Fantastic pictures and countryside. Cannot wait to see more. Jim D. Massachusetts
--- On Mon, 12/7/09, Gino Zahnd <ginoza...@gmail.com> wrote: From: Gino Zahnd <ginoza...@gmail.com> Subject: [RBW] New Zealand trip photos To: rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com, "SF Randonneurs" <sfran...@googlegroups.com> Date: Monday, December 7, 2009, 6:29 PM (I'm cross posting to RBW and SF Rando. Sorry if you get this twice.) I'm still wading through hundreds of photos, but here are a few that made the cut so far: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzahnd/sets/72157622950157706/show/ In the top right, click 'Show info' to see the descriptions, etc. There'll be more at that URL in the coming week, as I have time. Trip report, short version: New Zealand is an incredibly, in the truest sense of the word, beautiful country. We only rode in the south island (and hung out in Auckland), and drivers were courteous everywhere. I'm not sure what was with all the Kiwis warning us about Kiwi drivers; they were all great! NZ road quality makes California look like a third world country. Food is high quality and high priced everywhere. The hostels were fantastically clean and cheap, even with our private rooms the entire time. We didn't get a drop of rain, so fenders were useless weight. Everyone was kind, brimming with hospitality and generosity. Kiwis apparently have no idea what a switchback is, and that made for some of the hardest riding I've ever done. And I like hills! I rode Grand Bois Hetres, Roy rode Jack Browns. No flats in 1400k and somewhere between 60,000 and 70,000 feet of mixed terrain climbing, city glass-strewn riding and everything in between. The Saluki was flawless, as was Roy's Ritchey Breakaway CX bike. I'll keep going back until I've seen the entire country. It's a great place. Oh, and on the last leg of my flight, American Airlines managed to destroy a good bit of my Saluki, including the wheels, decaleur, S&S case. http://www.flickr.com/photos/gzahnd/sets/72157622830462177/ I'm taking the frame to Steve Rex tomorrow to make sure it's still in alignment. The chainstays are a little too narrow right now... They say they're going to pay for replacing everything. We'll see. I've taken all the precautionary threatening measures, so I feel reasonably confident they'll stick to their word. Cheers, Gino -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bu...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
