Monthly archives: December 2007

Howdy folks. So, another day, and another 86km into the bike ride. Actually, it was a little more than 86km, since I went to the grocery store after finishing my day’s ride. I could’ve just had take-out again, but I decided it would be better to pick up some fresh fruits and veggies to munch on, along with the requisite pizza. However, I’m getting ahead of myself yet again, you’re probably more interested in what happened today anyway. I did in fact change my original plans of heading to the absolute north of the island by bike, and opted instead today to cut across the middle of the Island in order to reach the Bay of Islands, which are a beautiful part of New Zealand, and where I decided to spend at least two days. Read on.

Wow! What a day. This was truly a day of the biggest so far. I’m not even sure where to start with this one. I had the steepest ascent today. The longest descent, the most rain, the longest ride, the slowest average speed, and so on and so on. But you know what? It was a great day all told. I think it’s almost safe to say that I’ve gotten over my earlier apprehension, and I’m now ready to get on with this trip. Realistically speaking, it has become clear to me that the body is really an amazing thing. I have had to allow myself a little extra time to adapt to ‘life in the saddle’. Although it’s only been four real days with the weight behind me, I’m definitely feeling more at ease. I hit a top speed of 62km/h today going down a hill, what a thrill. But of course the thought of wiping out at that speed with all the weight is quite scary too. Oh well, taste death to live life, right? Anyway, read on for a little extra detail about what made today pretty cool and special for me.

Catchy title, isn’t it? That’s the number of squished possums I counted today on my 80km journey. They were in various states of decomp, some looking very fresh indeed. I’m happy to say that I didn’t run over a single one myself. Although I bet I could inflict some pain on the little varmin. It’s easy to understand why they are a target. They all but wiped out Kiwis in New Zealand, and the department of Conservation actually encourages motorists to attempt to hit the possums wherever possible. And it would appear that the overzealous NZ drivers have taken that to heart. Well, regardless of the roadkill, my day was considerably better today than it has been in the last two, in spite of it being my furthest day in the saddle. Read on for a little bit about my happy day cycling in Northern New Zealand.

Okay, so another day of biking is in the hole. I crammed in an astonishing 76km into this day, trying to make up a little percieved lost time, but have decided that I can’t really make up any lost time. There are just far too many biking challenges up in these parts. After a heavenly sleep in Helensville, I slept in until 8am. I had a 7am alarm, but when it went off, I was soooo cozy, that I opted to bump it by an hour. It was a good call. When I finally got up, there was a nice breakfast basket waiting for me in the common area. Two yogurts, two little bags of cereal, a banana, a kiwi, and some bread and jams. Talk about a power breakfast. I ate it all save the Kiwi. I also had some extra groceries from the night before, and decided to just take them with me as road snacks. Read on for more about torture day #2.

Saturday, Dec.15 was to be the official departure of ActiveSteve from Auckland to points unknown. Well, I sort of knew some points that I would hit. My first little while will be spent in the Northlands of New Zealand, as far as Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of New Zealand. Some say this area holds the most challenging biking, and if I could make it there, I’d make it anywhere. However, before I went anywhere, there was the matter of getting things packed up. This would prove to be a little more challenging than anticipated. I awoke shortly after 8:30 on Saturday, and dragged Kevin out for breakfast before starting the packing. Read on for my exciting first day.