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I've also been lazy for a few months, 20 minutes on the rollers last night got me restarted. WP good question, I will come up for that Hub ride, I do like Woodhill and it will be great to see the likes of you, Canfan, Niterider and of course my good mate DawieO for a bit of a pedal, and to meet the new additions to the Kiwi contingent. So I'll watch for the scheduling. And yep, I also have actual cobwebs on my MTB. Poor form I tell you.

Uh, yeah mate of course it is like that. You should notice how a few of us moan and groan about how cold it is, or that we miss our mates, or that it is hard to fit into a new job/society/scene. But, for me anyway, apart from my job that I hate, my life is perfectly happy. Sorry if you don't want to hear it, but as the other okes have said GTFO if that's the case. Nobody's making you read, right?

I'm SO offended! ha ha. Yes, this NZ clan is so annoyingly positive, c'mon you lot, get busy bagging your new country...

Place wobbles around all the time. Had a wee shake last week again - weirdest feeling ever, knowing that EVERYTHING is shaking. Gives you an appreciation of how much energy is being released...

Haha I am a local, got the passport to prove it. And apparently, I'm a bit of a deck myself, so-

Awesome. I'm building a deck to celebrate good queen Liz.

Jeepers dude anything below 15 degrees and I go into hibernation!

At 600 that is roughly the rainfall of JHB. Though we all know which one has better weather ;-)

Do the trip. People will see you (when I did the trip way back in 2011 I had two interviews lined up, ended up doing around 8 because plenty of folk were 'oh, you're here? Pop round for a coffee'). They will also believe you are serious because you have done the trip. Tons of folk 'fishing' which is a waste of time for prospective employers...

The weather in NZ is hugely variable - the west coast of the SI, for example, and indeed most of the area south of Christchurch, isn't really habitable by civilized people. But yeh, generally, most of it is better than you would have expected (but nowhere near Jhb weather)...

think we've all fallen foul of that one. Just send a letter explaining how you forgot and it will prob be waived...they done it for me.

If you use Strava check the heat maps. Lots of awesome riding in that area, head North towards Silverdale, fantastic 'countryside' stuff up by Dairy Flat, Puhoi, out to the Kaipara and Shelly Beach, Waiwera, Kaukapakapa, etc. You're spoiled for choice there! East Coast Bays is nice, too, but maybe a bit busy traffic wise...

Welcome to paradise...winter does suck a bit though, I'd file that under 'the ugly'. But I don't like winter anywhere...

Live it up in AKL a bit, then Uber to the airport and sleep in the terminal like a hobo with all those unwashed tourists. I've done that a few times recently with odd-timed flights to Singapore and Sydney. Being a cheapass has its drawbacks and can be uncomfortable, but it is, well, cheap. Quite weird going from kipping with the backpackers to the Koru lounge's lap of luxury, too.

NZ also: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/91683229/Callous-attempt-to-hold-power-Winston-Peters-calls-Governments-immigration-crackdown-a-con

Don't think crank length makes much difference. After being on 172.5 on my RB for absolute ages - like two decades - a bought a bike with 167.5 cranks on it. Felt a bit funny the first few rides, but made no difference to ability to go fast and be comfortable etc. Coming atcha from a sample of one and purely subjective feedback, natch.

That's about as Kiwi as you can get! Big kiwifruit producing region here where I live. The gross return on a hectare is, get this, around $120 000 for green at a production cost of around $30 000. It's big business; for gold, the numbers are much bigger (but I can't remember what they were).

Looks awesome. I've seen the giant gumboot in Taihape, the giant carrot in Ohakune and of course, the giant bicycle in Taupo. I've also seen a giant douche in Auckland and spotted him again in Tauranga, that would be Len Brown, fornicating former mayor of Auckland...

I got me this bad boy https://www.stihlshop.co.nz/stihl-ms-231-c-be Spent yesterday with a kiwifruit farmer mate of mine downing a grove of big radiata pines for firewood this winter. That wee stihl is well up to the task.

Yes, Edgecumbe is right next door to Whakatane - pretty unfortunate for the folk over there. I popped out at lunchtime to buy a chainsaw (STIHL, I felt so manly) and did a wee bit of rubbernecking; there are a couple of rivers in our area, the Whakatane one is massively swollen but it is the Rangiteiki which has burst into Edgecumbe. High tide at 3pm should be interesting as it pushes far into the Whakatane river mouth...

How's everyone coping as Debbie Does New Zealand? Absolutely bucketing down with rain in the Bay of Plenty...so far only damage I've had is a small bush was tipped over in the wind.

Glad it's moving along. You will complain about paying tax if you have a chat with my mate who does domestic electrical repairs, it drives him mad how the bennies destroy stuff then get WINZ to pay him for the fixes...

Hey WP, happy for you that this has been done, all the best for recovery. Quick Q do they at least give you the eye in a jar to impress your mates with?

Nice WP made me smile. Just left my dudes behind, on the way to Singapore for a nightmare trip..