So… now I’ve got some time on my hands, lets fill in the first day details – the Cape Reinga to Ahipara leg.
Of course, things didn’t go to plan… 3kms after the Tour started, my chain broke.
There I was – riding with the Pack. Me and the other wheeled Pack Animals – with the taste of blood in our mouths and a steely determination to Go All the Way, I and 20 others burst out oft he Cape Reinga car park.
I’m pretty sure, harps were playing and the Gods smiled down upon us.
Bang! Chain broke. And everyone passed me. Everyone.
And now I’m “that chain broke guy”…
Big ups to Roger – the guy shadowing the other guy (not providing assistance…) but who stopped his car and helped out. Roger makes another guest appearance later in the piece, but today, he was the guy who helped me fix my chain. Thanks Rog!
I hit Te Paki Stream mid- morning, having stopped for breakfast of a Watties Big Eats tin of Ravioli, washed down by a Countdown brand water.
More people went passed…
I hit 90 Mile Beach, and straight into a cross wind which hadn’t truly made up its mind whether it was a cross wind, a head wind, or a tail wind. Within the space of a minute it was all of these things.
We were warned to take plenty of water, and I thought 3 litres was going to be the ticket.
Nope. 90 mile beach is a hard, desolate place, with no cover, no place to stop, no place to shelter, no place to get water (until 72kms in), and just a whole heap of hurt.
Once you start, you can’t stop until you get to 43km or 72 km in.
And the sand sucks the speed from your tires. And the sun turns your skin red without respite. And the seat hurts. And the tide comes up the beach and tells you to move along. And the wind hates you. Nobody wants you here. What are you doing here? This isn’t for you Peaches..
And the whole thing is just its own special piece of hell. Burning, salty hell.
Welcome to Day 1. You’re welcome. You started, and you can’t stop for 80ish kms.
SPECIAL SHOUT OUTs:
1. Duncan Coutts: Duncan became my cycling partner and him and I worked together to push each other on.
2. John Bushnell, who Duncan and I met again at Hukatere Lodge, together with Roger, the guy who helped me out at the start of the race.
3. Gabrielle at Hukatere Lodge. This lady absolutely saved Duncan and my’s arse. Without her, our 3 litres of water wouldn’t have been enough, and we would have been screwed in the heat. What I liked about Gabrielle (Gaby), was her Greenie-ness. I’d done some work at the Ministry for the Environment on Freshwater regulations, and her and I had a grerat chit chat about ecology and water demand.
AT THE END:
Duncan and I got off the beach at 6:00pm – over a 9 hour day of grind. The beach had beaten us up pretty badly. The lovely Simon Field and Moira Pride made us both a cup of tea 🙂
I ate another Watties Big Eats Ravioli…