Hey ho folks,
So some new news attack. Went grocery shopping and the lady asked me if she should put the food in the "trolley" i thought it was cute, yes i like using the word cute. shopping cart equals "trolley"
Have you ever had a meat pie? They are yummy. If you are ever in Auckland you have to eat at the cafe called "Revel" and you got to try the porrage or the museli which is the NZ term for granola.
The team is doing swell. We have all been smiling super big because we have bombed some amazing hills. Some of the hills we have to foot brake like all hell and run off on the shoulder because huge milk, logging or rock carrying trucks are threatening our lives but man it is such a rush. It is you vs the cars. Some times you just go for it, look over your shoulder get in your tuck and take up the whole lane and you are just racing the next line of traffic to come down the hill. You peer over your shoulder and bam here comes a mountain of cars coming at you but wait you are getting near the bottom you can make it before they catch you, you think. So you get a little lower in your tuck to get some extra speed and go for it. So much fun, you judged right, you get to the bottom pull of the road a bit and the cars go past. Some times you don't make it in time and cars go by so close you can touch them or you just be bold and signal them to hold off and finish bombing the hill.
Shoes have been taking abuse, Nat has worn through 2 pairs in 2 days. Chip seal pavement combined with steep hills and semis kills your shoes.
As far as camping goes, mostly ever night and it is so lovely. We camped at a camp site that smelled like poo and in the middle of the night you would get this huge wiff of it and i woke up with a sore throat. Also the campsite had these super loud ducks that would just wander around your tents yelling. I threw flip flops at them frisbee style and missed everytime but scared them off. It was fun.
The mental edge..... this kind of sums it all up. We have only been on the road for 9 days and it feels like 1 month. So much goes on mentally and physically, so much constant change and movement that time does fly by but when you look at the overall picture it goes so slow. We are slowly becoming machines, muscles are bulging, lungs are getting stronger and crappy pavement is conquered with daydreaming or mind power. We are excited for Kari's foot to heal so she can join the skate and get huge legs and muscles, mwa hahha. Also, the distance of 50k- 70k might not seem like a lot and yes it can be easily pushed but what makes this challenging is you got to do this distance day after day after day, and the conditions can just be horrible. It is this repetition that can break you but to help right after you get done skating, drink tons of water, and have a feast and then another and get rest. I love these trips because i can eat 3 dinners and not feel guilty because these dinners are rebuilding our muscles and shall be fuel for the next day. You can be cheap and try to save a bunch of money but it is really not worth it all the time, you need quality hardy food to keep you healthy. We all have been doing great eating lots.
The one fishy problem that comes about on a lot of distance trips in the past is we have run into problems with the support team. Sitting in a car all day can wear on ones mind and make them turn into man eating monsters. Not this support team. We have adopted the strategy that 2 people shall be apart of the support team and we are so lucky to have Kari and Julia apart of it. When Kari's foot gets better we will just all alternate driving and every driver shall have a buddy for company. We have also adopted the strategy that 2 people shall be skating on the road at once, so if Nat, Sheldon or I get tired, hurt what not we can opt to sit out a lege or a day. The goal is not for one person to skate the whole way, but for the whole team to make it to the end happy.
Girls in NZ are cute.
Kisses, Adam
