Day 12 - Dream aloud
Day 12
Woke up nice and early feeling pretty rested after a solid 5 hours sleep. Had packed up and was on the road early... bout 07:15. In fact everything in Bay View was still shut so I continued on with a plan to get breakfast in Napier. Much had been made of this day being flat and as I cycled down into Napier.. I cautioned myself not to get too excited because flat isnt ever totally flat and flat generally means wind of some kind... usually a headwind.. so this could still be a difficult day.
I was speeding along at around 14-15mph when finally Hawkes Bay actually came into view. Yeah it was nice but soon was rolling through an industrial bit.. hiding the view. I saw a cafe and stopped.. ordered a huge breakfast... couldnt eat it all... and set off again.
Eventually I was rolling along a nice bike/fitness path with a beautiful view of the water. Fluffy clouds being lit up by the early morning sunshine and rays of sun coming through the clouds .. hitting the water just so. It was quiet on the bike path and more importantly... the tarmac was smooth. Napier was clearly stingier than other towns as I got no 'town tarmac' and my arms and hands were being jolted mercilessly.
I had a plan of pushing on to Dannevirk and perhaps making up an entire day in hand... and as I rolled along the flat road down to Hastings... I worked out in my head.. jumping on ferry a day early... having 2 days off at the glacier... plans forming, concocting, fluidity in motion.
The scenery was once again spectacular... once I got out of the cities. Rolling pastures with hills in the background. Cattle grazing silently
The sun started to really beat down fiercely. After yesterdays water disaster .. I was ensuring to drink regularly. Refilling bottles wasnt a problem as along this road were dotted cafes and little villages at regular intervals... but it was energy sapping nonetheless.
Whilst I rode along the flatter landscape, it was easier for the mind to wander. Given the amount of punishment my body had endured.. espcially during the days that I wasnt well.. it was surprising to me that I was still on schedule... even more that I was slightly ahead. It is a testament to the wonder of the human body and mind. These thoughts then turned to a challenge that has been preoccupying my mind since this one was planned and ready to go...
A race... 2700 miles.. from Banff in Canada to Antelope wells on the New Mexico border with Mexico. Self supported.. its classed as the hardest race in the world. The Tour Divide had captured and captivated me...
Many try ... many fail to complete it.. but this is one thing where to line up at the start is an achievement. It is saying that Im not afraid to try... Even if I fail at least I would have given it a go. And thats what life is about. For so many people fear of failure... of looking foolish to others.. stops them from even trying. Fight The Fear and only then can you truly live.
So although since struggling here on some days.. and even if I dont get to Bluff. it will not be because I didnt fight the fear and it wont stop me dreaming aloud.
Speaking of struggling... as the scenery changed and I encountered my first real incline of the day... it became apparent that my legs were not in the game today.
They did this wierd thing where after a stop, no matter what length, the first 30 seconds of cycling again consisted of such an ache in the legs, it was almost painful. I had to grit my teeth and push through it because after 30 seconds it became ok again. V strange. But I had to stop frequently as I had no power in the legs on any kind of incline and was going very slowly. The wind had picked up a little adding extra resistance and my head started to rearrange the plans for the day. Between where I was and Dannevirke there was at least one reasonable climb to over 1000ft. Nothing compared with yesterday... but given the state of my legs .. it might well feel like it.
Another option... plan d.. crept into my head. It was only 20 miles to Waipukuru.. the place that I was sceduled to stop at today. This would mean a 'short' day of 60 miles but as I had already done over 40 and it wasnt even lunchtime, i figured I could get there early enough to have a decent rest for the legs.. rest and take extra care of my now very sore arse and eat and drink a small fortune. It seemed like a sensible plan within the 'crazy'. Even as I had decided that that was what I was going to do... my head argued with itself... it was still early... after the climb it was downhill to Dannevirke... There was only another 25 ish miles to get there...
All these thoughts were reasonable and well argued in my head. Counter arguments were thrown back... yes but you will have done 60miles.. thats not taking it easy... there is no benefit to trying to gain an extra day if it kills the legs for the South Island... I have to be at Franz Joseph on a certain day as have booked my rest day and a helihike.. i cant just pitch up early....
And so it went on... well untill the next incline... that decided it. Waipukuru it was and it was only 13 miles away. Of course now my head had made a decision ... my legs had totally gone. I went through a really nice village 2 miles from my new destination. It had a lovely clocktower and a museum about the history of the town.. the oldest established in the Hawkes Bay area. Waipawa was sweet and it took a lot of mental strength not to just stop there... but then I would be behind schedule again and that wouldnt have been good for the headspace.
So I struggled for the last two miles and passed one motel with a no vacancy sign and went on to the only other hotel in the town. Crawled into the bar and enquired re a room... we are full! Ahhggggg!! Then 'oh maybe we have a room.. hold on'. 5 mins later ... returned with a key and we got chatting about what I was doing.. another gentleman also approached and asked some questions about what I was doing. Everyone else in the crammed bar took turns to stare at me. I possibly looked a bit sweaty.. tired... grimey... road worn!
As I was being shown my room, I thought to ask about cost.. just in case it was $200 or something ridiculous. For you, as you are doing tge ride for charity- $50. Perfect.
I settled in my room.. changed... ordered a pizza at the bar... managing to devour most of it in a very short space of time.. then wandered into town in the hope of sorting a pressing issue.
Yup Im going to talk about my arse again (mainly for the benefit of my georgeous twin cousins.. Danny and Nathan.. who find all this talk of arses hilarious... so much so Ive been told it gets their attention away from their Ipads!!) To put it frankly.. the pain was just bearable today. The two cheek shuffle wasnt helping much and I was beginning to get concerned that it would become so severe I couldnt sit on my bike. So action had to be taken in the form of some kind of healing antiseptic cream. But it was saturday and round here all the shops... including the pharmacy seem to shut at 1pm.
I eventually found an open supermarket and dived down to the medicine section... Bepanthen or a local heal anything gel. After much contemplation (so much thought put into arse cream cant be good) I went for the bepanthen.. fingers crossed it did what it said on the tin...an antiseptic cream that helps protect damaged skin from infection.
Then back to the hotel to cram in calories... chocolate... cake... and juice... in preparation to rejoin the road tomorrow.
Wierdly I feel I need to justify stopping early to everyone that is rooting for me to complete this challenge so I hope I have explained my reasons clearly. My head is in it for the long game... I need to keep the phoenix soaring until Bluff.. I need to make sure my body can comply.
As for dreaming aloud... I will give some more details of my future plans in further blogs but suffice to say it will once again push the boundaries as this ride is currently doing.
LHS X
Woke up nice and early feeling pretty rested after a solid 5 hours sleep. Had packed up and was on the road early... bout 07:15. In fact everything in Bay View was still shut so I continued on with a plan to get breakfast in Napier. Much had been made of this day being flat and as I cycled down into Napier.. I cautioned myself not to get too excited because flat isnt ever totally flat and flat generally means wind of some kind... usually a headwind.. so this could still be a difficult day.
I was speeding along at around 14-15mph when finally Hawkes Bay actually came into view. Yeah it was nice but soon was rolling through an industrial bit.. hiding the view. I saw a cafe and stopped.. ordered a huge breakfast... couldnt eat it all... and set off again.
Eventually I was rolling along a nice bike/fitness path with a beautiful view of the water. Fluffy clouds being lit up by the early morning sunshine and rays of sun coming through the clouds .. hitting the water just so. It was quiet on the bike path and more importantly... the tarmac was smooth. Napier was clearly stingier than other towns as I got no 'town tarmac' and my arms and hands were being jolted mercilessly.
I had a plan of pushing on to Dannevirk and perhaps making up an entire day in hand... and as I rolled along the flat road down to Hastings... I worked out in my head.. jumping on ferry a day early... having 2 days off at the glacier... plans forming, concocting, fluidity in motion.
The scenery was once again spectacular... once I got out of the cities. Rolling pastures with hills in the background. Cattle grazing silently
The sun started to really beat down fiercely. After yesterdays water disaster .. I was ensuring to drink regularly. Refilling bottles wasnt a problem as along this road were dotted cafes and little villages at regular intervals... but it was energy sapping nonetheless.
Whilst I rode along the flatter landscape, it was easier for the mind to wander. Given the amount of punishment my body had endured.. espcially during the days that I wasnt well.. it was surprising to me that I was still on schedule... even more that I was slightly ahead. It is a testament to the wonder of the human body and mind. These thoughts then turned to a challenge that has been preoccupying my mind since this one was planned and ready to go...
A race... 2700 miles.. from Banff in Canada to Antelope wells on the New Mexico border with Mexico. Self supported.. its classed as the hardest race in the world. The Tour Divide had captured and captivated me...
Many try ... many fail to complete it.. but this is one thing where to line up at the start is an achievement. It is saying that Im not afraid to try... Even if I fail at least I would have given it a go. And thats what life is about. For so many people fear of failure... of looking foolish to others.. stops them from even trying. Fight The Fear and only then can you truly live.
So although since struggling here on some days.. and even if I dont get to Bluff. it will not be because I didnt fight the fear and it wont stop me dreaming aloud.
Speaking of struggling... as the scenery changed and I encountered my first real incline of the day... it became apparent that my legs were not in the game today.
They did this wierd thing where after a stop, no matter what length, the first 30 seconds of cycling again consisted of such an ache in the legs, it was almost painful. I had to grit my teeth and push through it because after 30 seconds it became ok again. V strange. But I had to stop frequently as I had no power in the legs on any kind of incline and was going very slowly. The wind had picked up a little adding extra resistance and my head started to rearrange the plans for the day. Between where I was and Dannevirke there was at least one reasonable climb to over 1000ft. Nothing compared with yesterday... but given the state of my legs .. it might well feel like it.
Another option... plan d.. crept into my head. It was only 20 miles to Waipukuru.. the place that I was sceduled to stop at today. This would mean a 'short' day of 60 miles but as I had already done over 40 and it wasnt even lunchtime, i figured I could get there early enough to have a decent rest for the legs.. rest and take extra care of my now very sore arse and eat and drink a small fortune. It seemed like a sensible plan within the 'crazy'. Even as I had decided that that was what I was going to do... my head argued with itself... it was still early... after the climb it was downhill to Dannevirke... There was only another 25 ish miles to get there...
All these thoughts were reasonable and well argued in my head. Counter arguments were thrown back... yes but you will have done 60miles.. thats not taking it easy... there is no benefit to trying to gain an extra day if it kills the legs for the South Island... I have to be at Franz Joseph on a certain day as have booked my rest day and a helihike.. i cant just pitch up early....
And so it went on... well untill the next incline... that decided it. Waipukuru it was and it was only 13 miles away. Of course now my head had made a decision ... my legs had totally gone. I went through a really nice village 2 miles from my new destination. It had a lovely clocktower and a museum about the history of the town.. the oldest established in the Hawkes Bay area. Waipawa was sweet and it took a lot of mental strength not to just stop there... but then I would be behind schedule again and that wouldnt have been good for the headspace.
So I struggled for the last two miles and passed one motel with a no vacancy sign and went on to the only other hotel in the town. Crawled into the bar and enquired re a room... we are full! Ahhggggg!! Then 'oh maybe we have a room.. hold on'. 5 mins later ... returned with a key and we got chatting about what I was doing.. another gentleman also approached and asked some questions about what I was doing. Everyone else in the crammed bar took turns to stare at me. I possibly looked a bit sweaty.. tired... grimey... road worn!
As I was being shown my room, I thought to ask about cost.. just in case it was $200 or something ridiculous. For you, as you are doing tge ride for charity- $50. Perfect.
I settled in my room.. changed... ordered a pizza at the bar... managing to devour most of it in a very short space of time.. then wandered into town in the hope of sorting a pressing issue.
Yup Im going to talk about my arse again (mainly for the benefit of my georgeous twin cousins.. Danny and Nathan.. who find all this talk of arses hilarious... so much so Ive been told it gets their attention away from their Ipads!!) To put it frankly.. the pain was just bearable today. The two cheek shuffle wasnt helping much and I was beginning to get concerned that it would become so severe I couldnt sit on my bike. So action had to be taken in the form of some kind of healing antiseptic cream. But it was saturday and round here all the shops... including the pharmacy seem to shut at 1pm.
I eventually found an open supermarket and dived down to the medicine section... Bepanthen or a local heal anything gel. After much contemplation (so much thought put into arse cream cant be good) I went for the bepanthen.. fingers crossed it did what it said on the tin...an antiseptic cream that helps protect damaged skin from infection.
Then back to the hotel to cram in calories... chocolate... cake... and juice... in preparation to rejoin the road tomorrow.
Wierdly I feel I need to justify stopping early to everyone that is rooting for me to complete this challenge so I hope I have explained my reasons clearly. My head is in it for the long game... I need to keep the phoenix soaring until Bluff.. I need to make sure my body can comply.
As for dreaming aloud... I will give some more details of my future plans in further blogs but suffice to say it will once again push the boundaries as this ride is currently doing.
LHS X
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