Thursday 12/31/09

FANTASTIC RIDE!!! This is the day that Jeanette and I had thought we were signing up for. We left Mt Cook at 9 this morning and it was very chilly. Everyone had many layers with skull caps, gloves, arm warmers, leg warmers, extra pants. Someone commented that it looked like we were dressed to go skiing instead of a bike ride. We rode back along Lake Pukaki retracing our final segment from yesterday. We were concerned that yesterdays tail wind would turn into today’s head wind but today the winds were calm. We were averaging about 25 mph riding along this downhill stretch of road. At times we road with several other tandems in a pace-line and really flew down the mountain.

We stopped for lunch at a town called Twizel. We had 8 couples together enjoying lunch at the Power Station Bistro. We still had 30 km (18 miles) to go with very flat terrain and it was a great ride for the entire day. Everyone agreed that we needed it, tomorrow is planned to be another demanding days ride into Cromwell.

Tonight is New Years Eve. We welcome 2010 with gratitude and thanks for the many rich blessing we have received along with our family, friends and health. Due to tomorrow’s big ride, our heads will probably be lying on the pillows by 10pm. Because we are 20 hours ahead of Colorado time, we will try and celebrate it with you at 8pm tomorrow night.

Summary: We are amazed that we are here in New Zealand and have already cycled 171 miles. Al, our guide, told us today that we are riding stronger each day. While sitting here in the motel room we just saw Tom walk by with soda pop and candy bars in his arms. We laughed. Because of all the calories we are burning, we are eating huge amounts of food at the buffets and along the rides but still find ourselves running out of energy. Tonight we are all scheduled to go to a barbeque.

Wednesday 12/30
Today’s ride was gorgeous and took us right into the heart of the Southern Alps with great views and scenery everywhere. We left Lake Tekapo at 8:45 after a wonderful breakfast. Two kilometers into the ride we were supposed to connect with the scenic canal road but did not see the sign and missed the turn-off. This turned out to be all right because several that did turn off, found that the road had been closed due to high winds and had to get back on the highway. Further down the road we were able to catch a tail wind for about 2 miles. We also saw along this stretch where they were moving sheep across the road. New Zealand has built a magnificent series of canals that connect several of the lakes and generate the bulk of electrify that is used in the country. We followed the canal from Lake Tekapo to Lake Pukaki which are two glacier fed lakes. The color of these two lakes is a milky turquoise but very beautiful. Although the first half of our ride was very level along the canal we had a stiff head wind with the exception noted above. The wind yesterday was stronger and would have sent large sailing ships to the harbor for safety, todays wind would only require the tying down of small pets and children. IT WAS ANOTHER GRUELING RIDE. By the half way point we were praying for miracles because we did not think that we could make the next 30 miles. Our prayers were answered, when we turn off the highway to the road to Mt Cook, we encountered a tail wind almost all the way up to the town. Although the first half of today’s ride was exhausting and we were the last riders to arrive at the hotel (3 couples took advantage of the SAG vehicle and got a ride), we felt better than yesterday. Jeanette still was falling asleep at dinner.

Mt Cook is a spectacular place. It is the largest peak in New Zealand about 12,000 ft and rises straight up from where we were staying. Several glaciers are in the area. We also saw a Kea, which is a large mountain parrot, which is green with orange breast and a long beak. They are very smart but are a very big nuisance and can be very destructive eating rubber molding of cars and bikes. The bird was beautiful.

Our lodgings and the food (mostly buffets) have been terrific. I don’t think we could ask for better support from our guides, Darin and Al. They are New Zealanders, both have worked as nurses great cyclists and just fun to be with. I am starting to even understand them and their accent.

No laptop internet access, will post tomorrow.

Tuesday 12/29 at 10pm - Geraldine to Lake Tekapo

55 miles completed. I noticed that the entry we entered this morning is dated Colorado time. We are actually 20 hours ahead of Colorado. We are also having problems with the internet connection and size of the pictures. We will work on it and try to post some pictures soon.

The trip itinerary has this segment lists today as a demanding days ride. They were wrong. The day consisted of constant climbing with the last 25km of the ride into a very strong headwind. The most popular comment among the group was grueling. One women wearing a heart rate monitor said she had burned 4000 calories today. Jeanette and I were totally exhausted when we reached the motel. We found a bench and just sat for quite awhile before we could even move into our room. And we get to do this again tomorrow. It is supposed to be a flater ride but longer.

With only one day in the saddle here in New Zealand we have already found some interesting facts.
• Always ride on the left side of the road. Several times this caused confusion with the other traffic.
• When sitting on the side of the road in grass as tall as you are, you do not need to worry about snakes. New Zealand has none.
• Plan your cycling trip in the fall when you are still in good cycling shape. When you come down here in December/January and have not had good training opportunities in Colorado, it hurts.
• The guides have told us that New Zealand has plenty of wind and hills, get ready for them.
• Our guides have an uncanny ability to show up when you need them. They helped us several times when we needed nourishment and water.
• (Adam, all those times when we were riding together and I told you that riding into the wind builds character, that is not true. I spent the last 25 km cursing the wind).

Travel & Arrival

Well after 24 hours we have finally made it here. Our plane from Los Angeles to Auckland arrived too late for us to clear customs and get the luggage on the next flight to Christchurch. So we had to carry our luggage to another terminal on the run. We made it with minutes to spare.

We met the other 10 couples and on the back yard of our motel started to assemble our bikes. After assemble we attempted a test ride and disaster struck. The front handle bars were not properly attached to the front fork and when we attempted to turn we went down in the street. Fortunately we were going slow. Jeanette has bruised her hip and the inside her knee. She has been icing it all night and being the trooper she is, will attempt the ride. We will see how it goes today. The two guides that we have are both nurses and we have a ER nurse on the trip as well. Every one is friendly and looks like we are really going to enjoy this ride. (Janelle, we have made our first friends).

Tandem Packed

Last night Jeanette and I took our tandem with our 2 suitcases down to the Tandem Cycle Works shop to meet with Lynn and Pat. They helped us dismantle the bike, cover all exposed metal with padding, and fit it into the 2 cases. It really felt strange to walk out of their shop carrying the tandem in suitcases.