It has been a tough month for the Rear Admiral (RA). After she battled battled through the last few hundred kilometres to Invercargill suffering from (as we would find out later) Covid, she announced on that last cold ride to Invercargill that she was not up for the ride back north. Then, after a few weeks recovering with some good rest, she decided that she would ride. Why not, you only live once! Having given the green light she immediately contracted another nasty and has been laid low for another week. With our pedal-off date rapidly approaching we agreed that she was not going to be 100% fit and she has decided to retire to the bench. The 4,358km she has ridden to get to Invercargill is way beyond what she ever though she was capable of and has been an amazing personal achievement.
Bob has immediately put his paw up for a promotion but I had to be brutally honest with the little blighter and point out that his paws did not reach the pedals. He will need to continue in his role as expedition leader.
I will now be riding solo. It may not be for the entire ride north but that is the plan at the moment. I will need to change my acronym from GOTF to OPOB (only person on bike). Sorry Bob but I will be really honest again, you are a Bear, a toy one at that.
Anyway, this adds a whole new dimension to the Angel Seat. Ruth was always very keen to give it up to anyone who was keen to give tandem cycling a go. Well, take your pick now, we have seat vacancies covering about 2,600km of interesting countryside. There is only one long standing booking from Fox Glacier to Greymouth but even that may be wavering as the participant has advised that he may have to join Ruth on the bench. Maybe I need to start wearing a stronger deodorant and or refrain from eating baked beans!
Should any of you readers experience a sudden rush of blood to the head and think “that looks like fun”, you can view the route north here and the rough itinerary here. It could be for a day, a few hours or a few days (if we can make that work). Send us an email if you are interested in exploring the opportunities.
Just to recap, we are riding for a charity called The Bald Angels who make it their mission to give vulnerable kids hope. If you were to ride on the tandem you would be helping to spread the word and hopefully get us closer to ur $7,500 target not to mention giving this ageing bald OPOB hope that he may make it home.
There was a good follow-up article in The Northern Advocate on our ride so far.
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The Angel Tandem - Adventures on the wrong side of 60 
So sorry to hear that you have been so sick Ruth.You will be disappointed that you’re not doing the return trip,but you did so well, even doing the trip to Invercargill! Am very proud of you and Cliff and Bob too of course.An enormous achievement!
Hope that Cliff gets some substitutes!
Hugs and Love.Sue R.xx
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Thanks Sue. I’m not too disappointed. It was pretty tough for me. Thanks for your concern.
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Hi Cliff,
I have totally loved all your writing, the amazing adventures and the Bob insights! Your 100% commitment so admired. I do hope you find the right peddling buddy. Sorry I can’t think of anyone.
Ruth, you have been more than amazing, what a great trooper you have been. I know you will be mentally riding every hill, up and down with Cliff.
Thanks go out to both of you for sharing and all you are achieving.
Hugs and love.
Lynnis
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Thanks Lynnis – I will still be riding even without a stoker/rear admiral. It does not really bother me. Ruth may still join me for the Auckland to Kerikeri leg in March. Thanks for your support it really helps us to keep going when it gets tough.
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I know how important support is and you deserve lots of it. Would you like me to approach 2 biking buddies who have done the Cape Reinga to Bluff Ride. One a light weight lass from Kerikeri the other a trim X farmer now living in Ohiwa near Whakatane
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It is a bit challenging from a logistic point of view at this stage to bring someone else on board at short notice so I wouldn’t bother. But thanks for the offer.
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Hi Cliff & Ruth. We’ve come across your story today via a friend via the Northern Advocate. We’re a pair of 79 year olds residing in Cromwell, previously in Masterton. We too have a Moustache tandem, “Giselle”. In the last three plus years we’ve ridden near on 25,000k on the bike. In all our touring we have never come across another tandem pair. We are regularly told we’re the first electric tandem that people have ever seen. If you are still south we may be able to meet up. Meri the stoker is esp keen to talk with another stoker. We tour extensively including a 46-day ride from Picton to Invercargill and back up the middle to Picton. Our essentials include two spare batteries to provide serious flexibility regardless of hill, wind or other weather. We also have Wheel Works wheels after experiencing broken spokes in the original wheel set. We’ve also customised our gearing added flags/ribbons and lotsa lights. Giselle replaced a manual Apollo tandem we found too tough to tour with esp on East Coast hill country. Neither of us are big people nevertheless we total close to 200kg all up including two MacBooks, a bottle of red and a bottle of white. We don’t tent rather use B&Bs and are self-contained re foods esp breakfast and dinners. We’ve just done a 10-day tour of West Otago and Southland. There you go. Our details are below should you wish to get in touch. Best wishes as you continue. Doug & Meri
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Hi Doug & Meri
Great to hear from another couple on a moustache. Like you, we have not met anyone else on a tandem let alone an e-tandem. As you may have read on the blog, we are undertaking a circuit of NZ and have been enjoying a break for the last few weeks before resuming our journey back to Kerikeri next week. Unfortunately the stoker (Ruth) is not 100% so I will be resuming the trip on my own. She may join me later. I fly back to Invercargill tomorrow but my route north will not bring me to Cromwell – I do have a rest day in Wānaka which is as close as I will get. We passed through Clyde & Alexandra in December. We have been very pleased with the bike performance and it would be great to keep in touch and compare notes. If you are ever in the Far North give us a shout. Due to the challenges of getting the big bike around, our future riding is more likely to be up in the north. Cheers Cliff & Ruth
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Cliff, when will you be in Wanaka on your rest day? We may be able to connect. Meri is hosting a fellow American and doing some travelling in the car so it may not be possible. Let’s see … Doug
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Hi Doug – If all goes to plan, I will be there on Tuesday 28th Jan. Cliff
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