Stage 1: Hey we are still pedaling

Stage 1. – key stats so far:

• KM travelled – 244
• Climbing – 2,370m
• Days – 4
• Personal best daily distance on a bike for the Rear Admiral – 82.4km
• Lost – hardware off bike (crank covers), keys (later found) – sunglasses (again!), dignity (during spill)
• Disclaimer: I am writing this on my mobile – all formatting and typo errors MUST be excused.

There were a number of riding aspects that we wanted to test on this ride as I set out in the last post.

So far the Rear Admiral is showing why she holds that esteemed rank. The idiot on the front has been doing his best to set the performance bar very low. Anything he touches he loses and today he failed to negotiate some patsy Far North gravel (see photo) and the team and the Mo ended up biting the dust. Fortunately our supersized handle bars and panniers kept us from losing any bark, just a loss of dignity. However, apart from some bemused cattle there was nobody nearby to witness the spectacle. A spanner quickly sorted out the handlebars which got seriously rearranged.

Fortunately the riding has not been too hot so far. We have handled that by leaving early and have had the benefit of a couple of quite chilly mornings. This has provided some excellent photo ops.

The Rear Admiral suggested that we get away a day early and rather than have a practice ride around Kerikeri we would alter our route and take in a pretty section of the Twin Coast trail out to Horeke before heading on to Rawene. It was a sensible suggestion (that’s why she has the gold braid all over her shirt) and we got to test the mo on some tricky sections of trail. Both the bike and the RA handled it well. I softened on my camping suggestion for that extra night and checked if the Horeke Pub had any available beds – they did and I was able to bank quite a few ‘brownie points’ which I immediately spent when I lost the battery, lock and house keys. After getting most of Horeke searching for them we found them the next morning hanging in the bike battery lock – duh.

We have been through some very tough country so far and can attest to the terrible state of many roads and the sad decline of the rural services and infrastructure. The RA is not a fan of the gravel roads up here and I awarded this mornings road (Sandhills Road) the title of the worst that I have biked on in my travels around NZ – yes it was worse than the Port Underwood ride and The ride via Mt Gay.

Bob the Angel Bear has been having a pretty chilled life. He got a bit dusty this morning and we thought that he had nits but they turned out to be biddy bid seeds – must have got them when he was frolicking in the grass during one of our many drinks breaks.

Tomorrow we do the big battery and camping tests when we hope to get through 130km of tough hill climbing on a single battery charge. If I get this wrong I suspect that I could be facing a dishonourable discharge from my duties as ‘captain’. We will try and get a pic of the team at the Cape but the trek down (requiring a slog back up) to the famous sign may be a hill too far.

So far we have been very impressed with the range performance of the big bike so we are feeling a lot more confident that we will make the distance. All will be revealed in the next episode.

We are getting heaps of toots and waves from the locals which is helping to spur us along as are the donations to Bald Angels that are tricking in. Many thanks to those who have contributed.

Another early morning scene – Rawene

We are attempting sustainable travel which may not spin your wheels. However, should you be interested in finding out more about managing your carbon footprint visit the Carbon Neutral NZ Trust website for more tips and advice. Calculate your footprint – you may be shocked or surprised.