some Q & A about some things in my life from when attitude tv was doing some filming for the attitude awards

some Q & A about some things in my life from when attitude tv was doing some filming for the attitude awards

back in september? of last year part of the team from attitude tv who do the attitude awards  came and did some filming for the tv show and the awards- part of the filming was being ask some questions in fount of the camera - as it's not the best way to ask me questions as i like to have time to think what to say and how to say it so i ask if they could send me some of the questions on the email so i could do the here on the blog - so here are just some off the things they ask me about-

- What made you choose to live a life on the road?

there are many things i could say so here a few of why i live on the road

i been living more or lest on the road full time for the last 7 years before that time i would spend any thing from an over night to a few weeks on the road then after my dad passed away in 2004 my mum got a bus to set up as a motor home - once that one done she renting the house out so now i had now where to live as i was still living with my mum at home - because of how my disables are i find it very hard to read people so don't tend to fit in well any where in the longer term (more then a few weeks so at that time i could of tried to fit in with flatmates (what was very unlikely to work out) or move in to the bus with my mum (what i ending up doing from time to time like now as im typing this im staying with her as i work out what next in my life) or the other thing i could do was to go on the road by bike going around the horse events over summer time -so  this is what i been doing for the last 7 years — i don't have the money to stay in one place (and with no real way of getting a paying job that pays well that i could stay in one place ) some times i help out friends for a few weeks here and there thought i have to be cafull not to over stay my welcome and to make sure  of what people expace of me when i do stay some where 

- What is so special about bike riding?

many things-a way to get some where , fun (not so fun when the weather is bad thought ) sport , a way to met up with friends and to meet new ones, a way to get and for staying fit

- Do you ever get lonely?

some times.. even thought i travel on my own i  met new people (and some times chauch up with friends) along the way in small towns in on the side of the road in the                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  country  and end up having a chat (i tend to try to stay away from large city’s when i can as i don't tend to do very well in the larger city’s )

 over the years on being on the road i have over time gotten used to being on my own at night and even most of the day -i do keep an eye on face book (when my phone works any way : ) to see what (and where) my friends are up to so that helps some times when i do get lonely as well as having a few good friends that i can call and talk to   

- What is a normal life?

What is normal any way? It seem's that each one has they own thoughts on whats normal for then - for many people what I call a normal life is very out side they way of thinking of how one should  be living they life - for me living on the road for the last 7 years? (I lost count some where along the way : ) is very normal - some times i might stop for a week or more in one place other times each day is a new place to see - yes living in a tent over winter can be hard but one can get used to many things when one puts they mind to it (yes i do get ice on the tent some times so i just wait until it mets off then get back one the road if im moving on that day ) - i lost count of how many tents i used the years they tend to last about a year some more some time less then there are time that i have stayed in place besides tents - in peoples houses, the odd shed  or stable  and even odder places over the years so what i call ever day life is very diffice then some one that has a 9-5 job and a house in the city - some times i wonder what it would be like to have that as a way of life

as for being disable - well as i have away been disable in some way i don't know what it would like not to be disable that said some of my disables have come latter in life -like my head injures so i have some idea what its like but its just the way things are for me now so its just normal for me thought it would be nice if there was more  um understanding about being disable and getting help when i need it and not just put in to  hard basket as what tends to happen

- What is that you love about horses?

horses are just part of my life - they are not just some think i do but more part of who i am - - they don't tell stores about you behind you back and will soon tell you if they like you or not  i find that i under stand horses a lot better then i do people and so tend to get on with then a lot better

- How do you help at events?

many difficult jobs at events - what ever needs doing ( beside driving as i cant drive or writing as my handwriting is offing unreaderball also I try to keep away from having to used a radio as people have a hard time understanding me on them ) so for dressage events i help set up the event and run the test papers back to the office + many other little jobs that need to be done 

for show jumping i help set up the jumps and pick up the jump poles as the horses knock then off as well as helping to change the jump course after each class = other jobs that need doing when i have the time - many days at events work for me starts at sunrise and lasts to sunset (or even longer some times )

i been helping at horse events for around 9-10 years doing any where between 5-10+ events each year - lately i been doing more dressage events then show jumping as well as the odd 3 day event (the taupo 3 day event was the last event that i help at back in may-around 9-10 years ago it was the first horse show event that i help at : ) 

- What is special bike you have here?

it's a bike friday pocket llama? hand made in the USA by green gear cycling it's a folding bike with 20 “ wheels that has been set up just the way i want it  with bar end shifters on H bars with aro bars with low step over frame (very easy to get on or off the bike and very low gears  with clip-less  pedals ( as if i don't have my feet clip to the pedals my feet tend to come off the a lot (not reamend as i tend to come off the bike when not clip in as i don't know where my feet are in 3d space - some time i will do a post on the blog on the why and how of my bike set up as it's a some e what odd set up   over my many years over getting around by bike in the past i have had to make do with bike by changing many parts of the bike ( my last bike that i had before i got the bike friday was a Mt bike (that was my dad’s bike but as did not used it much i ending up with it )only the frame , seat-post and hander bars was un changed - that bike went  um walk about at leaven A & P show in 2008 (yes it was storling from beside my tent ) many of the people in the horse world did  fundraising to get me a new bike with the bike costing some around $3000 (as my bike is one of the only ways i can get around i tend to relay on it a lot: ) - i do have a mt bike as a back up bike but it's no where as good as the bike friday and still needs a lot of work playing around with difficult ideas on the best set up (the mt bike tends to get used when i go off road on trails to rught for the bike friday ( my bike friday can do some light off road trails but is more set up for touring, training and the odd fun ride : ) 

- Having dyspraxia, How do you manage to ride?

by having my feet clip to the pedals (so my feet don't come off the pedals until i want then to , the low step over hight frame  helps as well as a few other ways the bike is set up - it’s taking many years of riding and lots of very hard work to get to where im at now with the bike riding where i don’t fall off so much (well most of the time as there are days that i sill tend to fall off a lot so when they days happen i try to stay off the bike )i don't know or remember when i first starter riding — there is so much that i cant seem to remember  doing in my life just bits and pieces here and there(maybe dur to the 7? head injures i had over the years or because of the dyspraxia - who knows? )     

- What do you put in your blogs?

about my life on the road (my blog is called life on the road in NZ ) i tend to post stories about life on the road , training ridings , the odd fun ride - keeping in mind some of my “ fun “ rides are over 200+ km long done over 1-2 days longer ones like the taupo 640 km ride was done over 3 days so what i call a fun ride most people would call it being crazy . some times i do post on the blog about other things - over the 2+years ? i been doing the blog -it has about 200 + posts on it now with many of the posts taking me more then an hour to type out and make more readable - over time the posts have got longer. when i do a post i some times try to add photos as well(i do horse and landscape photos in my travels) some times i get a few posts out each week other times it may be a few weeks between post’s - im trying to get back into working on the blog as well as doing suff  for a book (yes after many of my friends told me i should do a book im now slowly working on doing a book ) 

- Why have you chosen to do the extreme endurance ride around Taupo?

Because I can thought I don't know if I can give a real ansaw to why- there is a quote that I saw in a book called RIDE by josh kench that I been reading that sums up ultra cycling well its “Those who do it can’t explain. Those who don’t do it, don't understand” peter Cole (i hope i got that right -let me know if it needs fixing )

for me its seeing how far i can push my self on the bike- i cant do many sports and out of the ones that i have tried over the years ultra cycling seem a good fit as i tend to spend a lot of time on the bike also as i never seem to get sore legs on the bike  (even after doing the 640 km 4 lap taupo ride with 80 km/h head winds at times in 2011 my legs was fine - i did have a sore back thought that was dure to bike fit issues -im still working on bike fit issues' as it can be hard to get the right bike fit as i most of the time i don't know where pain of a miss fit is coming from) 

  with the type of fun rides i do there are not that many people doing it maybe some where between 20-100 people in nz (im not sure of the number) some do it as a race and others do just to finish (like me- i may not go fast but i can ride all day and into the night : ) the riders tend to know and help each other out with the training and on the rides - 

with me its some what harder as there don't seem to be many disable ultra rider’s out there so theres lest help with when i have to try new or other was of doing things to get around things that i cant do the way others do things like bike fit , bike set up and how riders do the rides - i cant seem to ride a road bike like ever one else (i did try one for a few weeks but had to many issues with trying to ride it day in day out so went back to the bike i had at the time) 

riding late at night at 1 am when there is just the odd car on the road it's a differ world out there on the bike  on long rides  

even thought i did a D.N.F (did not finish) at taupo last year as i picked up some ash in my eyes so could not see very well (read the taupo ride report for more info on that here on the blog) I am planing to be at this years 8 lap 1280 km taupo ride - as long as i can get some issus work out - like a getting together a support crew for the ride and getting in better training in this year to be a lot fitter (and maybe faster? )  and if things going more or less to plan i should finish the ride this time - its not going to be a easy ride (even for me who never seems to get sore legs on the bike : )   but I will get there in the end : )                                                                                                                                 

timber trail (ongarue end of trail)

  

 timber trail (ongarue  end of trail)

i had been thinking about doing at lest part of the timber trail so when my mum said she wanter to go for a walk along part of it i asked her if we could bike it as my legs don't seem to like much walking lately so mum said yes to taking the bikes so after some time looking at the guide book ( classic new Zealand cycle trails by the kennett brothers )we pick the ongarue end of the trail to start from - the plan being to head up the trail to look at the ongarue spiral ( and maybe more of the trail depending on time and weather) so after packing the car that took same time as i had to work out the best way to fit my mt bike in the back of the car - this invode taking the wheels off and turning the hander bars and seat post rack around - my mum bike rack only has room for one bike as she seems to of misplace part of the rack then it was time to get on the road to the ongarue end of the trail where i got mums bike off the rack and put my bike back together  before  heading off up the trail with the start of the trail being single track ( at the start of the trail theres  thing to keep monter bikes off the trail that i seen on a few other cycle trails around nz ) after a few? km of riding mum said her gears on her bike was not working so we stop to work out why - just needer to move the gear cable a bit to get all the gears working as i was doing that i noted the back wheel was rubbing on the V beak pads it ending up being a lose QR leaver so I look at the front wheel as well - yep that one was lose as well  so all ways cheek your bike over before riding (my mum used to ride a lot but not so much now so i been trying to get her back on the bike more slowly over time : ) back on the trail the trail heads up a valley in to the bush along an old bush tram line. about 7-8 km from the start /end of the trail is the ongarue spiral where the old bush tramline cross’s a stream before heading though a deep cutting and tunnel before going around to pass over the top of the deep cutting ( to help the bush tram up or down this part of the line ) after getting some photos of the parts of the spiral mum and I decide to keep going along the trail for a bout 5 more km? to the mangatukutuku bridge keeping an eye on the time (as this is only a day trip so will need to get back to the car before dark ) the tail seem to run along a ridge for a bit before heading up a valley where near the head? of the valley theres a big 86 m swing bridge to get across the other side of the valley where the trail keeps going - its here where mum and i decide to turn around to head back to the car so after getting some photos riding on the bridge  and of the bridge we head back only stoping a few times like just before the tunnel to get lights out to see when riding though the tunnel other then that it's a nice if some what bumper ride back to the car stoping at one point to see why mums bike front shocks was not work very well - more things to fix ( my mum don't seem to work on her bike so i tend to need to fix it when things stop working on it )  once back at the car and after i show mum the best way to get though the gate like thing at the start of the trail i take the wheels off my bike and turn the rack and handle bars around and put it in the back of the car before we put mums bike on the rack and head back to te kuiti (where my mum live’s) 

it fits (just)

at the start of  the trail

on of the many bridge's to ride over

large cutting

ongaure spiral

in the tunnel

top of spira
l

               

Just an update on what I been up to in the last few weeks

I'm typing this as i stay at at a friends place in levin as I plan where I'm heading next on the road  so what have I been up to from doing the grape ride 

Well After leaving the place I stayed the the night of the grape ride I get on the road heading along the back roads to blenheim and on to picton stoping for some food -about 7 km out of picton one of the trailer tires sweds so after some though I deside to start pushing the bike towards picton knowing even if I don't get a lift I will get there in a few hours - well the first car that stopped had no room of the bike and trailer so I keeped walking until a nice police man stopped to see if I was ok - after a bit of a chat and some work getting every thing in the police car I get I lift with then to a camp ground for the night 

The next day I start walking back into town ( with the bike and gear ) after walking most of the way in to town some one in a work van gives me a life the rest of the way into picton where after walking around town a bit I find some where to put the tent up for the night

The next day I get the ferry to Wellington and end up spending a few weeks helping some friends out at they place as I have a few issues with the bike that take some time to work out - once I get all the issues fixed I get back on the road deciding to find out if one can in fact bike out of Wellington ( in the past I have got the train north ) well after some map work using the Wellington bike maps I find a way using a mix of off road tracks, cycle lines and back roads - I stop for a day in porirua on the way out of the city before doing a day/night ride to a doc camp site near otaki ( where I spend a day reading a few books that I picked up in porirua ) then it's a short ( around 25 km ) ride to levin and on to where a friend is doing some house siting so I end up staying with then for a few days as I work out where to go next : )  

2013 grape ride

2013 GrapeRide

Well beside having a DNF on the ride I had a nice ride on the grape ride

As this fun ride was a new one for me I was not sure how I would do on it with sleep( if and where I would sleep on the ride ) also what my ave speed would be on the ride ( on each lap )as well as food and water on the ride - how much food and water I would use on the ride

Well after a less then idea build up-little things like having to get the bike frame re welded the day before the ride - in the 3 weeks before the ride the bike frame needed work 3 times ( one repare on the seat mast and 2 repares on the rear frame drop out? - just got a replaced seat mast in the post from bike friday today

On the Thursday before the ride as I was heading for the backpacks that I had booked for the night I got chatting to a passing cyclises who ask me if I wanted to come over to tea so after setting up camp at the backpacks I header over to his place for tea - after tea we got chatting about the grape ride and they said I could keep my bike trailer and panner bags at they place as I did the grape ride so that less thing to worry about : )

On the morning on the ride I packed up my tent and gear and dropped it off then a short stop at a shop to get a new batter for my bike computer as it had been playing up then it was time to head to Forrest wines to pick up my ride pack and get ready for the start of the ride -
Mixing up the hammer Perpetuem that I use for food on the ride and putting the ride number on the bike. after getting the bike ready I head over to the start line where I met up with many of the other riders taking part in the 505 km ride - some I know from other rides others meting then for the first time spending some time before the start having a look at the set up of some of the other riders bikes

At 2 pm the ride gets under way with all the other riders soon leave me in last place - a place I'm well used to on long rides ( I may not be able to ride fast but I can ride all day: ) as I head to worlds Blenheim and then on to picton Im sitting around 25-30 km km/h using my aro bars to help with the head/side wind taking care not to get lost ( to go off the ride course ) as i head though the town of picton before starting on the first of the hills as I leave town on the queen charlotte drive on the way to havelock

Working my way around the bays as the roads climbs and dips passing the first 1/2 lap mark (50 km) it's a nice day for a bike ride. at link water The road heads inland? Away from the sea for a bit before the road passes the upper parts of the sounds near havelock after havelock the hills ease. With just one last hill to climb on the way to the start/finish line ( of each lap) as I get back to the start/finish cheek point around 6:50 pm I mix up more hammer p for the next lap and refill my camback taking note of how much water I been drinking before heading out for the next lap

Heading to words Blenheim I decide not to use my aro bars as much on this lap as its to easy for me to fall asleep on the bike when using then at night. Doing around 23-27 km/h until I get to picton where as I'm heading down the long hill coming into town my bike computer stops working ( low batter in the computer part I think as I had replace the batter in the part on the fork but not in the bike computer ) a few km? Out of picton I'm having a hard time to stay awake so I stop off the road to try to have a short sleep - well after about 20 min I had no luck with having a short sleep so I have a gel and some of the jelly bens (that came in the riders pack ) it helps to keep me awake as I get back on the road
Riding around the many bays of the sounds at night is a bit like being on a fun park ride - as the bike computer had stop working I'm not sure what my speed is or how far I done ( in a few places like link water I took note of how far I did on the first lap so I have a rough idea where I'm on the course ) for long parts of lap 2 I was not sure if I was still on the right roads -as I road along the long bridge I knew I was near the end of lap 2 - for the last 20-30 km of lap 2 I was having a hard time with my hands and shoulders with keeping my hands on the hander bars where and how I wanted to ( to do with my disables - looks like some thing I will need to do a lot of work on to work out a way to get around this issue )

After I check in with the safety person ( where you check in after each lap) went to try to get an hours sleep - just before I went to lay down I had a look over the bike as I had noted that there was some play? at the base of the seat mast - I decided to recheck it after an hours sleep ( well that was the plan anyway) well after a very cold hour getting about maybe 20 mins of sleep I rechecked the bike and worked out what was the cause of the play at the base of the seat mast - the welding repare on the base of seat mast ( that was done in Christchurch ) was starting to break so it was some thing to think as I did so tests on my shoulders and hands - after doing some more thinking I made the hard choose to stop the ride after doing 2 laps (after doing 202 of the 505 km )

After spending the rest of the night trying to stay warm ( at one point I seem to remember a friend making me a hot drink some time in the night - what I remember that night after I stopped riding is some what vard - after seeing some of the other 505 km riders finish and the 101 km riders start I spent the rest of the day going to the prize giving before heading to the people's place where my gear is - where I end up spending the night

with two back to back DNF's will I keep doing this type of ride?

Yes -I still like doing this type of ride and have fun doing then

So what will be my next long ride ?

Here is just some of the rides I'm looking at doing over the next few years

2013 Taupo 8 lap ride (1280 km)
2014 grape ride - maybe a 10 lap (1100 km?)

I know I have things to work on before my next long ride so that's what I will be working on over the next 6 months or so


So what went right and what needs more work

What worked

Food and drink - I used hammer Nutrition for all my food needs on the ride using hammer Perpetuem at 1.5 scoop per hour what worked very well on this ride I did take 5 gels on the ride and used 2 of then on the ride - over the last few years of doing long fun rides I had done a lot of work on what to eat and drink on the fun ride- as for water I used around a L of water in my camelback on each lap ( as well as the hammer mix in 2 of my drink bottles - 4.5 scoops in a 750 m bottle and 3 scoops in a 500 m bottle (mixed with water) I had a 500m bottle with water in a under frame bottle cage as a just in case bottle

Bike lights- I had replaced the front light (which is power off the front wheel ) a few weeks before the ride as I was not happy with the light I had ( what had stopped working at Taupo ride ) the new front light is a lot better and I was happy with it - I do have 2 small batter lights as back up lights for the front - as for rear lights I will be replacing then as I can with better lights - I had better rear lights but had to used other lights on this ride as I had lost one of the better tail lights a few weeks before the ride



What needs more work

Bike fit - I still need to do some work on bike fit like with the aro bars and handel bar set up as I had some neck and back and hand pain on the ride

Taping before the ride - need to work out a better plan for taping over the last 3 weeks before a fun ride

Help when on the ride- maybe need to find some one to help me with doing off bike suff on the ride-things like mixing up food and water bottles

Planing -Better planing with before the ride , on the ride, after the ride

Sleep - need to find better ways of dealing with lack of sleep as well as working on where to sleep , better ways to stay awake on the bike -maybe doing more night rides in training

Off bike gear -Warmer gear when off the bike when cold -find better ways to keep cool on hot rides

Training - need to work on doing better training - can be hard to train when aways on bike tours or working at horse events - might look into finding a coach to help with this?


Suff to do with my disables - need to find better ways to get around issues caused by my disables and other injures ( like when I got hit by the truck back 2008 that suffed up my shoulders and back ) not sure where to go to get help with this?

Speed - I'm not sure what to do about this - I don't ride a road bike at an ave speed 27-30+ km/h yet that what many people who run fun rides seem to think every one rides at that speed on carbon road bikes when you look at ride times I don't think the bike friday is the issue here as much as the speed and type of riding I do on longer training rides so maybe need to chat to a coach about this

Doing long rides

last week as i was at the horse of the year show as I was looking at my emails I saw an email about the 2013 GrapeRide what is a fun bike ride that takes place on the top of the South Island each year - it's been a ride I have been meaning to take part in one day - after having to pull out of the 2012 lake Taupo fun ride part of the way though the ride .for the last 3 months or so I have not even been sure if I ever wanted to take part in any more long fun rides ( when I talk about long rides the rides start at 160 km+ and go up to 1280 km and are done over a few days riding thought the night with little sleep ) so when the email came though at first I was just going delete it with even reading it with the ride so close as I still was not sure if I would keep doing long fun rides or not..

On 2th thought I desidit to open the email and maybe read the web site a bit to see what the course for the fun ride was like as its a ride I been thinking about doing next year - just the 101 km ride - well after having a chat to some people and doing some more home work on the ride ( and after remembering what a few friends said to me after the Taupo ride ( you know who you are : ) I have deside to enter this years GrapeRide - not just the 101 km ride that I was looking at doing next year but the 505 km ride - Why - well having trained for the 1280 km ride doing the 505 km ride sounder like a fun ride to do in a nice part of nz - why dont i just do the 101 km ride -well as most of the time when I'm traveling on my bike my daily riding is around the 60- 120 km mark so doing an 101 km fun ride sounded far too easy for me - I like a good work out when out on the bike doing fun rides also I'm using what I lean at Taupo and other long fun rides ( what worked and did not work for me on those rides) to do better on the bike on long rides so I'm using this ride as a build up ride for Taupo - yes the lake Taupo ride is unfinished business for me ...

After a lot of thinking over the last few months I have decided to keep doing long rides for as long as I can

Why

Some Things I like about doing long rides
1. The new friends I have met though the sport

2. It's one of the few sports I can do - I may not be able to play most sports but I can ride a bike

3. I will never be fast on the bike but I can keep on riding and riding all day long

4. Seeing new parts of nz by bike

5. Riding though the night ( and not worrying about the hills one can't see : )

6. The people I met on the road ( and seeing the look on they faces when I tell then just how far I'm going on my small wheel odd looking folding bike : )

7. just how fit I get from all the riding I do ( the fitter I get the easier my disables are to deal with each day)

8. Setting a goal of doing a long ride then doing it ( all the planing and hard work playing off)


Some Things I don't like about long rides

1. D.N.F ( did not finish )- it happens some times

2. All the planing that goes into the rides ( some times it's fun but most of the time it's just hard work

3. Some of the training rides in the wind and rain - yes even when it's wet and cold out there I still get out on the bike and ride - that's what rain gear is for ( I'm not made of sugar. So I'm not going to melt in the rain : )

4.having to find new ways of dealing with things because of my disables as its hard work like trying to work out how to do training and do bike set up ( like the type of bike i ride and how i have it set up )

5. Dealing with people who don't know me who tell me i Wont be able do a ride because I don't do things the same way others do

6. Trying to fit in the longer training rides in when I'm busy at horse events over summer

7. The entry cost to enter the rides - lake Taupo ride was around $100 to enter 1280 km ride last year and the GrapeRide is $140 to enter this year for the 505km ride ( it's around $ 40 more to do the 505 km ride then the 101 km GrapeRide ( im not sure what the extra $40 is for as Taupo was the same cost for the 1280 km ride as the 160 km ride I seem to remember ?)

Book test

Ok so what is this post about ?
in the last few years many people have said said I should do a book about some of the things i done and places i been in my life

Having done around 180+ blog posts over the last few years I'm getter better at typing so have deside to do a book - at this point in time it will most likely be an ebook as 1) I don't have the know how to do a paper ( real ) book and 2) I don't have the money to get books printed also with ebooks travers and others can bring many books on a ereader or laptop

as for how many people will want to read about what I get up to in my travels I have no idea - im not worried about things like that- part of why I'm doing the book is to show that just because some one is disable that they can still do things in they life - at school I was told that I would never do much in my life - it's seem's that many disable people are told things like this also part of why I'm doing this book is to tell some of the many story's i have from living on the road traveling by bike ( and other ways ) and working at many events ( horse event as well as other events) over the years

Yes there will be photos of my travels in the book

If you would like to help me with the book let me know : )

So here is a little story about just one of the places I been in my travels ( That may or may not end up in the book : )

Going bush

One would think that when walking in the bush in a thunder storm that the plants and trees would cut down on how wet one would get but one just gets even more wet but then tramping in the bush in a thunder storm may of not off been the best of ideas ...

So what was I doing deep in the bush in the middle of an big thunder storm. Well it starter a day of so after getting back from Auckland having been at the 2012 attitude awards as I was staying at a friends place looking at maps working out where to next on the bike and thinking about my some time list - you know the list of things that one would like to do and places that one would like to go some time - there's a few things on my some day list like getting to some of the few places in nz I have not been to yet in my travel's around nz ( yes even after all the years I been traveling around nz there still a few places I have not been to yet ) one of the things that has been on my some day list for around the last 10 years or so is one of the doc" great walk's " around lake waikaremoana deep in the te urewera national park it's a 3-4 day 45 km tramp.

My friend who's place I'm staying at said that she was heading over to Hamilton and ask me if I want to come So after some more thinking and planing I said why not before packing a overnight bag and heading over to Hamilton when I stay the night with a good friend who I knowing for many years ( they are the ones who I blame for getting me into horses at age 7? When doing riding for the disable in Hamilton )

As im doing some some home work on the net I have a look at the doc web site to see how many people are doing the great walks ( one needs to book the huts and camp sites on the great walk's before doing then ) seeing that there not many people staying at the camp sites on the l great walk I cheek the weather forecast . well theres rain coming o well what's a little rain in the bush

After Picking up my backpack and a few other pieces of outdoor gear and getting a lift back to t I spend a night at my fiends place packing my backpack. on the road early the next day as I'm hitching to the start of the track ( a friend will be looking after my bike when I'm doing my tramp ) stopping in rotorua to get food for the next 5 days and pick up a few more things like maps ) before getting back on the road heading for lake waikaremoana in the te urewera national park . My last ride of the day says I can camp on a pice of farm land that he has so I take him up on his offer as its a safe place to camp for the night

Packing up camp I get back on the road where after a few lifts and about 10 km + km of walking between lifts I get to the doc vister centre where I book the camp sites for the great walk - as there's no camping site at the first tramping hut I end up booking 2 camping sites doing the tramp over 3 day's ( most trampers stay in the huts taking 4 day's to do the tramp) after having a chat to the doc people I get back on the road heading for the nearers camp site to the start of the track where I set up camp for the night

Getting an early start as its going to be a long day (around 9 hours) I pack up camp and start walking to the start of the track around 2 km away. Passing the spillway and the intake for one of the power stations I stop to read the info signs before starting up the long climb up the first hill of the tramp. The track passes though the site of an redont? From the Maori Wars? . With the track climbing from 580 m up to 1180 m it's long and steep climb up to the first hut where I take a break to look at the look out then its back on the track keeping an eye on the weather.around 1/2 down the a thunder storm hits the lake as the rain comes down I keep walking getting very wet as I head to words the camp site staying warm by keep moving along the track what has turn in to a stream at this point

Getting to the first camping site after around 9 hours I start setting up camp as the rain keeps coming down at one point moving my tent as I find some where what's not under water as I'm moving the tent a tent pole breaks ripping a hole in the tent fly so after getting out of the rain I dry off the tent fly around the hole before paching the hole with duck tape and using a pole repare seave to fix the broken tent pole. Before putting the tent back up. As I'm laying in the tent listing to the rain come down one of the fishermen staying in the hut ( the huts are used by fishermen as well as trampers) gives me a smoked fish for tea . After tea I do some reading before going to sleep for the night

A slow start to the day as I pack up camp and head around the lake on the tramping track. The track is a mix of sand and mud. After a few hours of walking I get to a fork in the track where there is a side track to an water fall . As today's a short day I deside to head down the side track to the water fall to have a look. Part of the way up the side track there's a stream crossing with a wire rope to help crossing ( on the other river and stream crossing the are bridges ) once I get back on the main track there's only a few more hours of walking sill to go before getting into the next camp side where I set up camp and read some more books on the ebook reader before going to bed for the night

A late start as I get to sleep in as its only around 6 hours of tramping until the end of the track leaving the camp site I keep walking around the lake passing some more of the tramping huts and climbing over a few larger hills as I head to words the end of the track with the track heading next to a river for the last 45 mins or so before crossing the river on a long swinbridge to the car park at the end of the track . As there is no cars on the road to the track end I keep walking up the hill to the main road where I start walking toward rotoura with my soles of my tramping boots falling apart( they had starter to come apart the day before) . After walking along the road for about 8 km? I get a lift to a doc camp site where as I'm setting up camp and cooking tea some hunters stop by and deside to fire off a few rounds of there guns after a hour or so they drive off leaving me to enjoy the bird sounds as the sun sets for the day

Getting on the road after packing up and having a look on the map to make sure I'm heading the right way I head north? Walking down the road for a few km before getting the first ride of the day to the nearer shop where after chatting to some people I walk out of the town along the road getting a few more rides that take most of the day as theres not many cars on this road : )until I get my last ride in to rotorua where I stay the night at a backpacks that I stay at when ever i end up in rotoura abefore getting a $10 bus to tauranga the next day when my friend picks me up from town to stay at her place for the night .

hunterville to Palmerston north 80 km

hunterville to Palmerston north 80 km

packing up the tent I take the fly off only for it to rip - uv damage from being in the sun to many times . yep the tent is dieing a few weeks ago the zips stopped working so its time to go looking for a new house (a new tent : ) just one more pice of gear that has wore out and needs replacing ( i wonder if there is any out door shop sales still on ?  will have a look when I get to Palmerston north ) once I get the bike pack I get on the road heading for hunterville 

riding up a few more up hills before I get into the town of  hunterville. after getting some photos I head to the cafe where I stopped at a few years ago when I last took this road. to find out if the food is still as good as It was last time - getting a seafood basket I work my way though my meal as I look on the ipad to see if I missed much over the last few days riding on back roads and working out where im going to spend the night as well as working out which road to take to get to palmerston north - having come this way more then a few time going from/to Palmerston north to taupo I keep an eye out for other roads to try : ) 

back on the road I decide to head down S.H.1 ( yes there are better roads then S.H.1 for riding this way but I like to mix things up : ) riding along  S.H.1 seeing whats changed over the years ( thinking that it may not of been the best idea to have that fish basket meal as my tammer not to happy o well live and lean : ) the road tends down hill with just the odd hill to climb over until I get to the town of bull’s where there’s a long bridge ( cycles use the footpath on this bridge ) as I leave bull’s  the road start’s to climb a bit and the wind  ( that was a nice tail wind ) is now a head wind so its a slow ride over the last 20 km or so into Palmerston north. once I get in to town I head over to the 2 hand store to see if there is any tents ( no luck there) before heading over to the info center to find out whats on - there’s a  fun walk on today starting in a few hours - at 7 km it's a nice easy walk in the afternoon sun ( when I stayed in palmerston north for a few months I used to do this fun walk ) 

well I only done around 70 km so far today so I diside to do the fun walk ( one of the nice things about bike touring is getting so fit that a 7 km fun walk is just a nice walk in the sun ) as I have a few hours to kill I head off to the libley for 2 hours or so before heading down to the start of the fun walk ( getting some odd looks from some  of the walkers and runners at the event as I take my walking gear out of the bike trailer (shoes, bag’ 2 small drank bottles and change of chose). after paying my $3 enter I head out side to wait for the start with the other walkers/runners ( over a 1000 people here for tonights fun run ) then its start time with the runners starting 5 mins before the walkers . as I get under way I just pace myself (just like I do on long fun rides) passing people (i’m a some what fast walker when I want to be : ) with the walk passing though the domain? then along the river back before heading back on footpaths and the odd road I say hi to a few people as I pass. there is a few water stops along the way ( as I have the 2 water bottles I just keep walking at around the same pace ) at around the 5 km mark my back locks up (from the jarring it got riding the gravel roads the day before ) I keep walking though the pain ( well how else am I going to get back to my bike  

: ) 

some times I put a hand on my back to help deal with the pain as I walk - i all ready look some what odd as I walk with one arm moving in time with my legs and the other hand not moving much ( getting my arms and legs moving at the same time is not some thing I can do well ) as I come up to the finish line I have a look at my time - well the clock for walker says 45 mins - my time in the past was around the 50 min mark so I must be getter a bit fitter. after the event I head over to a friends place doing a side trip to get some tea at subway before getting to my friends place where Im spending the night .

here is a few ideas that I'm thinking about doing over the next 3-6 months

here is a few ideas that I'm thinking about doing over the next 3-6 months

1. Heading south on the bike going down the west coast of the South Island and heading back up the east coast heading for the few places that I have not been to yet on the bike :)

2. Trying to find some where to stay for a few months helping out in some part of nz maybe on some ones farm ?

3. Doing the Te Araroa trail- not sure if I will look at doing all of it or just part of it - it's a tramping trail that runs from the top of nz to the bottom (its around 3000 km long that takes around 3-6 months to walk it ) there is a few unknown things that will need to be work out before or when doing the trail like what gear to take, when and where to start?, how my dyspraxia and other disabilitys will change things on a big trip like this ( a big unknown for me but like most things in my life the only way to find out is to try and do it : ),where to do food and replacement gear drops?

Any how that's the 3 main things that I'm thinking that I might do over the next 3-6 month- no I'm not doing all 3 just will pick one of then to do: )

So what do people think about the 3 iders - let me know what you think and help me deside what's next for me to do : )


1 and 3 seem more likely at this point in time as I don't seem to be having much luck with 2. Finding some where to stay and help out at for a few months ( not being able to drive ant the other things I find harder to do then many people means that many people seem to just put me in the to hard basket .)

2012 Taupo bike ride

taupo 2012

well its time for my “little “bike ride (as some of my friends have been calling it : ) starting the day with an 12? km warm up ride into taupo - as I climb up the first of the many hills im thinking - its funny how things change over time as a few years ago the hill im riding would be what I would of called a hard hill to ride up but now its just an nice easy warm up on todays ride

the hill has not change its more that I under stand better how to hander hills and pacing on riding also my by changing my mind set towards hills from o no a big and hard hill to o good a hill to have some fun on as well as helping me get fitter on ( the more one ride’s the more one lean’s about riding (and about life as well : )

getting into town a few hours before the start of the ride - I like to have some time spare to work out any last min bugs that may come up when doing fun rides . after picking up my ride pack and having a chat to some of the other 8 lap riders (yep am not the only crazy one doing 8 laps of the lake - some of the people I know others are new faces to me ) its time for a talk by Keith and some photos before the riders head out side to the start line where the media are (hum I just hope none of the media want to ask me suff like why im riding a funny looking bike - I like to be behind the camera not in font of it : )

around 12:30 pm? its time to get on the bikes to go for an ride : ) riding up the first hill of the ride after crossing the waikato River I which the other riders pass then head out of site around the bend by the big bike knowing that I will be on my own for most of the ride as i do the ride at my pace- I my be a slow rider to most people on fun rides but I can ride all day (and most of the night when I want to ) being on my own may be harder riding then riding with other in a pace line but as I do most of my riding on my own im well used to it : )

having done 2 laps of the lake in training ( one in day light with the other one being a mix day/night ride ) I keep an eye on the bike comper and stop watch on the heart rate thing - more to help pace myseft over the hills to make sure im eating and drinking right (its more drinking then eating as my food on the ride is a mix of hammer p and gels for most of the ride). smiling as I do the only turn on the course that I may of got lost on (it one of the reasons why I did the laps of the lake in training - to fully under stand the course - where the harder hills are ,where the shops are, where I may get lost on the ride (going off the ride course - seem to happen a lot of longer rides as riders get more tired) suff like that :)

meeting up with my mum at a rest stop some where on the road (as its been a few weeks from doing the ride I cant remember which one as they tend to blend into each other on longer ride’s) I refuel my water bottlers before getting back on the road trying to keep the stops as short as I can (less time stopped = more time on the bike) stoping in turangi to send a txt to Keith to say where I was at what time (not sure if they got the txt thought) then its a nice ride beside the lake for most of the way back to taupo with only one long hill - a nice change after riding around 100 km of hills from taupo to turangi . riding up to the service station to check in at after a look at the ride map - first one I went to turn out to be the wrong one -its was the one just up the road that I had to cheek in at (just me getting things a bit mixed up (opp’s its a good thing I had the ride map with me : )

then its time to start the 2 lap - I ride into the night only stoping when I get to my mums car as my body says its time for an 1 hour sleep (i may not get sore legs on the bike but my body still needs sleep- as i was not sure when I would need sleep I did not have any planed sleep stops - the plan was just have a 1 hour sleep when i needer to (so I would not fall a sleep on the bike )
there rest of the nights ride went a long the lines of ride a few hours then sleep for an hour or 2 (depending on how things was going - sleep for me is some what odd as my mind needs it more then my body needs it ie I don't get tired in my body - it maybe just the way my dyspraxia is as my head has to work a lot more harder to get my body to do what I want it to (its just a fact of life i have to deal with each and ever day (some days are harder then others its a) why I don't try to plan to much out with my life at a time and b) one of the reasons why I don't have a job because I never know if I can do some thing un to I try(even if I have done it before - that one of the harder parts of dyspraxia for me to deal with )

at my 3 and last sleep stop for the night around 10 km from Kuratau ? I see the a txt to call Keith so I give then a call as say where I im and what the weather is like where I am- it looks like It will be a nice day with just a bit of mist in the air (from what I can tell from the sun rise anyway : ) the sun set was nice last night - might have some thing to do with a small e on mt tongriro ( I seem to remember seeing some thing on the a abolt it on the phone at one of the sleep stops around the lake) from the last sleep stop the road drops down a fun down hill where I get up to around 50+ km/h passing though pachs of mist on the way . as I worked my way over the 2 longer hills (and a few rolling hills) my eyes start to get a bit sore (I seem to remember think it was just the sun rise and the soreness world soon go away like it did on other rides when i riding into the bridge light of a sun rise (I don't have sun glass’s -will need to fix this when I can ) at turangi my eyes are still a bit sore as I send a txt to Keith to say where I am. on the ride next to the lake my eyes start getting sorer until I can just beley keep then open when riding the last 20 or so km into taupo - it feels a bit like theres some sand paper or gret stuck im my eyes causing me a lot of pain - not fun. after signing it at the service station and chatting to a few people about the eyes as well as going to the dr’s I make the hard choose to pull out of the ride a D.N.F (thats to say a did not finish ) - when one cant see well its unsafe to keep riding (at this point I could only see around 10-20% of what I see most of the time ) after letting the ride people know head back to where my gear is with my mun (an a horse event place 12 km out of taupo) and get some rest

from what I can tell I pick up some ash from the mt in my eyes when riding down the long hill in the mist after my last sleep break - just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time -around 1/2 latter i would of missed the ash in the mist as the mist brunt off and it would of been fine but that life

on friday my mum and I headed into taupo to look around the ride expo and get some food - at the ride expo I see some friends and have a chat to one of then about bike touring and long rides - back at the horse event place his worlds get me thinking so after a few txt’s I decide if my eyes are up to it I do a lap of the lake to see hoe things are doing it as part of the fun ride (knowing that if my eyes play up I will have to stop riding )

at the start line I see Keith ( one of the team who run the fun ride) and have a few words before its time to start (as there is 9,000 + rides on the fun ride the start is done in waves of 50-100? rider’s) it's a nice change to ride with others as I head up the hill not even pathing( I keep an eye on the heart rate thing on my handlebars to make sure i don't go over 175 bpm- my max heart rate is some where over 200 bmp from what I have seen in training : ) keeping an eye on my pace I let people pass knowing that as the ride gose on i will be passing many of then (because they went out to fast at the start so tend to slow down the 1/2 way point ) some times I do pass people on the hills (having low gears and knowing when and how to use then ) as I turn off the longer of the 2 course that the relay riders (and the more then one lap rids do ) some of the riders as we ride alon over the hill’s see that a) Im doing a full lap on my funny looking bike and as they read the ride number they see it’s not my first lap (when I get ask about it I say what happened and that im on my 3th lap of the lake for the week ) some of the riders don't seem to happy about getting passed by me (as I know where the hills are and with the low gears tend make of most of the hills I start passing people on racing bikes ( here is a little hint- get some lower gears on that racing bike for hilly rides like taupo as it tends to be better on your knees and lest work when climbing :) I just wish I knew that years ago as my knees as some what stuffed from pushing too big gears from when i first starter bike touring over 10 years ago )

other then stoping at the odd drink stop I keep riding noting that some of the riders should of lean how to ride safer on the road ( knowing that many of the riders around me may of never done much riding in a paceline I tend to like having more of a gap between me and other riders then most of the rider’s - just like riding in a city with lot’s of cars its best to keep an eye on what is happening at all times) on the way back to words taupo riding up the last long hill - h (its a hill that many riders don't like and I see some riders walk up it )as im chatting to a rider beside me (him pathing me not even working hard ) i see some friends from the bike shop I used when I was staying in palmerston north - one of the runs up the hill beside us saying some thing like I can run faster then you can ride - i said to the rider next to me (who is on a bike that around 1/2 the wight of mine (mines around 15 kg as its set up for touring with lights ing panner racks , his bike wight around 7-8 kg as its a road racing bike ) i would of case down the person from the bike shop who was teasing up by running up the hill but it might up set then some what - the rider looked at me and said “that would upset me if you did that “ so I said with a smill “ is that all you worried about “then I shot up the rest of the hill at a much faster speed (low gears and 20’ wheels make hills fun for me as my lowers gear is round 16 “ that to say I have very low gears (great for climbing with a full touring load) a few km down the road the rider chaches back up and asks me how I got up that that hill so well so I told him about my low gears and knowing how and when to used then and its was my 3 lap of the week so i know the hill well : ) after some more chatting about bikes I desist to speed up to see if I could do a fast lap (yep I can go fast when I want to : ) going down the road to the finsh line i felt my back about to lock up from all the jarring from the rught road so after i got to the finch line i found a spot to lay down and ending up having a short nap before prize giving before heading back to the horse even center i ended up riding a round 500 km on the ride

Will I be back next year? I just don't know at this point time as there are many maybes that I will need to work out over the next few months like just what I will be doing for the next 6-12 months

An up date what I have been up to over the last few weeks

Hi all -I'm still here

I had a busy few weeks lately -

I had an DNF at the Taupo fun ride dur to getting some ash in my eyes from the mt ( I will say more in a post about Taupo ride if I ever get around to it ) I did end up doing 3 laps - some where around 500 km over 2 1/2 days on the bike

just some of the places I been after the taupo ride are Taupo to rotorua by bike the a lift in a car to tauranga , spent 2 days at a friends place there before spending around 24 hours in Auckland flying each way for the Attitude awards where I was a finales ( and no I did not win - I'm to busy living my some what crazy life to worry about such things- at any right I only wish to show that just because some is disable that they still do sport and have a life ( over the years of living on the road I have found out ways to live the life that I choose to live : ) then about 48 hours in Hamilton then back to tauranga ( getting a lift by car each way by car ) before spending a few days tramping around lake waikaremoana in the te urewera national park ( a 2 day hitchack in then a 3 day 45 km tramp with full camping gear then a 2 day hitchchach out back to tauranga before heading to Taupo in a day on the bike (140 km) to help at in horse event for a week then a lift in a horse truck up to Hamilton where I just spent the last week standing at a friends place helping out where I can : ) and trying to work out what next to do with my life : )

I will be taking a break from helping out at horse events for the next 6-12 months- after spending the last 10? Years helping out it events I need a break from to shows as there is a few things and places that would like to do and see that have been on hold because of the time the show take also because of just how much Helping at the events take out of me.

I'm still working out just where I'm heading for next- maybe the South Island ? Theses still a few places there I have not been to yet : )

Maybe next year I will be starting the t trail what is an 3000? Km tramping trail the runs from one end of nz to the other taking around 6 month to walk it - that's if my legs and back ( and shoulder's ) hold up to the load of doing the trail- I was looking at starting the trail this year but would only have the time to do the north island because of the weather ( by the time I would got to the South Island the may of been snow on the trail )

As my lap top is on its last legs I have pick up an ipad on a Vodafone plan to replace it so it may be some time before I fully chach up on this blog ( that's to say I'm still getting the hand of doing things like typing on it : )

its the night before my taupo ride

Its the night before my " little" bike ride -my bags are packed and my bike is ready to go - am I ready to go? Well im as ready as I will ever be for a bike ride like this one - im calm and ready to have a fun ride on the bike over the next 4-5 days. ( for any one who dont know my " little" ride is around 1280 km doing 8 laps of lake taupo over the next 4-5 days ) now its time for me to try to get some sleep ( my last good sleep for the next 4-5 days as I do the bike ride)

a last post before the taupo ride

well this time next week I will be on lap one (or maybe lap 2 (of 8) of my bike ride a round lake taupo - most of the things on my to do list are done . the few things still on the to do list will be done next week in the days before the ride (as I dont have the money this week to get then this week as I had done the food for the ride this week ( I will be using a mix of things from hammer for around 95% of food and drink on the ride)

 Im looking at doing around 8-9 hour laps depending on the weather and how I feel as I head a round the lake getting sleep when I need it - my mum will be helping me on the ride meting me at a few places around the lake so I can refuel ,change gear if need be - (she will also be keeping an eye on me to make sure im ok as I do the ride when she can : ) many of the  things in my plans are notes on things not to do that I have leant from the other long rides that I have done before like last years 640 km lake taupo fun ride that I did in the wind and rain. I don't have a time goal for this event . why dont I have one - its because that 

a) I ride to finish the ride never to race I like to look at the places that I ride past on my rides around nz

b)there is so many things that I don't know like did I train right?t ( how do one train for an 1280 km bike ride any way? ) I dont do training like most people seem to as I live on the road full time getting around by bike  its some what hard to stick to most training plan’s - I did end up spending around 2 months off the bike this year that was not plan for but that’s life on the up side i have done around 6000 km+ this year on the bike (most years I seem to end up doing around 8-10,000 km on the bike : ) so im not to worried about it (well there’s no point worrying about things one can’t change is there : )

one of the big things I just don't know is if and how me being disabled will affix things for me on the ride as there is not much out info there on disable people (who have to deal with what I deal with each and ever day) doing events like this I have spent a lot of time on the intnet doing my home work on the best way to do events like this and trying things out ( im well used to having to find new ways of doing things when I cant do things the way most people can and having to bend the odd rule a long the way )

 I don't seem to get sore legs even after last years 640 km ride I had no pain or soreness in my legs most likely because of how my dyspraxia is - one might say there is an up side to me being disabled as I have all way’s been disabled its all I know(thats to say I don't think I have ever getting sore legs from over doing things ( I still some times do get cramp in the legs if I much up my food and drink on the bike thought) maybe dur to my 7? head injures there seems to be a lot I don't remember in my life . its just one more thing that I have to deal with each day that most people don't under stand 

My heath? has been up and down this year with some thing not right with my legs from about march on word this year- there have been times that I have not be able to get my legs to work right when walking (or some times not work at all like at eqidays where I kind of had to um relearn how to walk the next day ( not fun and some what pain full for me) - I did think very hard about pulling out of the taupo ride this year but what ever is going on with my legs don't seem to affect me when riding on the bike also the more riding I do the better my heath seem to get ( the less I ride the more my legs seem to play up) any how I will be keeping a close eye on how my legs are going ( my mum will also be keeping an eye on it) 

this will likely be one of the last post on the blog (if not the last) before the big ride next week- im not sure how people will be able to see how im doing on the ride -I don't have a gps tracker or any think like that (my phone will only be used if I need to send an txt a call some one thats to say I wont have it on to face book or suff like that ) 

one last thing - when I was up at equidays a news paper? did a nice story about me and the awards night that im heading up to auckland for the week after the bike ride- heres a link to that story

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/7906864/Long-distance-cyclist-has-great-motivation