Today there would be no riding, which I was ok with since I was exhausted from the 6 days of straight riding. I had to be at the airport around 2ish and Mark had to take care of his radiator problems. After breakfast Napalm showed off his collection of bikes – he had a variety of hard tails and a couple downhill rigs. Napalm will ride a down hill rig everywhere. Cross-country, single track, downhill, to work or the shop – anywhere. Downhill rigs are usually about 40lbs and now known for being easy to peddle – they are built to huss down a track fast and take a lot of punishment. I think you have to be a bit mental to ride around a bike like that – of course he was a bit of a nutter and he proved that when he took the corner at Craigieburn way too fast and went flying off the track. He is working a new build and told me how he scored a 2010 Giant Faith frame for $100. It was dented along the down tube in the earthquake so they couldn’t sell, so he picked it up cheap. That frame is usually worth a grand or so. The dent really wasn’t that bad either. It wouldn’t really compromise the ride or the strength of the frame.
I then had my first shower in 7-days. I thought my fellow passengers on the air new Zealand would appreciate it. Once all cleaned up I packed my bags and had Mark drop me at the airport. I was there way too early before my flight, so I was unable to check my luggage. For the first hour I broke down my bike and then I just people watched until I was able to check my bag and bike. Once everything was checked in I headed to the bar for a couple pints and a burger. The trip was over! Overall it was an amazing week of riding. We managed to do 2 rides a day – which was pretty tiring, but well worth it.
My favorite place to ride was Craigieburn and Kirwans. The day of shuttling the walking path was pretty crazy too. One thing is forsure, this trip has allowed me to see a totally different way of life and ride some of the best tracks a long the west coast of New Zealand.
