After 7,267km of cycling over 428hours and 73,630 metres of hills, we have finally arrived back in Kerikeri. Mother Nature saved a burst of rain for our last 7km but a great welcome from our friend and supporters. Thank you to everyone for your encouragement to us and donations for The Bald Angels. It has been one heck of a ride for a couple of 72year olds.
Currently in Auckland and only 466km to go to get back to Kerikeri. The rear admiral (Ruth) is rejoining the team (Cliff & Bob the Angel Bear) at Wellsford for the 360km ride up Northlands western coast to the Hokianga before our last day back across to Kerikeri. It has been a tough few weeks battling the North Island’s relentless hills and remote West Coast north of Taumarunui. The donations that have continued to arrive have helped to keep the pedals turning. You can read more about our rides on our website - www.detours.co.nz
A short video of thanks to our donors - your support for Bald Abgels really helps us to keep going when that going gets tough.
After 5,774km and 334 hours of pedalling we have arrived back at the North Island for the remaining leg to Kerikeri following a more westerly route. The bike limped to Upper Hutt where I had to get repairs completed having worn out a reasonably critical part of the bike. Aiming to be in Kerikeri in just over three weeks. Thank you to those who have supported the ride, especially over the last 1,400km where I have been moving the big bike along on my own.
After a very wet start to the return journey the weather has been behaving. In fact, I have been riding up the West Coast for the last week and haven’t had a drop of rain. You can read about the ride to Hokitika at this link: https://detours.co.nz/2025/02/04/__trashed/
After a much needed rest over Christmas the Angel Tandem turns north for the 3,000km journey back home. As the pedals again start turning it is a good time to focus on why we are pedalling so far. Therese from the Bald Angels has recorded a video in which she outlines the difference that helping vulnerable kids can make, not just to the lives of the children but to all of us. It is about 7minutes long but well worth those 7minutes. It is going to be a bit tougher for the ride back as I am missing the stoker, Ruth. You can read all about that on our blog: detours.co.nz
We left Kerikeri on 12 October on this leg of our journey and today pedaled into Invercargill after 3,659km of pedaling. It has been a very challenging ride for the Rear Admiral and not helped over the last week by sickness. We are going to take a break for a few weeks to recharge our personal batteries, a privilege that vulnerable children don’t enjoy. Not sure if the whole team will be back for the ride back north, you will need to tune in in January to find out. In the meantime here is a clip from our last very cold ride in 2024. We wish you all a merry Christmas and hope 2025 is everything that you hope for.
Nice to meet you at the Invercargill campground. Have shared your story as promised. Safe travels
Our four day ride from Blenheim to Hanmer via the Molesworth Station was tough going but along the way we had some great experiences including a very cold night in our tiny tent. Enjoy the short video of the ride.
A brief video taken from a picturesque vantage point on the isolated Awatere Valley road. Yesterday we were battling road closures, weather fronts and unexpected distances. Our worst day of the ride.
Good grief you two! What a battle! Amazing what you managed, and hoping that that would have been the toughest day and no repeats. You are certainly matching the efforts of the hikoi runners. I am thinking that one of the things that helps you is the fact that you have planned out the whole trip, so that you know exactly where you are going in the long run, but having to turn back and redo 17 km in lousy weather conditions plus state Highway 1 on a bike is probably like boot camp. The country side looks great though, not as dry as we remember from our trip.
Kia kaha! All the best and we are working hard on keeping Kerikeri bolstered up for the future! Inge & Rolf
We crossed Cook Strait yesterday and have spent today in Blenheim getting organised for our remote ride through the mountains to Hanmer Springs. With the prospect of some cool showery weather we hope we have enough gear to ward of the cold on our first night camping in our tiny tent. We have a couple of very cold days to finish our North Island east coast leg but despite the cold and numb toes we enjoyed our ride over the Remutaka Rail Trail. Unlike vulnerable Tamariki we were able to warm up in our accommodation. That is not going to be the case on Saturday as we pitch our tent at around 800m above sea level. The video is a short snippet of our ride over the hill to Wellington
Since East Cape we have hit the hills and had a reminder of winter and a taste of summer with daytime highs ranging from 12c to 29c. Currently in Napier leaving tomorrow with the objective being Wellington over the weekend. Our latest video update covers a sample of our ride from Waiotapu to Wairoa. Thanks for the support for Bald Angels. While we grumble about how tough some of the days can be, vulnerable children face the prospect of every day being a challenge - often for survival.
Today we rode out to East Cape the most easterly lighthouse in the country - we have two more on our list - one at Waipapa Point on the south coast of the South Island and the other at Cape Egmont in the West - almost 1,000km across the north island from where we now are - the widest points in Aotearoa. We chose lighthouses because they are a beacon of hope. Something vulnerable children need. You can watch our last video update that covers the ride through to Waiotapu.
We are 1,252km along our 7,500km ride around Aotearoa. The ride is going ok, lots of hills with the first and only respite being our few day through the Hauraki district. We are delighted with the generosity of our supporters both in donations and words of encouragement. Here is a very brief video of the ride from Kerikeri.
We have been out on the bike today for the last longish ride around the Kerikeri - Kaikohe area today. At 68km it was a reasonable test of our readiness which is about as good as expected when we are not on the bike daily. We think that we have the bike setup sorted but it will be work in progress over the first week. It has been very heartening to see the donations trickling in over recent weeks and we again thank you for your generosity. We have decided that our video work needs a lot more effort. Our next update will be from some point south of Kerikeri.
We have sorted out the gear, done the dummy packing, the bike is off for a pre departure service and we are spending a bit more time on the saddle in order to make sure that we are good to go on 12 October. We have also been meeting with the team at The Bald Angels Charitable Trust and are in awe of their efforts, made a lot harder this year as funding sources become more challenging. The image included with this update records their efforts to make a difference to vulnerable children. We hope our challenging journey will inspire you to help vulnerable kids by donating to The Bald Angels.
Bob (the Angel Bear) which is an acronym for Bear on Bike, volunteered to participate in our ride representing his wider whanau. Since 2016, these little angel-branded bears have been packed and supplied to First Response Units: St John’s, Fire Service, Police, etc., to support kids in trauma. We sure that you will reward Bob for his bravery in agreeing to ride on a boring old tandem with a couple of pensioners. Not long before we head off so lots to do.
We noted last month that winter was keeping the bikes in the shed and ourselves out of the rain and cold. Some do not have a choice and face a long cold and miserable winter without adequate housing and warm clothes. The Bald Angels have run their annual ‘winter warmers and coats drive down in Auckland city and received 1600 items from schools, businesses and families. These were distributed to more than 500 vulnerable Far North kids. Unfortunately, it is never enough to meet the growing demand.
It is time for us to toughen up and start trading for our ride - we need to get familiar with a little rain and some cold days. Let the training begin!
We met with a few of the volunteers at Bald Angels and gave a little presentation on our fund raising ride.
It's winter so things are pretty quiet. The bike has been gathering dust and we are getting out of condition. Time to start thinking about our fitness for the rest of the ride starting on 12 October. Plenty to think about. We have another 7,006km of riding to go. 70,000m of hills to climb with the highest hill being Wards Pass at 1,145m on the Molesworth Station in Marlborough. Our longest daily ride is a mere 86km to keep the Rear Admiral happy and 1,700km of gravel roads which she is not going to be too chuffed about. Best we start getting over the rain and get out there and start training. Cheers Cliff & Ruth
We debated whether to start fundraising with the first stage of our ride as it was going to result in a long period of apparent inactivity before our main stage starting on 12 October. We are in that quiet period but behind the scenes there is plenty of activity - the bike has been tweaked to make it safer on the gravel - some bookings have been completed and we have our first guest riders on Ruth's Angel seat. One is 85 and is going to ride 250km the other is 76 and also going to ride 250km. We have been off-bike for a few weeks due to some health niggles but getting back into some light training again. Will update again next month.
We have been off the bike and on the laptop planning the rest of our trip (7,000 km). That part of the planning is done and you can read all about it in our latest blog post:https://detours.co.nz/2024/03/25/the-devil-is-in-the-details-our-itinerary/
Well we have proved our concept with this ride - now to plan the next 7,000 starting on October - thanks to those who have already supported us. Visit detours.co.nz for updates on the next stages.
We have been on the road for 7 days, cycling 427km so far. This has taken us around many of the remote areas of Te Tai Tokerau that is the focus of The Bald Angels, the charity that we are cycling for.We aimed to get out of our comfort zone to try and get a taste of what it is like for the vulnerable kids up here. We have done that in spades but it does not come close to describing the challenges. Thanks to those supporting our ride and don’t forget to follow us on our blog or on social media.
you are doing great! The Rimutakas are no easy feat and it seems you ride downhill was a nice reward, or why is the back of the front so smooth on that video? Good luck with the tent temperatures! Inge & Rolf
