These are some shots from a ride I did with Mike and Jeff when I was back in AK. Miss you guys – have a great Christmas!

Oh and this shot from the Zoo I took a few days earlier.

Seaons greetings all!

I’m back in Sydney – up to Surfers Paradise for the weekend for events, more next week !

Jenna held her own in Paris, beat all the ladies and made it through the qualifiers into the dual rider pursuit. Said it was a bit full on and offputting racing another person on the track, still killed it.

The clip is here @RedBull France

Managed to secure a spot for Jenna Makgill for Red Bull Mini Drome in Paris this weekend.

So Jetsetter Makgill boards and Emirates flight tomorrow destined for Charles De Gaul airport.

Incredibly stoked she will be representing NZ for the 2012 event final.

http://www.redbull.fr/cs/Satellite/fr_FR/Red-Bull-Mini-Drome/001243109137509?page=home

Here are some of the shots from the Homer Tunnel. I’m obsessed with the photos of the Kea’s. The Kea is one of the biggest parrots in the world, indigenous to New Zealand. Anyone who has spent time snowboarding in the South Island will testify to how rad they are, super social, inquistive and sometimes vandals. Here is the story:

Jenna Makgill is one of those rare humans to possess both integrity and passion. Integrity in her own beliefs, her social conscious and respect for the environment she breathes and lives in. Passion for everything she does. “Do what you love and you will be happy” A simple statement that is so easily forgotten by so many people in today’s hustle and bustle existence. Jenna loves riding her bike; she is very good at it. Jenna is good at it because she loves it.

“Riding my bike is a faster way to get round and it’s a better way for me to treat the environment; plus I just love riding bikes!” Jenna’s love of riding started in her childhood; she has been road racing since she was 13 yrs old and racing Downhill MTB from 15. “I had a real passion for downhill racing, but ever since I built up a fixed gear out back in a cycle shop I was working in, I was hooked” that was in 2007. “I would check out riders and bikes on the internet and it all just flowed from there” There goes that passion again. That passion led Jenna to two women’s Cycle Messenger World Champ titles in 2008 and 2011.

So when Red Bull asked Jenna what she wanted to ride next, the typically Jenna answer, loaded with a question was “Something big?” That simple statement would turn into an idea, the idea into a reality.

Enter the Homer Tunnel; 942m elevation, 1270m long, single lane with walls of unlined granite. A gruelling climb to the Eastern portal entrance, rising through glacial valleys shadowed by snowy sheer peaks, 1:10 tunnel gradient, in the pitch black to the western portal; which leads into steep switchbacks winding down out of the Homer Pass.

Hardly what you would call ‘nice’ riding territory.  No brakes, loose gravel on the corners, steep terrain and a temperature of  7 degrees centigrade. What did Jenna think of the scenario? “Sounds good, meet you at the airport”

The Homer Tunnel was opened in 1954 and is a New Zealand State Highway that connects Milford Sound to Te Anau and Queenstown by piercing the main divide at the Homer Saddle. William H. Homer discovered the Homer Saddle on 27 January 1889. Government workers began the tunnel in 1935, starting with five men using picks and wheelbarrows. The men lived in tents in a mountainous area where there was no direct sunlight for half of the year. At least three were killed by avalanches over the coming decades. Progress was slow with difficult conditions, these problems delayed the tunnel’s completion and opening until 1954.

The epic unspoilt wilderness area really struck Jenna; “Since being back from Germany, I have been eyeing up places to go within NZ, as I have avidly taken up bush running and wilderness adventuring. Basically just want to start appreciating what’s on my doorstep rather than long haul flights to nowhere”  Jenna reflects after the ride “The whole thing was awesome; riding through the tunnel; getting up in the dark; killing my legs to the point that I could barely walk the next days. Definitely an experience up there on my list of all time awesome things I have ever done”.

We did a Red Bull project here with Jenna Makgill recently. You can see some more of the shots on Jenna’s blog. The plan was to ride through the Homer Tunnel in the South Island through a pretty serious mountain pass. Jenna as always – nailed it. I’ll post the shots tomorrow with a story, but here are some initial shots taken by Miles Holden.  Our Comms Manager Jon Forder directed the shoot and Graeme Murray took a break from shootings stills to shoot video this trip with Regan Low. Haimona Ngata is editing the clip. I think you can tell from these shots it’s going to be uncommonly beautiful:

Wow it’s been a while since I last posted. Since the last post Justin settled (well; is still settling) in Sydney. I’ve been jumping back and forth across the ditch for around 4 months. Over the last month I’ve been working more here in Sydney, and there hasn’t been much time to ride bikes.

Justin has moved into an apartment in Pyrmont and he also started working for Red Bull here too part time driving the Event Vehicles which has left him some free time to ride bikes and he’s been wakeskating at the cable park inland.

Justin bought a new Subrosa commuter bike from Mike Lawrence and the cool lads at Triple Six here. He’s been negotiating the bike lanes with a brake which is quite sensible. Here are some shots. We are both missing all the Auckland peeps!

We did a shoot with Jenna Makgill last week with Graeme Murray for some catalogue shots.

Here are a few of this first batch – master of lighting Muzz.