Cycle complete!
I took this photo at probably the most difficult point of my whole cycle so far. it was coming up through Haast pass in the rain and I had to push the bike up this ridiculous slope for over an hour. Even when pushing the bike I still had to stop every 2 minutes to catch my breath it was that intense. You can see from my red face and my shattered expression that it was pushing me hard!
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This is my German friend Constantine. Due to the fact we were the only 2 people pushing bicycles onto the north to south Island ferry, we immediately struck up an accord and I learnt that he is cycling around New Zealand for a few months, so was great to compare stories and our journeys thus far.
He has had it harder than me due to the fact that his tyre blew out in the middle of nowhere and had to crawl into a town to get a repair. Only a few days later his gear cable broke too meaning he had only 3 gears to work with for part of the journey. Crazy unlucky! The west coast can be stunning at times, at others it can be quite monotonous and empty so much so it caused me to create this "intriguing" game/experiment. Campervans vs Cars. Basically I was gonna count the number of cars against the number of campervans that passed by and see who won. Personally I backed the campervans given their huge popularity on the roads along the west coast.
So I treated the next hour like a game of hurling moreso it was Kilkenny as the cars and Galway as the campervans. (For those of you who are not Irish hurling is a popular national sport and you should check it out on YouTube!) Two 30 minute halves would be the timeframe and I imagined myself with the distinctive voice of Michael O Murihartaigh commentating the proceedings! First off the board were Galway with a Britz campervan making its way towards me. But no sooner had I said it a Honda passed me out and the score was 1-1. The road quietened down a bit until a spate of 3 campervans bore down the road in front of me and before you knew it the campervans were 7-2 up with 15 minutes gone. It wasn't long till Henry Shefflin brought the cars back into the game and it was tit for tat all the way up to half time, where the score incredibly was level at 11-11. Joe Canning (An Apollo campervan!) extended Galways lead as soon as the second half got underway but it was the last campervan to be seen for the rest of the game. Soon a Toyota passed, followed by another one and then 3 more various branded cars passed one after the other to dampen the campervans hopes. Shefflin was in flying form and incredibly they kept Galway quiet the rest of the match with the score after 60 minutes finishing: Cars (Kilkenny) 34 - 12 Campervans (Galway). Yes I know this may seem like an incredibly pointless article but if there are 2 things you can take home from it, it is these... 1. Cars are statistically more numerous than campervans on NZs West coast. 2. I am easily entertained! Spent 3 days at the stunning Lake Tekapo on my way back to Christchurch and as you can see imagine it is a very tranquil, peaceful place where I spent some good time relaxing, reading and reflecting in the tranquil surroundings. Although what I am about to write is not something we enjoy hearing of, stories like this make news headlines quite a bit, and being there when it happened has compelled me to mention it as it has impacted me quite a bit emotionally.
I was unaware until later of the tragedy that would shock the local area, when this photo was taken around the time that 11 kayakers got into difficulty nearby the forested island on Lake Tekapo. In the picture above you can kind of make it out in the middle of the Lake Tekapo. Arising from a sudden pickup in the wind it threw the kayakers into the water where 2 of them perished from the cold despite the fact they were wearing lifejackets. Most of the others swam to the island and from there lit a fire to alert the emergency services. At the time we were all unaware of what was going on until we heard the fire brigade siren ring out behind us. Even then it was another 2 hours before we learnt the tragic circumstances that had occurred. It made me think seriously about the frailty of life and how quickly it can be lost even with all the precautions that we take. They like me were tourists in NZ, relaxing and having some fun with the kayaks. Never would they have expected the weather to have changed so suddenly to have put their lives in so much danger. When they set out that morning they fully expected to return and to continue on their journey, not for a tragedy such as this to happen. For me on the bicycle I know that everyday there are risks to my life mainly in the form of cars and trucks. And although I do take all the precautions, to be seen at all times on the road, I am not immune from mistakes or recklessness of other drivers. It made me realize that life is SERIOUSLY unpredictable and that we never know the time or the hour that we will depart this earth. The only thing we can do is be ready for it. For me as many of you know I am a Christian, fully knowing that death is not the end. Death is only the start of eternity. My belief in what Jesus Christ has done for me on the cross in taking my the punishment I deserve because of my sin, has given me the assurance that I will be with him one day in heaven. I have had to ask forgiveness of him for all the sin I have done against him and against other people. My life may end tomorrow or it may be when I reach the grand old age of 100! None of us know. All I know is that I am ready for it whenever that day comes, and confident in the assurance of heaven. I hope you can say the same too. Thankfully bike technology has advanced pretty dramatically from when this Penny Farthing Bicycle came out!
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The AuthorName: Daniel Ross Top Tips:
1. Constantly challenge yourself. 2. If you never try you'll never know what's possible. Archives
October 2016
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