The first Enduro World Series – Nevados de Chillan, Chile

The rest of our time in New Zealand was incredible. Rotorua exceeded our expectations with great riding, great people and a surprising number of apple pies. We spent a good bit of time exploring the Whakarewarewa (pronounced fak-a-ree-wa-ree-wa) mountain bike park, right in the center of town, as well as some of the less-groomed trails of the surrounding areas. We spent a couple of days shooting with Graeme Murray and he did a great job of highlighting the incredible geography of the Rotorua area. I have to say, Ponga palms are some of the coolest trees ever!

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Mountain bike racer Macky Franklin hails from Taos, New Mexico but has a difficult time answering the question "Where do you live?" Spending most of his time on the road chasing summer or traveling to race he generally answers "my little orange car".

After holding a cross country pro's license for six years, in 2014, he will be focusing on enduro. Read this blog to follow Franklin throughout the 2014 season as he races four of the seven Enduro World Series races, Inca Avalanche, the whole Big Mountain Enduro series, Downieville and the Kamikaze Games.

When Franklin was 13 and learning to ride clipless pedals, he was given the "Turtle Award" as the rider who spent the most time on his back, still connected to the bike. Fortunately, he has moved past that stage and is now focusing his energies on learning to corner like a downhiller.

Visit his website at www.mackyfranklin.com.