I will be tweeting where ever I can, so if you want to know how I'm doing against schedule, here is the plan:
| Control | Km | Control Closes | My Depart | Time In Hand |
| Christchurch | 0 | 25/02/12 07:00 | 25/02/12 07:00 | |
| Hororata | 72 | 25/02/12 11:48 | 25/02/12 10:53 | 0:55:00 |
| Geraldine | 182 | 25/02/12 19:08 | 25/02/12 16:40 | 2:28:00 |
| Lake Tekapo | 270 | 26/02/12 01:00 | 26/02/12 00:17 | 0:43:00 |
| Omarama | 358 | 26/02/12 06:52 | 26/02/12 05:46 | 1:06:00 |
| Wanaka | 471 | 26/02/12 14:24 | 26/02/12 13:35 | 0:49:00 |
| Haast/Lake Paringa | 615 | 27/02/12 00:18 | 27/02/12 00:16 | 0:02:10 |
| Franz Josef | 760 | 27/02/12 13:02 | 27/02/12 10:13 | 2:49:05 |
| The Wafelbakkers! | 860 | 27/02/12 20:25 | 27/02/12 18:58 | 1:27:43 |
| Greymouth | 930 | 28/02/12 03:53 | 28/02/12 03:43 | 0:10:20 |
| Oxford | 1137 | 28/02/12 22:07 | 28/02/12 21:15 | 0:52:35 |
| Christchurch | 1202 | 29/02/12 01:00 | 29/02/12 00:56 | 0:03:54 |
The full workings can be found here: SKH Schedule.
The weather forecast mentions rain quite a bit. This might turn out to feel like two Bryan Chapman Memorial (BCM) 600s, back to back. And that is after me promising never to do a BCM again!
I can draw strength from the following:
- I have cycled in NZ before,
- There are two bag drops (had none on PBP),
- PBP has 8000 meters climbing, the SKH is only 6000 more!
- It is 30 km shorter than PBP
- I have a 'secret' control
- A 7AM start means less sleep deprivation than on PBP
- Stunning scenery, even in rain, even in the dark
- Have always been lucky on west coast with beautiful sunshine
- I've kept my weight down
- And have been spin training
And just a few things I'm not so sure about:
- Haven't done anything above 200km since PBP last August.
- There could be a head wind going south
- Am I the only rider?
- Will I be able to carry enough food?
- Where will I find water? Rivers?
- What is the average distance between 3 star bus shelters (3 star means good enough to sleep in)
- Will I finish in time?
- Will I get round?
This ride really is above my station, and there will be no Ray, no Mel, no Pete, no Hummers, no YACF familiar faces, no Willesden crew. I don't know of anybody else doing this ride. There are quite a few unknowns. But I am very excited and have been looking forward to the challenge.
Check out the @swarm_catcher tweets.
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11 comments:
Het zal wellicht allemaal beter meevallen dan je denkt. In elk geval wensen we je het alller-allerbeste toe!
Safe journey on the plane and enjoy the cycle ride.
Lots of love,
Meim en Peip xxx xxx
if anyone can do this it's you Els ...you have depths of resources most of us can only dream of! Bon route, bon courage and bon chance my friend!!
Good luck! As per twitter I can't make it unfortunately but I really hadn't planned it out properly so that is my own fault. I haven't ridden more than 225km in a day since PBP and would be relying on memories of past suffering :-)
I am planning to ride a 1000km event here in Australia in April and probably won't do more than a 300 as preparation before that.
Hope you have some other riders to keep you company, stay warm and dry and get somewhere to sleep occasionally. Allez!
Have passed on your blog to Martien, whose sister seems as keen a cyclist as you. So look out from a comment from Ghent! Also my new colleague from school is getting acquainted with the Vermeulen family and might follow you now.(On your blog!)
Great to see the photos.
As for the cycling, remember:
"Alsan mo rechtedeure," zoe Sif zeggen!
All the best, I've enjoyed reading your blog over the last couple of years. Watching you evolve into a tigress of the road. All the best for this southern sojourn. Justin(e)
Just seen on yacf that you have finished Els. Hooray for Swarm-Catcher! I'm looking forward to another well-written ride report on here, but have a rest first.
Huge congratulations Els on an amazing achievement!
you did it, you did it , you realy did it in 89 hours!! I still can not believe you did it AGAIN!
LEL PBP KIWI: 3 succesfull 12OOkms .SUPER!!
I am surprised and pleased that so many fans supportered you and helped you push that little bit further over the mountains with tweets and comments on yacf.
Tx all of you!
Bengske toch, wat heb je dat weer supergoed gedaan!
Je mag terecht fier zijn op je prestatie.
Je hebt zoveel vrienden die je gevolgd en gesteund hebben!
Kan het ook anders, zo'n schat van een Bengske.
Rust nu maar goed uit en laat je maar verwennen!
Meim en peip xxx xxx
Congratulations on you fabulous result! I was following along with great interest. Can't wait to read your full report.
Well done Els. It was great to hear about this ride from you last Sturday. I had missed all the pre-ride discussions, so it was a surprise.
Belated congratulations,
Lycra Man
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