Silly Billies Return to Roam

Great evening views from high up on Manakau Four weeks out from Godzone, Chris, Rhys, Matt and I decided a proper mountain adventure was exactly what we needed to make sure we were fully prepared for this year's Godzone. Seeing as Godzone is based in Kaikoura, that seemed like a sensible place to plan a mission. Unfortunately we were all at work and Chris had a little spare time to sit down and ponder a map - this normally results in bad consequences. Sure enough, he soon had us all convinced to embarking on an ambitious two day trip, which involved an ascent of Manakau (2600m) the highest peak in the Seaward Kaikoura Mountains. Matt, Chris and I (being Christchurch based) piled three bikes and a whole heap of gear in the car on Friday night and headed up towards Mt Lyford. Lara was busy heading the other way to spend the weekend training down in Geraldine with her team mates from "Chimpanzeebars". Somehow we couldn't find a map, so in the dark made a night ti...

Gateway to the Gardens! It's been a while since a tale has been told, but I have really missed recording the adventures of Em and Chris on the blog. More than anything, I like to record the stories for myself. It's great to be able to look back at the fun times and mad adventures we've had over the previous year. Although we got up to heaps of adventures last year most of them have sort of faded, hence my decision to blog again. We shall see how it goes, given my time is limited with school teaching these days, but I'll do my best. Chris has even agreed to have a go at writing some posts, so watch that space. We had a great adventure in the wild west right after Christmas. The weather is so crucial when planning a trip to the West Coast, and we spotted a wee fine gap beginning on Boxing Day. So between a yummy Christmas breakfast at my brothers and a Christmas lunch we madly threw together ice axes, ropes, cookers, tents, boots, packs and 6 days worth of food. O...

L'Argentiere la Bessee (our home for the next week) After a successful race in Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China it was off to France with the rest of the Seagate team (Nathan, Trevor and Sophie) to prepare for the Adventure race world champs. Having finally got a new camera, after destroying the previous one swimming in TWALK, I thought I had better post some pretty pictures and a quick update of my adventure racing mission. After arriving in Nice, we hired a car and drove to L'Argentiere la Bessee, where we are now staying for a few more days until the start of the race. Along the way we managed to find a couple of spectacular passes, exciting all of us to come back sometime to do some cycling here. With around 2000m vertical accent and smooth asphalt it is road bike paradise. Caserne de Restefond (near Col de la Bonette 2715m) Col de Vars We also managed to find some delicious baguettes and cheese, although it seems like I am the only one who is really excited...