4Friends Cycle the Mainland for Brain Cancer

So, it's with equal doses of sadness and relief that we bring you the final post from the 4Friends - our Tour Summary, Reflections and a few Awards.

What an adventure we had!

4,700minutes riding over 15 days, 1,460kms ridden, and 13,500m elevation climbed.

We experienced huge wells of kindness and generosity and mateship.

We laughed, cried, fell off our bikes (well, some of us anyway), ate enough to feed a small nation, farted enough to power a continent, and wee'd our way around the South Island.

Every day of our Tour we were immersed in the grandeur that only Aotearoa and Te Wai Pounamu can offer.

We rode through astoundingly beautiful landscape in fabulous hot and dry summer weather.

We were energised by incredible southern hospitality, camaraderie of fellow cyclists, and courteous mainland motorists.

We have SO many people to thank.

- Firstly, to EVERYONE who has donated to our ride - we had donations ranging from $5 to $1,000 (wow!!) and we loved each and every one, thank you all so very much!

- To the generous hosts that opened their homes to us: Robin and Marg Blackmore (and for also providing transportation for Rene to Pelorus), Mike and Judi Edridge, Ian and Sarah Haysmith/Elvidge whanau, James & Karen Anderson - you guys were lifesavers!

- To the Rescue Teams that came to Tony's aid when he fell crook: Jen Rutherford & Alan Register, Kirst & Dale Alloway, Katherleen Zivkovich-Rankin & Dean Rankin - you all deserve bravery medals!

- To Linda Page & Richard for feeding and watering us - we're sorry we cleaned out your fridge!

- To our many friends along the way that stopped for a beer, a chat, or simply beeped as they went past - it was so good to see you!

- And lastly, but certainly not least, a MASSIVE Thank You to our better halves - Anna Blackmore, Katrina Troughton, Jo Matheson, Angela Fox - for letting us out on our adventure. We know our initial request for a Leave Pass went down like a turd in the punchbowl, and we know what it takes to keep the home fires burning - so we are very appreciative of the sacrifices you made for us while we were away. We love you!

We also wanted to give a shout out for all the outstanding hoteliers and companies we encountered - in particular:

- Kate at Wakefield Hotel - who fed us in super quick time when their kitchen was about to close (we must have looked hungry!)

- Phil at the Lazy Cow Murchison - who greeted us with a smile and free cold beers

- Mike&Pam at Foveaux Hotel Bluff - who were more concerned about our bikes safety than we were

- Yvonne at 295 on Tay Invercargill - who stored our bags and where nothing was a problem

- The manager at The Rainforest Motel in Fox, who initially had a face like a dropped pie when we told him we were cancelling our 2nd nights accommodation, but then after spotting our BTS NZ fundraiser T-shirts didn't charge us for it

- Tony at Reefton Distillery for staying later than normal and for the detailed and thorough distillery tour and tastings session

- To all the pie makers, filled roll fillers, custard square assemblers, coffee baristas of the mainland - we salute you!

However, this would not be a 4Friends Post with some Awards!

We've already announced the winners of the Tan Lines competitions, so here are a few others that we thought worthy of mention ...

- Quote of the Tour: "I like my coffee black, with a bit of milk" (Tony - Wanaka) [Runner-Up: "What makes one side the lunch dessert menu and the other side the dinner dessert menu?" (Ken - Mossburn) - when told that the duplicate-sided printed dessert menu was Lunch on one side and Dinner on the other (OK, he hadn't eaten much that day and was probably going through some sort of calorie deficit...)]

- Gadget of the Tour: Ken's rear traffic sensor gadget thingy - extremely handy especially when accompanied with Ken's real-time audio of "car back" [Runner-Up: Ken's digital tyre pressure gauge]

- H&S Near Miss of the Tour: Rene at the top of the Crown Range descent - locking up his brakes and almost tumbling over the safety barrier at 70kms+ (that will teach you for riding in my slipstream!)

- Crash Report: Rene's graceful and slow tumble on the Maungatapu Track (unfortunately no photo evidence available!)

- Cringe Moment of the Tour: Tony launching into a detailed description of his saddle sore issues with poor Edna (Tour of Aotearoa rider) - during our lunch break no less!

- Monster Meal of the Tour: Ken's record busting calorie dinner at the Wakefield Hotel consisting of Steak&Chips (with salad), with an extra Steak, Sausage and 2 Fried Eggs on the side. Outstanding (especially when he admitted he was still hungry afterwards - so he had crumble+ice cream for dessert too)

- Revelation of the Tour: Rene and Dave when discovering that splitting costs evenly at feeding times meant that they were subsidising Ken's excessive calorie intake, so we pretty much paid our own way after that. Ken was very understanding and consoled himself by eating another pie

To the 4Friends - we had a blast eh?

- Tony: after you got sick and became bed ridden for days, you did amazingly well to re join us as soon as you did. Whether it was the magic healing properties of Kirst&Dale's crisp apples, plums and mandarins, or all the home-cooked/freshly caught delicacies courtesy of Jen&Reg, you were determined to get back, and after almost flying the length of the country, you did - and just in time for our Rest Day! That's commitment!

- Ken: for someone with little/no previous cycling experience, and having never multi-day toured before - you are one tough mofo! I used to eat so much more than you (maybe with the exception of pies and Bluffies), but you consistently and unequivocally out-ate all of us, every time, all Tour long, AND still lost weight!! Outstanding!

- René: with your track record since I've known you, I am still wondering why on earth we let you (self) appoint yourself as our H&S Officer!! But I must say I was totally impressed when you continually supressed your precise Dutch engineering tendencies to go with the flow and embrace the randomness and lack of common sense approach to our day-to-day activities - legend!

However, after all is said and done - this Tour was dedicated to everyone out there impacted by a brain tumour.

Every morning, when we lined up for our customary photo in our BTS NZ T-shirts, we were reminded of those loved ones that we have lost to this dreadful cancer, and we spared a thought for all of them.

For those that are currently going through the challenges of a brain tumour, we remain humbled by your stories of strength and courage, and we will be cheering you on as you fight your battle in the future. Kia Kaha.

To my older bro Chris Tse and the BTS NZ charity - we hope our efforts make at least a small difference to the God's work you do.

And to you all - we have loved bringing these Updates and sharing our photos with you, thank you for coming on the journey with us.

Until our next journey - we leave you with the 4Friends 3 pearls of wisdom ...

1. Shit weather on the West Coast/South Island is a lie

2. Eat a Pie - any Pie - whenever you get the chance

3. Tan lines will be the next Hot/Must Have fashion item - you heard it here first

Over and Out

David Tse, Ken Yee, René van Lierop, and Tony Jurlina - the 4Friends