Page 27 - Southwell School Year Book 2018

YEAR 5 CAMP: ROTORUA
The Extraordinary Bike through the Redwoods
On a Wednesday morning during camp week, Group A were going on the bus to Planet Bike. I went to go and pack my day bag and then we were off.
On the bus Christine and I were chatting most of the time. As we got closer to Planet Bike I was wondering where
we were going, until we arrived, then I understood where Planet Bike was.
We piled off the bus and I saw the same people that had come to school when we were practising for the Redwoods. We put our bags down and they told us to put on our raincoats just in case it rained.
After that we got into height order so they could get the right height bike for us and they changed the seats to suit us. We rode around Planet Bike to get used to our bikes. Ryan was complaining about how big his wheels were. When we were nished it was time to go to the Redwood Forest.
First we cycled along the road and crossed over to the park beside the Redwoods. I felt nervous because I hadn’t been biking since Year 4 Camp so I was kind of terri ed.
We stopped for a quick bathroom break. I nearly crashed into Christine! But then we were off! I felt more con dent after the rst drop. In Year 4 I was horrible
at drops. The group in front of us were a long way ahead of us as they had left before us.
So this was mountain biking. It felt really amazing that we were actually doing it.
I was at the back of our group and one of the tutors was behind me, he was from Planet Bike. He was a kind man and he helped me with my gears. Going up hill was hard because you had to use strength and build up speed too.
When we were in the middle of the Redwoods we took the trail over to The Dipper. It was pretty rocky and it felt bumpy. Riding over a lot of rocks together or one big rock was tricky and going up hill was dif cult but once we were at The Dipper I was so excited but also scared because I didn’t want to crash.
Finally, it was my turn to go down The Dipper. I started off really fast! I felt like The Flash but on a bike. There were so many hills and every time I went around a turn I felt like I was going to crash! Twists, turns, going up then down and suddenly we were out of The Dipper.
After The Dipper we went to see the actual Redwoods. They were beautiful! At the end of the track there was a huge drop which surprised me. Then we were back at the beginning of our journey.
We headed back to Planet Bike and Christine fell over again (poor Christine, she fell over once at the beginning and again at the end.) Back at Planet Bike we ate lunch and then went for our walk in the Redwood Forest! Biking in the Redwood Forest was one of the best things I have experienced in my life!
Ellie Qiu
Southwell School Yearbook 2018 25