Tour Aoteroa Final Update: 11 Feb 2016

Hi folks,

This is it, the final update before we meet at Cape Reinga. Here I’ll repeat the brevet rules, announce the open homes and a few important items including the final course.

Safety First

Tour Aotearoa is not a race and there is no race course. No roads are closed, there are no safety barriers, and no one you meet is expecting you to be racing.

You must obey all road rules, and ride carefully on all the trails, which may have other riders around any corner.

Rules for Tour Aotearoa 2016
1. Do it all yourself, under your own steam.
2. Carry all your own gear (i.e. no domestiques, unless you are part of a team).
3. No outside support (deliveries only to public addresses or open homes, no support from friends along the way, no support vehicles of any kind meeting you along the way to provide supplies).
4. Follow 100% of the route (side trips are fine, of course).
5. You must carry a Spot Tracker (or have at least one per team).
6. You must not complete the course in less than 10 days. (This event is not about finding the fastest rider).
7. You should finish in under 30 days (that’s 100 km per day).
8. Between 9am one day and 9am the next, you must spend at least one block of at least six hours not travelling (except time on a boat which does count as “not travelling”). The maximum time any rider may spend travelling along the course will be 18 hours (between each 9am-to-9am period).
9. When on public roads, follow the NZ Road Rules.
10. There are 30 photo control points in leiu of text-ins. Photos must be saved and sent to Maprogress or the Kennett Brothers.
11. Take only photos, Leave only tyre tracks.

12. Have fun 

Photo Control Points

Attached with this email, and included with the GPX/KML files, and shown on the website are the 30 photo control points.

Stop at each point and take a photo to prove you were there and have as a photo album after your ride.

Ride briefing and tracker pick up

When and where will I pick up my tracker?

At Cape Reinga, 2 hours before each start you can pick up your spot trackers from Tony and Shane, and discuss any final issues with me (for the first wave), or one of the other experienced riders for waves two (I suggest Stu Smith) and three (I suggest Mondo Kopua).

Tony at SpotNZ still has some trackers for hire. If you have yet to get one, do it now.

Start times at the Cape

	Start Time	Low tide on beach	Kaipara Boats
First Wave 118 riders	12 noon, Sunday 21 Feb 2016	3:37pm Hard sand 1:30-5:30pm	Aim to get boats on Mon and Tuesday
Second Wave 104 riders	2pm, Tuesday 23 Feb 2016	4.55pm Hard sand 3-7pm	Aim to get boats on late Wed and Thur
Third Wave 45 riders	2:30pm, Wednesday 24 Feb 2016	5:30pm Hard sand 3:30-7:30pm	Aim to get boats on Thurs and Friday

Beach Riding Tips

Use a dry lube for day one, down the beach.

Shane Davidson will be waiting at Ahipara with a pump, a chain and bucket of cleaning gear for those that wish to stop and clean their bikes, or swap chains.

Kaipara Harbour Boat

The Kaipara Harbour boat takes up to 30 riders. It is only during the fishing charter on the Sat that it can only take half a dozen riders.

The captain will relay takeaway orders to a good Helensville Fish n Chip shop for riders on the evening crossings (the shop will stay open late for TA riders).

Helensville Accommodation

TA riders can stay at the Kaipara Cruising Club in Helensville (84 Mill Road, SH 16) for $5 a night. Sleeping is on the floor, and there is a kitchen, toilets and showers.

Free Coffee in Picton

John Reuhman is shouting every Tour Aotearoa rider a complimentary coffee at EcoWorld Picton Aquarium, 100 metres south of the Interislander terminal on your left.

The Tour Aotearoa route is final!

The final GPS files are now available for the TA route here: http://www.kennett.co.nz/maps/tour-aotearoa/files/

The Tour Aotearoa course is described in full detail in the third edition of Classic New Zealand Cycle Trails, which is available from bike shops, book stores and online from us (www.kennett.co.nz) or Ground Effect (www.groundeffect.co.nz). I strongly recommend you get a copy as it has all the info you need to do the tour.

We will send a free pdf of the TA content to anyone tour rider who has a copy, just email:
paul(at)kennett.co.nz

Erik Westra has just bought out final cue sheets which are available here:   https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jw5h8cqcui418tp/AAAHdCrO_M8l6ANI-XPoK29ka?dl=0 in several page layouts. These are the very latest so swap them for any older ones you may have previously downloaded. Thanks Erik.

Erik’s cue sheets are based off our GPS track. If you find a difference between them – follow the GPS track.

Register at Maprogress

Just a final reminder that everyone needs to register their tracker at https://touraotearoa2016.maprogress.com/event/join whether you buy/hire your tracker from them or not, so that you appear on the Tour Aotearoa website map, and your photos get logged too.

More information available at http://www.touraotearoa.nz/p/mission-critical-info.html

The photo points can be found here:
http://www.kennett.co.nz/maps/tour-aotearoa/files/Tour%20Aotearoa%2020160211%20Photo%20Points.pdf

If you have any questions, please ask me or other riders on the TA facebook page. And when I’m out riding, you can contact Paul Kennett on 027 442 1055, or email paul(at)kennett.co.nz

Good luck everyone!

Jonathan Kennett