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The Angel Tandem: Two 70+ year olds riding 7,500km around NZ for the Bald Angels

  • Finally, our southern most point of our journey

      16 December 2024

    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.

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    • 19/12/2024 by Sue

      Nice to meet you at the Invercargill campground. Have shared your story as promised. Safe travels

  • A tough ride

      26 November 2024

    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.

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  • Our toughest day yet

      22 November 2024

    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.

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    • 24/11/2024 by Inge

      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

  • Now on the mainland

      20 November 2024

    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

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  • The going gets tough

      11 November 2024

    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.

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  • Our second lighthouse

      2 November 2024

    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.

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  • The journey so far - from Te Aroha

      23 October 2024

    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.

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  • We depart on Saturday 12 October

      6 October 2024

    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.

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  • Almost at departure date

      23 September 2024
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    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.

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  • Our third team member

      24 August 2024
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    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.

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  • Gosh July has nearly gone

      24 July 2024
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    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.

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  • June Update

      20 June 2024

    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

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  • April Update

      27 April 2024
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    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.

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  • 575km 'test ride' around Te Tai Tokerau completed

      22 February 2024

    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.

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  • Our first 7 days around Te Tai Tokerau

      16 February 2024
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    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.

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    • 21/11/2024 by Inge

      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