Hi Toni! It was a fabulous trip and I certainly surprised myself. We are signing up for a Northland tour with these guys before Christmas..but would love to be in France next year. Probably around Tour de France time - July. The bikes we left behind in Geneva in Sept 2019, before Croatia, are still waiting for us. Thanks for riding along with this journal!

Fabulous journey! We were able to pretend to be there with you, although I’m sure I would have been in the bus more often! We’re so impressed by your trek and loved the pictures, too! We want to cycle the Loire Valley. Shall we meet again in France? Glad to hear New Zealand is opening back up to tourists like us!
Toni and Bill

Thanks. Susan. I think I'd have tackled the Haast climb if it were not such a long day all up. Well, possibly!

Well done Robyn! Congrats on reaching the Crown Range Summit - a great achievement even with a few steps and tumble. After making it Haast Pass I bailed on the Crown Range and jumped in the support van at Cardona - it's something I still regret 12 years later.
Great trip - great journal. Thanks.

Hi Sandy
Yes, you're right about finding the time and energy to post every night. Sometimes impossible! We were so lucky with the weather...I feel as though if it had been wet, we would have had our heads down and missed so much!
We should try to catch up with you next time in Nelson.
Cheers

Congratulations to both of you

Enjoyed following your journal revisiting with you lots of places I have cycled through. I did a lot more walking than you guys, so we’ll done.

With not many cycle journals out there at the moment thanks for making the effort to post every night, when all you want to do is cycle, eat, sleep, repeat!

Cheers from Nelson untill next time we see you on the road
Sandy

Thanks, Rich. Our thoughts are turning more and more to touring in Europe now that NZ is opening its borders to foreigners. We miss it!

Great trip and a great journal! I enjoyed it immensely! Thanks for taking us along.

Thanks, Dawn. Love your comments!

It absolutely was beautiful - and busy too! Lunch on the grass by the Chinese miners' huts was pretty good too.

Congrats to both of you from us! What a wonderful achievement! We have loved 'joining you' for the ride through your prose, albeit a tad shorter and a day later. 😍

We were hopeful that you would bike through Arrowtown as its beautiful in Autumn!

Hi Jacquie. Thanks for this info. I had just changed the offending cleat the day before to get rid of an annoying squeak. Pedals had been adjusted but Bruce agrees now that they probably need to be checked again. I also think my tired brain and tired legs didn't do a great job of communication! Rear cassette 11 - 34, which LBS guy said was as low as it could go.

Looks like it was a fantastic tour!

About those clips: have you got the release tension on both sides of both pedals adjusted as low as it will go? I do this to all my SPD pedals and have never released unintentionally. Also, what is the gearing range on your bike? I live and ride in a hilly area where replacing the cassette, and if necessary the rear derailleur, is fairly common. Many bikes just don't come stock with appropriately low gears.

Lovely memory, Susan! I bet I know where you swam. Yesterday, we watched from a bridge while surfers bobbed around in the current of a wave pool created somehow artificially by controlling the river's flow.