A tip: if when going over a trail map with a local, and said person asks you if you’ve ever mountain biked before, and then starts laughing when you say no…that is probably not a good sign.
I anticipated a leisurely day. We would rent mountain bikes, board our water taxi, head to our drop off point at Torea Bay on the Queen Charlotte track, ride downhill on gravel roads, and end up at our pick up point with enough time to chat about the day’s events with a cup of coffee and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I had no idea what I was getting into, as evidenced by the photo below. Probably the last (and only) photo you’ll see of me smiling on this trip.
Look how cluelessly happy I am – in my head I was thinking that this would be a piece of cake, especially since we were on bikes.