Length of the South - Technical Stuff

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I wrote notes on gear at the end of the blog for the Southern Brevet, I’ll try to cross reference rather than repeat.

The bike

Same. Had it checked over by a mechanic before leaving but a few niggles developed …

Front and rear tyres delaminated, these were the same set as on the Southern Brevet - I've used them on all surfaces but they're not so great on soft ground which was definitely not a problem this time, they don’t seem to get punctures whatever you chuck at them). There were some gashes in the tread before I started but they seemed to be holding up so I started on them but threw a couple of spare knobblies in the car. Day 5 was too much for them and the gashes started to hold hands with large sections of Kevlar showing through. I was amazed at how the canvas stood up to the punishment but it made steering a little exciting on the down hills.

Shocks – during the Southern Brevet these had collapsed but had held out with judicious use of a shock pump. I had a mechanic check them out and he thought they were fine. They lasted until day 5 then did the same thing. Came right over night but intermittently went down over the rest of the trip, usually just lifting the bars they would reflate until the last day when that wouldn't last long at all.

Gears – in the weeks before leaving I serially replaced most drive components, cables and covers apart from front rings and rear derailleur. By the end of the trip there was a fair amount of nursing required, with the back derailleur probably a bit twisted from rocks on the Nydia and sounds of wear in the rear cable housings.

Brakes – replaced pads before start. Front held out fine, rear somewhat worn at end and rubbing a bit.

Water cages – same issues; still after bigger bottles and better mounts.

If you want to avoid carrying weight on your back you have to be creative to get enough water on board without compromising centre of gravity, rider movement and luggage capacity. I haven’t got it right yet but have: 2 x 750 ml on the forks, 1 x 750 ml under the frame and this time a 3L pouch in the frame bag. Two elastic hair ties looped over the nipple seem to have stopped the bottles popping out.

Fork mountings keep the weight low and they don’t seem to get smashed into obstacles. But the weight of the water flexes the cage and stresses the mounts. The lightweight Specialized cage on the front fork that survived the Brevet broke at the welds so I rotated them from the rear of the fork to the front so the weight comes onto the fork rather than the front of the cage – this makes the bottle harder to reach whilst riding but I use these bottles to recharge the frame bag so this isn't a problem. I found a second hand alloy cage in Lawrence which was more solid but lost it when my mounting failed on a fairly high energy descent from Omarama saddle the next day. The new Specialized cage on the other fork survived but I expect it to break so will replace it before I lose another bottle.

Luggage

Same but dropped the bar bag and the back pack.

Clothing

Pretty much the same, but dropped the spare tights and merino gruts and took lighter gloves and spare socks and replaced merino riding top with a sun suitable shirt. Added a cheap Kathmandu Bandanna; a bit warm at times but no sun burnt head and so lovely when you can dunk it in a stream.

I wanted to get the shirt right; the criteria I had in mind: lightweight, long sleeve, high UPF rating (no burning when the shirt was wet), collar that can turn up, pockets with closures, light colour, easy wash and dry.

The one that looked ideal was a pricey fishing shirt from the US firm Sims but fortunately Kathmandu had something that did the trick much cheaper, I think it was called the Kangsar and I’m pretty happy with it. The main disadvantage is that it isn't a shirt for layering, the fabric is icy when wet, so if the weather turns you’d want to take it off and layer up with thermals.

Didn't use the synthetic jacket except as a pillow but will continue to carry it.

Sleeping

Same. Haven’t got a lighter bag yet and probably won’t now. Still on the lookout for an ultra-lite tent or fly but bivvy bag was fine for summer – didn't stick the Exped air inside it this time (doh!).

First aid, emergency and repair

Same plus some big plasters and a PLB instead of a spot tracker – looked into getting one but decided it wasn't a good investment – may reconsider at some point. As it wasn't a Brevet event I chucked various tools in the car and a spare set of tyres.

Other kit

Dropped the micro towel and glasses in case, added chap stick.

Food and water

Carried a little less food – generally enough for a day, or two at a pinch. Dropped the one square meals and bumper bars, had a selection of sweet, sticky muesli bars. But still need to refine the selection and improve nutrition and hydration management during the day.

I’m finding I need real food for longer trips rather than trying to survive on bars and gels. A tin of sardines, some crackers, cheese, a somewhat squashed filled roll or whatever … stopping and eating something real just seems to work better and puts you in a better head space.

I tried ‘Get up and go’ a few times – heavier than I want to carry on the bike but not a bad option when available. Flavoured porridge sachets seem to work OK cold and are good on an unsettled stomach if there’s a way of heating them. I carried packets of pre-cooked rice but didn't use any in the end.

See comments above re bottle cages and water. I got sick of the electrolyte I was carrying but picked up some other types (not the smartest to change part way through). I’m a bit fussy about drinking strongly flavoured water and find that trying to mask it with a drink sachet often doesn't make it any better.

Overall I've decided to sacrifice a bit of weight in order to have better food choices – going for the lightest options in order to save weight aint working for me.

The body

You can expect a bit of battery from these trips, but there was nothing serious or debilitating. The worst was nausea developing after the end of the first day and getting worse for a few days after. This was likely to have been due to a combination of dehydration and fatigue, caused by lack of discipline with food and water intake, less than ideal fitness and the unaccustomed heat. I.e. just being a bit too soft.

A vicious circle developed: nausea makes you fussy; you eat and drink less (particularly if the only thing available is tepid water with a strong taste); you feel worse ... Much of the surface water was from heavily farmed catchments and many streams had dried up so it was often longer between sources than expected.

Lesson: calculate how much water you need allowing for the heat and for lack of top-up sources. This generally means having more carriage capacity than you think you need.

My right knee was a bit bruised from a spill a couple of weeks before the start. This was no problem until day three on the Alps to Ocean – it was OK under sustained pressure but painful when starting to pedal after a pause – the sort of thing you do a lot of on rough down-hills. I had Voltarin but didn't take it as it improved over the next few days.  After that it didn't give any significant trouble despite landing on it again during an end-over on the Wharfdale track then reopening the nick with a pedal on the Nydia. It didn't get infected so all good.

Lesson: don’t fall off.

Lack of training and failure to organise a new seat meant the back-side callouses from sitting at a desk weren't up to the rigours of sustained rough roads. The result was a fair amount of discomfort in the nether regions and a long blister along the fold where leg meets bum. Large size Elastoplast and lashings of chamois cream seemed to sort it out.

Lesson: read your notes from last time and get around to buying a new seat in time to break it in! Take and use plenty of lubricant and react to warning signs early. Carry a few large plasters.

There was no lasting numbness in the fingers unlike on the Brevet (this came right at some point during the year). Some mild toe numbness is persisting a few weeks afterwards but should clear up soon.

A forearm strain from hefting the bike up banks on the Nydia (and being soft) is still niggling. No blisters on feet or other ailments.

Training

Way less than last time. After no riding since the Brevet in January I did a bit of commuting with a few hills thrown in and a couple of long rides before a leisurely round Taupo. After that a longish Wairarapa ride and a ride to Palmy on the road bike.

I was way better prepared for the Brevet and this time suffered longer because of it.

Navigation

Similar to last time, but the trip notes worked even better as I prepared them myself (i.e. it meant I learnt the route better).  After working out the bones of the trip I used Map-my-Ride, topo maps, Kennett books and the internet to flesh out the route and options.

An early decision was to start at Slope Point as the southernmost point, but not to go to Farewell Spit as:

1. the route options to Farewell spit looked tricky, 
2. D’Urville Island was a logical flow on from the Rainbow, Wakamarina and Nydia tracks which I really wanted to do, and 
3. D’Urville Island just seemed more interesting. 

It was a real toss up whether to do the West Coast or not. In the end I wanted to do the Rail Trail, Wharfdale and Rainbow and these just seemed to more logically line up with a centre of the Island route. There are plenty of options to take a really good West Coast line though and this is likely to be the route of the length of NZ Brevet in 2016.

I mapped the ride in fairly arbitrary sections on Map-my-Ride which gave distances which I used to create trip notes covering pretty much every major intersection on the trip. I also printed topo maps for particularly tricky areas. I double checked the notes but a few errors still crept in, although nothing that caused any problems (trouble is I forgot to note where they were!).

During a few sections the distances drifted out of accuracy (e.g. because a track in bush couldn't be measured accurately in Map-my-ride) but this never caused a problem.

I didn't carry a GPS and the altimeter on my watch wasn't working but neither was needed.

I haven’t explored smart phone GPS apps any further due to; lack of confidence, battery life, and cellular coverage issues.

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