  trails that I do, challenges I encounter and things that I learn. I will write in English, I apologize to all my  Swedish friends and family, but my "Living in New Zealand" blog, that I from now will call "Life is an Adventure" will still be written in Swedish (we will see how long it will survive).

Roxburgh from above.