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APRIL 2022 InTouch | 5 morning after I had started riding at 7am. My favourite time of each day were the mornings. It was the tour friends that I made, some for a few days and some for most of the tour as our schedules inter-twined. It was the people I chatted to along the way; a farmer driving his livestock along a gravel road, a fellow camper in a campground kitchen, or a chatty shop owner. It was the variety of landscapes, experiences, and the chance to enjoy some of the rarely visited backwaters of NZ. It was listening to the birds and being the subject of the gaze of a thousand sheep and cattle as I rode past their paddocks. It was the sunset over the Tasman Sea from the campground in Ross. It was the hospitality of a school friend I haven’t seen in nearly 40 years, and others.” Top: Mike with his bike ‘Old Faithful’ at the mouth of the Grey River. Above: The Cardrona Hotel provided good refreshment before Mike tackled the Crown Range “It was listening to the birds and being the subject of the gaze of a thousand sheep and cattle as I rode past their paddocks. It was the sunset over the Tasman Sea from the campground in Ross. It was the hospitality of a school friend I haven’t seen in nearly 40 years, and others.” RIDING THE LENGTH OF NZ FOR THOSE THAT CAN’T Please join us in thanking Mike for his epic journey and for raising funds to help us support Kiwis living with Muscular Dystrophy. www.givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/riding-the-length-of-nz-for- those-that-cant “Ian was a keen cyclist and would have loved this trip, so facing the short-lived challenges of the ride was something he would appreciate and easy compared to the challenges that he and others face on a daily basis.” On February 26 Mike joined Tour Aoteoroa, an annual cycling event in which participants cycle the length of New Zealand. The Tour Aotearoa route is designed to highlight the best Cycle Trail Great Rides, Heartland Rides, and quiet back country roads. The route is designed by Jonathan Kennett, a New Zealand cycling guidebook writer and participants must complete it within 30 days. The idea of the trip is that it is unsupported, so Mike carried all his gear with him, including a tent, sleeping bag and camping stove. As a self-described ‘casual cyclist,’ this if the first time Mike has competed in an ultra-distance cycling event. “Having done a few weekend bike-packing trips down in the South Island before, this was definitely a huge task for me,” he admits. Mike set off from Cape Reinga in the Far North to ride 3,084 km to Bluff at the southern tip of the South Island. Mike completed the gruelling challenge in 26 days and in total he rode 2,924 km (there was also a few km on various boats), travelled 29,556m of vertical ascent and burned 92,726 calories while riding. Mike aimed to raise $1 per KM, which he said equated to “a nice $3,000”. He ended up smashing that goal and raised a whopping $4,100 (and counting)! But the numbers don’t really tell the story. “It was about watching the mist rise and sun break through each