A bit of carb loading the day before the race with John and Briar, Rich Wood said it was a good idea, I'm not convinced.

Saturday 10th March, The Motatapu mountain bike race. John Cantillon and I with our respective women flew down to Wanaka to cycle 50kms across some of the most beautiful and remote scenery I've ever been over. Starting at Lake Wanaka in the shadow of Mount Aspiring and ending in Arrowtown having passed round the back of Coronet Peak. Apart from being too busy to train enough everything was set for a great day out...........

Due to being desperately blokey neither John nor I had correctly read the race day information (no rude comments please!) so when we turned up at 11.10 we had already missed the obligatory pre-race briefing at 10am, the elite racers start at 10.30 and our class was already ten minutes into the race which officially started a few Kms up the road! We just crossed the start line before they packed up the electronic timing system and then slowly worked our way upthe field and up the hills! John had said as we approached the start " wouldn't it be funny if we arrived and the only things left in the field were our two bikes leaning against each other?"! At least we didn't have to fight with all the other bikes at the start!

...not one hour earlier there were around 2000 bikes and riders lined up raring to go, only we were never saw them!......for us it was always this peaceful!

Still looking fresh(!) 20 kms into the race. This point was just past the Motatapu Station which Shania Twain bought the other year. She is halfway through building a huge homestead with stunning views of Mount Aspiring but didn't grace us with an appearance on the ride!! ...absentee landowners......shouldn't be allowed!

The last 8Kms were mainly fast downhill with about four big river crossings once at the bottom of the valley. The last crossing was 1km from the finish line and as I ploughed flat out into the river I hit a rock and blew my front tyre out! Too knackered to change the tube I jogged the rest of the way to the finish 4 hours and 12 minutes after the lonely start! The winners managed 2 hours and the slowest 6 hours 30!! So scope for improvement, maybe a little more training for next year!

mmmmm.....funny looking bloke, still standing after 4 hours of mountainbiking and able to raise a smile at the prize giving. No prizes but a fantastic day.

Sunday 11th March, we were meant to be cruising on Milford Sound but the weather on the West coast closed in so we were left in Queenstown. The decision was made to do something different, and something different was certainly what we did.... Canyoning was the activity; four hours (and that excludes the time getting the kit on!!)playing around wearing 7mm of neoprene in glacial rivers. Abseiling, waterfall jumping, waterfall sliding, zip wiring, flying foxes over gorges and the list goes on. We all stepped well outside our comfort zones and had an absolutely awesome time. Milford Sound will have to wait til next time!

Four hours later we emerged from the depths of the canyon, huge grins that lasted for the rest of the day and longer!

Two weeks to go till Alex gets his cast off, how he managed to stay sane is anyones' guess.
Jenny won her year group 800m race and came third in the whole school which we were pretty rapt with. She can't walk today however!
Jax and I are getting ready for our little trip to the South Island, fly out early to Christchurch and then on to Queenstown. Mountain bike race on Saturday then Sunday til monday onboard a steamer on the Milford Sound. Should have a few piccies to bore you all with next week.
Til then the house should continue to be a great cure for all you insomniacs out there!!
TTFN
J3OA

...and so the house saga continues, it now resmbles a house and has rooms, windows and doors but those subtle little touches that make a house a home are still missing: Running water, electricity, bathrooms, a kitchen, furniture and no builders wandering around!

Delightful view of the tidy interior of the living area! ..oh and the tidy approach to the house... and the tidy hole in the ground that will be a pool as seen from our upstairs bedroom!(no bed, or room)

Latest views of the back of the house and the downhill side of the house. Now starting to look like a house though still with plenty to do, started putting plasterboard up on the walls this week at the same time as the pool was started. We may be in the pool before we are in the house!! The pool is the hole in the ground on the third piccie.