Riding the length of New Zealand for those that can't
A four week bikepacking challenge to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of New Zealand
Nationwide
Just over two years ago, I ended up doing a bit of a multi-sport challenge here on the South Island to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. The driver was that my dear brother-in-law been struck down by this truly debilitating disease a couple of years earlier. He is one of my heroes and role models, and I grieve for him. If you want to know more about his story, please check out his blog at https://livinginhope.net/.
And so a new fund-raising challenge awaits. On 26 February, I set off from Cape Reinga in far Northland to ride 3,000 km to Bluff at the southern tip of the South Island. The trip is a mixture of sealed road, gravel road, formed cycle trails and 'grunty' mountain biking, and there's a lot of climbing. If all goes well, then I hope to complete the trip in about 27 days. Oh, did I mention that it's unsupported, so I have to carry all my gear with me.
So while going the distance, I'd like to raise some money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association of New Zealand Inc. (MDANZ) (https://www.mda.org.nz/) and help them support those in NZ that are facing similar difficulties to those that my brother-in-law and his family are facing the UK. If you can spare a few dollars, pounds, euros or any other currency, please donate and think of me over the next month as I face my own more short-lived challenge. My aim is $1 per Km, so a nice round $3,000.
You can follow my progress at https://touraotearoa2022.maprogress.com/?bib=MCL.
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A time to reflect 28 March 2022
After a few days back home, I've had a chance to reflect on an amazing month away.
Firstly, thank you again for the donations. A total to date of $4,000 exceeded my hope and is a result of your kind generosity. I trust that the good people at Muscular Dystrophy NZ will be able to put it to good use. I also know that some people donated to muscular dystrophy causes in the UK.
I realise how fortunate I am to have the physical health to be able to embark on such a trip as the Tour Aotearoa. Now that I have completed it, I've crunched some numbers; 26 days to ride 2,924 km (there was also a few km on various boats), 29,556 m of vertical ascent and 92,726 calories burned while riding.
But the numbers don't really tell the story. It was about watching the mist rise and sun break through each morning after I'd started riding at 7am. My favourite time of each day were the mornings. It was the tour friends that I made, some for a few days and some for most of the tour as our schedules inter-twined. It was the people I chatted to along the way; a farmer driving his livestock along a gravel road, a fellow camper in a campground kitchen, or a chatty shop owner. It was the variety of landscapes, experiences and the chance to enjoy some of the rarely visited backwaters of NZ. It was listening to the birds and being the subject of the gaze of a thousand sheep and cattle as I rode past their paddocks. It was a pig in the middle of the road and lizards sunning themselves in the morning sun on a wooden retaining wall. It was the sunset over the Tasman Sea from the camp ground in Ross. It was the hospitality of a school friend I haven't seen in nearly forty years, and others.
My mind was free to wander; refreshing and rejuvenating as I went. I got fitter and lost weight, while eating as much as I wanted. It's done me good, and thanks to your efforts, some good has come out of it for Muscular Dystrophy NZ.
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Thanks for the donation, and rounding the numbers. I was sustained for the first week by a diet of OSM and Power Bars from the samples you brought back from work.
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