In what seems to have become an annual fixture in my calendar, I’m looking at another adventure. Another self supported and self-sufficient bike ride in Aotearoa. It is described on a website (not theirs) that collates routes and events as possibly the most stunning and inspirational 1100km ride you can find on our little planet. It is the Great Southern Brevet and it is more remote and goes through less towns than any of my previous rides.
Assuming I do this ride then I think I will have done all the 1000km+ rides that have events associated with them. That will mean I either need to start making my own adventures and routes or look overseas.
It is dark as I leave the cabin and make my way onto the course again. At first the street lights make it easy but quickly I’m out of Te Anau and relying on my little bike computer screen. It is usually great, but I’ve got average lights so miss a few turns because I can’t see the party in supposed to be going onto! I can hear so much happening on my left from the lake and the birds. I’m not sure if it is me that has woken them or them cheering me on final day. Whatever the case, they’re making a lot of noise.
The landscape is like a pencil sketch from an artist. You can see some detail and imagine what is there but there isn’t defined shapes or forms much less colour yet. There is a quarter moon in the sky with a little bit of cloud. There seems to be a giant circle around the moon, giving it the appearance of an eye and the sky watching me pedal in this darkness. As the light seeps slowly into my world the colour begins to fill in and the shapes gain clarity.
Guided by my light
The mountains that have been aloof and keeping their distance from me during this ride are close today and getting closer all the time. They’re no longer being judged away from me by hills. Rather, they rise up sharply on my left and my right like a pair of hands preparing to applaud. The ridges drop steeply and appear like long boney fingers on a weathered hand. The higher I climb the closet they get and I’m waiting for them the collide. As the final climb begins so too does the rain. It is almost as though mother nature doesn’t want me to finish. The headwind beats me backwards, the rain tries to drown me, and the gradient is constantly pulling me backwards feeling like I’ve got an anchor.
The Homer Tunnel
I slowly round a bend and there is a sign for hidden queues. Then I found the next and see the cars waiting. Then I see the traffic lights and know I’m in the cusp. The mountains clap their hands together as if saying, “that is far enough.” However their hands don’t meet in the middle and I’m able to make my way through the gap that is the Homer Tunnel and glide the next 18.8km to where the road ends and this adventure is complete.
I start on Monday and I leave tomorrow but still have to get some final bits and actually sort planning! Having had a stupid busy week has left me a little stressed about getting the things I need to do done!
The West Coast Wilderness Trail is 130km and runs from Greymouth to Ross. The first and last 30km aren’t very interesting in contrast with the middle 70km (which has epic moments in amazing countryside). Today we rode the remaining 30km and while there is some incredible forest, the terrain isn’t as stunning as what we rode through yesterday. However, 130km of mostly off-road with fantastic mountain bike trails included means it is pretty special.
Cooler morning with some showers
The war between the rain and the sun continued this morning with a few showers breaking through our defensive line and launching an assault on us. It was enough to have us retreat to our jackets and wet weather gear. But backup arrived as the sun burnt the showers off quickly and continued the offensive. While the dark clouds were ahead most of the day our advances had no resistance from the rain. However, they did launch a counteroffensive with a headwind coming and going making progress harder work than we wanted.
Lunch at Ross
We called it early in a town called Harihari which is most famous because of an Australian – Guy Menzies – who crash landed his plane in a paddock and thought he was still in Australia! Just 84km from Hokitika we stopped early, cleaned up, are a decent meal, and are having an early night. Tomorrow we’re pretty much just on the road.
I’ve confirmed my restart date, booked the ferry, and started training again. Rather than return to the last place on the course I was, I’m going to start the South Island again. I was only 2 days in so I’ll leave from home, take the ferry, then ride the South Island from beginning to end starting Tuesday 5th January.
It is a little different than earlier in the year because it is only half the planned ride. Also one of my brother-in-laws is coming so there will be a peleton of 4 and not just 3. While I’m looking forward to completing what I started I am a little disappointed that it isn’t the entire country in a single ride. I will return to Cape Reinga to complete TA in a single ride, just not this year, and most likely not next year.
Late start due to the tide, but when we rolled into the beach at 10am it was ready to be ridden. The wind was kind today and blew more from the side as we took on the final 14km of the beach. Ahipara was welcome both for food and not being on sand.
What followed was a day of contrasting landscapes. The stunning natural monotonous beauty of the back gave way to small, coastal town NZ, then farmland, rolling hills, forests and bush. One moment we were in the shade of a forest on a gravel road, the next hurtling down a tarmac road with cows cheering us on or maybe warning is of the up hill we were approaching.
Gravel goes up
We caught some riders who left the day before us but took two days to get off the beach. Brutal was the word they used to describe their experience.
Tarmac goes up too!
When we caught the first ferry, 10 minutes across the Hokianga Harbour, we planned to stop at Rawene for the night. However, whole looking at our guide books they said the shops would be closed at 5pm (and we were on the 5pm ferry) do we decided to ride the 21km through to Opononi.
The $2 ferry
When we rolled off the ferry and into Rawene turns out everything was open. However, the commitment to Opononi and the thought of being back on schedule kept us moving. It was probably a little ambitious.
Dinner!
Dinner was a burger, fries, spring rolls and ice cream that disappeared very quickly. A final 500m along the road top the campground, showers, and setting up the tent. The next 2 days are planned to be shorter to allow us to get into the groove. Right now I’m feeling better than the same time last night.
The plan is 27 days so I’m home for a night before clearing off to my brothers wedding. My dilemma is that conditions may make riding to the plan difficult. Strong winds, some type of storm or even a serious mechanical will make the target for the day potentially unachievable. While a setback one day isn’t disastrous it does impact the plan! Catching up 50km over a week won’t be difficult, doing it over a couple of days will be!
I remember hearing Mark Beaumont talk about his plan in around the world in 80 days. He wasn’t focusing on mileage, rather on the hours. His days were seriously programmed for time on and off the bike. This meant some days they would cover insane miles and other days the kind of mileage amateurs cover in a single epic ride.
So it is I will hope that everything comes together with the fitness, the riding and the weather so the plan works out. Otherwise it will be improvising and looking to make up the kilometres as is realistic for someone like me.
My goal is to finish the tour within the 30 days permitted but am aiming for 28 days! Then I had a call from my brother who is getting married (not news) with a date for the wedding (news)! It doesn’t clash, but it is the day after I’m scheduled to get home (assuming I complete in 28 days) AND is the day we would leave so I wouldn’t get a sleep in my bed 😢.
So now my goal is 27 days 😳 That means just over 107km everyday (average). I also need to try and ensure I don’t arrive at my brother’s wedding with an odd sun tan (from glasses and cycle clothing), helmet hair (I’ll probably need to get it cut after a month riding), and unable to remove the stench of 3000km blood, sweat, and tears!
After the Patuna Chasm walk this morning – check it out here: patunafarm.co.nz/ then go walk it – We had lunch in Martinborough then played at the Skatepark for a while. Once done with that, N drove home with the 2 boys who had come on the adventure and left me to ride home.
The problem was it is only ~75km home. So I took some longer paths and a couple of loops to hit 100km for the 2nd day running:
My Tour Aotearoa 