first long cycling tour cont’d

Oh those silly Kiwis. Hill is definitely a relative term especially when you are used to driving over them. We started up the coastal road and she pedaled just a few strokes and her pedals jammed. The derailleur and hanger were damaged during the trip over. We had watched the bikes go up the conveyor belt and into the belly of the plane. Even saw one fall off the belt and were able to determine whose bike it was. At least it would be easy to say why that bike had problems if it did. But her bike wasn’t the one that fell.

It’s rumored that he carries an entire new bike in is tool kit, aka one front pannier. He got out the trusty hacksaw – doesn’t everyone carry one of these)- and took care of the offending part. The best that could be done was to put the chain back on in the only position possible – the highest gear. She couldn’t hack the terrain. A quick switch of bicycles occurred. He rode hers, another rode his and she rode the other’s bike because the frame was closer to the size of hers, but still a tad big and definite crotch danger.

We made it to the campground well after dark and during the rain. We took a rest day – the first day!!!! Good for morale.

Our well-thought out or rather nicely copied itinerary was adjusted. Seems the road to the next few destinations was barely passable. How had this changed since that group did it? We didn’t realize then that they shuttled those days. Next day was a century for four of the group and a bus ride and a long ride for the rest.

We have come a long way since that first trip. We learned not to head out riding the day that we arrive at our destination. We do equipment checks on that day. We have never been on a trip where at least one bike didn’t arrive damaged or missing. We don’t blindly follow other itineraries. After that first trip to NZ, we were familiar enough with the territory to plan sensible distances. We knew that the hills were not any ordinary highway overpasses. We learned that we could adjust to most any circumstances, even those old wringer washers we used that first rest day in Coromandel.