Time: 3:15
Distance: 51.95 km
Avg Speed: 15.9 kph
Terrain: Rolling
Location: 41˚ 6’ 18.9” S, 173˚ 0’ 48.7” E
We headed out quite slowly this morning from Nelson. We got up early but ended up chatting with an older English gentleman. He is in his seventies and decided that he was going to head to New Zealand and tour the country on a motorbike. Long story short, he put the bike down in some gravel near Coromandel and ended up scraping his hands up and spraining his left rotator cuff. He figured he had a couple more weeks of recovery and then he was heading back to get his bike and finish his tour. He was one of those little surprises that you get. He grew up in England during WWII and was laughing at the fact that people only spend 9% of their income on food and complain that food is too expensive.
“What about all those DVD’s and electronics that you have to have?” He asked.
He came here last year as well. He has only his government retirement (like Social Security) and had to save for 2 ½ years to get enough to come here. He wanted to buy a bicycle and tour when he arrived here, but a host at a backpacker talked him out of it. He ended up touring by bus and staying in backpackers and was worried the whole time about his budget of £15 a day (about $45 NZD or $30 USD). He ended up getting back home and averaging £14.96/day!
He was a delight to talk to and one of those people you meet that seems to put it all into perspective for you.
One little bit of info that I did glean from him was what a stone weighs. A stone is an old English measurement of weight. They still use it down here to describe what a person weighs. 1 stone=14 lbs. Our little English friend weighed a whopping 6 ½ stones (you can do the math, but he was a little bulldog for sure).
Well not much else going on. We do have a short day tomorrow, but we will be loaded down with a weeks worth of groceries. We do have a fridge and full kitchen where we are staying next week so we have decided to not eat anything that we normally eat while cycling. The panniers will be bursting at the seams with yumminess.
Hope all is well where you are at.
CK
Distance: 51.95 km
Avg Speed: 15.9 kph
Terrain: Rolling
Location: 41˚ 6’ 18.9” S, 173˚ 0’ 48.7” E
We headed out quite slowly this morning from Nelson. We got up early but ended up chatting with an older English gentleman. He is in his seventies and decided that he was going to head to New Zealand and tour the country on a motorbike. Long story short, he put the bike down in some gravel near Coromandel and ended up scraping his hands up and spraining his left rotator cuff. He figured he had a couple more weeks of recovery and then he was heading back to get his bike and finish his tour. He was one of those little surprises that you get. He grew up in England during WWII and was laughing at the fact that people only spend 9% of their income on food and complain that food is too expensive.
“What about all those DVD’s and electronics that you have to have?” He asked.
He came here last year as well. He has only his government retirement (like Social Security) and had to save for 2 ½ years to get enough to come here. He wanted to buy a bicycle and tour when he arrived here, but a host at a backpacker talked him out of it. He ended up touring by bus and staying in backpackers and was worried the whole time about his budget of £15 a day (about $45 NZD or $30 USD). He ended up getting back home and averaging £14.96/day!
He was a delight to talk to and one of those people you meet that seems to put it all into perspective for you.
One little bit of info that I did glean from him was what a stone weighs. A stone is an old English measurement of weight. They still use it down here to describe what a person weighs. 1 stone=14 lbs. Our little English friend weighed a whopping 6 ½ stones (you can do the math, but he was a little bulldog for sure).
Well not much else going on. We do have a short day tomorrow, but we will be loaded down with a weeks worth of groceries. We do have a fridge and full kitchen where we are staying next week so we have decided to not eat anything that we normally eat while cycling. The panniers will be bursting at the seams with yumminess.
Hope all is well where you are at.
CK
1 comment:
YEAH I am ALLLL caught up and back with you day by day! I am excited for you two and your Christmas destination! All kinds of good yummy food cooked by Chris and a REAL BED to sleep in night after night!
Take it easy you two - JH
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