Did you fall off the planet you ask?

The answer is ‘kind of’!  I did, in fact, start out with the gang from Auckland but it became apparent to me very quickly that this tour was not for me!

I should have read my blog from the Route 66 ride in which I said something to the effect that I would have preferred shorter rides ( 50 miles or less/ day and less/ no camping). This tour makes the Rte 66 tour seem like a Sunday afternoon ride – even given the fact that this trip is “ supported, I.e. there are vans to carry the gear and someone cooks at night. 

These people are all hardcore cyclists who seem to relish in discomfort and whose sole purpose everyday is to see how fast they can ride to camp!  I was definitely the most senior person and securing the title of “old and slow” was easy as I was always the last rider.  The people were all very nice but I felt like I showed up at the Kentucky Derby with a draft horse!

Throw in a nice helping of gravel roads ( which I crashed on a couple of months ago),hills that make the roads around Bozeman look flat, rain, and this continuing cold I can’t seem to shake, and I decided I had a decision to make. I could spend the next three weeks being miserable and see nothing of New Zealand other than pavement, or I could change the game plan. I opted for the latter since I was clearly in over my head.

After three riding days we had a rest day in Rotorua.  I did some serious soul searching while walking around town, made the decision to change the bicycle trip into a real vacation and spent several hours revamping my itinerary.  I rented a car ( right hand drive RAV4), boxed up my bike ( box courtesy of a local bike shop) and told the tour folks I was heading in a different direction.

I have absolutely no regrets about my decision, particularly when I look outside today at the rain and think of the other riders who have been riding for hours in the rain today and will be sleeping in tents somewhere tonight.  And tomorrow will be an even tougher day for them since after riding 80ish miles and climbing thousands of feet, they will be camping in a “bush camp” with no showers and only pit toilets!  I think the level of discomfort I am will to tolerate is inversely proportional to my age!  I wish them all the best, but it’s not for me.

So, what now?  I stayed in Rotorua when everyone left and last night went to a Maori show/dinner. Today I drove out to Waimangu Valley which is the youngest geothermal area in the world ( 1886) and went for a nice little hike (before the rain started).  Tomorrow I drive to Napier via Taupo where I might stop for a while depending upon the weather. After that it’s on to Wellington for a couple of days before I take the ferry to the South Island.

In any case, I’m having a blast and am now actually seeing New Zealand, which was the whole purpose to begin with.   I intend to keep posting on my way down to Queenstown over the next two weeks as I will now have the ability to actually have time to take pictures.