These days I spend most of my time riding, touring and racing on 29″ unicycles, but I was super excited when I heard about the new 36″ Braus carbon rim back in 2020. It was less than half the weight of the various aluminium 36″ rims, which is a hefty saving considering the weight of these things!  I had the idea of using this wheel for the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge, a race I do every year.  My old best time of 7hrs 43min was set on a much heavier 36″ unicycle in 2004, so this was my best chance of breaking the record.  I was also eyeing up Tour Aotearoa, a 3000km ride of the length of NZ.  

The Braus rim weighs in at 546g (claimed), compared with my original Coker Airfoil rim (1232g*).  Another exciting development in the diet stakes was the Nimbus Nightrider Lite tyre, with a claimed weight of 1310g,  compared with the original Nightrider tyre weighing in at 1960g* and my wheel TA tyre 2060g*.  Add to this the spoke count of 32H instead of 36H, shorter and lighter Quax cranks and a set of Ti AEST pedals, and I’d saved over 2kg in rotating weight, and almost 1.5kg of that was in outer wheel diameter where it matters the most.  

Braus wheelset Old Coker Airfoil wheelset

Then Covid happened, and the annual Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge was postponed not once, but twice, meaning that I couldn’t test it in a race where I have almost 20yrs worth of history.  

In 2022, I decided to ride Tour Aotearoa, and this would be the ideal unicycle except for one thing- the tyre is a very tight fit, so isn’t the easiest thing to fix in the event of a puncture.  The rim is drilled for presta valves. and is too narrow to drill for a schrader valve, meaning I had to use a 29″ inner tube stretched to fit, instead of a 36″ tube.  It’s another weight saving, but I pinch flatted two tubes on installation, so was not the best setup if I were to have a puncture on tour.

All this meant the unicycle sat in storage for over 3 years until I came across the 36″ TPU inner tubes by Trentasei.  It has a presta valve (great!) and is made for a 36″ diameter wheel instead of being stretched from a 29″.  I ordered a couple of tubes from Luca at Trentasei36 in Italy.  He was super helpful and the tubes arrived quickly.  Having had bad experiences with ultra light latex inner tubes many years ago, I was sceptical of TPU inner tubes.  The 36″ TPU tube weighed in at 103-108g, another big saving compared with a 29″ CST butyl inner tube (260g), and a 36″ butyl inner tube (524g).  Better still, without the excess stretch of 29″ tube, I installed it easily without damaging the tube. The material, although very light, doesn’t have the balloon like feel of a latex tube. It holds air well (unlike latex), and makes a nice springy, hollow sound when revved up to speed. It not only feels fast, it sounds fast!  As a bonus, the tube rolls up into a small compact bundle, which makes it easy to carry a spare. This has to be the best value upgrade for a 36″ unicycle. 

As for the Nimbus nightrider lite tyre, it performs as well as its heavier predecessor, with a grippy tread that handles road camber well. There is plenty of volume, so it’s a comfortable ride. Perhaps a narrower road tyre in future could save even more weight, but it’s easily the best 36″ road tyre currently on the market.

I took the unicycle on a ride through my hilly neighborhood- including a 10-15% gradient climb to my house.  It felt snappy, maneuverable, and accelerated and decelerated like a 29″ unicycle, except I was going at 36″ speed!  I fitted 100mm cranks, where I would normally ride 125s on the same gradient.  It had a similar feel to 29″/89mm.

The best demonstration of the whole system is to race it, and I smashed my 2004 Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge record by 15min!  

*posted weights on Unicyclist.com

Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge has been a regular event on my calendar since my first ride exactly 20yrs ago, in 2003.  It is New Zealand’s largest cycling event, which started in 1977 with a handful of riders, and built to a peak of over 10,000 participants in the late 2000s.  This year was extra special. The 2020 and 2021 events had been cancelled because of Covid 19. Up until then, I had only missed one challenge, followed by the cancelled events, then also missing the 2022 challenge for my medical school reunion.  This would be my first LTCC in 4yrs!  

It was also extra special to have my family come and support me.  Gryffin was just a baby when I last rode in 2019. Now we bundled 5yr old Gryffin and 2yr old Anthea into our van, along with my new 36″ unicycle and their scooters, and drove up from Wellington the day before.

There’s always a great atmosphere when you arrive in Taupo. The town is buzzing with cyclists and the event hall is full of sponsors and bike industry folk, showing off the latest and greatest. The best thing was getting free samples from sponsors Harraways (it helps to have cute kids), who make my favourite pre-ride breakfast Apple and Cinnamon oats!

Registration was quick and easy- the event is rebuilding after the 2021 and 2022 cancellations, so queues were short. They’ve done away with plastic goody bags which I guess is a good thing for the environment.  

After fueling up on kebabs, it was back to the motel for a last minute equipment check.  Having done 15+ challenges, it was pretty cool to pin on my silver number plate. This would be my 17th ride, the 15th on a unicycle, and 19th lap (I’ve done the 2 lap enduro twice on my bike).    You have to do 20+ for a gold number plate, so I’m almost there.

I went back to basics this year- a 36″ ungeared unicycle.  In past years I’ve ridden everything from an ungeared 36″, to a 24/125mm standard, to 29″ geared, 36″ geared, 29″/89mm and 700c/75mm.   The course is a shade under 160km, and has 1700m of climbing, so the unicycle has to handle the big hills, long flat straights, some vicious camber, and whatever the weather throws at you.   My fastest time was set in 2004, at 7hrs43min, on a 36″ unicycle with 110mm cranks.  The closest I’d come was on a 36″/145mm geared unicycle at 7hrs48min in 2011.  While gears are great for extra speed on the flat, the extra momentum is tricky to control on downhills, especially for a lightweight like me!

After spending much of the last 19yrs trying to break my 2004 record, I had resigned to the fact that my legs were exceptional that year, and I probably don’t generate as much power on as I did in my 20s. 

That was before I took a test ride on my new carbon unicycle. The wheel is 2.5kg lighter than my 2004 setup, and 2kg of that is in the wheel/rim/tyre where it counts the most, with the remainder in the pedal and cranks.  The new setup consisted of a carbon Braus rim/36″ Pollici TPU tube/Nightrider lite tyre matched to Quax 100mm cranks and AEST Ti pedals, instead of my old Airfoil rim/36″ butyl tube/TA tyre with steel Bicycle Euro 110mm cranks and the original Snafu pedals.

 It felt like riding a 29″ unicycle at 36er speed- I could climb with 100mm cranks where I would normally need 125s!   The equivalent of two crank-length increases in speed without extra effort.  Still, being 4yrs since my last challenge, it was a risk to go with 100mm cranks- something I would never have dreamt of using in 2004.

The other upgrades were the NNC flatfish seat and KH T-bar at full extension. It had taken me over 20yrs of distance unicycling to realise the comforts of a long extension bar, as I discovered during last year’s Tour Aotearoa. It meant less saddle pain and wasted time on crotch adjustment stops.  All this was bolted onto a solid but lightweight Triton titanium 36″ frame. I decided against using brakes- there are only one or two sections where a brake would be helpful. 

So, it was looking good, until the morning of the race, when our van wouldn’t start!  Our motel is16km from the start, so I was going to miss the 6.20am Group 9 start!  Thankfully, a nice chap who worked at the power station stopped to give me a lift as I tried to hitchhike to Taupo.   It turns out that our van key has an electronic chip which stopped working when I duct taped it together the day before!  My wife Anna got it working, but not in time to get to the start before I headed off. 

Being in the ‘slow’ group, it was great to be the first start of the day, 40min before the regular groups. It means getting to the finish without being the last riders in, and also much cooler weather. I can’t recall nicer conditions in many years- it was overcast, with temperatures in the teens. Just right.  The legs felt good and by the top of the first climb I was ahead of all the Group 9 riders. We played yoyo for a number of kms, with them flashing past on the downhills before I passed them again on the climb.  Just like the old days!

My trusty garmin was reading an average speed over 23-24km/hr, which was great on the first hilly section of the course.  The 100mm cranks were effortless on climbs, and super fast on the descents.  Better still, the nightrider tyre handled camber extremely well, so I could rest on the downhills instead of wrestling with the unicycle. By the time I hit the 40km mark, I was under target time, and I was hopeful of setting a new record.   I had a quick stop at the 70km drink station, but with a mistimed dismount ended up dropping my unicycle.  The long handle was pushed down slightly, giving me an uncomfortable angle.  The question was whether to fix this or get used to it!  I elected to do the latter, but it took a while to readjust.

On the Kuratau climb after the halfway mark, my legs were still in good shape, and I went up just fast enough to stay on without burning excess energy.  The descent was fun, but perhaps not as fast as I’d done in 2004 because the crosswind kept steering me off the road. I had my only UPD, when I was caught by a wind gust. Luckily no damage was done and I took it slow until the bottom.  By then, my average speed had dropped to just over 20km/hr. I had to make up time on the flat straight to Turangi, right into a headwind!  Unicycles are about as aerodynamic as a flying brick wall, but we make good windbreaks.  Despite many groups going past and giving me encouragement, there were few riders to draft.  

Heading around the Lake was fun- and there was just one last hill to go!  Hatepe isn’t particularly steep, but it is relatively long and comes late in the race.  I was determined to ride all the way up, so kept spinning gently to keep my legs going into the red.  Like previous years, I passed a lot of riders who weren’t expecting to see a big unicycle go past!

Once over Hatepe and it was onto the home straight, the legs were still good but I was unsure whether I was on track for the record. My garmin flashed a big ‘Low Batt’ note over the screen, obscuring my elapsed time, so it was anyone’s guess.  I decided that I had slipped behind record pace, so I just enjoyed the ride into Taupo.  While I don’t mind a bit of headwind, as I made the final turn into Taupo I was hit by a crosswind.  It was a little embarrassing as I flailed around like someone trying to learn to ride a unicycle.  The wind died off as the road went through the built up area, and then finally I was in the finish chute!  Better still, after stopping my garmin, I’d taken 15min of the old record, coming in at 7hrs28min!   Woohoo!

Anna and the kids unfortunately missed my finish- they weren’t expecting me to come in so early.  Ice cream for the kids and a tired unicyclist was the perfect way to end the day. 

The first thing I discovered about Tour Aotearoa is that the more stuff you carry, the harder it is. I ended up dropping a lot of excess gear (thanks to Mike Holland and Bryan Page, for posting them back to me!)

Packing list (crossed off items removed):

29″ Triton unicycle

Lowe Alpine Aeon 35L pack

3L hydration bladder

Unicycle.com carabiner

Macpac raincover replaced with Oxford reflective cover after North Island

Giro Radix MIPS helmet

Ergodyne sun brim

Dry bag and spare bags

Packable grocery bag

2x N95 and 2 surgical masks

6 clothes pegs

2 tent pegs

Duct tape

Rag and oil soaked rag

Leatherman Wave multitool

Gerber Cool Tool main tool removed, kept allen keys only

Ground Effect tool wallet

Lezyne pump

Toiletries- Colgate bamboo toothbrush, Gilette Fusion razor (handle removed, kept the blade only), 1/3 sensodyne tube, 3/4 Palmolive shave foam, bar of soap

Cocoa butter, sunscreen and insect repellent (Picaridin based)

spare tube and puncture kit

spare 4x AAA Energiser Lithium batteries for spot tracker

North and South Island Tour Aotearoa guide books replaced with PDF version on phone

Selfie stick what was I thinking???

Oakley Chamfer prescription sunglasses, Oakley Crosslink glasses, spare pair of old glasses

Lumia 500L bike light (replaced with lighter and brighter Giant Recon HL1100, Lumia helmet front/rear light, Knog Cobbler back light

Cables for charging

Cygnett 20,000mAmph/hr powerbank

Forty2 gloves

DHB Arm warmers, unknown pair arm sun guard sleeves

DHB Leg warmers

Route 7 ear warmers

North Face zip off cargo pants

Thermatech top

Adventure Unicyclist, Triple-0 and Louis Garneau cycling tops

Tour Aotearoa T-shirt

Fox ranger cycling shorts

Arsuxeo cycling shorts

2x 1x bike short inners (NZO active)

Underwear x 3 (x1)

Polyprop thermals

Kathmandu merino socks, Kathmandu Coolmax socks, Thorlo thin calf length ski socks

Mountain Warehouse Curlew shoes

Mac In a Sac Neon jacket (10,000mm/8000gsm)

Outdoor Research Helium Bivvy

Black Wolf Hiker 200 down sleeping bag (+8C comfort, 3C lower limit, -11c extreme)

Silk Sak sleeping bag liner

Macpac large pack towel

Wallet 2x bank cards, driver licence, 1x credit card

Samsung A52 phone

Kennett Bros Tour Aotearoa NI and SI guidebooks (swapped to PDF version on phone)

Total unicycle weight: 5.1kg

Total pack weight (without food/water): 8.6kg 5.1kg

Dropping 3.5kg made a huge difference to my long distance comfort- I was no longer getting sore shoulders, and I could last much longer in the saddle. I carried up to 2 x 750mL water in the pack, and a 750mL water bottle on the unicycle. On days with minimal water/ food stops (eg Big River trail, Queenstown to Mossburn), I carried 2x 1.5L water in my pack, and up to 500g food. In the first few days of riding, I drank far more than I could carry, but as we went further south, the weather became cooler and I ended up with excess water.

I was able to wash my riding clothes most days, which would dry overnight, so there is little need to have 3 cycle jerseys and 2 cycling shorts! I kept a second pair of socks, but it wasn’t necessary. It’s important to have non-riding ‘civilian’ clothes if you want a meal at the pub with clothes on, so I kept a pair of trousers and my Tour Aotearoa t-shirt. The pack towel is nice, but if you are staying in motels/hotels one is usually provided. Even when it isn’t, shaking yourself dry in 5min is preferable to carrying an extra 100g over 3000km.

I used the bivvy/sleeping bag on a couple of occasions, but my goal was to complete the TA under brevet rules, which is under 30 days. Some riders aim to be as self sufficient as possible, but I had to compromise on camping. In order to ride 100km+/day, it is important to have a good sleep/rest, so I stayed mainly in hotels/motels/B&B. The bivvy/sleeping bag was insurance- there were times where I considered sleeping on the side of the road because I didn’t think I would reach my accommodation. It could easily happen with mechanical issues, injury, or underestimating the time/difficulty of a particular section.

My primary navigation device was my Samsung A52 phone, running on the Vodafone network, which I also used to write this blog with! There are many areas in NZ with poor cellphone reception. Some riders have found the Spark cell network more extensive, so it may be worth having dual sim cards for the trip.

My android GPS app was Osmand, which has excellent offline capability. I had trouble getting it to follow the TA GPS track (it would make its’ own preferred cycle route), but it was otherwise easy to navigate- just make the blue dot follow the red line. If only high school orienteering had been this simple!

The Kennett Bros TA guidebooks are invaluable, but I ditched the books for the PDF version to save extra weight. It gives you navigation advice as well as tips like where food/water stops are. For speed/distance, I used an 8yr old Garmin Edge 200 cycle computer, which runs on GPS but has no navigation capability. With the combination of Osmand, TA guidebooks and cycle computer, my only navigation error was on Day 2, where I missed my accommodation by 2.5km because I cycled past it in the dark.

I used a 20,000mAmp/hr powerbank, but could have gotten by with 10,000mAmp/hr unless camping. My helmet mounted headlight worked poorly on gravel- the best place for a light is on on your handlebars because it casts a shadow over rocks/corrugations, giving you depth perception. A light above your head makes everything look 2 dimensional. I sent the more powerful bar mounted light home to save weight, but then picked up another when I reached Wellington. By then, my routine was pretty well sorted, so I didn’t end up riding much in the dark. For rear lighting- the 270 lumen Knog Cobbler has 330 degree cover and can be seen easily during the day. I turned it on for all busy roads/state highways. The other item I’m very pleased with is the Oxford bag cover. It is marginally small for my 35L pack, but has great visibility both day and night.

The 29″ Triton unicycle performed well, although swapping to a longer KH handlebar (after the North Island) helped spread the load and improved long distance comfort. The water bottle mount was helpful- it reduced the amount of water carried in my pack, and could be accessed while riding. I replaced my bearings at the end of the North Island, but should have started the ride with fresh bearings. The Triton titanium frame was flawless, and the only thing I didn’t have to worry about. My Vittoria Mezcal III tyre rolled well both on and off-road, with no punctures, but it may be worth going tubeless with sealant to reduce puncture risk further. The Nimbus VCX triple hole cranks (100/125/150) was lighter than carrying spare cranks/extractor but I only used 100mm for on-road and 125mm for off-road. On a 29″ ungeared unicycle, it would be good to have an 89mm option for flat riding, but there are no triple hole cranks with 89mm. The entire rig was very light (5.1kg without water), climbed well and handled off-road sections with little difficulty. I could attach equipment/bags to the unicycle, but would not want more than 2-3kg. There are tricky sections which cannot be fun on a fully laden unicycle…consider TA to be more a unipacking trip than a unitour.

We spent a couple of days in Bluff and Invercargill, just sightseeing without pedaling! We took Gryffin, my 3yr old to the transport museum, which is a pretty awesome place for a boy who loves trucks and diggers! Then it was off to visit the Lost Gypsy Gallery in the Catlins, featuring a whole lot of amazing automatons.

To complete my NZ journey, I needed to ride on Stewart Island. It’s one of those places you never go and always wonder what’s there! We flew from Invercargill to the Stewart Island in a 9 seater plane, landing on an airfield above the town of Oban. Most of the island is uninhabited, except for this settlement.

There is some great fishing there, and Anna caught enough to feed us for the entire trip! We took a walk on Ulva Island, seeing plenty of penguins, sea lions, albatross and other birdlife.

Anna hired a bike and trailer and we cycled around the town (there is only 20km of road in Stewart Island, so we saw most of it)!

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!

The ride starts at Walter Peak Station, on the other side of Lake Wakatipu. I joined a group of riders on a chartered barge, leaving at 8am. We arrived at Walter Peak about 40min later.  

It would a 100% gravel day, mostly along farm roads, but with some cycle trail thrown in. The route took us through a couple of high country stations- Walter Peak and Mt Nicolas, with absolutely stunning views.  There were plenty of photo stops. 

It’s over 100km between Walter Peak and Mossburn, so it’s important to carry sufficient food and water. I was weighed down again by 3.75L of water and chocolate milk, all of which I consumed by days end. 

There were some tricky corrugated sections, but the gravel was mostly well behaved. It does take a  lot of concentration when you’re spinning at 20km/hr without suspension and only one contact patch over loose ground. I was riding ‘in zone’ for much of the day, just focused on keeping the ship upright. 

The first 30km would climb from 300m to over 700m elevation, with the final 2km rising 200m. Sadly, the ‘Von Hill’ would be the last major climb of Tour Aotearoa!

A question I have been asked right from the start by various riders is why am I riding a unicycle. Mostly my reply has been ‘why not’? There are easier ways to see the country than on a unicycle, but equally the same can be said of a bike. 
The long answer is that it feels good. You have a connection with your machine, it’s an extension of yourself. On a bike or geared unicycle, there is drag and slop due to the drivetrain or gearing mechanism. Not so when it is direct drive. 

Another question that comes up often is whether I’m raising money for charity. In the past I have done, but these days I feel strongly that people should donate to causes they believe in, not because someone is doing something vaguely unusual or challenging.  

The nice thing about unicycling is that no matter what you take on, there is a good chance you will be among the first. I’m not the only rider to unicycle the length of NZ, but I’d be the first to do so via the Tour Aotearoa brevet. My goal is to complete it by the rules, which means under 30 days, unsupported, and to visit all photo checkpoints. 

Hopefully this inspires others to give unicycling a go, and shows unicyclists what is possible in terms of distance and touring. 

I finished the ride at Mossburn Railway Hotel, and had their absolutely enormous burger and chips for dinner. Happy tummy happy riding. 

Three more riding days! I had been looking forward to today’s ride for a while, because it takes in one of my favourite climbs, the Crown Range. When I say it’s one of my favourite climbs, I’ve only ridden it once, 15yrs ago,  but it left an impression!

After leaving Lake Hawea there was a nice cycle track following the river. The checkpoint photo was at the Hawea River bridge, 11km in. 
It was a fast, flowy gravel trail with amazing views all the way to Wanaka. The autumnal colours are my favourite, with the golden hues of poplar trees as they begin to drop their leaves. 

I made it to Wanaka in good time, so enjoyed another second breakfast at a local cafe. 
From there, a gentle climb along the Cardrona valley took us to the Cardrona hotel, an iconic picture stop (and second control point photo for the day).

The climb to the Crown Range started from the hotel. The initial 10-12km was fairly gentle, slowly rolling upwards through the incredible landscape. It wasn’t until the last 3-4km that the gradient started getting steeper, and then with 1-2km to go it became rather pointy upward. 

I was riding my 29″/100mm setup instead of 125mm or 150mm cranks. Back in 2007, I climbed over Crown Range from the Queenstown side on 36″/110mm. It was not only a massive total gear ratio, it was also a very heavy wheel, not the feathery carbon 29″ I’m using now. No way was I switching to long cranks…I’m competing against my younger self!  The gradient kept getting steeper, probably over 10%, but I slowly pedaled my way up without stopping. Finally, the summit came into sight, legs were burning, job done!

A fast downhill, then gravel section took us to Arrowtown. There was another cycle trail that would take us all the way to Queenstown.  I was getting pretty tired by then, and was looking forward to a Ferg burger (Ferg’s is a Queenstown institution). I finally arrived, had a quick shower  then went down to get a double beef burger at Fergs. Gotta be eaten to be believed…it was very tasty.  There is one more checkpoint photo, this time it can be anything in Queenstown. Hopefully my burger counts as a ‘thing’. 

Today’s ride over the Haast pass was something I had been looking forward to. There is nothing like a good road climb on a unicycle, and I remember a hair raising descent in the rain when I rode this pass in 2007. What’s fun going down must be equally fun going up!

It was going to be a long day, so I left at 0700 on the dot. The days are getting shorter, with daybreak coming about 7.15 instead of 7.00am. 

I was blasted by a strong headwind as the road took us into the hills. This time, I was bothered by it, as I wanted to make good time due to the distance. Unfortunately, unicycles have the aerodynamic properties of a flying brick wall, so it was bit of a fight. A few riders started close to me, so I tucked in behind for a draft. 
The wind stopped as soon as we entered the hills. Must be some sort of funneling effect!

It was a gentle rolling climb following the Haast River for the next 40km or so.  I was enjoying my ride, as the landscape become ever more spectacular.  The only downside was the significant road camber, which required effort to compensate. 

At the 50km mark, the road went skyward, we’d reached the aptly named ‘Gates of Haast’. It was a 350m climb over about 3-4km, then a gentler climb for 5km, then another kick upwards for the final km.  

I considered switching to 125mm cranks, but was doing OK with the 100mm, so it saved a few minutes fiddling with pedals at each end.  The 29″/100mm climbs well to about 5% gradient. It becomes a stand-on-pedal grind at 10%. Nevertheless, I passed a number of TA riders. A unicycle is light and has no drivetrain, so is very efficient at converting energy into motion.  

We reached the summit at 564m. Not a particularly high pass, but comes with a pretty solid climb. I took the checkpoint photo then spun my way down the hill, while the TA bikers whizzed past on their fancy schmancy freewheels!

Lunch stop was the Makarora Country Cafe at 82km. Seems the place to be, with over 20 TA riders sitting there having an extended break. 
I tucked into a very cheesy ham toastie, drank the chocolate milk, then went on my way.  The final 50km took us along Lake Wanaka then Lake Hawea, before turning in to the Lake Hawea township.  It was very picturesque and there were many unicycle photo stops along way. 

It was another beautiful day for a ride. We had been expecting rain on the West (aka wet) Coast, yet so far there had only been  light drizzle, which barely required a rain jacket. Not that rain is a bad thing- it brings out the colours, the waterfalls, the mist and adds to the experience. 

The famously voracious West Coast sandflies were fewer than usual, possibly due to fine weather, but nevertheless good insect repellent is essential. My best discovery as a result of TA is the non-DEET insect repellant picaridin. It doesn’t work quite as well, needing a larger amount to be applied, but that’s a small price to pay for something that doesn’t dissolve plastic. Given the amount of equipment that could be stained by DEET, it’s worth a try if you are riding in the West Coast. 

The kms ticked by quickly. I reached the Salmon farm in time for a second breakfast, then sped off for more of the same. 
I took in the scenic Knights Point lookout (checkpoint photo of the day), and the Haast DOC information centre (interesting and worth a visit), and still completed my ride before 3.30pm.

There are only four more riding days, but with a fair bit of climbing and distance. All set for the final push to Bluff!

The ride from from Whataroa carried on with more stunning scenery. The highway was lined with ferns, going through native forest and farms, misty mountains in the distance.  If there is one road trip every cyclist should do in NZ, this is it. 

I rode with a group I’d stayed with at the Whataroa hotel. It was a good pace for me, cruising at 17-20km/hr. We got to Frans Josef glacier about 10am. It was either a second breakfast or an early brunch, but either way, we tucked in hungrily at the local cafe. 

There were three fun climbs and descents between Frans Josef and Fox glaciers. Enough to give the legs a workout but not enough to require a change of crank length. 

For the non-unicyclists following my blog, an explanation on this. I am riding a ‘standard’ unicycle, which means no gears, no freewheel, and a fixed wheel size (29″). This is what I race nowadays. In the past, I raced unlimited unicycles, which can be geared, and be of any wheel size. The bigger the wheel, the bigger the gear, so most unlimited riders would use a 36″ wheel on the road. Likewise, many riders use hubs with shiftable gears (1:1 and 1:1.5 ratios). There are also freewheel unicycles, which are biggest thing in unicycling right now, but haven’t proven themselves in long distance touring yet. 

What I have,  a standard 29″ unicycle, is as basic as it gets. The drive is fixed. You pedal forward, you go forward, you pedal backward, you go backward. Brakes are allowed in standard class, but I figured that if I’m keeping things simple, I may as well leave them out. The only extra item I have is a handlebar. It’s the most basic wheeled vehicle (with the exception of ultimate and BC wheels), which is what appeals to me. If I wanted a freewheel or gears, I would ride a bike, which have better developed gearing mechanisms and ratios. 

That’s not to say my ‘standard’ unicycle is completely gearless. Unicyclists can alter the crank length to vary their cadence or their leverage. Short cranks allow you to pedal faster, while longer cranks allow more leverage at the expense of a lowered cadence/speed.  I am riding triple hole cranks, switching between 100, 125 and 150mm crank lengths by moving the pedal position and seat height. For the majority of TA, I have been on 100mm, except for off road sections (Timber Trail, Big River and coming down Maungatapu Saddle), when I used 125mm. I have not used the 150mm option. 

Back to riding…I arrived in Fox Glacier and rode up the track to the lookout. I was shocked at what I saw. Where has the glacier gone?  The last time I was here during the SINZ unicycle tour in 2007, we could walk to the glacier. Now it’s off in the distance, with warnings not to cross into the valley in case of sudden flood.  It’s retreating fast and perhaps my children will not get to see it before it’s gone. 

It was another 33km to my accommodation, the Pine Grove motel. It’s a rather random motel in the middle of nowhere, but handily located between Fox Glacier and Haast. The distance between the two towns is over 120km, which is a bit more than I wanted to ride today.