Cycling the length of New Zealand was one of those ideas generated after one pint too many down the local pub.
You know how it is when you're with a bunch of friends and the drinks are flowing. Someone says that they fancy cycling from Lands End to John 'O' Groats and the next guy brags that he has done that twice and before you know it your mouth runs away with you and you brag that you have been thinking about doing a longer more challenging ride on the other side of the planet just to sound good.
What you don't expect is for people to remember your drunken boast the next day and take you seriously.
Well that's how this trip was instigated. In a nutshell it was beer, bikes and bravado. At least having done a similar trip from London to Monaco in September 09 I knew that I was capable of the distance.
I had also raised a few thousand pounds for a worthy cause, the Brain Injury Rehabilitation and Development Charity (BIRD) in Chester the last time so to ensure that I couldn't wimp out I decided to do the same again.
Now all I had to do was organise the whole expedition and find time to fit in hundreds and hundreds of miles of training over the winter months to get fit. How difficult could that be ? In all honesty, the organisation of a trip like this is far more challenging than the ride itself, there are so many aspects to consider like sponsorship, flights, finances, accommodation, training, websites etc. The time I spent organising things by far outweighed the time I spent on my bike both training and on the ride itself. It's hard to believe but it's true.
By the time February 21st arrived it was a relief to actually board the plane and fly to the other side of the world to commence the trip. On stepping off the plane in New Zealand I was greeted by a surprising total of 17 messages on my mobile phone when I switched it on. I was concerned when it appeared that everyone was asking "Are you OK" and "Just checking you're safe" and asking me to text back.
It was a while before I realised that I had landed only hours after Christchurch had been rocked by a devastating earthquake. Thankfully I had flown to Auckland and was unaffected but it was a weird start to the trip.
Three days later I was driving through Christchurch on my way to Bluff at the southern tip of the South Island and I saw first hand the damage that had been caused. Extensive is an understatement.
On the 27th February at 4pm I finally set off on my journey which I had scheduled to take 24 days including rest days. It was a warm sunny afternoon and the plan was to rattle off 50 miles during the late afternoon and find a motel in a small town in the middle of no where called Mataura. Three and a half hours later I was there and feeling pretty good as the roads had been quiet, flat and very scenic.
The next day by contrast was incredibly hilly with 6000 feet of ascent over a total of 102 miles to Dunedin on the east coast. I can't remember ever feeling so tired and it was a struggle to hold a conversation with my hosts who were the relatives of an old friend I hadn't seen in years. I had a great evening though in great company and slept like a log that night.
The next day however started uncomfortably with the predictable saddle soreness but this wore off as I started on the first of the "Killmogs" a steep mountain range north of Dunedin. After a few thousand feet of climbing the road levelled out and I arrived in Oamaru for the night 80 miles north.
The following days the hills were replaced by the flat Canterbury Plains which brought a new challenge in the guise of harsh headwinds. After half a day of being blown all over the road I would have gladly swapped the flats for the steepest ascent if this meant no wind but alas this was the first day of four with strong energy sapping headwinds.
To top it all I then developed acute Achilles Tendinitis in my left ankle which meant I couldn't put any weight on that foot or walk once getting off my bike. On the whole not a great start.
After a days rest in Christchurch where I experienced 14 aftershocks up to 4.8 on the Richter scale I set off again feeling a bit better and made good ground to Kaikoura which is famous for its whale watching trips. The coastal road and Hundalee Mountain Range made this the best part of the whole trip and it wasn't long before I had completed the South Island and was boarding the ferry to the North Island.
After two recovery days in Wellington due to the Achilles problem I headed north through the middle of the Island and over the Desert Road at a height of 3500 feet. I went past active volcanoes and through a barren landscape then down a long steep descent to Lake Taupo which is itself an active water filled volcano.
From here it was north west towards Auckland via Cambridge and Hamilton and another rest day before setting off along the East Coast and the spectacular sights of Aucklands North Shore and the Bay of Islands.
I was very fortunate throughout the trip in that I always had a place to stay each night. This was due to knowing a lot of people in New Zealand and tailoring my route accordingly I was also given so much support and didn't have to rely on hotels that often I managed to catch up with lots of old friends and made many new ones along the way.
Each day the landscape changed and it grew hotter and more humid the further north I rode. Some friends joined me for one day ride north of Auckland which made a nice change and before I knew it I had arrived at my brother in laws farm in a small town called Kaitaia. This left me just 81 miles to my final destination Cape Reinga at the northern most point of New Zealand.
I had one final rest day and recharged my batteries before heading off at great speed to the northern tip closely followed by my Uncle in his four wheel drive who was to pick me up and ferry me back to the farm.
I flew the first 53 miles without taking a break and after a quick ice cream I was back on my bike and within 2 hours I had cycled over the last mountainous section to arrive at the lighthouse at Cape Reinga to complete my challenge. It was a fantastic feeling to complete the trip bang on schedule despite some difficult times and continuous problems with my achilles.
It took 24 days in all including 6 rest days and the total distance was 1288 miles. I climbed over 53,000 feet which is the equivalent of two Mount Everest's and only had two punctures (on the second to last day and within an hour of each other !).
More importantly though, I have managed to raise over £3000 for BIRD and the sponsorship is still coming in. It was a fantastic trip in a fantastic country but my overwhelming memory will always be the people I met. New Zealand is by far the friendliest place I have ever visited. If you haven't been you need to go there and "No" I'm not on commission.
This is a member post by Sergeant Andy Miller who has been a sergeant in Wilmslow for over 3 years.
You can donate money, through Andy's Just Giving page, to B.I.R.D. which helps children and adults with brain injury and learning difficulties to achieve their potential.
