Some random inspiration

There is not much activity planned for the rapidly approaching winter months. We will continue to drag the tandem out for a weekly blowout on our local country roads. To keep reasonably fit, the GOTF will get a few extra pedals on his manual half bike while the RA heads off to the community gym for some better all round workouts. The route planning is done, there are a few bookings that need/have needed to be attended to, some gear sorting and of course there is bike maintenance to ensure that the tandem is finely tuned for pedal-off. Our fund raising is on pause. It won’t be until spring that we will finally start to move into full preparation and training mode.

In the meantime, the challenge is to remain motivated. It would be very easy to slide back into the comforts of home and quietly slide the whole plan into the too-hard basket.

In researching both the acquisition of a tandem and undertaking a more ambitious tandem tour, we came across many examples of people who are undertaking some pretty amazing adventures. Here are a just a few examples that have helped us in a number of ways.

Charity Rider

We got the idea of riding a tandem bike for charity from a “new” kiwi, Naresh Kumar, who we read about in Jane King’s book, The Kiwi Cyclists Guide to Life, published in 2017. Naresh encountered sex trafficking while traveling in Nepal and wanted to raise awareness about human trafficking. In 2016, he rode a tandem bike he named Kindness from Cape Reinga to Bluff, inviting people he met along the way to ride on the back, calling it The Freedom Seat. By riding on the back of a tandem, you temporarily give up your freedom to the person in front; this symbolizes the permanent loss of freedom for human trafficking victims. His objective was to raise awareness and funds to fight human trafficking, a cause close to his heart after learning that 40 million people, mostly women and children, are trafficked globally.

During the 3,000 km journey, 140 people aged 3 to 72 pedalled with him on The Freedom Seat. Further research revealed that Naresh continued his campaign, riding from Perth to Sydney in 2017 and from India to Germany in 2019, covering 8,600 km. He even released a film about his last ride and the cause that inspired him. You can also check out his journeys here.

Pedalling Pensioners

When we discuss our plans with others, the general vibe we receive is that we are nuts. Apart from the apparent dangers of riding a bike (usually offered by someone who doesn’t ride a bike), the inference is that we are a bit long in the tooth for that sort of nonsense. I recently read an article which probably expressed multi-day expeditions better than I can. ‘Perhaps the most profound lesson bikepacking offers is the realization that true happiness lies in experiences, not possessions. When you’re out on the trail, you’re not defined by your job title, your wardrobe, or your material wealth. Instead, you’re defined by the stories you collect, the connections you make, and the memories you create. This shift in perspective is a powerful reminder that the most valuable things in life are often intangible‘ (the full article is worth a read). We would add: that you travel with what you can fit into your bike bags, your focus is on your daily destination, the weather forecast becomes more important than the news, the journey is the experience and your destination is usually just a place to sleep and hopefully get a meal.

During our ride around Te Tai Tokerau we came across several older riders who, like us, had obviously lost the plot. When I got back I did a search to see if any other ‘oldies’ had documented their experiences. You come across quite a few on social media posting about their experiences on epic rides such as Tour Aotearoa, Sounds to Sounds and The Kopiko. But blogging does not seem to be their medium of choice. I did, however, come across the ABC video below interviewing an octogenarian kiwi couple. They started bike touring at the age of 70 and this video was filmed during their second ride across the Nullabor in Aussie at the age of 81(note: they are on manual bikes). They give a very honest appraisal of what it is like to undertake these adventures in your advancing years. As they found on this ride, a tent was an essential back up as the very limited other accommodation was booked out. Crikey! and I thought that what we are attempting might be the last throw of the dice – we have years of pedalling left (this comment was not approved by the RA).

Record Setters

When researching the purchase of a Tandem, I started following the exploits of a much younger couple who set out to break the record for the fastest tandem ride around the World. Obviously, with obstacles like the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the ride cannot be contiguous but to qualify, the contenders must ride a minimum of 18,000 miles (28,968km) in one direction and include both hemispheres. The tandem was custom built so that they could disassemble into two bike boxes for the flights between land masses.

While we are not in the slightest bit interested in setting any records (well the RA is keen on trying for the slowest ride around Aotearoa) and Cliff is not going to attempt to match Steve’s (The Captain) impressive beard. However, if there are readers who are prepared to sponsor (proceeds to Bald Angels) a moustache (to match the bike brand) I might consider attempting to encourage a suitably impressive growth on the upper lip and will keep it until the ride is finished (place your pledges in the comments section of this post).

Parts of The SteLa blog proved a useful resource in our own planning and it was also a great story that is ongoing in terms of how it has impacted on their lives. They completed the journey in 180 days.

Taking the family along

I was recently browsing through a Facebook cycling forum and stumbled across the ‘Swag Family’ (Andrew and Nicola Hughes) from Tasmania. They are currently cycling through NZ with their three children on the first leg of a three year journey around the World. They are riding a Triplet (3 seater bike – a tandem with a third position – the two older children are on that) and a tandem with a child seat on the stoker position for the 18 month old plus, towing a trailer. A bike ‘road train’! In 2019They rode 14,000km around around Australia on two tandems with their then two younger children. Here is an excellent article about them on Escape.

Looking out the window it looks as though our long spell of dry weather is about to end. The approaching stormy weather and wet winter months will be another negative. Best I get looking for inspiration on riding in all weathers.