Downhill and Dirty

If you have ever gone for one of those runs that is just pure ecstasy, you know what I did yesterday. Cabin and I went for a 2 hour 10 minute run through mud, over mountain tops, down swooping downhills, up gruesome climbs, and cruised to a fast few K's on the road.

Every once and a while I go for a run that just reminds me of why I love running. With a smooth stride, I flow over rocks, whip around corners, and forget all my worries. Loads of brilliant ideas just start to flow and I feel as if I'm king of the world. I truly wish there was a way to share this exhilarating feeling with others or to get them to feel it for themselves. I guess when you find something you're passionate about, it just happens.

But enough of my attempting to be deep... After chilling out for a bit (because as good as it feels at the time, its actually quite tiring running for 2+hrs) on a beautiful sunny day, we grabbed a little food and headed over to watch a downhill mountain bike race.



Mountain biking in NZ is massive! Everybody does it in one form or another. So to say there were a few people out there watching the race wouldn't begin to describe it!

Everywhere you looked there were people crowding the course waiting for to catch a glimpse of their friends, family, local rider, and maybe a crash or two.

There was a large group of us staying at Budgie and Jo's place (11 all together), and two of them were racing that day. Harriot Harper had a fantastic showing and finished 3rd in the Pro Women's field. Sam also had a wicked day, though not quite what he was hoping for, and had a good showing in the Pro Men's race.

Harriot the Hucker!

Good thing that was from a practice run and not the race!

Budgie lite the fires and BBQ'd a massive amount of meat after the race and we all sat around chowing down like pigs (well, maybe I was the pig and everyone else ate a normal amount).

On a beautiful night, we sat around drinking and laughing as the conversation slowly degenerated and became quite crude. It was fantastic! I haven't laughed that hard in a while!

With sunsets like this, it easy to see why Rototua is quickly becoming one of my absolute favorite places. And I haven't even had a chance to touch the endless miles of trails on a mountain bike!