Epic Journey Part 12 - The Completion
3 April 2017
The Epic Journey – Completion
What a ride! On the 10th and 11th March a group of 13 hardy cyclists and 5 support crew successfully completed the 2017 stage of the Epic Journey – the Map team bike ride from St Arnaud to Hanmer vis the Rainbow Road and the St James Cycleway. It was a great trip, some spectacular scenery, some challenging hills and exhilaratingly fast descents and all this mixed with a great camping food, wet campsites and a good dose of team comradery.
Below is a fairly detailed blow-by-blow account of the weekend – something to inspire those who will be joining us next year, plus a bit of a thank you to those who contributed to KidsCan and the event sponsors.
Our KidsCan Givealittle page raised a massive $4,627.47. An enormous and sincere Thankyou to all who contributed.
As for next year we are looking to get one step closer to completing the Epic Journey between the Christchurch and Wellington Offices. We will keep you all posted as our plans develop.
St Arnaud to Hanmer via the St James Cycleway – the 2017 MaP Kids Can Cycle Challenge
Day 1 – The Rainbow Road from St Arnaud to Lake Tennyson
On Friday the 10th March a group of 13 hardy cyclists and 5 support crew rose early and started the drive North from the Christchurch Office towards St Arnaud – the start point on the 2017 MaP cycle challenge. Ahead of us was two days and 160km of off road riding between St Arnaud, Lake Tennyson, Hanmer with a detour around the St James cycleway. We were all pretty excited.
With 75k ahead we would have liked to have been on the track early but this was never going to happen after the Twizel contingent of Squeak (Gordon Hamilton) and the Dark Horse (David Robbie) getting lost in the Christchurch one way system for what seemed like hours while looking for the non-existent Durham St entrance to the Christchurch office.
It wasn’t long along the route before the team split, with most mortals heading south towards our accommodation for the night while 4 hardy souls turned right onto the Rainbow Ski field Road. Why Retro Rich (Richard Griffiths), Agent Orange (Brett Horwell), Mystery (Chris Ewers) and Tu Good (Neil Sutherland) decided to add 800m of vertical climbing to a long day of cycling no one yet knows. It’s even more disturbing when Tu Good decided to climb another 200m to the top of the ski field – performance enhancing drugs probably should have been checked as he later caught up to the rest of the group and after a short break continued to make his way ahead of the crowd to the camp site.
It also wasn’t long before the groups Ninja (Li Ing Peh) had her first crash of the day while crossing a river. By the sounds she was not phased by the crash ‘she says she has crashed a few times before’. By the end it became clear that the Ninja was an expert at crashing – taking the major award for the trip for this, or was it for the ‘most punctures’ or the ‘most significant mechanical failure with her bikes gearing system disintegrating on route. All in all – the Ninja deserves to be recognised for her tenacity in completing the ride under these circumstances.
The scenery was just superb along the route – big valleys, clear rivers, native beech forest and big mountains were some of the highlights. The photos don’t really do justice for this place.
Any attempt for a game, such as frizbee at the midway point were kept short – with darkness, and the threat of rain approaching participants were keen to keep moving. Surprisingly no-one took up the challenge of a swim in the Wairau River – the weather was just a bit too cold for this sort of activity.
As darkness approached the first riders approached the camp for the night. Thankfully Satanic Santa (Nick Horswell) and Shazman (David Lea) had driven ahead in their big 4wd’s to set up the tents which allowed riders to change out of wet clothes while consuming a celebratory beer. A hot and hearty meal of spaghetti bolognaise was soon steaming away which was welcomed by all riders.
It wasn’t until about an hour after dark that the final riders arrived at Lake Tennyson - the remaining 3 riders who foolishly ventured up the Rainbow Ski field Road – Retro Rich, Agent Orange and Mystery – a big day at the office for them. Though games were suggested and drinks were happily being consumed the team very quickly all retreated to the warmth of the tents for a well-deserved rest.
Day 2:
Waking at dawn to barbequed bacon and eggs was appreciated by all. Great work Bear Grylls (Ethan Lancaster) and Bart (Brent Wilson). The light drizzle was not so appreciated so when the team headed off with full bellies jackets and jerseys were on. About 3km down the road the team turned right onto the St James Cycleway where the group climbed up to the 1300m. Clothing layers were removed due to the physical excursion on the ascent but upon reaching Maling Pass it became clear that the weather had turned for the worse. A hard decision was then made by some of the team to decent back to the Rainbow Road then directly to Hanmer rather than descending into the unsupported Waiau River Valley section of the St James Cycle Trail.
The group that returned to the Rainbow Road still had 45km more to ride, they took turns battling a head wind back towards Hanmer – with Big Red (Sharon Rusbatch) and ReaBan (Caroline Rea) ensure the troops maintained a good speed and drafted efficiently. I’m impressed by the commitment to keep warm on route – using a small toilet shelter with a long drop loo as a place to keep warm). The Ninja cemented her position with crashes, punctures and mechanical failues.
The group that continued on down into the Waiau River Valley were greeted by clearing skys, great views, several swing bridges and excellent trails.
The riding was tough and long so it was confirmed that the choice for the group to split was definitely a good one. It was agreed that next time the group returns it should be in fine weather.
While the riders were out on track it wasn’t all work for the support crew. Bear Grylls proved his experience in back country driving by leading the other vehicles through some of the more rugged terrain which kept the drivers all entertained. He was successful in finding a ditch which gave him top honours for the driving team by needing to be towed.
The decent down the gravel road of Jacks Pass to Hanmer for all riders was both challenging and exhilarating. With the rain and spray off the road visibility was extremely poor so good work to all for making it down safe.
Being greeted at the Hanmer camp by The Ring In (Jane Whyte) and Shazman with hot drinks late Saturday afternoon was much appreciated, as were the hot pools and large hot meals that evening.
All in all, it was an excellent trip that we would recommend to anyone who wishes for a taste of the Canterbury outdoors. A huge thanks to our Support drivers Satanic Santa, Shazman, the Ring In, Bart and Bear Grylls – we couldn’t have done the trip without you, and your supportive attitudes and camp setup and breakdown made the trip even more pleasurable. A big thanks also to our sponsors and to KidsCan, who make this trip even more meaningful.
2017 Big bike – The Team
1. Richard Retro Rich
2. Aaron Forde Double A Ron
3. Alex Martin Doc (Martin)
4. Brent Wilson Bart (support)
5. Brett Horwell Agent Orange
6. Caroline Rea ReaBan
7. David Robbie Dark Horse
8. Ethan Lancaster Bear Grylls
9. Li Ing Peh Little Ninja
10. Neil Sutherland Tu Good
11. Nick Horswell Satanic Santa (support)
12. Nicola Ponsonby Miss Capm (support)
13. Paul Churton The Churtinator
14. David Lea Shazman (support team)
15. Sharon Rusbatch Big Red
16. Gordon Hamilton Squeak
17. Chris Ewers Mystery
18. Jeff Page Page One
19. Jane Whyte The ring in (support)