Today is the day the big journey has begun. Only right now I’m still not 100% sure where we’re going, and what we’re going to achieve. Tomorrow’s job will involve figuring out all of that kind of stuff.
Flew into Auckland safe and sound, and met up with my good
friend Gabe who I hadn’t seen in 2.5 years.
Ultra enthusiastic as always we decide that since there is a bike
assembly area specifically for cycle tourists right at Auckland international
airport we may as well make good use of it and put our bikes together right
there and then. Gabe was concerned as his box had come undone somehow on it’s
way from Florida. No dramas there – the
beautiful black Bart the Troll and Clive the LHT arrive undamaged. It takes a good few hours for us to get our
bikes organised. Both of us left in a
bit of a hurry so there was a bit to be done as far as pannier adjustments etc
etc. Neither of us have done any
significant amount of cycle touring – I have never carried my camping gear on
my bike or cycled longer than 5 days.
Pedals on, saddle up, handlebars reattached, racks on,
panniers packed relatively evenly and on.
I try and lift Clive with his bags on.
FAR OUT he is heavy!!! Before I left I had all my stuff spread out on
the floor. Looked at it, halved it,
halved it again. I swear I need
absolutely everything inside these panniers!!!
Still without a plan for where we are going we decide to
ride to the nearest caravan park we can find and pitch our tents there. It’s been too long since I’ve been in my
tent!
We spread out our stuff – show each other what we brought and try and justify to eachother and ourselves what we’re taking with us and what we’re going to send back home. I cull my spare chain, 1 cycling jersey, my spoke tool, my swimmers. I’ll probably reassess this again while I’m crawling up some of the NZ hills!!!
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