I had a great day

My chip time was 3:59:31 - so I was thrilled to meet my goal of sub 4 hours

I had never been on the Queen Charlotte drive on a bike or in a car - the hills were tougher than I was expecting but the views were spectacular.

The nor' wester got up pretty early in the day too which made it tough in patches - but the tail wind from Havlock into Renwick was great. I had actually given up on breaking 4 hours at Havlock and sat on the back of a slowish bunch for a while - till the wind took me home.

We shared accomodation with Pip and her husband and it was neat to share the experience with another TEer.

I haven't decided yet whether to go back next year (if I hadn't met my time goal there would definitely have been unfinished business to deal to) but I'd fully recommend it to any kiwis or anybody who can find there way to be there.