I’ve been off the bike for a few weeks, which is why posts have stopped. I find being on the bike has been the perfect time to think about what to write, but off bike, not so much.
Since the last post, I arrived in Auckland with a Bike in a Box, and we are now sitting in Mangawhai on a bit of a Family Holiday. Heading to Kaitaia on the 2nd to start riding on the 3rd.
You canna hide from the ole – Find My “AirTag”
Before we came up, I bumped into Bart @ Invercargill Airport the same day we flew; he was boxing up his Bike to Fly home (To somewhere in Europe) via Christchurch. Barts just finished biking 3,800+ Km in NZ. Most of what I am about to ride, he has just recently smashed out over 47 days of adventures in NZ. Bart is a bit of a biking legend. It was so good to meet someone in person who you have been messaging via FB, getting tips and tricks.
The latest mechanical on the bike happened while I was off the bike. The Wensleys Cycles boys were removing one of my “stuck” pedals so I could get the bike in the Air NZ Bike box. And we noticed that one of my flashes AF $$ crank bottom bracket bearings had seized to the point that it wasn’t turning much. This was installed on the 18th of August, and checking Strava logs; I see I had only done 1,203.3km on this bearing, which is pretty bad considering that the flash AF bearing was supposed to be the Bee-Knees of bearings. It may also explain why my last ride, three weeks ago, felt terrible. I thought I was overtraining and getting tired, yet the bearing was seizing up and making it harder to pedal.
Its good we caught this now, as it would have made riding the TA, most challenging.
If you missed it. I did a Bag packing Timelapse Video. Checking YouTube, it’s been viewed 2,579 times. (Since 18th Dec, Is that you Froning?)
Everything you see on top of the black blanket is what I am carrying, the length of NZ. Not everything will be unpacked like this every day. (unless I get bored)
Plans from here.
I’m going to write a post every day that I’m riding. As above, I get most of my inspiration when on the bike (to write about bike things). Also, while in between listening to 4 hours of Joe Rogan podcasts, what else is there to do when riding? I zone out and think about things.
Oh, also got some Kawhi Cards printed. Going to spread these throughout New Zealand.
I left one hidden in plain sight @ some BP wild Bean Cafe about 80km out of Auckland (somewhere)
Final Thoughts. I’m roughing it in the garage @ the Mangawhai batch… so I get used to sleeping on the floor. #glamping
Hey You! Are you New to this Blog?
Find and read below the series of Posts. Listed Top down, oldest to newest.
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Riding New Zealand
The first reaction I generally get when I (or others) tell someone I’m going to ride NZ is, WTF are you crazy? It seems like an impossible feat for nonbikers, right? It stands out as a holy grail achievement, even for those who cycle.(I’m not taking that away from any […]
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Planning “To Ride NZ”
89 days until I start Planning How to start, how to get there, what you need to navigate your way. The Route I plan to take. North Island, then the South Island Planning to ride New Zealand on a push bike (get it, “push…bike”) is an interesting exercise. There are […]
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Training “To Ride NZ”
82 days until I start Shouldn’t you start training for this? This is what I kept getting asked. And it is a fair question, so thank you for your support.But, me peeps! I’ve been training for 30-odd years, so I’m good. I’ve also been eating some donuts, but who counts […]
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Bike / Gear Prep ‘Part One’- Riding NZ
75 days until I start You have to consider several things when going on a multiday ride. What type of bike should you ride for these adventures, how does that Bike need to be set up, what gear do you need to take, and how do you carry all this […]
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Bike / Gear Prep ‘Part Two’- Riding NZ
68 days until I start Part Two brings us to the how and what I will carry but also the Why How? – how do you carry everything except for the Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink (joking, We have a Butlers Sink in our Kitchen and that bitch is heavier […]
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Nutrition! Coffee Sponsorship – Riding NZ
62 days until I start Fact: Based on my last seven big 100km+ rides, “little” ole me is burning, on average, 5000 calories per Ride. How do I know this? Well, move in closer, me-friend; let me tell you some stuff. I wear a Myzone heartrate monitor that connects to my […]
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Mehhh-hanicals
53 Days until I start Yeah, you read that one right. “Mehh-hanicals,” otherwise known in the English language as “Mechanicals.” Oh Boy, oh Boy.Things were going good until about 40ish km in, and I must have rolled over a nail to receive a special gift from the “Roads of Winton” […]
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Off Bike – Working Remotely – Bike Update
49 Days Until I Start Part of my planning was to work out what to do when I wasn’t riding.Being (OCD) Bike Cautious, I’m not about to stray too far from my main form of transport.I’m intellectually and very rudimentary ‘not-so-smart” even to work out how to play Sudoku, or […]
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Tracking – Riding NZ
42 Days until I Start. Remember back in the 1800s when you pondered over hand-drawn maps by candlelight to get excited about your up-and-coming horse-and-cart journey through the unforsaken lay of the land to get to a better life? Yeah, me neither. What about in the mid-late 1900s when you […]
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Almost D-Day
I’ve been off the bike for a few weeks, which is why posts have stopped. I find being on the bike has been the perfect time to think about what to write, but off bike, not so much. Since the last post, I arrived in Auckland with a Bike in […]
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A Week of the TA, quick summary of each day.
Running totals: 683 km completed, 35,562 calories burned, elevation climbed 5070 meters, 48:58 hours in the Saddle. Shuttle from Kaitaia to Cape Regina, then about 9 am, I plundered down a 90-mile beach and ran out of water (I carry two ltrs, so I need to carry more). The kindness of strangers topped me up […]