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Published: January 30th 2010
AC / DC in Wellington
The Interislander ferry was carrying hundreds of bogans back to the South Island - after their visit to Wellington to see AC / DC play the first of their two concerts in the capital. The black t-shirt wearing brigade sported a variety of tattoos - most of them ugly - but were in good spirits after what the fans said was a fantastic performance. The trip across Cook Strait carried the sweet smell of cannabis on the outside decks and many of the fans were still enjoying a liquid diet. They were in cheerful mood and the party rocked on into the night. One Bump Too Many
Another baggage handling problem has disrupted Feral Mike's cycle tour of New Zealand - this time at the start of part two of the journey, the South Island.
At a hastily called news conference in Wellington, he told a cluster of excited journalists that on this occasion it was the handlebar bag which caused the problem. Last time, at the start of the tour, it was the front panniers which fell off.
Feral Mike said,"I hit a bump in the road, there was a bang and the bag was hanging off the handlebars. Last time I used a file and some cable ties and managed to reattach the panniers. This time it wasn't so easy."
"Contains My Life"
The bracket holding the handlebar bag broke under the strain of an overfull bag. Feral Mike said "it contains my life - wallet, camera, netbook, glasses and so on. Every time I stop I unclip the bag and take it with me. But it's impossible to fix and needs a replacement bracket.
Race Against Time
"I tore around Wellington in the few hours before I caught a ferry to Piction, trying to
Bust
Two tiny pieces of plastic gave way on the bracket, and the bag fell forward. A piece of shock cord stops its from falling off altogether, but it's not even a temporary solution. get a replacement. But I couldn't find one in stock."
Instead, one cycle shop has promised to order a new bracket and have it delivered to Nelson early next week.
"I wasn't going there at this stage of the trip. But now it looks as though I am," Feral Mike said. "It's over a 100 k from Picton, where I am now, but never mind. When I was a teenager we once drove from Whangarei to Auckland on a Friday night to get a hamburger."
Balancing Act
He said the trickiest part of the incident was riding through Wellington in rush hour with the bag swinging from his neck, upsetting his balance on The Beast of Burden.
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Melanie Nutbeam
non-member comment
Equipment Drama
Hi Mike Terrific to see you're back on the road again and I'll look forward to hearing more. Bad news about Judy's fractured leg - will have to find out how this happened. Meantime I'm having equipment drama of my own. I fly to Johannesburg on Friday night and from there to Tanzania to climb Mt Kilimanjaro with my friend Kate. We're on the mountain for 6 nights and do our final ascent to 5,895m on Valentine's Day (coincidence, and a pity Kate's not a handsome bloke!). So, like you, I'm trying to work out the weight vs comfort/usefulness balance. Frustrating and exciting, plus worries about coping with altitude ... at this stage a bikini, sarong, and good book seem like much better holiday options! Good luck on the next leg and I'll be waving to you and Judy ... if I knock the bugger off! xx