The day that I took this photo still stands out as one of my favourite and least favourite mountain biking adventures from our time in New Zealand. There’s the whole thing about type 2 fun that people talk about where it’s miserable and not enjoyable while you’re doing it, but once it’s done you look back on it fondly and think that it’s the most wonderful thing that you’ve done.

Well, this was a good example of type 2 fun.

There’s a trail near Wanaka called the Glen Dene Ridge Track that crosses between the peaks of 3 or 4 mountains. It starts with a peak called Isthmus that is a popular day walk, and then carries along between several peaks and ends up at Mount Burke, where it turns into a long descent back to the edge of the lake.

I had wanted to do this ride for a long time and it was turning into winter, so one day I decided that I had better get it done. Unfortunately, the particular day that I chose to do it was rainy and cloudy. This meant that about 80% of my day was spent trudging along in the mud, completely enclosed by fog without any idea of where I was. The ground was too soft to ride, I was cold and soaked, I had no idea where I was, and it was beginning to get dark.

Near the end of the ride, the fog lifted slightly and I was able to get a few cool pictures of the surrounding peaks as the fog swirled and moved around.

So, if you happen to look at this picture and think of how peaceful and serene it looks, just try to imagine feeling cold, wet, exhausted, and quite hungry.