Rest Day Q & A

Q – So Tony are you enjoying it? All we hear about is grey skies, hills and gravel!

A – Absolutely. Maybe I’m a glass half empty type of guy. This is New Zealand and it’s tough to ride. I’ve not seen one other cycle tourer suggesting it’s not a route for the faint hearted! The climbing complaint is a reflection of the gradients. It’s unusual to regularly grind up so many 8% and more gradients all day. I could have done with the rest day a day earlier but another day in Mokau was never a proposition. The weather isn’t terrible but it is very mixed and changeable. The locals tell me it is poor!

Q – Are you safe and don’t you get lonely?

A – I’ve always felt perfectly safe. I’m an old bloke on a bike and don’t show any wealth so unless I was stupid enough to provoke someone why would I be in harms way? Lonely, no I’m self contained but also busy between waking and sleeping: either pedalling, navigating, washing, researching, building up the tent, cooking etc. I speak to Anna every day and also share a few WhatsApps with others. I also receive comments on my social media. I chat to folk on campsites but sometimes you can get bogged down and want to get away!

Q – Is your route and campsites set in stone?

A – Broadly because I have to plan my daily cycling and always gauge it on where I can get to with a campsite as the destination. Hence the shorter distances in NZ. I would contemplate a hotel but if there ain’t a campsite in the ‘sticks’ then there isn’t a hotel! I will adjust a route on occasion but there are no options in NZ and so am sticking to the original plan.

Q – Do you always plan to cook at night?

A – No! If I can find a hot meal then that’s a real tonic. However, I carry pasta, rice, a tin of tuna and other bits for the nights when I need to have Plan B

Q – What makes for a good rest day?

A – A hotel where I can get wi-fi, a selection of nearby shops to restock or have other facilities such as a bike shop should I need one. Another requirement is a launderette. I wash my dirty kit every night on the road but a proper wash is always a motivator so that once in a while I set off with everything spick and spam. Being in an interesting place with a few sights is a bonus.

Q – Without being too rude then at your age how are you coping with the effort?

A – I set off fit. Prior to the trip I did some big bike rides with lots of climbing. I regularly do Pilates classes and so most muscles seem to work. I also pedal at a sedate pace. If I come to a hill I think about all the days to come and how pointless it would be to ‘go for it’ up this one and pull a muscle. I try and eat well. Eating sufficiently is mandatory for fuelling and morale. If I don’t eat well I soon feel lethargic and my morale plummets. I carry a few medical supplies as well as my prescribed daily medication. Anna always knows where I am with Apple’s ‘Find A Friend’. Also in NZ I have a good friend, Paul, who is fulfilling the role of my ‘Angel of the Blacktop’ by keeping tabs on me.

Q – Is there anything you’d have done differently eg. planned, bought etc.

A – Not so far. At home I have a list of what to carry, a route planned in detail and lots of contingencies. I wish I could seriously lighten my luggage but I that would require an abandonment of camping to achieve meaningful weight loss.

Q – Any observations about the country from your saddle?

A – Despite being summer it seems quiet. Either the tourists don’t bother with the west coast or the weather has put them off. I’m pleased to see Māori folk and their culture. The touristy part I’ve experienced on another holiday. Here, seeing them in the community running establishments and their horses brings home that they’re an integral part of the country and haven’t all been overtaken by the subsequent white settlers.

Q – What’s one gift the solo traveller needs and is elevated by?

A – The kindness of strangers.

Approaching The Plymouth International hotel I pulled out my sunglasses to find the arm had become detached. The little screw I still mercifully had. I needed a small screwdriver. I asked Reception if they had. They did and for 40 minutes two ladies (yes, Katrina, women) pored over the glasses attempting to assemble them despite a miniature screw and small aperture with a spring in the way. Eventually one Receptionist phoned her husband who turned up with better kit and he and his wife assembled the glasses. No fuss, no complaints just big smiles and happy to help. (He had a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Glasgow University!)

On my rest day I did some grocery shopping and wandered about. Sadly the body clock doesn’t allow crashing out in the afternoon. Here are a few snaps: