Blaze

Will do, thanks Canfan!

Not sure if it provides any kind of reference, but I rode the Attakwas like that, but with a 1x9. I do have a 100mm suspension fork on its way that should be here by beginning of April. I will take your advice to hart.

Thanks Niterider, I am on steel Momsen STR-29 with zero suspension, and riding skills not good enough for enduro type terrain.. I will see if I can give that trail of yours a go.

Hi All, Has anyone ridden the trails at Riverhead Forest yet? Or is that old hat? Looking for XC trails other than Woodhill Forest.

Hi Delgado, I am staying with my cousin in Hillcrest for the next couple of months until the family and container arrive.

Hi All, Day 2 at the new job behind me. Lots to learn, but very exciting. Hope to catch up with all of you soon. Cheers from a chilly Auckland. Hendry

Thanks Ramrod and Patches for the advise!

Morning All, Quick feedback and one (maybe two) questions. My work visa has come through!!! Flying to Auckland on Thursday 19th Jan and landing Friday night at 22h15. The family will follow no later than the 22/23rd Feb. Waiting for the house to be sold. I start work on Monday 23rd Jan. Questions: I would like to bring at least my MTB with me. What do I do with tires? do I deflate them just enough to absorb the altitude air pressures? I would like to avoid having to re-inflate the tires as the front Conti is rather difficult to seat. And then lastly, does anyone know off hand if I can send the bike box off as cargo (I am fly Qantas) before hand as this will allow me to at least take more than 10kg of clothes (bike box all in might be about 18kg equaling 30kg total).

Sharing a fantastic ride with two awesome mates. Ardents keeping me the right side up.

Morning All, Just a quick note: My second interview went extremely well! I have my employment letter and signed my employment contract. Already flying back tomorrow (Sunday) at 18h50 to start rolling up our lives in SA and providing the immigration agent with the relevant info to secure the working visa. I will be working for Allegion which has their offices in Rosebank Rd, Avondale. I am looking for a bit of feedback for you all regarding renting in the North Shore and area such as Te Atatu (Peninsula & South). As a family we would be looking at a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 lockup garage set up. Hopefully not too expensive in a relatively good area for about NZ$ 550-600 p.w. With the increase in prices the last 3 months since we started looking, I am not sure how achievable this will be. So if anyone know of something, please let me know.

Jip, I am expecting to be a 'dof kop' for a while, but hopefully spending 4 or 5 days with the family will sort that out.

Hi All, Just a quick update. Dates have changed to the 17th-18th November for the two day meeting. So will fly in to land on the 16th and fly out on the 19th. Yes, Intern, I expect to body and mind to take a bit of a blow! P.S. My dad's 80th b-day is on the 24th, so I will drive the family up to Bloem on the 23rd. Then I can relax.

Afternoon All, So, if all goes to schedule/plan, I will be on a plane for Auckland Saturday afternoon 13h15 local time and only arrive in Auckland Monday 13h45 NZ time for, what will be a two day meet and greet, with my new employer. I will then (hopefully) jump back on the plane on Thursday to be back in Cape Town by Saturday again with a Letter of Employment starting the 9th Jan 2017. And then all the hard work starts in rolling up our lives here and sorting out my application for my work visa. Hope to meet some of you early in the new year!

Hi Niterider, Thanks for the info. Yes, we will need to be more tight with our expenses, but we are already in that mindset of not buying any unnecessary items. The kids are eating more and more healthy foods, fruits and vegetables, etc. I can still remember my parents using a calculator when purchasing the monthly groceries, so it seems we will just go back to that kind of budgeting. I will just stand on the street corners begging for money to afford bicycle parts. Hi Patches, Yes, I know Nolan well. So hopefully if the NZ bunch likes me enough to give me a job we can eventually do a ride together. KR, Hendry