300km in a day on my mountain bike, remembering my mate Craig

Saturday was everything I had hoped for and more. Thank you to everyone who made a donation, I was totally overwhelmed and humbled by your generosity. The fact I had so much interest and support never left my mind during the day.

The day started with a 3.50am alarm then a one-hour trip up the side of lake Pukaki to our starting point. As we got ourselves ready we were taken aback by the clear 4-degree night and a huge full moon shining down on lake Pukaki. We layered up with every piece of clothing we had available, mine all Kathmandu of course despite the outward appearance of being sponsored by PwC. Wayne had booties and I had gloves. What a team. I had cold feet and he had cold hands.

The first hour was spent gingerly navigating our way down the pitch-black track (even with lights), trying to keep warm but also being safe. As well as the temperature the scenery was breath-taking.

After 3 hours, we nearly had a head on with a couple of lads coming in the opposite direction around lake Oahu, no harm done but a reminder the track was not ours alone. We made it to Ohau Lodge where Anita (Wayne’s wife) had our first aid station prepared, then off for our first real climb of the day out of Ohau towards Omarama.

Into Omarama for our second stop where we were met by Anita and Amanda (my wife) who had hot chips and coke to fuel us for the next leg which perhaps was the greatest highlight but also our greatest challenge. Sailors cutting to Benmore dam, the most picturesque part of the track and we had a 10/10 day for it. Not a cloud in the sky, not a breath of wind, a true bluebird day. In our minds once we got to the Benmore Dam we had passed half way and had completed the more challenging part of the course. Little did we expect that the wind would pick up and make the second half much more challenging than we had anticipated. A stiff easterly made for a gruelling ride around Lake Aviemore and our spirits took somewhat of a hit. We expected to have our fastest easiest section of the day here but, it was perhaps our hardest and slowest. We had anticipated an easy 30kmph but, we were grinding along at 20kmph.

During this leg we also experienced a mechanical issue, and not one that we could ever have expected. Amanda had got a flat tyre and had to leave her car in Omarama. After the Benmore dam Amanda and Anita went back to sort this out. The downside for us being that they had to prepare us for a much longer leg than expected. We were no longer sure that we were going to see them in Kurow and it was possible we were going to have to continue to Duntroon or even Oamaru without an aid stop. Rather than ditching our packs to drop weight we were loading them with food and drink just in case.

As we crossed the Aviemore dam we weren’t so exposed to the wind which helped us regain some momentum as we approached Kurow. And what really bolstered our spirits was we saw Amanda race past (at 80km/h) with her space saver tyre firmly in place, meaning we would see them in Kurow after all. This was an awesome sight and really lifted our spirits after the toughest section so far!

Kurow to Duntroon was relatively straightforward with plenty of off-track which was undulating and interesting. We stopped again for a short break in Duntroon.

From Duntroon to Oamaru is a reasonably chunky leg and surprisingly there was a lot more climbing than I remember 6 years ago, not sure if it was my memory or the fatigue in the legs! More so than any part of the day I think this is where we really had to dig deep and stay focused. I spent a significant portion of this leg thinking about Craig reflecting on everything we had done together and the mental toughness we had developed over the years. There was the threat of rain and the light was fading, and I knew Danielle (Craig’s wife) and her two young kids were waiting for me at the finish in Oamaru. In all honesty on one hand I couldn’t wait to see them but on the other I knew my emotions would get the better of me after 15 hours on the road.

As surprising at it may seem to many, this wasn’t so much of a physical challenge as a mental challenge. So many hours on a bike without any options to change activities made it a totally different challenge to the likes of an Ironman. I always new I would get there what I did not know is how long it might take and how much it may hurt.

I want to thank you all again for your kind words of encouragement, belief in me to do this and generous contributions. It’s a day I will cherish for the rest of my life and I know our contributions will go a small way to helping Danielle and the kids.

Key statistics for the day:

Distance: 280km

Uphill climbing 2.75kms

Total time: 15 hours 5 minutes

Moving time: 13 hours 58 minutes

Calories burned: 7,300