Kentish Express Ashford & District
Epic ride finished just in time before borders close
An avid cyclist has crossed New Zealand by bike in just over 26 days.
Harry Rainbird from Godinton, Ashford, took on the Tour Aotearoa challenge after coming top of his graduating maths class at the University of Bath.
His daily ride to university - which saw him riding up a steep hill on a bike with no gears - made him think he could do it.
The bi-annual brevet sees cyclists travel the length of the two islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff, taking a number of routes with differing terrain and inclines.
One of 716 cyclists, the 22-yearold set off on February 22 as part of a group who called themselves ‘The Slow Saturdays’ due to a faster, more experienced group who started on the same day.
He said: “The journey was absolutely amazing. Obviously, it was physically demanding and tough. You end up spending a lot of time with the same people and go through highs and lows together, so you really do make friends for life.
Throughout the journey, accommodation was not always a given. A list of places he slept includes a shipping container, boat house, a motel floor, a tent, hostels, private cottage and a friend’s floor.
Mr Rainbird said: “One of my worst memories of the trip was any night in my bivvy bag - a bivvy bag is an outdoor sleeping bag.
“It’s much lighter than a tent and saves a lot of weight but means you have to sleep with your face exposed to the elements/wildlife. ain, mosquitoes, rats, sand flies, bright lights.
Something different kept me awake every night.”
Mr Rainbird - who hopes to return to do Bath to complete a PhD in September specialising in Algebraic Geometry said: “As one of the youngest on the Tour, I was treated very well by the older guys with higher budgets than me. The average person on the tour was probably a 55-yearold male.”
Finishing the route in 26 days, he couldn’t savour the experience for too long.
Despite planning on staying in New Zealand for a while longer, news of coronavirus had started spreading.
He saw that countries through which he’d have to transfer had started closing their borders.
“I heard rumours that New Zealand was about to go into lockdown and decided just to try and get out.
“I called my family and had everyone on the phone to a different airline. Eventually my sister found one via Canada.
“The journey was also 50 hours door-to-door. The day after, New Zealand announced that everyone had to stay home. Those still doing the Tour had to stop and go home. I was extremely lucky.”