I was relieved and felt lucky to have found them, Matt helped me drag my made up tent to the site and helped me unhook a bungee strap that had gotten badly tangled in my front tire. When I had the strap unhooked and my site finally set up I realized how vulnerable I was being so new to this type of travel and how good it was to get some real help. I started connecting with Matt pretty well and he had no problem rolling cigarettes for me to smoke every so often, we chatted for quite a while which I noticed quickly involved him chatting, a lot, and telling a lot of stories that were interesting enough for me not to get upset about having to listen to for a lengthy bits of time. ... read more

I cycled pretty solidly until 16:30 and had my destination penned as a town called Invercargil, a 60 mile or so ride from Portland. I passed a van waiting to turn onto the road that reminded me of the one I'd had in New Zealand the year before for 4 months, I waved at the occupants. I rode a bit further and saw the van had driven up ahead of me and pulled over, when I got closer they waved me down. There was a man and his son who asked where I was camping that night, I really didn't know and it was getting close to sunset with ten miles to go so they offered to put me up in their home close by. I got nothing but good vibes so I agreed. They drove ... read more

That day was somewhat tough and in no way was it an advantage being on a bicycle, I passed through town after town of take away food places and the smell of fumes from the passing cars made me thinks that I wouldn't be missing much keeping a constant peddle all day. It began to rain lightly which I didn't see as a huge problem until it started soaking through my pants, I didn't want to break my momentum by digging into my rear panniers for my waterproof pants which I knew were buried in the bottom somewhere. I eventually routed onto a country road off the highway and pulled into a farmers market where a lady began cheering me as I pulled in. I left my drenched bike leant against a pole just at the ... read more

Time to catch up...I left on this trip over two months ago now and here is how the story began. After doing some gutter cleaning around Vancouver, BC with my buddy Shiraz for a few weeks, my van being sold and putting everything I own in Canada into storage I got my tour bike sorted at a small store in downtown Vancouver called Ride on again who gave me a pretty good deal. Compared to the prices and availability at other stores I saved a bundle, I didn't need to have the best tour bike on the market for my first trip I don't want to spoil myself, possibly because I'm a glutton for punishment I don't know...Riding a bike loaded with your life for thousands of miles is big investment looking back I wonder now ... read more