Getting back to Kerikeri + the ride video

Last year when I finished my rides I was able to bag the bike and fly home, a journey of a few hours. This time, Howards flash e-bike was not public transport friendly. Apart from being too heavy to carry as flight luggage, airlines won’t carry lithium-ion batteries. As a consequence, when we got to Queenstown we had to collect a rental car for a two day drive to Picton where we dropped the rental and got back on the bikes for a short ride-ferry-ride back to Howard’s car at Seatoun and then a further two days driving through to Kerikeri. About the only positive from the drive was that we started to appreciate just how far we had cycled.

Unlike our trip south on the ferry where we were first to embark and had a choice of seating, this time we were last on and had to accept what was left. I could not help but notice the number of unmasked people coughing and sneezing and should have masked up but didn’t know where I had packed my masks. For the previous three weeks, an abundance of fresh air had removed any thoughts of masking up. Sooo, it was not surprising that I got sick within a day of our return to Kerikeri. I failed to test positive for Covid but whatever it was, I did manage to pass it onto Ruth. The bike got sent to the shed and gathered a few cobwebs while I recovered.

This unexpected downtime gave me the opportunity to sift through the hours of video footage and many hundreds of photos and put together my usual video recollection of the journey. I do this so that when I can no longer push the bike along I can sit in a chair with a rug over my knees and reminisce. If you have an hour to spare you can view it below.

Video: Rocks in their heads