Ahhh the great outdoors!

Who would have anything else? No aircon, no microwave to warm up last nights pizza, no fridge to keep ones beer cold, no Xbox or DVD….who needs it when you've got the great outdoors?





Er…well I do actually…

Much as I love being outside, with nature, left alone me against the elements, I've come to realize that actually I'm a great big poof when it comes to giving up life's modern luxuries. We had a 5 day power cut during the recent typhoon and everything, and I mean EVERYTHING was out. No electricity, no water, no phones. Even the local "House that Fired Chicken Built" (yes this is a real restaurant) had "gasp" run out of Fried Chicken!

So being the brave and hardened ex-pats that we are……

We buggered off to a beach resort for the week. Got drunk every night and sorta, kinda felt sorry for the people who weren't privileged enough to be able to do this. Well, at least until the second Mohito anyway.

And now I feel bad….

Yes, everyone say…arrr...

Serves you right for mixing Mohito's with Jagemeister!

No, I feel bad because every time I go riding on Santa Rosa I'm reminded of the warmth of human nature and how truly, truly blessed I am.



As we ride through small villages at 600mts, we are greeted by families without a pot to piss in with cries of "Good Morning" "Where are you going?" I mean they are even speaking English!



We ride through their plantations, utilizing the single-track that they use to tend their crops. Beautifully tendered it might as well have been tailor made for us. Andy says's "Ooohhh" every time he rides it!



This weekend just gone I led a group of friends up there. Not all of them had their own bikes so I lent them two of mine. One an Ellsworth Moment, the other a Kona King Kikapu.



Now anyone who knows a bit about mountain bikes will tell you that between them, my friends were riding quite a few thousand quid's worth of machinery. And this excludes the hardtail I was riding, which although being my cheapest bike is the one I love, and ride the most. (I think there's a moral in there somewhere)



And here we are riding amongst the middle of an entire community of people that rely on sustenance farming. Who think we are at the height of insanity to be riding push bikes, in the sun, through their plantations.



So as I rode through their domain, a huge smile on my face, I felt a little bit guilty…..

And then I fell off….and then I didn't feel anything for a while.

And then I was quite a bit pissed off that someone had thoughtlessly left a massive rock in the middle of the trail.

And then I didn't care anymore coz I was back on my bike, riding some great trail again.

But occasionally I catch myself, and realize that life can be sweet, almost as sweet as the singletrack in Santa Rosa.....