Get Back

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If, like me, you are quite interested in space exploration then you will know Jim Lovell as 'The bloke who didn't get to the moon'.  Well, in the world of cycle touring I am 'The bloke who didn't ride an end-to-end of New Zealand'!  Jim will have to take his failure to the grave but I can have another crack at it.
 
I am a man with time to waste (what's that?  the house needs decorating?  surely I did that last millennium?)  so it is time to head back to NZ.  This time I am allowing a full 4 weeks which should make it very do-able and I am taking a chum - Neil; he started out as a customer but is now a friend and this will be our 5th trip together.  I have learned the hard way that I need company to persevere when the going gets tough and Neil is excellent company, though I fear I will spend a lot of time watching his distant figure as he waits for me on the top of hills.  Neil is my age but very fit.....to give you some measure  of this, he starts the London Marathon each year at the very front with the elite athletes because he is so quick (3 hours 6 minutes in 2014).  He even has a world ranking in his age group for God's sake! 
 
Our route will be a hybrid of the one I failed to complete 2 years ago and the 'Bike Adventures' route that I ran as a commercial trip last year.  It comes in at 1525 miles with an average of about 65 or 70 per day depending on how many days we lose  to travel. This is by no means the most direct route but has been designed to take in as many 'must sees' as possible, while avoiding the stupidest hills.   We depart on Saturday (31st Jan) but, due to the time difference (and it being a chuffing long way), we won't start cycling until the following Tuesday.   We will be using a mix of campsites, hostels and hotels according to weather and availability; nothing is pre-booked so the tents will our fallback if we find ourselves knackered and in the middle of nowhere.
 
I am excited to be returning to  New Pieland as it is a favourite cycling destination, but also at the prospect of removing the stain from my cycling CV.....'Houston, we have a problem' just isn't an option this time.  I  hope you will pop back from time to time and check on progress!
 
 
 
 
 

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