Final day! After almost a month riding it is hard to imagine that my routine of eat, ride, sleep, and living out of a backpack would soon be over.
I left the Mossburn Railway Hotel just before daybreak. It would be a long ride of about 138km, but most of it flat/ gently descending. My wife Anna and kids Gryffin and Anthea would be flying to Invercargill and driving down to Bluff to meet me, so I had extra incentive to get there.
It was a very pleasant ride, with most of it on road. The weather was overcast with occasional light rain, but not enough to get out the wet weather gear.
I was making good time, generally cruising at 17-20km/hr, but felt dreadfully undergeared. If there is a reason to carry 89mm cranks and a crank puller, this is it (perhaps also on the Wairarapa section). My biggest tip for long distance unicyclists is to use the shortest cranks you can get away with. A unicycle is geared 1:1, so has very low pedaling resistance. Shorter cranks reduce leverage and provides ‘lift’ when you push down, reducing pressure on the seat. This makes a huge difference to how many hours you can last in the saddle.
There were no towns for 70km, but with the speed and weather, I could manage without carrying excess water or food until we got to Winton. As we arrived, there was Police Officer filming from the side of the road- don’t think I’m breaking any speed limits.
Turns out Officer Reuben from Winton Police was a TA rider in 2020, and gave a police escort to several TA riders heading into town. How cool is that!
After lunch I was back on the road, aiming to arrive by 5pm. I had a second lunch in Wallacetown at 93km, then set off on the final 40+km.
I almost ran over a very large box in the middle of the road as I approached Invercargill, so I got off to kick it to the side. It was filled with marijuana leaves. How weird.
There was a big crosswind as I entered Invercargill cycle trail alongside the estuary. This will be tough few k’s! I was flailing about like a beginner unicyclist trying to go in a straight line. Luckily only a few locals saw my wobbly act. It eventually turned into a headwind, which is preferable.
20km to go…10km… I was counting down but also taking my time to savour the end of TA.
2km…just round the corner. I stopped by the side of road to pick flowers for Anna just as some TA riders went past and caught me stealing someone’s geraniums. Oops.
1km…500m…50m….I saw Anna, Gryffin and Anthea waving at me and stopped.
It’s not the finish! They didn’t realise it was at the sign.
20m to go…I rode up the the sign…finished! 3000km in 27 days 11 hours.
Most of the TA riders from today were still there along with TA supporters, so it was great having people to celebrate with.
Final checkpoint photo…done. Spot tracker…off.
That was quite an adventure. We’re spending a couple of days in Bluff/Invercargill before flying to Stewart Island for a holiday.
I’ll do a final summary on the blog and add photos in week or so. In the meantime, you can see the photo highlights on the Adventure Unicyclist Facebook page.
I would like to thank the Kennett Brothers for coming up with the concept and route for the TA, and to Shane at Map Progress for running the event and providing tracking. Thanks to all the riders/supporters who helped me along the way, whether it was sharing water/food/accommodation when I’d misjudged, your encouragement, or your stories/humour. I’m grateful to all the great businesses, making sure we were fed, watered and housed along the way.
Most of all, thanks to my wife Anna for putting up with my crazy pursuits and solo parenting for month. I couldn’t have done it without you!