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Steve's Tour Aotearoa Ride

  • The tour is complete!

      14 March 2016

    Apologies for no updates on givealittle for a while. I didn't have any time or rest days since I rested in Nelson and I also broke my phone which limited communications.

    All updates and dramas of the last 8-9 days were put up on facebook, however I will finish the blog and upload it and photos to this site in the next few days.

    The tour is over, I finished on Sunday 13th Feb at 13:48 PM. So on the 20 day it was finished and it was very good. I completed the tour in 19 days 23 hours 48 minutes which actually is still as planned to do it in 19 days! Smashed out the 143k to Stirling point today in 6 hours with an average of 27.8 kph. Thanks a million to all the people who supported me by text, msgs, Facebook, donations, prayers etc. Your support was a massive encouragement.

    The givealittle fund will stay open for a few more days.

    There will be a follow up event at some stage but right now I'm going to go and eat and sleep, and eat some more and then sleep some more :-)

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  • Tour Aotearoa Update #2

      5 March 2016

    Blog updates of Day 6-11 of the TA16 between rest days. Currently I am in Nelson on rest day 2 before I push onto bluff. This is another 7 days in a row of riding. I am over half way through the ride as I passed the 1500K mark before reaching Lower Hutt on day 10.

    Photos are still available on facebook via link - https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156672346215089.1073741833.903320088&type=1&l=8ad3136d35

    DAY 6 – SH1/SH29 junction to Pureora – 135KMS / 11.5 total hours with 8 hours riding time / 16.9k average

    After a wonderful rest day at Bevan's I stopped being a ghost on the map and switched my tracker back on and proceeded through the Waikato river trail. A bacon and eggs second breakfast got me all the way to Mangikino and I passed most of the 15 TA riders who had left the cafe 5 minutes before I arrived.

    Because I knew the river trail well I was realistic about how hard it would be. It took me the estimated 5 hours to do it and I really enjoyed the trail and the technical bits as a result. Other riders would and were severely tested and caught out by it for the lack of knowledge. The day was again another hot and humid stinker.

    The only minor issues today were losing a bottle down a bank and crashing into a closed gate. I learned later that other people had also almost done the same thing.

    There was nowhere to buy food for the next 170k that I knew of so I stocked up well at the Mangikino 4 square.

    After an extended break I rode with other TA riders to the centre of the North island. We were definitely in remote country now. Overgrown tracks and lots of ferns and even kaka calling and swooping around. It was awesome for its remoteness and beauty. Today featured a heck of a lot of climbing and a considerable amount of riding was off road. The pace was slow as a result with my average speed being much lower than the other days.

    After visiting the centre of the North island I pushed into my dodgy accommodation and found it to be pretty good actually. Hot showers and a comfy bed are always welcome after a big day in the saddle. After managing to locate the key for the cabin I shared it with Bryan Prestidge who rocked up without a booking not realising you needed prior arrangement. It does pay to be organised!!! Today I did feel pretty tired and slept really soundly.

    DAY 7 – Pureora to blue duck station (Whakahoro) – 181ks / 15 hours total / 10 hours riding / 18.1kph average

    Huge huge day. Raining all though timber trail but it was beautiful and fun also and I had a blast. Lost a water bottle on the super long decent but it was picked up by the good chap behind me. I later returned the favour to him by giving him an anti histamine after he got stung on the tongue in Taumarunui.

    The timber trail took 7 hours in the end and by the time I rolled into Taumarunui it was half past 4 which was an hour later than I wanted. I still had 71k to go and this included a big climb up to the central plateau and then a massively long descent into the Whanganui National park. I fueled up by having a thai red curry! Curry's are the popular choice of meals on this trip for me.

    Unfortunately as I was pumping the rear tyre up the valve exploded so that was the end of tubeless for a while at least. This delayed me leaving by another 30 min. I didn't leave Taumarunui until 6:30 which was an hour and a half later than I wanted to!!! So I knew it would be a late finish and a lot of riding in the dark again.

    The rain had cleared so I headed for Whakahoro. It was gravel most of the way but I managed to get the big ascent done before it was dark and switched on the lights to start the 50k descent. Without really stopping I pushed on through the night and reached my destination 3.5 hours later which was a great effort.

    It was disappointing to not be able to see the amazing scenery and I could hear the whanganui river down below me as I followed it down the valley. I arrived at blue duck station at 10. So hopefully I can actually get some sleep tonight before I tackle the notorious Kaiwhakauka track tomorrow morning and I hope the track is not as bad as Johnathan Kennett has been blogging about!!!!

    DAY 8 - Blue duck station to Wanganui – 126km / 7:27 Riding / 11:20 total / 17 kph average

    Met the Mt Eden boys at the start of the Kaiwhakauka track but they were waiting for some faffers in their party so I pushed on alone to the top of the trig. The track was in pretty good condition and mostly ridable even the steep climb to the top. I ended up loving it and really enjoyed the whole track especially since a lot of it was great single track through beautiful native forest. It was so remote and scenic and the Wanganui river thundered far below in the gorge. I had always wanted to ride the bridge to nowhere route and now here I was with the weather conditions perfect and this part was the highlight of the North island for me. I passed lots of other TA riders, took some photos of the bridge to nowhere (which actually now leads to somewhere, that being the jetboat pickup/dropoff point) and arrived at the landing taking just over 4 hours instead of the expected 5-6.

    So another little miracle happened! I had originally booked a 13:30 jetboat but was able to hop on one which left much earlier with all the other people I had passed on it even though it was a different company. There was 1 space left and this proved to be another miracle as once I got back into reception range I had a message waiting from the original jetboat company saying could not do the 1:30 pickup and I would have been stuck there for hours otherwise.

    After the elation of the bridge to nowhere I went completely flat and struggled through to Wanganui where I stayed at Erika's flat for the night. I hadn't seen her in years so was god to catch up and of course we went out for a Thai curry. The gentle Annie climb just before the flat spin into town was a real grunter. Never trust other riders when they say the climbs are easy. It cooked me in the 28c heat.

    DAY 9 - Wanganui to Palmerston North – 212km / 12:45 total / 10:12 Riding / 20.7 kph average

    I started early at 6AM but immediately could tell I felt completely stuffed and it proved to be the hardest day in the saddle so far. I had to carry a lot of food as there were not many options during the remote route today. After cycling up to Durie hill for the photo control point (to early for the elevator to be running) I then experienced freezing conditions as I made my way over the ranges. My hands got so cold I completely lost all strength in them. The day then became another hottie, the gravel roads dusty and rough. I struggled on over substantial rolling terrain with decent climbs to keep the legs honest and the language colorful. Finally after hours of this I reached the Manatawu plains and the blustery northerwestern then propelled me towards Palmie at a much greater speed which lifted my hopes of a decent finish time. When you can sense the finishing line in sight for that day you get very tempted to "pin your ears back" which I did and pushed hard for the line which was my mothers house.

    I met little brother Tim (who is taller than I) at the finish point being Fitzherbert bridge and promptly went into a state delirium. I was completely nackard, had very very sore knees and developing saddle sores, however after devouring 3 servings of mums yummy curry, putting anti-flam on the knees, teetree oil on the sores and having a solid 7.5 hour sleep things rapidly changed. It was great to be fussed over and I could relax and focus on recovery.

    DAY 10 - Palmerston North to Lower Hutt – 242km / 13:30 total / 10:39 Riding time / 23 kph average

    I knew today would be a huge day. After my little bro got up at 5:30 to cook me breakfast (bless him!) and dropped be back at the bridge I kicked off at 7 and did the stiff climb out of Palmie up over the Tararua mountain ranges. It was even colder this morning with the temperature hovering around the high single digits for a while. I stopped in Pahiatua for a flat white and pie although I hadn't planned to and then flew through to Eketahuna to snap the giant kiwi and eat more food. I was feeling very strong today and the discomfort of yesterday was almost gone. As I had said on my facebook post, I felt like a new man.

    The scenery is very different here, the fields are brown instead of the lush green I had seen through the Waikato. The day had heated up and the tail wind meant I screamed into Masterton on the aerobars without having to do a lot of work. I rode with Tamzin for a while, lunched with her and pushed on to catch Stu Smith. It was now completely boiling again and water was consumed at a great rate. I caught Stu but then lost him again as he stopped at Fielding and I followed the route to bypass it. I reach the bottom of the Rimutaka cycle trail just before 5 and wanting to get to my Uncle before it was too late I pushed up the massive 400m climb to the top. It was all ridable and took me about 35 minutes as I passed through the 3 tunnels. The descent on the other side was just simply amazing and went on and on and on. This was the first time I had done this track and really enjoyed it. I found my way onto the hutt river trail single track an this ended up being longer than I expected but I pushed on as it widened out to a gravel road. I detoured off the track at Belmont and cycled up the 2K steep hill to my Uncle Tim's place in Belmont heights arriving at around 8:30ish. I ate all the food I could find in his cupboards and crashed out on the bed.

    DAY 11 - Lower Hutt to Nelson – 129km / 13:30 total (includes 3.5 hour ferry crossing) / 6:46 Riding time / 19.1 kph average

    I screamed down the Hutt Valley with plenty of time to space to catch the ferry and at the interisland ferry terminal I turned around and saw Stu trotting onto the ferry after me.

    I ate lots of average overpriced food onboard which was not part of the diet although the scones were very very good, and slept for the 3.5 hour crossing. I got lost trying to find my bike on the boat but managed to make it off in the end holding up the cars in the process. Stu joked that I needed to navigate the length of the country and I couldn’t find my way off the boat.

    We promptly split up as I needed to find some anti-flam+ and then followed Stu ups along queen charlotte drive as we wiggled around the sounds. I chose to ride the optional link track stage instead of the road which loosely followed the road but much higher and were proper singletrack which meant it took a lot longer. The track was brand new and still under construction. I chatted with the workers on it and proceeded towards the dreaded Maungatapu saddle.

    At Havelock which was half way I was alerted to the fact my tracker had died. After feeding it fresh batteries and myself fresh icecream I headed off and to the start of the grueling climb for the Maungatapu saddle. I caught Stu on the climb and was very proud that I managed to ride half way up before my legs gave out. I budgeted 1.5 hours to get to the top but it took a little less in the end. The last time I was here I climbed it the other way in the dark, cold and the rain...all alone, during the epic final evening of the kiwi brevet 2015. This time I could see what I was doing up and down. I waited for Stu and gave an ETA to the family I was staying with in Nelson. We descended and I left stu behind as I managed to get down the crazy terrain without breaking myself or the bike. Stu got a pinch flat so I checked he was ok and smashed it out to Nelson flat out to try and get to the accom before it was too late. The Koevoet family were so welcoming and hospitable and could not quite believe I had just cycled from Picton. I knew it was going to be an awesome rest day tomorrow and that I was in a good place.

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  • Tour Aotearoa Update #1

      27 February 2016

    Today is my first rest day of the tour. In 4 days according to the spot tracker I have done 670k’s which includes a 20k round trip detour to the CAP offices. Currently its 8PM and I am relaxing at my friend Bevan and Liz’s place in the Waikato near Cambridge, listening to the rain falling constantly on the roof and thinking about the other TA riders who are roughing it outdoors tonight.

    My plan to ditch the tent in Auckland is a good one so far and I have lightened the load by about 2KG. Hopefully the rain is gone tomorrow as I have to tackle one of the toughest sections of the ride, the Waikato river trail tomorrow.

    Things are bang on schedule so far and I am feeling great, plenty of energy, not tired or sore, and happy to get back on my bike tomorrow and the bike is performing beautifully at the moment. I got a bike service in Auckland by Andrew FixBike man and a few things fixed up at Mt Eden cycles.

    I am posting all possible photos on facebook because it’s too difficult to do it via the givealittle site. Below should be a public link.

    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10156672346215089.1073741833.903320088&type=1&l=8ad3136d35

    I have learnt that riding at dawn and dusk are my favourite times to ride so far and I have done it a number of times already. There is no wind, little traffic, its cooler and the light is amazing.

    Lets backtrack on the last few days and start at the beginning of this crazy adventure.

    DAY 1 – Cape Reinga to Herekino – 120KMS / 6.5 hours / 21k average

    After camping the night at cape Reinga we did a 2PM mass start in baking temperatures from the lighthouse carpark. Everyone was very very exciting and a number of people looked pretty tired even before they had started (Likely due to having ridden to the start from quite a way away).

    The first bit of drama was descending down to 90 mile beach and a water bottle fell out of my modified water bottle holder and promptly cracked meaning I just lost valuable water which was required for the beach. My jandals fell off 1 minute later. After securing the load better I hit the beach and joined up with a bunch of other TA riders and we rode down the beach in a V formation (like birds) to shelter from the swirling cross and head winds.

    The beach was the hardest bit of the ride so far. Yes it’s flat but very exposed, and very monotonous and it was 4+ hours of battling the wind and blowing sand as we did the 80k to the get out point.

    For many riders this could be the hardest section of the whole ride and it’s right at the beginning. I was pretty shaky once I got off the beach but much better than others who reportedly fell off their bikes and couldn’t move!

    The miracle was running out of water with an hour of beach to go and finding a fisherman who was happy to give me some water!!!

    I met another fellow TA cyclist (Stu) and he told me he was going to stay at the school over the hill from Ahipara. I met him there in the late dusk and we slept out on the classroom deck and jumped the locked gate to clean ourselves in the school pool. This was gold and Stew was a godsend since I had really no idea where I was going to stay but I knew I wanted to not camp alone in the far north! It’s pretty dicey up there and I was surprised the caretaker didn’t come and pull a gun on us. The other good thing about staying there was that there was a thick fog in the morning and since we didn’t need to setup our tents they were not we unlike all the other TA riders who camped down the road.

    DAY 2 –Herekino to Pouto Point – 225KMS / 17 hours total / 18.8k average

    The problem however with staying at the school meant I was 50k behind where I intended to be on day 1.

    We headed off at 5:30am through the thick fog and surprisingly cold conditions. The sunrise over the far north was absolutely beautiful as we climbed above the mist and looked down at it in the valleys. I will never forget this morning.

    The rest of that day turned into a 17 hour cycle with some serious climbs through the beautiful Waipoua Kauri Forest. Did I mention it was absolutely roasting? The goal was to get to Pouto point that night and make the 8AM ferry crossing for the next morning so I could get to the CAP offices thu afternoon.

    The final 25k unsealed dusty, continuously hilly road to the point was brutal and long. It took hours in the dark with tons of traffic spewing dust all over us and I was so thankful for having 2 other TA riders to spur me on and share the suffering with. We finally arrived at 10:30PM at the backpackers. It had been a 225k day, much longer than I originally anticipated however I heard later other people badly wanted to get on the ferry also since it only goes twice a day and they arrived as late as 3AM in the morning!

    I have less to write here even though it potentially is the longest day I will ride on the whole trip. A lot happened but after 2-3 hours sleep the night before it all seems a bit of a blur.

    I did have my first icecream of the trip today however. Someone said they were going to sponsor my icecream eating so I am counting!!!

    DAY 3 – Pouto Point to Mangere (Auckland) – 93KMS / 6.5 hours / 21.6k average

    30 riders piled onto the fishing boat and we relaxed for 3 hours until we got to Parakai. I was immediately cornered by the Burton family from church who had driven out from Torbay to find me. What a lovely surprise!

    Time was ticking to get to the CAP office before it closed so I pushed hard whilst eating on the bike and only stopping at Mt Eden cycles to purchase bigger water bottles to ensure I would not run out of water again and get a few bike niggles fixed by the amazing mechanic (Clarke). I was 2nd into Auckland off the boat.

    I had been so tired the previous day I had forgotten to charge my phone and I needed it for navigation through Auckland! Fortunately my solar charger provided a bit of juice and I charged it at Mt Eden cycles and CAP again.

    I made the CAP offices at 4pm, although I had to ride down great south road in rush hour (nerve wracking) and take a 20k round trip detour but it was completely worth it and I was quite overwhelmed with the reception I received, the amazing cake and the interest in the ride. After learning more about CAP, eating cake and chatting I headed off to a waiting dinner of yummy Thai green curry which I had ordered via John Catmur in the morning.

    Andrew rocked up to service my bike and replaced a few parts which was an absolute blessing. It was fantastic to stay with John and catchup with a few friends at the same time and have a nice comfy bed. It was nice to not finish cycling in the dark for the first time on the ride.

    DAY 4 –Mangere to SH1/SH29 junction– 235KMS / 14 hours / 24.2k average

    I met Stu and some other TA riders at 7AM and we fought growing traffic and headed out of Auckland past the airport. Another stunning sunrise lead to a clear and stinking hot beautiful day. (Its been 28c every day since I started).

    I lost the guys for a bit and took a few wrong turns but then eventually caught them at Kawakawa bay after a coffee and pie injection at Clevedon. We opted to take the longer but scenic coastal route around Hunua which turned out to be a great decision due to the view and shade it offered and we picked up a few more TA riders and I moved to the front to lead the Peloton along the coast of the firth of Thames.

    From the Miranda turnoff everyone scattered and I ended up cycling the rest of the day solo which was completely fine. Once we had left the Hunua’s the rest of the days ride was pretty well flat and with a growing tailwind to blow me down the Hauraki rail trail I was making a great average speed, however I did have to stop lots for food and also drunk through over 10 litres of water which meant it did take me some time to cycle the 235k and get to the pickup point where SH29 meets SH1 (Piarere).

    Again it was simply stunning cycling through the lovely quite roads of the Waikato in the twilight whilst I recovered from a massive Turkish rice dinner in Matamata and I got to the end of the days ride at 9PM, switched off the tracker and jumped in Bevan’s wagon.

    Another amazing event for the day was meeting Jack and Libby Shallard (parents of the late Michael Shallard who I am dedicating my ride to) whilst on the way to Matamata. They had deliberately taken that route to see if they could spot me and it was a miracle that I had decided to pull over under a big tree when they saw me.

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  • Went to the Auckland CAP office and guess what....

      27 February 2016
    Main image

    Dropped into the CAP office on Thu afternoon on my way through Auckland which is the charity I am riding for. It was a real buzz meeting the team and there are a lot more of them that I thought. Man they are an amazing bunch of people and I didn't realise how broad the services are that they provide. From free financial courses, helping long term unemployed people get back into work, teaching kids about money management and even helping people deal with addictions this charity does so much more and touches so many more people than I ever imagined. I am so proud to be raising money for CAP and I hope to raise as much as possible because at the end of the day this whole event for me is so much more than any personal ambitions that I might have. This is about hope, the future and people being set free from the chains of all sorts of oppression, not just financial! These are things which have lifetime effects on many people, which is much more than an individual 3 week cycle challenge. Please support CAP in their tremendous endeavors to reach out and be a friend to those people who don't have any friends or any hope in their situation. Their rehabilitation stats are much better than other similar programs. Please donate if you have not already and show your support for them and for me.

    https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/stevebilton

    Check out the photos of the amazing cake!!!!

    If you are not able to see all 6 photos please go to the gallery on my givealittle page.

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  • it begins....almost

      22 February 2016

    Currently on-route to cape Reinga with 6 other tour Aotearoa riders. We start in wave 2 tomorrow at 2pm. Hoping for a nice tail wind along 90 mile beach. Can't fathom what is about to happen still. Went tubeless over the weekend for 1st time so complete experiment!!!

    You can track me live at http://touraotearoa2016.maprogress.com/ (correct link now) a lot of riders have already started, and the map is very cluttered so you need to search for me using the search function to find me when I get going.

    Please do consider supporting the me and mainly CAP if you have not yet as I am riding to help then continue to provide free financial services to those in poverty or financial burden. All donations are gratefully received and you will revive auto updates as I post then on the site. https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/stevebilton

    Some pics below of the bike all setup and our little group at the Auckland pickup point this afternoon

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  • One week to go!!!

      16 February 2016

    It is one week until I start the tour, however the first lot of riders will leave this Sunday from Cape Reinga.

    My start is at 2PM on 23rd Feb from the cape along with 100 other keen cyclists who are part of the 300 strong contiguity.

    I'm not fully prepared mentally or even in terms of setup yet but hoping to pull things together before Monday last minute (as you do) and am gathering confidence that I can actually do this and so can my bike!

    I have been sponsored by my local bike shop Saint cycles who have given me some new cycling clothing which should be getting some personal touches added this week so at least I can look the part even if I don't have a clue what is going on.

    You can track me on the website and find out my progress, and also if you are waiting for me to turn up to your place! http://touraotearoa2016.maprogress.com/

    The 30 photos I'll take at each control point will be uploaded onto the site and you can access them by clicking on the photo icon next to my name Inline images 1 which you can search for me by using the rider filter at the top of the page.

    My proposed itinerary can be found here - tinyurl.com/zzj4h36. Auckland people please note I plan to be in Mangere the late arvo/evening of the 25th so if you do want to pop in and visit and bring a hungry cyclist a meal ? then that would be fantastic to see anyone or everyone.

    Please do consider supporting a much greater cause than this ride as I am using this event to raise funds for CAP. You can check this out on the link below and also when you donate you'll receive automatic updates as I upload them onto the site during the ride. You can donate up until I have finished the ride on 12/3 as planned.

    Please do spread the word between your friends, family or work colleges. I have found that many people are generally very interested in the ride especially if they are into cycling themselves.

    Thanks so so much to all of you who have already donated and given your encouragement and support. It means so much! And I look forward to sharing this event with you all.

    Blessings

    Steve

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