My build-up to the tour was mixed to tell the truth. My training plan had worked well. I had managed to crank out a number of big weeks back to back and also ride the Waikato river trail as part of my training plan. Resting the 2 weeks leading up to the tour ended up working well and I felt really refreshed when I started.
I'd also had a bike fit done in November and I'd had no knee ligament issues since even though I was doing a lot of cycling.
I took what I had done and learnt from the Kiwi Brevet in 2015 and tweaked,changed and kept what worked. The training rides are useful to test that your setup works and the bike is comfortable.
The major mods were adding custom spacers (built by my flatmate) to the aerobar arm resters in order to raise me up about 60mm when using them thus making my back and neck less bent and so I would be more comfortable when using them. This ended up being the most important change I would make to the bike.
I also decided to go tubeless 3 days out from the start. After visits to 2 different bike shops we'd managed to make the tyres stay up and not leak air.
The day I left for the tour I also bought a new pair of specialized MTB shoes, another purchase which was invaluable, since my current shoes didn't really fit properly and were a bit soft.
Basically I had a massive weekend prior to leaving on the Monday and pulled everything together and packed all my gear. I was as ready as I could be but it was a complete stress zone as I had hoped to be ready,tested and sorted much earlier in the play but due to more important commitments the tour prep needed to have a back seat for a bit.
I'd also organised a friend to drive us up to the start and had gathered 6 other TA riders who were in need of a ride so plenty of organisation had been done prior to getting to the start line, not to mention having a fund-raising BBQ in order to introduce people to the aspects of the ride and also raise money for CAP, which was my chosen charity to ride for.
I'd also had a bike fit done in November and I'd had no knee ligament issues since even though I was doing a lot of cycling.
I took what I had done and learnt from the Kiwi Brevet in 2015 and tweaked,changed and kept what worked. The training rides are useful to test that your setup works and the bike is comfortable.
The major mods were adding custom spacers (built by my flatmate) to the aerobar arm resters in order to raise me up about 60mm when using them thus making my back and neck less bent and so I would be more comfortable when using them. This ended up being the most important change I would make to the bike.
I also decided to go tubeless 3 days out from the start. After visits to 2 different bike shops we'd managed to make the tyres stay up and not leak air.
The day I left for the tour I also bought a new pair of specialized MTB shoes, another purchase which was invaluable, since my current shoes didn't really fit properly and were a bit soft.
Basically I had a massive weekend prior to leaving on the Monday and pulled everything together and packed all my gear. I was as ready as I could be but it was a complete stress zone as I had hoped to be ready,tested and sorted much earlier in the play but due to more important commitments the tour prep needed to have a back seat for a bit.
I'd also organised a friend to drive us up to the start and had gathered 6 other TA riders who were in need of a ride so plenty of organisation had been done prior to getting to the start line, not to mention having a fund-raising BBQ in order to introduce people to the aspects of the ride and also raise money for CAP, which was my chosen charity to ride for.
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