They call the West Coast the WET Coast for obvious reasons. Franz Joseph, where I spent a couple of nights, gets an average of 5 meters of rain annually. They probably got a meter of that rain during the two days I was there. Rain, wind, greyness, and cold. This is NOT my idea of a nice day for a ride. To be honest, the rain is really starting to dampen my spirits! I don't know if I can handle cycling day after day after day in the rain; my optimism is run...

My new friend is a German girl named Suzann. We became friends in Abel Tasman when we bonded over our mutual dislike for a stinky English girl who never left our hostel room the entire time we were there. Suzann was heading to the coast the day after next and we discussed the possibility of fitting my bike into her car and joining her on the road. After a tad bit of minor mechanical tweaking - we fit the bike in!!! We had an awesome time and both really e...

I kinda hate cyclists. No no no... Maybe I don't mean that? That would be like saying that I hate myself. Let me try again... Perhaps I can better explain myself with a short story. I haven't met very many cyclists on the road. When I was cycling from Nelson to Abel Tasman National Park I stopped to remove a layer of clothes and eat a gummy worm (one of my favorite cycling indulgences). While rustling through my pannier a solo, fully loaded, cycle touris...

I love everything about the Irish. Picton for me was a party. I really really great party. Everybody has been to an Irish pub. Most people frequent them regularly. But not often (unless you're in Ireland) are they actually packed with real, genuine, fun-loving, drunk Irish people. I love it. I love it. I love it. It's really another reason why I love rugby - because it brought so many Irish to me. I've always said that I want to go to Ireland to do seven t...

It was worth the efforts to get to Wellington. I cycled 90 kms to Masterton to catch a train to Wellington which got me in town before dark and ready for the midday rugby game the following day! Wellington officially marked the end of my North Island cycling!!!!!! Yay- that feels good. Some approximate stats are as follows: -650 kms cycled -420 kms driven by people offering me rides -2 train rides -15 barmps (translation for non-newfies: car horn honks) -...