Shedding wisdom

Ladies and gentlemen, it's now time to announce my next major bike tour. Having enjoyed New Zealand's south island so much in 2006, I've decided to return in November of this year, but this time to do the North Island. I haven't finalised a route yet -- that won't happen until I actually arrive in the country and start riding. However, I intend visiting Auckland, the Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua, the East Cape, Taupo, Tongariro National Park, Wellington and anything else I get time to do. I'll write a lot more about this in the time leading up to it, three months won't pass quickly enough as far as I'm concerned.

One thing that never changes is the traditional "pre-tour calamity", the thing that always goes wrong just before a tour starts. I won't write a full list now (because there's one in the archives if anyone cares enough to look for it), but in the lead up to previous tours I've had crashes, old injuries flaring up, been hit by cars while riding and several other things that I'm too lazy to list now. None of these have stopped me of course, but I'm not looking forward to having three wisdom teeth removed on September 17. It will leave plenty of time to recover physically (if not financially) for the tour, but I've also agreed to join a group climbing Mt Warning four days later. Interesting times ahead.

Still, it's all worth it for experiences like this.