One challenge at a time

Day 27 ... all the lines are in my head..... But organising them and getting them onto 'paper' is difficult... yet I cannot give up the blogging just yet... I am not yet right back where I started from... Perhaps this is the beginning of yet another chapter in the book of my life but Im not quite ready to turn the page from the last and desperately cling to parts of it... my arms tightly around  as long as possible. I received message from a very good friend this morning which not only tipped me over the edge into tears again ... blaming lack of sleep this time... but part of what he said I wish to share with you (I hope he doesnt mind) as it struck me... He said that they were on the outside looking into my journey and that they only got to see and feel a small part of the journey... like watching the film version of a book where you dont really get the story the author wrote. And part of me wished I could explain bits better or hadnt been so tired at the end of the...

Day 26 ... Part 1 There comes a point in any journey like this that you have to believe you will make it to the end.... I hadnt reached that point yet when I woke up this morning. Determined to leave early in case anything should befall me or my bike in the last 40 miles... I went for breakfast at 06:45 only to find that it was too early... so instead I got my last bits and pieces together and head out the door.... 20 miles to Invercargill then 20 to Bluff Keep all fingers and toes crossed.. The words of Mike Peters running round my head as they have every day and through every emotion of this ride... A tailwind to Invercargill saw me there in just over an hour!! Texted Lorraine... 'Get your arse out of bed... Im at Invercargill'. Invercargill... quite a nice little town... First traffic lights in a while... must remember to stop... Reading cinemas (my town!) ... disjointed thoughts... Must take everything in... last day on a bike... some tears... some smiles .. ...

Day 25 The second longest day in terms of mileage and coming after 2 long climbing days... this was not an 'easy day'. Im not sure this country has any of those in it.  97 miles but only 2700 ish feet of climbing... this was a wind dependent day... a lot hung on the wind direction and strength. I admit... I pushed my bike up the hill from the hotel... and if you'd seen it... you would understand why... 20% gradient is a good way to break yourself for the rest if the day... as it was,  pushing the bike up that hill hurt!! I then coasted down and rejoined SH6... having shunned breakfast in the very expensive hotel.. I knew that there was a cafe to be found 25 miles down the road at Kingston... First though I had to go along Lake Wakatipu.. With a bit of road called Devil's Staircase.. this could be bad. A tailwind pummled me along to the lake... I hesitated to even think about it... because I knew if it changed... I could be in for a ridiculously hard day. But...

Day 24 I struggled to wake up again this morning... a fact demonstrated by the squeezing onto my toothbrush... of Bepanthen!!! Fortunately noticing before applying it to my teeth... I cleaned it off and applied toothpaste instead. It didnt have its usual minty taste. Not a great start... things were looking up with breakfast (thanks bev) and the news that she had contacted a friend who was a reporter for the Wanaka Times... who wanted to meet me and write an article for the paper. It was arranged for the morning on my way to first Cromwell... then through the gorge to the outskirts of Queenstown. All on SH6... this road that had been with me since Greymouth would carry me all the way to Bluff. Bev assured me that it was pretty flat from here to Wanaka (definately the kiwi version of flat Bev!!!! ) and the plan was to get there by 08:15.. but on setting off and climbing the hills as they appeared.. my legs werent in the game this morning and Wanaka town would be a detour too far ...

Day 23 This was the big one... the day to end all days. If this was a Tour .. this would be the Queen's stage... the most anticipated... the hardest... the one that would see some break and others sieze the day! Just over 80 miles and 8750ft to climb. .. over 2000ft more than any other day. I packed up and was out door... to hopefully find an open cafe... and luck was on my side. It was just as well because it was a good 50 miles before the first cafe... and that was after the Haast Pass through the mountains... so I needed food and supplies.  Both sorted... and the rain now falling heavily... I put on all waterproof layers (jacket only) and set off. Damn it was cold. Half tempted to stop and put the leg warmers on I decided not to because may be glad of them being dry later so ploughed on regardless. The rain was hammering down and I was soon very wet... wet feet... arms... shorts... completely soaked through. The real climbing wouldnt start for 20 miles but there was no sho...

Day 22 A bit about this phoenix I keep mentioning... A mythical creature that rises from ashes... To me it is my symbol for that which gives me inspiration... hope and strength. It stands for courage to face whatever is ahead. My phoenix flies above me to be summoned when needed. He watches over me. Sad news from home... It was a grey morning for many reasons... the cloud hanging over the mountains reflected how I was feeling. Gone were the white peaks of yesterday... hiding in the dense cloud... perhaps knowing that I would not appreciate their beauty today. It was even cold. The rain had held off... perhaps out of respect for the struggle I had inside. I wanted to be at home. But would it change anything... no! Some things are not within our control... like headwinds... you just have to accept.... shout and yell and curse all you want... but the wind doesnt care. And I had a ride to finish... I set off... rolling up the road and found breakfast. Oh the comfort of rout...

Day 21 I woke up at 7am after a lie in! It seemed like a silly thing to waste the day sleeping. I did stay in bed and chill fotlr an hour or so before heading into the town to mooch about and find breakfast. I checked out the wildlife place with the intention of seeing a kiwi... $35 for what seed like a very short experience. I walked out again .. hoping to go back later. I wandered into the souvenir shops... fortunately I am limited in what I can carry which means im limited to postcards and fridge magnets and my bank balance isnt under too much threat. Generally here prices were high as it was a 'tourist trap'... but a nice one. Franz Joseph has a nice bustling vibrant vibe to it..perhaps drawing its energy from the mountains behind. And what a panorama awaited me today. The cloud had cleared... the sun was out .. sparkling off the snow on the peaks of the Southern Alps. For some reason.. cloud i think... I hadnt seen the mountains when I arrived yesterday... but it was l...

Day 20 ....Trying to reach the final third Whenever I fall down you pick me up Whenever I fall to pieces You put me back together So so very tired... last night I had the spins from sheer exhaustion... never a good thing... not a drop of alcohol in sight. Therefore this morning I was somewhat slow to jump out of bed again. Nonetheless... with my now highly honed packing routine I was still out the door by half seven and round the corner hoping... but expecting dissapointment as it was Sunday... that it would be open this early. Luck was on my side and breakfast of pancakes on the cards. The weather... dry... altough had rained overnight... still cloudy and a bit chilly. But no rain.. 2 days on the trot... what did I do to deserve that! The gillet went on but in anticipation... so did the suncream and a herbal fly repellant that may or may not work. What with those... deep heat ... chammy cream and bepanthen... my life is full of lotions and potions... just gotta be careful a...