Marmite vs. Marmite vs. Vegemite

On the left, Marmite. A Kiwi version of a British yeast spread that is also called Marmite. On the right, Vegemite. A national icon of Australia. Which is better? I have no idea, but the Kiwis are quick to point out an American company owns Vegemite.

They both taste a bit strange to the American palette, like beef bullion, but Marmite is growing on me. I plan to use the powers of Marmite during the race this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

12 Hours of Woodhill

Well, 6 really - i just signed up for the "12 Hours of Woodhill" - 6 hour solo version. I have to ride there, etc so we'll see how this goes ;)

This is ON campus, mind you...

This is the bar and nightclub that are on campus just a stone's throw from my office. (emphasis added for those in SLC)

Auckland Diwali

Diwali - the Indian festival of lights! This has been going on for a few days down at the main terminal in dowtown Auckland. Here are some sights:
People Singing... Kids clamboring...
Transvestite indian dancers and gyrating men...
and masala dosa! Not a bad time... there is hope for humankind!

Biking in the Hunua Range

This weekend I decided to try to get out of the city a bit, at least for a day trip. So after some quick web searches for appropriate places to visit, I settled on journeying to ride the nearby MTB tracks in the Hunua Range. My "how to get there" started at the Orakei train station near my homestay:


My versatile Surly Karate Monkey is paying dividends right now - yesterday this was a city bike, now it's obviously a MTB, tomorrow perhaps a fully loaded tourer? In any case, the train takes bikes so long as there is room and you pay an extra NZ$1.00.



After 40 minutes of stops I arrived in Papakura. I went to visit a bike shop (Ride Cycles) and talked with the friendly store manager. He was fresh out of maps for the Hunua tracks but invited me along on their weekly rides, in which case I would be able to hitch a ride to the MTB tracks. As it was I started off on the 28 km "ride to the ride" through some of the most beautiful farming country around.

Eventually I got to the entrance to the park. From here it was a sweet downhill (on singletrack) to the campground at the base of the Mangatawhiri Dam (BTW - "wh" is pronounced like an "f").
Here's the campground. What are those white dots on the hillside? Anyway, this place was picturesque but as I ate lunch my legs were getting bit up by some nasty black bugs. Aside from that, it would make a wonderful 24-hour MTB site.
I did the "lower Mangatawhiri Loop" after learning that the more masochistically enticing "challenge" loop was closed due to poor conditions. The conditions were fantastic and the track was a blend of 60% purpose-designed singletrack and some roads thrown in for connections. It all ran through "regenerating" native forest of spindly trees and huge tree-like ferns. A handful of river crossings were thrown for good measure.To keep the clay from ruining things the trail builders hauled in TONS of road base rock that had already blended into a buffed trail. Amazing. Some pics follow:
A river crossing amongst the ferns.

Lot of places to take a dip if it wasn't so perfectly mild.
See that little sign there? With the downhiller icon? They are all like that, giving me the impression that the trails here are all (figuratively) downhill for happy little mountain bikers.

Alas, after riding the 14k loop I was tired but happy. On the way I took some pics of the idyllic landscape:

There were some very orderly cows - they were happily trotting toward a gate while a farmer did tricks on his ATV.
Ah, so there they are! Sheep! Lots of 'em!
On the way back to Papakura I was taken aback by improbable implications of this sign. Fortunately I only had two wheels ;).

For those that care, here is a map of the ride. The little loop in the middle is the MTB part, the rest is on roads getting there. ~75 kms with 1200 m of ascent on the day, not bad! Time for a kebab!

Papakura to Hunua

http://www.bikely.com/

If you click on the header of the above map from bikely a window will open that has a google map view of the ride - choose "satellite" or "hybrid" view to get an idea of what the terrain looks like. You can also export the data to google earth using the "export to kml" option. Cheers.

Force 3? Maybe 4? Perhaps even a Fresh Breeze?

I went sailing in the Harbour again. The captain's plan was to have a go at setting the spinnaker as practice for racing. There was a race going on as we embarked - these crews had a serious air about them and we stayed out of their way.
Here's an old but pretty boat.
After taking some pics in the marina I put the camera away as the water was quite choppy and the wind was really blowing (30 knots at times? this mean anything to anyone?) Force 4? Perhaps even Force 5? Well, I have no idea. Check out the Beaufort Scale. I did get it back out for the following sign on the bridge:
Fantastic! Only in NZ!

The sailing was rough and a bit nerve wracking at times (water over the railing? not a problem apparently...). We never even attempted to put up the spinnaker. With experience I'm sure these conditions are nothing. With my lack of experience there comes a bit of clarity. I don't really have to think about what to do (my job, hauling in the sheets, is simple) and so I am freed up to think about exactly when one might decide to swim for it. It seems that the answer is practically never. The captain later described what one might do in the case that the main sail goes all the way over into the water (hold on, release the main, and viola! count the crew!)

Back in the slip a story was told about a boat that returned from a recent race up the coast (started on Friday, a fast catamaran took 10 hrs to run 120 nautical miles, most took twice that). This boat was hit by a gust, it went sails into the water, the captain released the main and the boat went back down, all was well. The crew member we talked with remarked that he was impressed with the cleanliness of the bottom of the boat, which he calmly observed while 3m in the air above a horizontal boat.

Foreign Markets

I needed some toothpaste so I went to the only large market I'd found up to that point - a FoodTown near downtown. I've also found that visiting markets is a wonderful way to peer into the everyday lives of the places you visit. For instance, the supermarkets in Cebu, Phillippines were tiny and filled with lots of neato items but had then general feel of an expanded quickie-mart. Contrast that to the carbon market near downtown Cebu City that was as scary a place as I've been. You walk through puddles of congealed blood on the putrid walks no matter how careful you are. Anyway, things here are much more modern.
I found this gem of a billboard on my way to the market. Apparently these women are advertising some TV program. Notice however, the small size of these milk just when compared to the US gallons, tiny! ;)
Here it is! Food Town Downtown! And with, gasp, a pharmacy in the store! That's modern!
Alas, who cares so long as I can get my favorite licorice (made in NZ) for super cheap. This stuff runs US$5 a bag at Liberty Heights Fresh in SLC, here it is less than half of that (well, on sale). I should have bought them out.
Pascal can rest easy, there will be a ready supply of ketchup in Auckland, her favorite brand too! All in all, this NZ supermarket was like a small supermarket in the states, lots of everything available. Check, I'm still in civilization. Can't wait to go for a tour of the countryside to find out what's NZ is like without all of this cosmopolitan homogenization.