The last part of my personal challenge for the Long Ride was to take the trusty commuter bike out for one more long ride and participate in the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge in the last weekend of November – 3 days after finishing the 1000 km Long Ride. I was part of a [...]]]>

The start

The last part of my personal challenge for the Long Ride was to take the trusty commuter bike out for one more long ride and participate in the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge in the last weekend of November – 3 days after finishing the 1000 km Long Ride. I was part of a 4 person relay team the previous year, riding 40 km of the 160 km circumnavigation of the lake. I figured this year – with a better level of fitness – I should be able to improve on that, so entered for the first two legs (80 km) in a 3 person relay team. The strategy was to complete the first half of the circuit and then see how I felt. I knew I could ride 80 km no problem, but on some of the days of the Long Ride I was getting pretty tired at that distance, so it was not a given that I would continue past half way.

The weather for the Cycle Challenge this year was cool and overcast, with some drizzle – more pleasant riding conditions than last year’s ride in full sunshine, on hot roads and in high temperatures. I slept in on the morning of the start so we arrived at the start line near the back of the pack. It took nearly half an hour to get all the cyclists over the start line. Then we were off, up the first hill threading carefully through the mass of cyclists of all abilities spread out across two road lanes. I rode the first half of the race pretty conservatively, knowing that this was going to be a long day and I needed to conserve energy. Even so, I was passing everyone on the hills almost as if they were stopped, which concerned me a little.

My cycle computer had given up on me during the last 2 days of the Long Ride, and the replacement I had been given was not working, so I was riding without instruments. The 40 km mark came up pretty quickly. After the initial hills of leg 1, the undulating terrain of leg 2 was more comfortable – more familiar and I reached the 80 km mark for the changeover sooner than I had expected. I stopped to refuel and stretch the legs, but did not feel al all tired. Even though I had just cycled 80 km I felt good enough to do it all again, so set off towards the 3rd changeover at the 120 km mark. I still felt like I had plenty of energy and was still passing everyone in front of me on the hills as if I had another extra couple of gears. That was totally unexpected. Even on the flat I was whizzing passed most other cyclists. Maybe my fitness level had improved more than I had realised!

Winding up the hills on leg 1

At the 120 km mark it was decision time. This was already the furthest distance I had cycled on one day. I could stop now and be happy with this achievement or carry on and risk hitting the wall in 10 or 20 km. I still felt pretty good so decided to go for broke and attempt to complete the whole circuit. The first 20 km of the final leg are flat, so that was not too much of a problem. At my comfortable pace I was still passing other cyclists with plenty of speed, but the Hatepe Hill was still in front of me. That hill proved to be a challenge, mainly because I was beginning to tire. I adopted my usual hill strategy – find the right gear and keep those legs pumping. By the time I got to the top I was breathing hard, but the legs were still ok and I had passed many people on the way up. From here on to Taupo I knew it would be a matter of endurance – hanging in there with enough energy to make it across the finish line.

The last 20 km of the ride were the hardest. My right leg was getting tired, my butt was sore from sitting on this seat for so long and my energy levels were dropping. At my most comfortable riding pace I was still whizzing past other cyclists, but the goal for me now was to finish.

I managed to complete the 160 km ride without incident. So pleased to get off that seat and stretch the legs. At a personal level this was more of an achievement for me than completing the Long Ride. I did not really expect I could last that distance, given my experience during the training for the Long Ride. For me that finish was very emotional.

Still feeling ok at the 120 km mark

Excluding my one hour of stoppages, my cycling time was around 5 hrs 50 mins, giving an average speed on the course of 27.4 km/h – faster than I have ever ridden before. May be there is something in that Taupo water! Or maybe I should just ride more often without an operable cycle computer.

tired but happy after 160 km

The cycle ride has finished. It is time to reflect on the trip and for me to acknowledge the input of a few key people.

But first some key statistics:

According to my cycle computer (which I am taking as the definitive record) the Long Ride To Work covered a total distance of 1039 [...]]]> After the ride .

The cycle ride has finished. It is time to reflect on the trip and for me to acknowledge the input of a few key people.

But first some key statistics:

According to my cycle computer (which I am taking as the definitive record) the Long Ride To Work covered a total distance of 1039 km on the route from Wellington to Auckland. Darin’s cycle computer consistently told us we had travelled further, but we think this was optimism on his part to compensate for fewer training hours. Even though he has longer legs than the rest of us his bike still travels the same distance!

As a team we had a total of four flat tyres (two while cycling, two while consuming food when we weren’t on the bikes!). Darin and I managed the total trip without a single puncture. Our only breakage was the busted derailleur caused by the loose chip seal on the road leaving Mahia.

We cycled 12 days and had two ‘rest days’ when we weren’t on the bikes. On one of the rest days we traded bike seats for car seats and drove the 300 km around East Cape.

During our 12 days cycling we ascended more than 5040 metres (twice the height of Mt. Egmont/Taranaki and more than half the height of Mt Everest). We spent a total of 43.5 hours on a bike seat. We had a sore butt on 13 of the 14 days (93% of the time).

Our longest day (time) spent cycling was Day 11 Whakatane to Tauranga – 4.5 hours. Our longest distance cycled in one day was Day 3 Pahiatua to Waipukurau – 101 km. Our shortest distance cycled was 67 km and the average distance per cycling day was 86 km.

During the 15 nights away from home, 14 were spent in different beds.

The tallest hill we climbed was over the Rimutaka Ranges on Day 1, but the worst hill to cycle over was Day 8 cycling to Gisborne (the steepest hill and in the hottest conditions).

Arguably the most scenic and interesting ride (from a cycling viewpoint) was Day 4 – the route from Waipukurau to Napier adjacent to the Tukituki River valley, even though the weather was overcast. But this is not an obvious choice – many other days were similarly scenic and could be categorised as the ‘best’.

The most ‘pleasant surprise’ from my perspective was still feeling good about cycling on the morning of Day 4. And the ride along coast in brilliant sunshine from Mahia – before the incident with the broken derailleur.

Our overall average cycling speed (over the 12 cycling days) was 23.8 km/h and our fastest day was Day 3 Pahiatua to Waipukurau (also the longest distance, surprisingly) – averaging 27.5 km/h.

While on the Long Ride the team consumed 17 batches of baking (which included at least 4 batches of chocolate brownie and 2 batches of chocolate fudge cake). We had two trips to the chocolate shop in Greytown, to stock up on chocolate supplies. This was accompanied by no less than 60 cups of coffee (not a lot over 12 days cycling).

The number of days when we stopped smiling, got sick of each of others company and wished we had already reached work: 0

So to thanks and appreciation…

My biggest thanks and appreciation goes to my fellow cyclists: Darin, Rose and especially Keryn for assistance with training and support before and during the ride. Without her encouragement and assistance this ride and fundraising effort would not have happened.

Thanks also to Keryn for making the pink booties, chocolate brownie, chocolate fudge cake, assisting with planning the route, overnight stops and accommodation.

Special thanks and appreciation to Barbara for managing the support vehicle, refreshments, returning to Greytown for more chocolate, ferrying the broken bike to Gisborne for repairs, and organising lunch stops.

The following very generously provided accommodation, hot showers, food and drink at various places on the way, for which the cyclists are most grateful:
Colin & Dianne Goble (Napier); Shale Chambers & Glenda Fryer (Orere Point); Paul & Claire Feeney (Tauranga); John and Jan Ferguson (Gisborne); Darin’s brother Pete Millar (Wellington).  Thanks so much.

Thanks to the Holmes Fire team at work – esp. in Auckland & Christchurch and to my family in Auckland for their patience while I was away – during training and while on the Long Ride.

And finally – acknowledgment to other key people:
Allen Gray at Ultimo for the great cycle shirts – our most distinctive feature on the ride.
Dennis Gear in Gisborne for leg massages. Thanks Dennis – that provided welcome relief to sore muscles.
Shelley Hanna for her encouragement along the way – thanks Shelley.

And thanks to everyone that left comments on the blog. I have read every comment and appreciate the support you have given me and the team during the ride.

Last, but certainly not least: thanks to all of you who donated so generously to support this worthy cause.

Martin F

Leaving Orere Point

Our stay at Orere Point was a fitting last night to the Long Ride. Warm sunny afternoon giving way to a warm evening on the deck, enjoying the view, conversation, sights and sounds of the cliff top location overlooking the Hauraki Gulf. The Long Ride was nearly [...]]]> Day 14: Orere Point to Auckland

Leaving Orere Point

Our stay at Orere Point was a fitting last night to the Long Ride. Warm sunny afternoon giving way to a warm evening on the deck, enjoying the view, conversation, sights and sounds of the cliff top location overlooking the Hauraki Gulf. The Long Ride was nearly finished. Thanks Shale and Glenda.

Heading towards Kawakawa Bay

We left Orere Point in perfect weather: brilliant sunshine, blue sky. no wind. Not so perfect for a long day of cycling though – it was going to be a hot day. Neil Gravestock joined us at Orere Point for the final day of cycling into Auckland.

the ride to Clevedon

Within 10 minutes we were tacking our only major hill climb of the day, through the scenic bush on the road to Kawakawa Bay and Clevedon. Then we were at the coast, overlooking the aqua water of the Hauraki Gulf. Very little traffic, smooth roads. Magic!

Onwards to Clevedon, through very familiar roads (most of the longer training rides were on roads around here, although the countryside looked quite different today without the usual grey clouds and rain that we had become accustomed to in training. With the help of good tail wind we were soon at the coast again, heading towards Maraetai.

We were welcomed into Auckland by early flower on the pohutukawa trees lining the cliffs of the Maraetai Coast Road, with faint glimpses of the Skytower in the distance.

After a re-fuelling stop in the sun, overlooking the golden beach at Maraetai, we climbed over the hills towards Whitford, then on to the busy, noisy crowded streets of East Tamaki. Cycling on these roads reminds me of all the reasons not to be on a bike in Auckland traffic. However, that was for a relatively short distance before we detoured to quieter streets in Panmure, then Glen Innes, eventually meeting up with the sparkling waters of the Waitemata Harbour at St Heliers Bay.

By now the westerly breeze  had filled in, so we cycled through a head wind on Tamaki Drive to the CBD. Two more cyclists joined us at St Heliers Bay (Helena & Pete – thanks for taking the time out to ride the last 10 k). The last 10 km seemed to be over in a flash. I guess partly because the road is so familiar to all of us (except Darin). And the views across the harbour in the sunshine made up for any inconvenience from that pesky head wind.

So after 12 days of cycling, and 1039 km later, we reached the workplace – Market Place, Viaduct Harbour, Auckland. After apologies to the Office Manager for being a few days late for work we enjoyed a cold drink and catch-up with family, friends and supporters.

final part of the Long Ride around the east coast: Tamaki Drive, Akld

Look out for the “Epi-Blog” which will give a run-down on the Long Ride, including full stats on all sorts of interesting facts such as numbers of flat tyres, cups of coffee, batches of baking consumed on the trip, total metres of ascent, total time spent sitting on a bike, blah-blah, etc.

That will be posted after the Lake Taupo Challenge happening this weekend.

At the end: the LRTW team's version of 1000 km

Stats for Day 14 of the Long Ride: total trip was 92.4 km, with a total cycling time of 4 hrs 01 mins. The average speed was 23 km/h. No big down hills today. Maximum speed today was 48 km/h – clocked when we could see a cold beer waiting for us at the end of the ride

More talk about sore butts & head winds

Weather-wise today was pretty good. We left Paeroa beneath a dull, overcast sky – very humid but no sun – with mist shrouded the surrounding hills. The first part of the route took us up to the Thames/Kopu turnoff and across the rickety [...]]]> Day 13: Paeroa to Orere Point

More talk about sore butts & head winds

Weather-wise today was pretty good. We left Paeroa beneath a dull, overcast sky – very humid but no sun – with mist shrouded the surrounding hills. The first part of the route took us up to the Thames/Kopu turnoff and across the rickety single lane bridge on the main road to Thames. Up to here the terrain would be described as ‘gently undulating’, which sounds very genteel. A short stop was needed to alleviate some minor hassles with the gear change on Keryn’s bike before they caused more significant frustration.

Across the Hauraki Plains we battled a strong head wind, rotating the front rider to save energy. That made our line of four riders more of a “corde“ rather than a peloton.

The slog into the relentless blustery head wind on a busy highway with narrow shoulders and long straights made this the toughest portion of today’s ride. By the end of the ride across the plains our butts were very very sore from sitting on the bike seat trudging on the pedals. Jeepers that part of the ride was tough! Maybe we are getting soft as we approach the end of the ride! Legs and knees seem to holding up ok though. Making sure we had enough water was an issue though as the sun melted through the thin cloud cover and we were cycling in full-on sun in the middle of the day.

Finally we turned off the main road, heading north past Miranda to Orere Point. At least the views alongside the coast out to the Firth of Thames (and the tail wind) made the last 30 km of the ride that much more bearable.

battling the head wind

Stats for Day 13 of the Long Ride: total trip was 92.5 km, with a total cycling time of 3 hrs 48 mins. The average speed was 25.1 km/h. Maximum speed today was a modest 48 km/h (no long downhills).

Firht of Thames coast

very happy to reach Orere Pt so we could get off that bike seat!

If you are keen to join us but have not registered your interest, txt Martin [...]]]> For those keen cyclists who have registered their interest to meet us at St Heliers to join us for the last 10 km of The Long Ride To Work, we expect to be at St Heliers between 3 and 3.30 pm.

If you are keen to join us but have not registered your interest, txt Martin on 021 243 0343 before 12 noon on Wed 25th.

Day 12: Tauranga to Paeroa

The day started much the same as other days – re-acquainting butt with the bike seat, By now the butt sure gets sore enough after about 40 or 50 km, depending on the amount of variation in terrain, hence the amount of [...]]]>

Leaving Tauranga: thanks for having us Paul & Claire

Day 12: Tauranga to Paeroa

The day started much the same as other days – re-acquainting butt with the bike seat, By now the butt sure gets sore enough after about 40 or 50 km, depending on the amount of variation in terrain, hence the amount of time spent off the pedals.

Main Highway: damn rumble strips....

In Tauranga the day started with high overcast cloud, no sign of the early morning showers that had been forecast. The sky cleared soon after we started out. Under a clear blue sky on a day that had already started with temperatures in the mid teens, the road soon warmed up so that riding on the black asphalt became unbearably hot in places.

Today’s route followed State Highway 2 for most of the day: Tauranga to Paeroa via Waihi. Accordingly the road was very busy with traffic. Noisy – very difficult for us to talk with each other while cycling because of the road noise. In fact, in the few periods when there was no traffic the silence was very noticeable.

Today’s route also won the prize for the most kilometres of “rumble strips” – which are a real hazard to cyclists. These are the strips of raised bumps – usually white – placed on or next to the white line on the left hand edge of the carriageway. You can see these in many of today’s photos. Their purpose is to warn motorists that their left hand side tyres are driving too close to the left side of the vehicle carriageway. Cyclists prefer to ride on the shoulder rather than in the main vehicle lane, because it is safer, and gives the trucks room to pass without knocking into cyclists.

At the Waihi quarry (no, we did not cycle down and back up)

But the demarcation between vehicle lane and shoulder is lined with these damn rumble strips. So if cyclists need to avoid a pothole or broken glass or move out of the shoulder lane at a bridge crossing for example, then they have to cross the rumble strips several times. Tricky on thin road tyres at the best of times – especially when travelling faster than 30 km/h. And in wet weather the strips are slippery, which makes them treacherous.

So today’s ride was busy with traffic, noisy (traffic) and had kilometre after kilometre of rumble strips. On the plus side, the shorter ride and more pleasant cycling conditions made today’s ride one of the more enjoyable of our trip so far. No really long or steep hills (would not have even registered on the Uphill Crap Factor – see earlier blogs for an explanation of this term).

Karangahake Gorge road

The ride through the pass between the east coast and Waihi was one of the highlights. Also the last few kilometres through the Karangahake Gorge to Paeroa. We stopped briefly at Waihi to look into that enormous hole in the ground (the opencast mine). Another day without flat tyres, but a minor adjustment was needed to the gear change mechanism on Keryn’s bike.

Conditions were not nearly as warm for cycling compared to yesterday, even though the temperature was much the same. Humidity was much lower than yesterday, and at the times when the sun was hottest there was usually a cooling breeze to accompany us. Sunburn was the biggest hazard (not something I usually have to think about when riding to work). I carried some extra drinking water with me today to avoid the dehydration problems from yesterday. Butt got quite sore at the usual 60 km mark (but less severe than yesterday because of the more varied terrain of today’s route. We were off the pedals more, and had more up and down rollercoaster hills to deal with. Legs seem to be coping with the ride so far. Distance itself is not an issue, but sustained effort (either on long steep hills or battling a headwind for hours) certainly takes its toll on the thighs.

We forgot to pack the scales, so none of us has weighed ourselves since we started the ride to see if our weight has changed. But we expect we have all put on weight in spite of the miles covered thanks to the generous supply of baking from Keryn’s mum and from Adie Fortuin (thanks for the chocolate brownies Adie).

Stats for Day 12 of the Long Ride: total trip was 78.5 km, with a total cycling time of 3 hrs 15 mins (more than an hour less cycling time than yesterday). The average speed was 23 km/h.

Arrival at Karangahake Gorge

Leaving Whakatane

Now we are 4 again

Rose re-joined us yesterday at Whakatane (with a flash new bike helmet) in time to ride today to complete the Long Ride to Auckland.

Cycle path en route out of Whakatane

The full team is back together again.

Today’s ride was a flat route from Whakatane to [...]]]> Day 11: Whakatane to Tauranga

Leaving Whakatane

Now we are 4 again

Rose re-joined us yesterday at Whakatane (with a flash new bike helmet) in time to ride today to complete the Long Ride to Auckland.

Cycle path en route out of Whakatane

The full team is back together again.

Today’s ride was a flat route from Whakatane to Tauranga (maximum ascent only 70 metres!). However, the weather turned the ride into something of an endurance effort. Weather was overcast – heavy grey clouds, which thinned and cleared later in the day. No problem with that. Weather was warm – the forecast high temperature in the region was in the mid-twenties and humidity was unusually high for the Bay of Plenty. The cloud kept the ride cooler than it would have been if we had been cycling in sunshine, which was a bonus, but the warm westerly wind dominated cycling conditions.

Our route was pretty much heading west the whole day, so for 90% of the time we were riding straight into a breezy head wind.

Riding on the flat into a head wind means there are no free kilometres. No coasting on down hills. No tail wind to ease the pressure on the legs. No variations in terrain which use different leg muscles and require riding off the seat. It is a grind at a constant pace into the wind the whole time. The legs muscles and butt get sore much sooner than they would in other conditions, and there is no relief.

In the warm humid conditions this was hard work. Given the general lack of up and down terrain to provide some variation to the ride, the butts were majorly sore even before we had reached the halfway point. We all complained about this. Coupled with the warm conditions and this ride took its toll.

By the end of the day we were all dehydrated, sore and looking forward to the end of the day’s ride. We arrived at our destination at 5pm, and spent the next hour sprawled on the deck re-hydrating and stretching sore/tired muscles. Thankfully the wind had dropped by then, so it was pleasant enough sitting on the deck in the late afternoon, grateful that we had finished that ride and wishing that the wind and died away sooner than it did, as was forecast. But we can’t control the weather, so I won’t go on (again) about how much we dislike windy conditions (especially constant all-day headwinds).

Good news: no punctures today, no mishaps on the bikes, no close encounters of the vehicular kind. The views along the coast were nice but a few twists and turns in those LONG straights between Matata and Otamarakau would have added greater interest. For the rest of the route the scenery was also pleasant, but not spectacular.

Not much more to say really. Bit like sitting on the wind trainer in the garage – setting it to ‘hard grind’, riding in heated conditions, then putting the head down and pedalling away for several hours without having enough to drink. And at the end wondering why the overuse of the same muscles makes you sore and cranky. Accordingly, not much choice or variation in the photos taken today.

We all ranked today as one of the hardest – mainly because of the weather conditions, and even though there were no serious hills. If there had been a significant portion of tail wind, or no wind, then no doubt we would be thinking about today differently.

last kilometre of the day; blurry but expression says it all

Stats for Day 11 of the Long Ride: total trip was 99.5 km, with a total cycling time of 4 hrs 27 mins

the end of the day's ride

(much longer than usual as there was no let up from the head wind). The average speed was 23 km/h.

first puncture of the day

Torere – where’s that?

Torere is 20 km east of Whakatane. We left from there to make sure that distance travelled today would add up tot the 1000 km total (the distance from Opotoki to Whakatane – our final destination for today) does not give us enough [...]]]> Day 10: Torere to Whakatane

first puncture of the day

Torere – where’s that?

Torere is 20 km east of Whakatane. We left from there to make sure that distance travelled today would add up tot the 1000 km total (the distance from Opotoki to Whakatane – our final destination for today) does not give us enough total distance unless we add on the additional distance to Torere.

Conditions today on the road were pretty good. Very warm – Opotoki was expecting a high today in the late twenties. Generally sunny, with some high cloud. Breezy, bordering on windy, and mostly a head wind. Countryside is rolling green hills, farmland. The portions of ride along the coast were really nice- through glades of spreading weathered pohutukawas.

Opotoki coastline

Stuart Harris joined us for the last part of today’s ride, through the valleys that carry streams into the estuary next to Ohope Beach. In spite of the head wind, the ride today was enjoyable, with interesting views of the coast and beaches. We took turns at the front when the breeze was strongest.

To finish we had to contend with the long hill between Ohope and Whakatane. Would have preferred to get that hill out of the way at the beginning of the ride, but can’t do much about that!  As it happened the hill was no too bad, and we arrived in Whakatane early afternoon, still feeling in pretty good shape.

In relative terms today’s ride was one of the shorter rides, so that probably explains why the ride was not too taxing. By now we are also getting a bit more conditioned to sitting on the bike seat each day. However, the butt still gets really sore after about 60 km of cycling!

Stats for Day 10 of the Long Ride: total trip was 67 km, with a total cycling time of 3 hrs 11 mins. The average speed was 21 km/h .

pink booties & jandals!!??

Mahia Beach

Leaving Mahia Beach

I know what I am going to wear to work today:

Deciding what to wear to work each day is getting pretty easy by now. Pink cycle jersey, bike shoes, bike pants, bike gloves, helmet, sunglasses, arm warmers if weather is windy [...]]]> Day 8: Mahia to Gisborne – Now we are 2

Mahia Beach

Leaving Mahia Beach

I know what I am going to wear to work today:

Deciding what to wear to work each day is getting pretty easy by now. Pink cycle jersey, bike shoes, bike pants, bike gloves, helmet, sunglasses, arm warmers if weather is windy or cool. No issues with choice. No lengthy decision making about which coloured tie to wear or which shoes go with which trousers. For Darin, the key choice is whether to wear the bike shorts with the rip in the lycra on the inside leg, or not. Easy really.

Today’s choice of what to wear was no more difficult, except that some of what we had to wear was still damp from yesterday. It is not often that you set off to work putting on damp shorts, damp shoes, damp helmet, damp gloves. At least we had the weather on our side. By the time we set off the sun was out, the sky was blue, there was very little wind, and the day was starting to warm up nicely. Ten minutes into the ride and some of us (me) were taking off second layers and removing arm warmers.

Mahia Beach

Thanks especially to Jocelyn at the Mahia Beach Holiday Camp for her support for this ride. The camp is in a prime spot overlooking Mahia Beach, so if you looking for a beach front place to stay in this area this location is one of the best.

The first part of the ride involved retracing yesterday’s route from Mahia Beach back to the turn-off on State Highway 2 at Nuhaka. Fine weather meant we had a different view of the coastline in the sunshine (compared to yesterday’s view of the coast in the rain). So the photos of the coast are more interesting. However, the fine warm weather also meant that the asphalt on the newly laid chip seal soon turned soft and gooey, giving up its hold on the loose chip. On a section of new seal (immediately after a short downhill) there were so

broken bike...

many loose stones flying off the road as we rode through that it was uncomfortable to closely follow the rider in front. There were so many loose stones flying around that some wedged themselves between the chain and sprockets on the derailleur of Keryn’s bike. The sprocket broke, the derailleur came off and jammed itself in the back wheel, causing the wheel to stop turning immediately. Luckily the wheel was able to skid on loose metal without breaking lots of spokes. Luckily Keryn was not motoring along at her usual speedy pace, so was able to quickly skid to a stop. Luckily there was not much traffic on the ride on the bend in the road where we stopped. No one was injured, but for Keryn this was the end of riding for the day. After 5 kilometres. The support vehicle was not too far away, so Keryn and bike

calorie loading for the 80k ride

were loaded in and shuffled off to Gisborne to see if the bike could be fixed in time for the next day’s riding.

So now there was only 2 out of our original team of 4 (Rose is still in Auckland, rejoining us in Whakatane).

The ride back to State Highway 2 went as well as could be expected. Blue sky, sunshine, not much traffic, no wind. But there was only one other rider to share turns at the front of the group.

Then we got to the hill. We had not printed out a map or profile of today’s ride, so were not fully informed of the detail of the ride, but the hill at Wharerata was an unwelcome surprise. Parts of it are steep. It is long. And most sections in the first part of the climb are long and straight so you can see just how far you have to go. Then at the bend in the road – when you think you have reached the top – the hill carries on further. Maybe it

coast ride in fine weather

was the heat, or lack of wind. Or lack of other team members to share our unhappy sentiments with. But that hill was a killer. The worst yet. And the first hill on which we both seriously thought we might have to get off and walk the last part.

absolutely knackered after the hill climb

At the top of the hill our support team had left extra water to avoid dehydration after the hill climb in the hot weather. From the lookout at the top of the hill we could see Gisborne faintly on the horizon (40 km away). That was the day’s destination and there were only the two of us to share the effort at the front of the peloton. (But given the original meaning of the word peloton, I doubt one can classify a group of 2 cyclists as a peloton!).

There was really only the one hill today, so once we descended onto the flat plain Leading towards Gisborne it was a matter of steady pedalling against whatever strength and direction the coastal sea breeze dished out. Roads were flat (mostly) with long straights (90% of the time), but the direction of the wind relative to our direction was variable. For what seemed like hours we slogged our way across the flat green plains toward Gisborne (Gizzy as my brother would say).

Darin also absolutely knackered at the top of the hill

After 60 km of cycling – and with 20 km still to go of the more of the same – my butt was getting very sore. Mainly due to being in the same position for a couple of hours on the bike (no hill climbs or descents to break the pace and leg effort required in the last half of the ride). So even though the ride was not particularly difficult it turned out to be the worst hill of the ride to date and also the worst case of sore bike butt so far. The road surface coming into Gisborne was also very rough, which did not help the butt, arms or legs.

We were seriously hassled by an impatient truck driver who nearly ran us off the road into deep layers of loose metal at a section of road works coming into Gisborne. As the road surface was so difficult to ride on with thin bike tyres we stuck to the centre of the lane for

At the top of the last hill, Gisborne on the horizon

around 100 m – travelling faster than most trucks were able to (and allowed to) over that portion of road works. However, this one truck driver could not wait 15 seconds for us to reach the end of the loose metal and tried overtaking us both, forcing us to slow and ride through unstable patches. Not nice. And the prospect of tyres digging into the loose stones then slipping out from under us as a truck approaches at speed from behind was somewhat disconcerting.

Darin thought today was the hardest day so far. Even though the weather was probably the best of the trip so far. We encountered a lot of road works today, several patches of loose chip and gravel (which I have decided is THE worst thing on the road for a cyclist, especially when an oncoming truck passes you at 80 km/h and sprays you with lots of stones). Neither of us wanted to repeat  Keryn’s experience

Heading towards Gisborne

with a broken bike resulting from flying loose stones getting wedged into the wrong places.

So hoping for a much less butt-breaking ride when we are back on the bikes after a rest day on Friday.

Special thanks to John & Jan Ferguson for their kind and generous hospitality at the Colonial Motor Lodge on Gladstone Rd, Gisborne. It was so nice to have a hot shower and a soft chair after today’s ride.

And special thanks also to Dennis Gear in Gisborne, who generously donated his time to give the three team riders a leg massage to ease tense and sore leg muscles after a cumulative total distance of around 609 km covered so far (approx. the distance between Auckland and Wellington by the most direct road route).

Welcoming reception as we finish the ride into Gisborne

Dennis, your time and patience given to the team was very much appreciated and has been the talking point on the following day’s rest day.

Stats for Day 8 of the Long Ride: total trip was 80 km, with a total cycling time of 3 hrs 21 mins. My max speed today was 65 km/h. The average speed was 24 km/h – higher than expected given the drain on energy and speed imposed by the Wharerata hill.

And last, but not least – thanks to the friendly helpful team of people at Maintra Cycles on Gladstone Rd in Gisborne. They arranged to courier from Chch a replacement part for Keryn’s broken derailleur and had the bike fixed and running by 11 am the following morning. Thanks team!

Hot, tired, v. sore butt, but still smiling

(Look out for a short summary of the ride in the Gisborne Herald)