Wayne’s Tour Aotearoa 2023

A week or more ago I might have been feeling a little smug, if I’m honest, about the the good luck we had had with the weather since Wanganui. We could see through the various channels that other riders were battling some horrible stuff in St Arnauds and on the coast a in the days before we arrived on part of the journey.  We weren’t unsympathetic of coarse, just glad that, as we travelled through, we seemed to be avoiding the badness.  We encountered a medical issue and delay at one point which got resolved, but weather didn’t seem to be a problem.  Part of me entertained the possibility we might get all the way down the coast and across to Bluff without getting wet. Dumb, I know.  Not just because of the place, but also the time.  The West Coast is notorious for rain and in this day and age weather in New Zealand and the world is a bit mental. Soon enough the forecasts were out for not one, but two wet and potentially stormy fronts coming through.  We bec...

Okay, so this should be a relatively easy day. About 100km mostly downhill, but, granted, with Von Hill in the middle which is a little bit gnarly.  We arrive in Queenstown the night before without a boat to Walter Peak organised for the next day.  All sorts of amazing investigative work by Wayne G sadly yields no ticket and we decide to get some sleep, get up early and appear at the boat in person after a decent breakfast somewhere.   The next morning having ordered breakfast, Wayne G runs to the boat and does some more sleuthing.  There’s a charter leaving at 10 we might be able to get on if the customer is okay with it.  Wayne watches his phone while eating breakfast.   The phone eventually rings and he ducks out to take the call.  “..Sorry guys, the charter is not prepared to take you.  Best bet is to keep trying the Earnslaw. “ A few minutes later at about one minute to eight another call.  The same lady asks how far away we are because ...

  I’m travelling home to Christchurch by Intercity bus.  We think of the bus as a slow and relaxing form of travel, and it is.  Since you’re not driving, just sitting back in a comfy seat for hours at a time, you do get to do little more than survey the passing landscape and sights and punctuate that with the odd stretch and refreshment or station stop. However here in the bus, you are still kind of separated from nature and the environment around you to a degree that you aren’t on the bike.  One proof of that: the cows don’t take any notice of the bus let alone you.  As you pass them in the bus, there is no reaction at all from farm animals most of the time.  Compare that with being on the bike, where every cow and other farm animal seems to notice you as you pass, often even when they are far from the road.  And they don’t just notice you, they stare at you for ages.  To them you are a curiosity.  In fact, as you can tell, the feeling is mu...

There’s a saying attributed to various people going around that “there’s no such thing as bad weather, just wrong clothes”.  That’s true when walking, and can be when cycling, but really, weather can be a real challenge on the bike, right clothes or not.   It affects traction, momentum, energy use, body temperature, bike functioning, route selection and many other things.  In fact a strong head wind is arguably a much greater challenge that any road ascent on the TA. We discovered that on day one cycling down Ninety Mile Beach.  For some 50+ kilometres, we got a seriously stifling Sou’wester into our faces that almost cancelled out our pedalling.  It was hard to ride faster than 10kph at many points.  Then, on the last day from Mossburn to Bluff, Southland decided to blast us with some bad weather to finish.  The morning rain was okay, not too heavy, but the wind was gusty, strong and multidirectional which made for slow and sometime hazardous riding. ...

I’m  The West Coast Wilderness trail is a pretty raw product right now.  Thirty kms in, Kumara accommodation was okay, but options for coffee, etc are thin on the ground.  From there, there is 80kms of, granted, lovely off road riding in a beautiful and historic part of New Zealand, but for most people it is aimed at, I would imagine there is a lack of hospitality they might hope for to accompany their expedition.  Even the controversial, well patronised Cowboy’s Paradise looked empty and desolate when we passed through, probably suffering from COVID and recent bad press.  The work done on this trail is impressive though, and as I’ve already said, the landscape is amazing.  It’s worth doing if your focus is the riding and you don’t mind carrying food, or cycling long distances like 80k without the trappings of civilisation.  Hopefully over time, the trail will return to its reportedly more vibrant state as the country recovers from a disruptive few yea...

One of the most fun things about the TA, at least at the start, is the diet.  A lot of the careful food choices typical of home go out the window when you’re using thousands of calories a day and your priority is energy.   Pies and milkshakes are popular for sustenance and some important nutrients and shops and hospitality services in the know have both on hand for the riders coming through.   I remember noticing the visible glee on one or more shop owners as the riders arrived and the pies began disappearing. Of course there’s also an abundance of electrolyte drinks and powders people use and try to replenish at 4 squares & bike shops.  I tried a dairy electrolyte drink for what might be the first time after Wayne G mentioned that a sport coach he knew recommended them, and I was indeed impressed with the boost they gave me at times.  I did read somewhere that the heart needs calcium for contractions and magnesium for de-contraction, so it’s good to ge...