Away from it all....

After the Superbowl, Tracy and Jeremy arrived at LAX. A short while later, we took off for Rarotonga. The flight was almost 10 hours but seemed longer.

The weather in Raro was a mixed bag for our trip. Which I really like since I'm not much into constant 40 degree heat with humidity.

This is what we got off the plane to at around 7am.

 

There is nothing quite like for your first day in Rarotonga. Within 2 hours of arriving we had rented scooters, gotten our Raro drivers licences and had gone for a swim on the near by beach. Nic didn't want to drive so I was her Chauffeur for the trip. I learned how to drive within a few minutes, and had a big grin on my face as I zipped around the Island.

 This is our first shot of the Beach near where we were staying.

 On our way to the Beach, we found the local Brewery. What a great find this place it. Right down the road from one of the better beaches in the area is the Mutata Brewery. Fresh beer in 4 flavors, each well designed for island consumption. Thumbs way up from Karate Monkey.

Just a few beach shots.

 Our first night we cabbed our way to one of the Restaurants.

 I don't want to get into what these daiquiri's cost, or the whole meal plus cab ride.

   But lets just say our subsequent 2 dinners were done on the BBQ at our villa. I should also send out a big thumbs up to our Hosts, Eric and Roselle at the Cook Islands Oasis. Very friendly and helpful and a nice little Mom and Pop establishment.

Nic finds herself relaxing in the water during Captain Tama's boat and snorkel tour. Which to me was pretty funny. We each paid $75 for a tour, basically to be loaded onto a boat and taken back to pretty much the exact same location we did our first days snorkeling at. Haha!

Lunch was done for us at the end of the tour. Fresh Tuna and BBQ Bananas. Yum!

 Just a few odds and sods from Muri beach. Nic and I got up early on Tuesday to catch the Sunrise.

Yep. A little bit more than a little bit hammered that evening. Good times for sure. 

 Our last day Nic and I tried to do a round up of all the Photo's we wanted to get.

 On our journey, we walked into the local bike shop. Its a new business here on the island that opened its doors a few weeks before Xmas. They had already moved roughly 250 bikes, mostly to young riders. Thats Lee in the blue shirt who also spent some time living in Vancouver.

 
Asking about Mtn bike trails on the island, they pointed out that they had been given a 2 million dollar grant from the pacific development fund. Once some land issues get sorta we may expect to see some trail building happening on Rarotonga.

Can you imagine what Digger could do with 2 Mil???

The proposed 38km of trail would make Raro a great vacation destination  indeed!

Not that it isn't already.

3 days on the island was the perfect amount of time to untie our knots. We had our 2nd BBQ at the villa. Then, fully relaxed, Nic and I got picked up and taken to the Airport.

Next stop, Wellington!

Limbo

Vacation Time for Nic and I once again. But I want to get my last ride on the shore before I go as I don't know what I'll be getting back to in a few weeks. I was pretty cocky when I started peddling up from. Sure that the snow line had not crept down so low, turns out I was wrong and had some sketchy wood work on the way down.

Still, a nice day to look at.

Free Wifi for me for the next few weeks so get used to smaller images.

 7th was fine but I'd suggest staying off the wood.

 After 7th, I hooked up with Lee and Tracy for a quick lap on Expresso.

 Blurry Lee

 Blurry Tracy.

We wrapped up the ride, which did not get any warmer the further down the mountain. Happily we packed up the bikes and headed to the Pub.

Nic and I got up early the next morning. Her Brother, Dom, was good enough to get us to the Airport.

Arrived at LAX as advertised. Took up on a suggestion to go to Manhatten Beach to kill some time. Pics below.

 Wandering around was nice, but not really enough to do and see to keep us interested. We moved back and forth between the Beach and starbucks. A bit like being in Limbo.......

We contemplated hanging around in town to watch the Super Bowl. But splitting a plate of Nachos killed our appetite and We  felt that we would be loitering in any establishment. Instead we took a cab back to the Airport. Presently we are watching the game in a public area mooching TV angles and tables near a bar at LAX.

It's half time now and Seattle has a 22-0 lead. I still think Denver is dangerous, but hope Seattle can keep it together.

Looking forward to seeing Tracy and Jeremy. Been a long day tho, with a long flight ahead.......

We should all arrive in Roroatonga around 7 in the morning tomorrow.

Randoms

Just getting caught up on some of my Picture Posting. These images go back to Nic and Me riding in Cumberland, followed by my Brothers BBQ. Then some ride stuff and Karate Stuff.

A Rare Visit

This November sees a rare visit from our Karate organizations Patron, Sakurai Sensei. It seems like an age ago that he hosted me in Japan, a ten month period of my life where i almost literal flew through 3 belt rantks. As Sensei gets more involved in Karate life back home, we see less and less of him here in Canada. So friday night and all of Saturday, the local Blackbelts braved the inclement driving conditions for some "Upbeat Knowledge Transfer"

Just some pics from this weekends training.

The 2 Sensei's give a a detailed play by play of Kunku Dai

Empi truly is a young persons Kata.

Tamiko plays David to Kevins Goliath

Serious CLass

Smiley Class

Back next Saturday for part 2, Open sessions for all levels. Should be a busy one.

Greasy like an Oil Can

Ian has been showing up for rides recently. Pushing up Fromme we'd shoot the shit about rides gone by and how his original ride crew threw him to the wolves just like he and Dave did to me. 

We got up to Upper Oil Can and tri-podded the way down. Nice to be reminded of the why I hate that trail. 

Lower Oil Can is getting much improvement , however. Some greasy bits but some new but lines on the trail that make it quite enjoyable. I'm looking forward to getting Nic out on the hill soon. 

Lower Crippler was a gong show, though. I can see how Bob managed to break his hand. That trail needs a few good trail days. 

A few picks from today and a few weeks ago.

The Truth About Us

Sometimes I fear my family doesn't understand me. This is not likely to help......

Nice work NSMB guys