Nightride in the morning - happy midsummer/midwinter

Welcome to my blog about biking in New Zealand! Note that it's written in Swedish AND English, with the Swedish version first, followed by the English version in italic font. Enjoy your reading!

Den har morgonen var valdigt blasig, sa blasig att jag blaste av stigen ibland! Men vad harligt det ar att se Christchurch vakna till liv langt dar nere! Glad midsommar pa er, eller midvinter, beroende pa vart ni befinner er.

This morning was windy, so windy so that I blew off the trail a couple of times. But how nice it is to see Christchurch waking up down there! Happy midwinter to you, or midsummer, depending on where in the world you are.

My new morning favourite: Witch Hill track

Welcome to my blog about biking in New Zealand! Note that it's written in Swedish AND English, with the Swedish version first, followed by the English version in italic font. Enjoy your reading!

Ibland ar det riktigt svart att vara i ett "nytt" land utan familj i narheten. De veckor da jag maste pressa pannan in bordet och jobba med min PhD i Christchurch ar extra jobbiga, aven om jag faktiskt har det valdigt bra. Jag vaknar pa morgonen och det ar bara jobbigt att vara utan familj. Jag planerar att cykla upp Rapaki, darfor att jag vet att jag mar bra av det, aven om det inte kanns sa lockande precis nar jag kliver ur sangen.
  Min favoritrunda pa morgonen har varit Rapaki- Mt Vernon och sen ner Huntsbury Rd. Den senaste tiden har jag lagt till en slinga: Witch Hill track. Mt Vernon var lite av en utmaning nar jag forst borjade cykla i Port hills, men numera kanns det latt. Witch Hill track har precis lagom mycket stenar, tekniska svarigheter och utmaningar for mig just nu. Den ar utmanande nog for att jag ska behova satta ner fotterna emellanat, men jag ar overtygad om att talamod och att forsoka om och om igen lonar sig i langden.
  Pa vagen ner fran berget sa har jag bytt ut traktorvagen mot en singletrail, vilket gor nedforscyklingen mycket mer spannande och rolig. Det viktigaste med allt detta ar att jag kanner mig sa full av energi och sa glad efterat, och hela dagen gar sa mycket lattare. Jag har lart mig att det ar mycket trevligare att fokusera pa att inte ramla av cykeln pa en sten an att fokusera pa hemlangtan.

It's sometimes hard to be in a foreign country without family around. Those weeks when I have to put my head into my PhD work in Christchurch are especially hard, even though things are actually pretty good. I wake up in the morning and it's just hard to be away from family. I plan to ride up Rapaki, because I know I will feel good from it, even if it doesn't feel too appealing the moment I get out of bed.
  My usual morning ride used to be Rapaki- Mt Vernon and then down Huntsbury Rd. Lately I've added another trail to it: Witch Hill track. Mt Vernon was kind of a challenge when I first started riding in the Port hills, but it now feels easy. Witch Hill has just the right amount of rocks and technicality and challenge to suit me at the moment. I still have to put my feet down now and then, but I believe that persistence is the key, and trying over and over again will pay off.
  On the way down from the hills, I've swapped the 4WD part of Huntsbury to the "airstrip trail" which is a bit more exciting and fun. The most important with all this is that I feel so refreshed and happy when I come down again, and I feel good the whole day at university. I've concluded that it's much better to focus on not falling over on the rocks than to focus on being homesick.

Witch Hill track.

Down towards the city.

Chop the grass on a bike

Welcome to my blog about biking in New Zealand! Note that it's written in Swedish AND English, with the Swedish version first, followed by the English version in italic font. Enjoy your reading!

Den har fantastiska uppfinningen byggde en junk-handlare i Lawrence till sin frus fodelsedag. Hon tyckte att det var for jobbigt att slapa grasklipparen upp och nedfor backen i tradgarden. Tydligen sa blev hon inte sa glad for presenten, hon gick raka vagen till kladaffaren i Lawrence och kopte en ny kjol, det var ju det hon ville ha i present, inte en cykel-grasklippare. Jag tycker att den ar fantastisk! Jag skulle nog klippa sonder den stackars grasmattan. Jag ska nog bygga en sjalv. Junk-handlaren i Lawrence har massor av gamla och nyare cyklar, det ar vart ett stopp, han har sakert manga historier att beratta ocksa.

This fantastic machine was built by the man who has the junk-shop in Lawrence. He built it for his wive's birthday. She though it was too hard to push the lawn-mower up and down the garden. She wasn't too excited about the present, and she went straight down to the clothing shop in Lawrence and bought herself the present she wanted- a miniskirt. I think it is fantastic, and I would probably chop the grass until there's no more grass to chop. I might build one myself. The man with the junk-shop in Lawrence has many bikes, old and new, it's worth a stop, and I'm pretty sure he's got lots of stories to tell.

Adventure on mighty Mt Benger

Welcome to my blog about biking in New Zealand! Note that it's written in Swedish AND English, with the Swedish version first, followed by the English version in italic font. Enjoy your reading!

Antligen fick jag chans att cykla upp mt Benger igen, det stora majestatiska berget bakom varat hus. Det finns manga vagar upp pa bergsryggen som ar en del av Old man's range, och den vagen vi cyklade den har gangen leder fran Ettrick direkt up till en av topparna pa 1200 m. Det var inte svart att overtala min cykelpolare Big T att folja med aven om jag tror att vi bada undrade vad sjutton vi holl pa med nar bakhjulen pa vara cyklar hopplost slirade i leran halvvags uppfor backen. Det tog oss ungefar tva timmar att na toppen, men som vanligt ar det sa himla vart det och den brannande kanslan i benen ar som bortblast. Det var lite sno daruppe och nar den kalla vinden bet tag sadar i ansiktet sa kande jag mig nastan som hemma. Det ar alltid lite trakigt att lamna denna fantastiska plats, men turligt nog ar nedforsbacken tillbaka lang, snabb och rolig. En annan vag upp pa berget ar via Coal Creek, las om det har, eller upp till andra anden, till the Obelisk, vilken du kan lasa om har.

Finally I got a chance to ride up mt Benger again, that mighty big mountain that rules the surroundings here. It wasn't too hard to convince my bike-buddy Big T to join me but I think that we both wondered what the heck we were doing when the back wheels of our bikes hopelessly kept on slipping in the mud snow and ice halfway up the mountain. It took us about two hours to climb, but as always, once you reach the summit, it's soooo worth it, and the burning feeling in the legs is gone in a blink. There was a little bit of snow on the ground, and I felt like home when the chilly wind pinched my face. It's always a bit of a sad feeling to leave the amazing place, but luckily the downhill is pretty long, fun and fast. Another way up to Old man's range is via Coal Creek, read about it here, or up to the other end of the range, to the Obelisk, which you can read about here.

Seafood and surf in Kaikoura

Welcome to my blog about biking in New Zealand! Note that it's written in Swedish AND English, with the Swedish version first, followed by the English version in italic font. Enjoy your reading!

Kaikora levererade som vanligt. Jag forstar allvarligt talat inte vart den har helgen tog vagen. I alla fall sa var den full av kallvattensurf, fiske, havsmat och batturer. En och annan bira med. Och allvarligt den basta hamburgaren NAGONSIN. Jag testade den skummaste havsmat jag nagonsin smakat: kina kallas den och ser ut som en igelkott fran havet. Den var intensiv. Jag blir vanligtvis valdigt uttrakad av att fiska, men att aka ut pa havet i Kaikoura och fa napp sa fort man slanger kroken over kanten pa baten andrade faktiskt min installning. Jag visste inte heller att atbara fiskar bor pa 180 m djup! Alltid nagot nytt att lara sig.

Kaikoura delivered as usual. I seriously don't know where this weekend went. It was full of cold water surf, fishing, seafood and boating anyway. And beer. And seriously the best burger EVER. I tried the weirdest seafood I've ever tasted: kina, the hedgehog of the ocean. That was intense. I usually get really bored fishing, but going out on the ocean in Kaikoura and get a fish on the hook as soon as you through it over the edge of the boat actually changed my mind. I didn't know that eatable fish live 180 m deep in the ocean! Always something new to learn.

Surf in Kaikoura.

Kaikoura.

Dusky surf in Kaikoura.

The best burger EVER.

Mangas.

Mangas.

Kina, hedgehog of the ocean. It's intense.

Fish on the hook.

Isaak pulling up a fish from 160 m.

Mr. Bananaface waiting for fish.

Aotearoa. Land of the white cloud.

Kaikoura.

Morning trail or morning wave?

Welcome to my blog about biking in New Zealand! Note that it's written in Swedish AND English, with the Swedish version first, followed by the English version in italic font. Enjoy your reading!

Ibland maste man ta svara beslut har i livet: Ska jag surfa eller cykla? Nar det finns vagor sa valjer jag oftast att surfa. Det ar nagot speciellt med havet. Om jag bara hade tid, da hade jag gjort bada. Just nu, under de sista manaderna av min PhD verkar det som om jag inte har tid till nagot. Det ar superviktigt att komma ut i alla fall, varje dag, for att aterstalla balansen i hjarnan saval som i kroppen.

Forra veckan hade vi bra surf i Christchuch. Det svallet skapade starka strommar i vattnet och jag maste medge att jag paddlade bra mycket mer an jag surfade. Vattnet blir kallare, men for bara nagra veckor sen surfade folk i shorts. Jag anvander min 6/5 vatis med huva och boots.

Morgnarna blir ocksa kallare. Pa nat vis sa gillar jag det. Det ar inte mycket som slar en frostig, lugn, solig morgon i vattnet eller i bergen.

There are some hard decisions to be made in life: Should I go surfing or biking? When the waves are on I usually choose to go surfing. There is something about the ocean. If I have time I would do both. At the moment, in the last few months of my PhD I don't really have time for anything. It is important for me to get out though, every day, to reboot the mind and realign the body.

Last week we had some swell in Christchurch. This swell created a pretty strong rip, and I did paddle more than I surfed the waves. The water is getting colder, only a few weeks ago I saw people surfing in their boardshorts! I use my 6/5 wettie with hoddie and boots. 

The mornings are also getting colder. I kind of like it though. There's not much that beats a frosty, crispy, still, sunny morning in the water or up on the mountain. 

Morning on the hills overlooking New Brighton. 

Morning on the hills overlooking Southern Alps.

Morning surf at Sumner.

Morning surf at Sumner.