Back from the Abyss!!

[SnappyPix]

Yay, after months of preparation and being stuck in the loft endlessly packing my life away, I've finally relocated to New Zealand! My two favourite bikes are now safely here with me and I'm slowly starting to get to grips with cycling in a completely new country/time zone/season (went from Summer to the middle of Winter in a matter of days!).

Really looking forward to reading through the posts (got my internet connected today!) - though sad that my fitness has completely disappeared after 6 weeks of relatively total inactivity (cycling-wise).

The hills here where I live are PHENOMENAL, so I think it's going to take me several weeks to build up to the double chainring on my road bike! Also have to adjust to the monsoon-type rain they get over here, but I'm just so thrilled to be back on track again - and hopefully I'll be back to full par by the summer (blowing my mind that it'll be in December!).

Just wanted to say hello to everyone again, and to reintroduce myself to the board, after such a long absence!

Off to read your posts now ...

[jobob]

Welcome back!

When can we come visit? :D

[nuthatch]

When you get up to speed, don't forget to post your miles over on BikeJournal! (I can't believe I said that! You'll blow us out of the water!) Let us know all about your new cycling location - we want pix, Snappy!!!

[Grog]

Welcome back SnappyPix!

Let us know about the routes down there. I just read about cycling trips to New Zealand and started pondering about going sometime this Winter (your summer)... I'm excited at the idea of having a reporter on the front line. :)

[Biking Chick]

Welcome back SnappyPix!

Can't wait to have you post your cycling adventures! You'll be my 'happy place' when I'm on the trainer in January looking at a couple feet of snow and temps hovering around zero ... summer in New Zealand sounds awesome.

[Jo-n-NY]

Lots of luck in your new location. I guess you are in Lord of the Rings country. I think that is so cool as my husband and I just love all three of the movies.

When we get back into winter you will be out of it. Have fun getting back into your cycling mode.

~ JoAnn

[SadieKate]

Welcome back! I've been thinking about you the last few days. Must be some kind of ESP. That or the summer heat has set in (first day of 100 F) and I've been thinking of those in cooler climes. Post some pix!

[CorsairMac]

SNAPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
Darn girl I missed ya!........I'm with SK on this - I've been wondering about you the past few days, wondered if ya'll got moved yet, how you were settling in etc etc.!!! Good to see you back up and riding!!! winter or no winter!!!

[DirtDiva]

Oooo. North Shore. Nice. Glad to see you have arrived safe and sound. Have also just got myself back online after moving into my flat.

[RoadRaven]

Hey there Snappy... welcome to Middle Earth
I was born in Auckland... you've arrived at a yuck time of the year... but summers in Auckland and Northland are subtropical and sometimes downright hot...
Some wonderful bits of bush for you to cycle through too... enjoy being here
I think its the best place in the world (no... I'm not one-eyed at all!)

[RoadRaven]

tlkiwi... a flat in the UK? or a flat in NZ? you globetrotter you... trust there is a special place in your flat for bikes! :D

[SnappyPix]

Wow, thanks to everyone for such a warm welcome back - I'm blown away! This really is an incredible board!

Had such a fantastic day today, a crisp sunny winter morning with bright blue skies, and today was the first day back on my road bike. I couldn't believe what a difference a bike makes! Been riding my 27 gear hybrid all week, thinking I'd never make the hills in my double ring Specialized. Did the same route and more this morning on the roadie, and was flying up the hills!

It was such an incredible ride - cycled all along the coastline, dipping down into each bay, then back up sharp climbs to the next dip down. The coastline was breathtaking, the weather fantastic - and I have to keep pinching myself that I'm actually living here! Will take my camera with me next time!

The rental house I'm living in has a hot tub in the backyard, so I jumped in after my ride and watched the boats bobbing up and down in the bay.

Somebody tell me this is all a dream!!

On a side note, can strongly recommend the rigid bike boxes - they took all the rough and tumble the baggage handlers could throw at them, and all our bikes arrived without a scratch. Can stuff loads of clothes in as padding too!

70% of the clothing I brought was bike related, which means I've got to spend a heck of a lot of time on the bike, or else I've nothing to wear!

[SnappyPix]

Oooo. North Shore. Nice. Glad to see you have arrived safe and sound. Have also just got myself back online after moving into my flat.

tlkiwi, how did your move go? Have you been able to get out on your bike since the move? Where are you living? Fill us in with an update!

Roadraven - despite being quite wet, the winter here in Auckland is a 100% improvement on the weather/climate/scenery I had in the UK!

[DirtDiva]

Well, The move to London went well enough. It did take a while to get working because the Ministry of Justice took way longer to process my application for a copy of my criminal record (or lack thereof) than they stated they would on the forms, and you just can't work with kids (I'm a primary teacher) until you have that on hand. I moved into a nice flat with great flatmates in May. One of the guys I'm living with is a bit of a mountain biker, as is his girlfriend, so I'll con 'em into dragging me out for a ride with them as soon as I have the money for a bike. (Alas, I am still without wheels and very much living vicariously through you gals.) The worst part is that there is enough money in the bank to go out and buy a bike tomorrow, but if I did that, there wouldn't be enough left for rent and stuff over the six week summer break, and I'd rather not have to work in the holidays if I can help it. It costs £10 just to walk out the door in London, I swear!

[RoadRaven]

Roadraven - despite being quite wet, the winter here in Auckland is a 100% improvement on the weather/climate/scenery I had in the UK!

LOL... I have heard the UK does have summer... 2 days of it...

Hey... *puts on cheeky face* you're here to see the mighty ABs thrash the Lions...
At least they won against Auckland tonight... but I don't hold much hope for them this Saturday
Been a good tour though heaps of tourists wearing red, and they have been just the nicest guests in the country... a real compliment to the Brits and Irish "back home"

[SnappyPix]

Don't usually watch rugby, but have to admit I was gripped during the game the other night! Had a feint glimmer of hope that the Lions would win ... :o
Sadly, I think we're outclassed, and boy those AB chaps are BIG!!
Love it when then do the haka before the game - that would scare the chamois off me!
Still, there's always the third test ...
Thankfully rugby fans are a different league from soccer fans, had it been a soccer game and we'd lost, the whole town would have been razed to the ground - I HATE football. :(

[RoadRaven]

LOL
I have never understood what the fuss is about with soccer (football)
And yeah, you're right, the crowds at a soccer match can be dreadful in Europe/UK from what we see on the telly
Thats why I wanted to put it out there about how nice the current sports fans here are - I'd love to able to say good luck for Saturday - but in truth? I want the ABs to kick a...
Yeah, some of the boys are big, but we have alot of Pasifika genes running though some of the selected... and they are big strong men