What a great accomplishment Robyn! I am in total admiration. We stayed in the Theatre Royal Hotel (gorgeous) in January after the accident on our slow car trip back to Auckland. I remember thinking I wouldn't be game to attempt cycling Arthurs Pass.

Dawn, Andrew and Kimmi have been reading my journal aloud to her. Sweet!
Pretty much 50/50 gender split of the 32, though I think 7 women are Team Mac, the non-riders' group. Ave age probably late 50s. I'm definitely the 2nd oldest woman riding, and the oldest on a muscle (not e) bike.

Hope Isabella reads this at some point! Just asking - what would be the average age of your group? Ratio of male to female - are there only two women in the group.

I thought your photo was especially nice. The kind that I strive for but rarely if ever achieve.

Thanks, Bill. I found the discussion of its historical fly-killing properties interesting. Pic was taken on the margin of a patch of regenerating southern mountain beech.

Fly agaric are very pretty fungi, but toxic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_muscaria

Love this! Anticipation of what’s to come.

That would be exactly the sort of conditions where hand signals come in extra... "handy".

Thanks, Keith. We were riding on a narrow shared path at the time, encountering other cyclists, families with prams and dogs etc. You've given me the confidence to use these signals myself for the riders behind me.

In rides where the group is in close formation a visual cue can be picked up and interpreted faster than an audible one, and may be more likely to be received.

A downward, pointing gesture usually means there's some hazard on the pavement- a pothole, branch, etc.- that the following riders need to be aware of but probably cannot see because their field of view is blocked by the rider(s) in front of them.

Hand behind the back with fingers extended may indicate you are approaching number of pedestrians, slower cyclists, etc.

Hand down, fingers out, palm facing backward means the rider ahead is or will soon be slowing down and it's time to cover your brake levers.

Communication and smooth, predictable riding are keys to successful pack riding. And constant awareness and vigilance: no daydreaming or looking at the scenery.

I don't know the specifics of your tour, but no supported recreational tour I've ever been on has insisted that participants ride as a unit. Everyone goes their own pace, stops when they want / need to - whether it's at a designated point or no- and arrives "whenever". There's been no "must keep up with the group" mentality or expectation, so long as you arrive at the day's destination before the route officially closes (and the SAG vehicles are pulled off the road) for the day.

A visit to New Zealand is on my life's bucket list, though probably not on a bicycle.

Good luck!

Just after this pic, Dawn, I got caught in my clip-ins and fell off my stationary bike. Not an auspicious start to my road cycling career!

Wow, Dunedin to Auckland puts our ride into perspective! I'm not a great fan of NZ roads from a cyclist's point of view but this West Coast trip in the time of Covid has the advantage of no overseas tourists (our borders still closed to non-NZers for a wee while longer) thus removing much of the traffic.

Promise to be careful, Dawn 😂

Thanks, Susan. I enjoy your travels, and hope to be as entertaining. But so many mountains.!