We got the van all loaded up and ready to go, complete with curtains to hide our precious bikes.

Then to Huka Falls.

Our first day out riding the trail was appropriately named Laughing Waters. It rained hard the night prior. We were about two minutes into the trip when we realized the trail was flooded from all the rain we had just had. The creek was in full flood and the bridges,  (What Bridges?) although on a chain or something to keep them from being washing away, were submerged.

Knowing there were bridges there turned out to be a very important piece of information that not all of us were privy to.

Roy attempting the balance act across the bridge.

You could always tell when there was a big water hole up ahead. You could hear the "girls" laughter and heckling as people bailed or came off.

As mentioned, the name Laughing Waters was very appropriate! Especially this day.

Carol is actually standing on a bridge here. Unfortunately just prior to this, and prior to having any knowledge about their being bridges, she tried to ride around Rex who just seemed to be  standing in the water and blocking the trail. Little did she know that Rex was holding the bridge down for her. As Carol tried to ride around Rex, her front wheel went off the bridge, sunk out of sight, and she did a full "Swan Dive" over the handle bars. Carol was in disbelief that there was no bottom. She gave the club a demo on the "canuck stroke".

         Taking no chances this time.

                 I'm walking across.

The trails got the best of everyone at some time, but Ian is still smiling.

                  Skoda's off.

            Paul's having a push.

There's more than one way to get through!

       Does this ever end? No kayak.

             George leading the way.

It's a good thing there were some bridges that allowed safe passage.

Michelle "Brownie" making waves.

Jane giving the high five.

There were also some very stunning parts of the trail. It made for very interesting riding as the trail snaked through the trees, and some of them were huge. Very west-coastish with everything covered in moss and lichen.
 

The trail wasn't without it's technical sections either. We couldn't capture too many of them on film though. Funny how that works.

Here's part of the crew at the lookout.
Top: Jane, Gyro, Roy, Skoda, Rosie.
Bottom: Rex, Fenella, Brownie, Carol

George shows the others how to clean, lube, and repair with a little help from the kitchen scrub brush.

Barney, Skoda and Rosie doing the maintenance that cyclists do every day.

Almost like they knew what they were doing.

    "Rain at 7, Fine by 11"

We got lucky with that motto on Day 1, but not this day. It started to rain when we arrived at the parking lot and never quit. Just varying degrees of intensity.

It almost seemed appropriate to start off with some creek crossings. Why not get totally wet to start. Lizzy and Gyro are making their way across the very slippery creek.

Roy in the mist. Electric, man.

Ian and Jane seeking shelter.

Are we having fun yet, Rosie?
 

  Paul and Roy grabbing a bite to eat.

It was actually quite beautiful in the mist. We didn't make our final destination as the creek was in full flood and there was still a river ahead of us. So we headed back the way we came.

Roy and I had just been talking on the way home from the wet soggy ride about how nice it would be to find an undeveloped hot tub to soak our chilled bones in. The boys read our thoughts! We never dreamt there would be anything this wonderful.
 

We loaded up with some cold beer....

....and all had a good soak in the river. The geothermal water spills into the river so you can adjust the temperature by either moving closer or further away from the source of hot water.

    "Rain at 7, Fine by 11"      Yes, it worked this time. It was pissin' in the morning, but by the time we were organized to leave it had quit. Craters was just a wee way out of Taupo and had a great network of trails. The trails are built in the forest and are rideable until the trees mature and then that section is logged. By then new trails have been built in a different area. It's kinda like riding in a motor cross race track. Twisty trails that loop back around so the back of the group is sometimes passing the front of the group. Lots of sweeping corners, banked corners, ups and downs and airtime for those who dare. Enough to keep you working all the time and keep it interesting.

Apparently it's very dangerous to venture out into this area. The ground is unstable and you risk breaking through to the boiling hot water. After the bridge episode, when the group said "don't ride there, it's dangerous!",  I listened.

Ian, Roy and Ollie on the moon.

We got too busy riding to take too many pictures. But I did get a shot of most people, but sorry to those of you I missed. 

       Brownie

           Di

         Fiona

           Rosie

          Lizzy

Barney and George
 

      George

         Ian

         Rex

          Skoda

         Steve

       Tjebbe
 

You guessed it. Raining again. Didn't rain till we stepped out of our vehicles and didn't stop until well after we were done. Another great area with trails built specifically for mountain bikers. It was originally an experimental forest with different varieties of trees planted. It has now been taken over by some government body and is being preserved. So no logging, which means excellent riding. We only touched on the trails as there are heaps in the area. All the dips were full of water which made it interesting to know which ones were deep enough to grab your front wheel and cause havoc. You'd have to see it to believe the trails. Way too cool.

Not only excellent riding but they really cater to the bikers. Obviously wet muddy trails are not uncommon as they have a bike stand and hose to wash everything down when you're done. We were so wet already that it hardly made a difference when the hose was turned on you to wash off. At least we got to load the bikes in the van with out all the mud and guck.

When Carol got back to the parking lot she found three semi-naked men who were intent on getting in the van with her.
Her Lucky Day?