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Final bit of road was great. Downhill and twisty thru forest with no traffic. Great fun.
I'm back on the trails so more bikes around. One guy had exploded his mech and put out an SOS and the local bike hire guy came out and fixed it. Right in the middle of nowhere. I had been having gear trouble and thought my mech hanger was bent so as this mechanic had the right tool i asked him to check mine. It was bent and he straightened it for free.. fantastic. I now have all my gears
What a great thread! Epic adventure @tj
Anorher couple of weeks? Ffs ill be totally broken
Maybe, but these memories will stay with you for a lifetime.
Inspired by you, I'm now tapping up my mate in NZ to see if he's up for a similar adventure next year.
I have been living with two bits of philosophy
"say yes to everything"
" eff it just do it"
Its taken me to some odd places and doing some odd things but its been great. Its how I ended up here.
So do it
Indeed it's great TJ.
Tailwind? Get in there!
Awesome.
Unless you "have to be somewhere", take it as it goes. You can change plans ! Looks amazing.
Second breakfast stop
Multiple breakfasts are one of the great things about cycle touring
Would recommend that. I did Wellington to Whanganui and it's nothing to write home about. Wellington itself is well served by bike paths from quite a distance out though.
Well thats me in Whanganui. 48 miles and 2000ft of climb. Started to rain the last half hour so being the soft bugger i am I am in a hotel in Whanganui
Lovely days ride anx the longest i have done since leaving the flatlands.
Im fascinated by folks bike and kit choice. The chap this bike belongs to is dutch and he and his tiny partner ( who has as more kit than I do) are in their late 60s and have ridden 25000km in the last year. Riding about the same speed as I am. Puts me to shame. Im carrying less than most folk I see
It's usually the Dutch when you see an unfeasibly big load being dragged around. I treat bikepacking/touring just like backpacking these days and if I'm using panniers, try and use 2 Ortleibs only. That restricts everything to 40l and helps prevent the 'just in case' disease...
The Dutch do seem to love their accessories.
I need two breakfasts just to wade through the Guardian!
One of the great pleasures IMO of going on holiday in an English speaking country is buying the local paper every day and watching local stories develop...
I have 2 X 20 l panniers and a rucksac bungied on top but all the rucksack contains is my foam tent underlay my lunch and a lock plus anything I buy that day. I'm at around 8 to10 kg base weight.
I have a big 2 person tent. Cafetiere. Full cooking kit. Plenty of warm clothes , medium weight waterproofs and a chair
The dutch are a law unto themselves when touring. Closely followed by Germans.
The camp site at the end of my road is one of the first stops heading north after they get off the morning ferry in Göteborg. Number of older couples i see carrying 4 full (large) panniers, bar bag, top bag, loaded trailer each is noticeable, probably a couple a week during peak season. Or the young lads "exploring the world" on a dutch city bike with a basket and a hiking rucksack... Have rescued a few of them on my way home after work!
Tried chasing a German couple on fully loaded road tourers a few years ago. Took ages, like 10+km. They were on fully loaded e-tourers...with flags fluttering in the breeze.
Oh god, that reminded me, when i toured in Ireland about 30 years ago. Tandem with my then girlfriend. We followed the coast road for maybe a week and saw this same girl about 3 or 4 times a day. She was just riding at ~8mph, on a sit up and beg tourer, continually, non-stop, no let up at all. Didn't stop anywhere except for lunch and at the end of the day. We did a few stops a day, couple in the afternoon, longer lunch break, take some photos, look at some architecture or some history... We were actually covering almost exactly the same distance per day, and ended up in the same place 2 or 3 times.
She'd ridden from home, somewhere in the south of the country, all the way (except for the ferries of course) to where we saw her and was planning to circumnavigate the UK during her summer holidays. She'd already done the south coast of the UK, Cornwall, south coast of Wales to Fishguard, and was going back to Fishguard then finishing off her lap of the UK and Scotland. Think we worked out at her current rate she'd need a summer break of about 8 months.
It’s usually the Dutch when you see an unfeasibly big load being dragged around.
Well they have to put their potatoes and hagelslag somewhere !!
Loving these mad touring anecdotes! Good luck TJ
Im on the first bus to Palmerston north. Woopeee
Change busses in Palmerston . Not doing my anxiety any good the uncertainty
Lolx
Two hours until my next bus. The jeopardy continues
* drumroll*
Off to find a bike shop. Brake pads are getting worn and maybe a new saddle
Well im on the bus and so is my bike. Just.
Woopeee
It worked. Im in Wellington with my bike and all my kit. Weeeeeeerreeree
Time for a beer!
Amazing work TJ I am jealous and happy for you in equal measure. Glad the bus worked out, it’s little wins like that give you an extra little buzz when you are winging it a bit. ENJOY!
Time for a beer
Yup
Enjoy South Island TJ.
Don't be in a hurry to race off to the Southern Alps. We only had a few days in that top corner and wished we'd left more time (Queen Charlotte, Abel Tasman etc).
I have 33 days left. At the very slow pace i have been making i won't be able to do everything and i might have to resort to busses again. Still got to work out how to get back from the south as well. I guess it will all work out.
🙂
Hi TJ - In Welly do try Garage Project and Heyday for beer. Fidels at the top of Cuba Street for awesome coffee and Breakfast.
The Queen Charlotte track is an awesome ride and worth doing. Getting over the hill to Nelson is a bit hilly but the tracks and trails around Nelson are great, specially if you want to stop at a winery or two. I have been here a couple of years and really love it!
Is your plan to leave the bike in south island?
If so you can just bus and train it back, or flight from Queenstown is not expensive.
If you want to leave the bike in QT, I know a willing recipient who could do with a town bike....
Enjoy the South Island. The West Coast is great. Sea one side mountains the other. Lots of transport options so you can just do a section
Do you kayak? Abel Tasman worth a look if you do
Thanks for the updates and enjoy
Matt. That might just happen. It's probably not worth flying the bike back and it would be well funny to meet your lad
" it's a long story but I am one of your dad's imaginary Internet frieds"
Crashrash whereabouts are you? Fancy meeting for a beer?
Wot reeksy? Lolz
” it’s a long story but I am one of your dad’s imaginary Internet frieds”
Oh eh....
Now in picton on south island. Better make some plans. Queen Charlotte track looks like its a bit much in terms of difficulty given my bike only has 38mm tyres and no suspension to speak of.
Think ill stay the night in picton
