Month: October 2019

Yay: felt better today after better sleep; doing the endless gravel hill before Wairoa in the cool of the morning; bakery in Wairoa; climb after that having plenty of trees; ice cream at Morere and feeling great on the next hill – where Brendan and Pete paid me a surprise morale-boosting visit; the sunset and the stars at the end! Three days!! Wasn’t sure that was possible:)

Boo: Guy pulled out due to knee; crazy driver nearly spinning out on gravel as they passed me: rumble strips I hate them; Brendan did save the steepest climbs for last.

Thankful for: having put the 24t on the front – would have been walking many of the last hills otherwise – totally worth the (large number) of chain fall offs. My favourite podcasts the Hidden Athlete and Irenicast. Richard picking me up at the end!

Yay: Te mata peak just after dawn was pretty cool. Brent C came to ride with me near Napier for a bit, awesome surprise! Last part of day I enjoyed, feeling stronger. Also appreciating in retrospect that yesterday I felt really good all day! Kindnesses: people gave us some water (after we had crawled under electric fence to filter from a stock pond); neighbours camping at beach invited us to their fire.

Boo:11am to about 3pm was tough, hot and a giant gravel hill, it felt like a struggle. Guy’s chain was playing up but he did get it fixed. Guy’s knee is playing up and he might pull out.

Waikawa 630am 15 hardy riders ready to journey 540km to Mahia peninsula…

Yay: lots of familiar friendly faces at the start line; strong southerly tail wind!; awesome sunny fast section on beach; pizza and Powerade in waimarama and feeling good on subsequent hill! (Also a hose there to wash bike of mud… see boo) Finding Guy on that hill and then finding an awesome campsite tucked away by the river at 715pm. Also yay, whenever I changed to small chain ring and chain didn’t fall off. Yay doing 190km.

Boo: cold showery southerlies most of day; many chain failings off; me falling off (blown off) and gravel rashing me; heinous cold rainy ride up through farm with mud that paralysed my bike.

Song: no songs only busy mind with work and renovation/imminent homelessness. Also refrain of ‘how can I stop chain falling off’ and ‘what is that mysterious noise’.