Mt Washington

Ski, ski, ski, ski. That is all I have done for the last week. Amazing snow upto 4 metres deep with plenty of sun and a nice temps. Weather has been perfect bar 1 day of constant snow which changes it up a little and makes the place pretty. Tam and I have managed to ski almost everything on offer here to us bar one trail. We even took the chair lift up to a few black runs which were a hoot to come down bar getting geographically mis located at one point. I did manage to root one set of poles one day and a pair of skis. I came down hard and flipped over and then discovered that I had snapped my binding and pulled the top of the ski as well. It was a nice walk back out to a point that I could double pole back to the day lodge. It took a drive down to Courtney (local town) to sort out some new skis for the rest of the trip........not a cheap exercise but hey thats skiing!!!. From here it is to Vancouver and then on to Silver Star for you guessed it more skiing.....its a nice life for some!!



Happy trails

Tour of California

1 Km to go kite


Ritchies team van


Ritchie in his team strip


Rock Racings team SUV. Counted about 4 of these plus a couple of cars and the massive team coach

Ok I finially got my bike porn fix at the tour of california. It was great to catch up with Ritchie and Ben. It was surprising to see the difference in how much teams spend on there get up. Rock racing was unbelievable with a massive coach and numerous SUV's and a fuckn bullet proof Rolls Royce. They thought they were the superstars but half the team couldnt start due to the implication in previous drug operations...... dopers suck!!!!! The superstars were all there, Chipo (out of retirement), Millar, Levi, Boonan just to name a few. It was awesome to watch these guys tear it up on the prologue course. We had a great day looking through the expo at the finish line.... many cool things to check out from the different bike companies.
We have now hit Mt Washington for a week of skiing...... fun fun fun.
Later

Tahoe

Well all I can say is unbelievable. The weather was turned on for us with cloudless skys and sunshine. We had three days of skiing to blow out the cobwebs and get ourselves sorted before heading to Canada.
Royal Gorge was great with 60 odd kms of groomed trails on offer each day. The mountains were spectacular with awesome views for kms. The snow pack was unreal with it being upto 12 foot deep in places. Driving down the road walled in by massive snow walls was a sight to bring smiles to our faces. We stayed in a converted stage coach inn from the late 1800's I guess. It had a fantastic restraunt and bar where I sank a few too many Fat Tire ales.
Had a little incident in the restraunt last night where our nursing skills were called upon to help out a fello diner who looked like they were going to need CPR. We couldnt feel a pulse and he was a shade of grey that I dont need to see again. Luckly just as we were about to start he started to rouse.....luck for him and us. He was bunded off to the local hospital for observation.
In San Fran now and kickn back checking out the local scene and having a few days to recover from over eating and skiing heaps.
Later

costal cruising

Ok We have left Laguna after some family time and generous hosting. Checked out a few local bike shops whilst in Laguna and found myslef some SWOBO gear which I grabbed in a heart beat. Nice shops with plenty of bikes that would make you drool......even a great selection of 29ers. Even got hooked up with Oakley product for nothing which we were very thankful for.... pays to have people you know in the right places (thanx Pat.
The last couple of days has been spent heading up the cast via Santa Barbera, SLO, Carmel, Big Sur, Santa Cruz. Been a great couple of days cruizing the coast and seeing how the more fortunate live...small houses....not! The coast was spectacular in parts very similar to the Great Ocean Road back home. The coast around Carmel will remain etched in my mind forever.....I would take up golf if I could play at Pebble Beach and the surrounding golf courses...magical.
Stopped in at Hearst Castle....bloody massive private home....got to see it to believe it.
We have landed in Sacremento before heading to Tahoe tomorrow.
Happy pedals
Oh no photos till I get access to a machine I can down load them on.

Laguna....nice spot

OK finally made it to the US after a delay with the plane. I dont travel much on planes and was over the 4 hr delay at the airport. The flight was good and went quick thanks to the little extra special treatment we recieved thanks to the Tina D. The bubbly we got care of her made the start of the flight perfect (felt a bit bent out of shape after a couple of glasses much to the humour of the wife)....its all about who you know!!! The flight was half full so plenty of extra space but still little room for a big bloke like myself to stretch out. US customs suck with a line up for an hour to get through and the fingerprinting and a happy mug shot photo for US entry. We managed to pick up our hire car (it aint no car but the mother of all SUVs) and negotiate our way south to Laguna, where we will be camping for the next couple of days with family. Driving the wrong side of the road is interesting.....easy to forget what you are doing and start driving like back home.
Later

check you stateside!!!

A little something before I go

almost there

Been a hectic week between hobbling around and sorting out the last fine details for my US/ Canada onslaught. Caught up with Gerro before his departure. I wish him well for Malaysia and the Tour of Langkawi. I caught Shane quickly before he departed yesterday to China to hook up with his lady (saw a cool picture that I will post at some stage when I can get it off my phone).


Got it off the phone!!! China bikes in the snow!!!!

Have been of the bike till today. I headed out for a quick jaunt along the Yarra Trails for a stretch of the legs and a check of the pelvis. I highly recommend the services of an osteopath. Dr Dom at First Place Osteopathy, in Northcote is the man to see. Dr Dom has the magic hand for sorting out the issues that I seem to get myself into.
Not long now till I get on the vomit comet. I have sorted out the ski gear and waxed the skis in preperation for the white stuff. Six weeks of kickn back and cruzing to lots of different places....I cant wait!!
Check back for regular updates, the US adventures of Big Mak and co........
Happy trails!