I Feel Free

By -

You will need the name of the group to get the full benefit of this song:

The obvious connection - I do indeed feel free now that I am not totally consumed with doing miles. Today was 70 and they were done by 3pm. The wind was more or less non-existent and the terrain was mostly flat and I just pushed the pedals, watched the scenery role by and did some good hard thinking. Even Mt Hercules turned out to have a Maori name of Mt Nowherenearasbadasanythingonnorthisland.

By the way, a word or two about the Maori. Firstly, I see no obvious signs that they are oppressed and marginalised in the way that the Aborigines and Native Americans went once the white man turned up. They seem to be very much part of mainstream life, not significantly poorer than the white man and their culture seems to be part of daily life in NZ and embraced by all. Secondly, they seem to have more or less abandoned South Island. In the north I probably met more people of Maori descent than white anglo-saxons but I don't think I have seen a single one since landing in Picton. There are still many Maori place names and signs for tourist attractions featuring Maori carvings, art etc but no actual Maori. Maybe someone with more time than me can google it and provide the explanation.

I am riding with the Southern Alps to my left and the Tasmin Sea to my right, and very lovely it is too. This morning, as I rounded a corner I happened to glance left and saw the alps in all their glory. I doubt this picture, taken on my phone, will even begin to do it justice.

Secondly the hidden song connection - I expect many of you have been thinking about my arse. Certainly Annie will have given this considerable thought. In F1 there was a period when winning was all about tyre management, well in long distance cycling it is all about arse management. In my experience, saddle soreness is a routine part of the trip, usually kicking in at about day 4 and taking a week to settle down. Well, thanks to the liberal application of Sudocrem morning and evening (a grisly business) my sore bum has finally settled down to the background level of pain that never goes away and this has further contributed to my general feeling of well-being today. I knew you would be pleased!

I am in Franz Josef, site of the first of two big glaciers on this part of the coast. It is real tourist-town and not my sort of place but the next stop is 30k and two huge climbs away. I am staying in a YHA (now THAT is a sentence I never imagined I'd ever have to write again). It is, naturally, full of students, poor people and other vermin but I am trying to fit in. For tea I will probably scavenge the waste bins and eat whatever I find with some lentils.

Tomorrow I must do two monster hills across to Fox glacier. If, when I get there, there is NOT a polar bear standing on a very large mint there WILL be trouble. After that I hope to press on to Haast, though this is 86 miles sway....watch this space.

Steve
------------------

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll/Mr Tamborine Man/I Write The Songs

By -
Image
  After an 18 month separation Plum and I are reforming the band for another tour.  The two of us, plus 6 others, are heading up to Scotlandshire for another crack at the North Cost 500.  I should probably introduce the full line-up:   Lead Singer - David.  David is the young(er) pretty one.....brother of John.  David also happens to be my Financial Adviser and is funding this trip (plus a yacht and a cocaine habit) out of what he makes from my account.   Lead Guitar - Nick.  Friend for 50 years.  At school Nick was a keen cyclist and consequently, quite rightly, bullied.  Nick has forgotten more about cycling than I will ever know.   Bass Guitar - Stuart.  Stuart and I worked together for many years; he has powerful legs and can push out big watts while looking like he is coasting.  I hate Stuart.   Keyboards - Michael.  Michael is a...
Read more

If I Could Turn Back Time

By -
Image
If ever you are in the Inverness area on a Friday and looking for a lively night you could do a lot worse than avoid Muir of Ord.  Our hotel, the only pub, wasn't serving food so we walked into town where it appeared that Steven Spielberg had just finished filming some sort of post-apocalypse movie: nothing open, nobody on the streets and the odd bit of tumbleweed blowing along the pavement.  Even the fish and chip shop couldn't be arsed to open...on a FRIDAY NIGHT!  We managed to find a take-away offering a rather odd choice of kebabs and curries (served in pizza boxes for added novelty) and purchased some food which made up for in calories what it lacked in food-hygiene standards.   I recall a meeting where a few of my co-riders and I met to kick around ideas for a group ride.  We considered all sort of destinations....mostly in those parts of Europe where the weather isn't consistently shite.  I'm ashamed to say that I thin...
Read more

Julia's Song

By -
Image
As some readers will know, Plum is no longer Chard's most eligible bachelor.  The lovely Julia has taken on the job that Social Services would otherwise have to do....making sure he changes his pants once a week whether they need it or not and loading routes onto his Garmin.  We are all very grateful to Julia, especially Chards most eligible bachelorettes who can get back on the dating scene now Plum is safely off the market. As we were starting our trip Julia fell, dislocated her foot and broke her Tibia so she is probably missing Plum more than usual. She has insisted that the show should go on so thanks for being such a trooper. Today was another with a shortcut that promised to turn a very hard day into something more manageable.  Some of our group took the high road and others took the low but I had a more cunning idea.....get in the van.  Whatever is ailing me, long covid or acute spinelessness, reached the point where pushing th...
Read more