London to Auckland

It’s winter in New Zealand at the moment so the footwear of choice is gumboots and that’s because it rains a lot. I don’t much care for rain, or the cold for that matter and that’s why I’ve planned the ride to be in summer all the way. In fact our biggest worry will be that it will get too hot. Through the Middle East we can expect temperatures in the mid 40s and higher 24 hours a day.

I’ve spent a lot of time checking out the historical weather patterns for the route and the departure date of August the 1^st 2010 is based on a desire to have the most favorable average weather conditions for the longest time.

Weather is one of our most important considerations and that’s why we asked NZ Met service weather Guru, Bob McDavitt to help us out. Bob is a veteran of campaigns like ours having previously helped out on two Americas Cup campaigns and Earth Race. Bob has kindly agreed and will provide opinions along the way as to the most favorable route to take on the day. To come up with this info he will use a plethora of data that is available to him and, his vast experience. Bob reckons that ‘weather is a mix of pattern and chaos’ and I can’t argue with that. Most people who have lived near a weatherman will have witnessed a time when the weatherman has hurriedly put away a barbecue as rain starts to pour down. This is a strong indication that no one really knows exactly how to predict the weather, but I’m confident that if anyone can do it, Bob can. Welcome aboard Bob.

No weather report would be complete without some personal ‘observations’ from the chief meteorologist, and since Bob’s not available right now that’s me, so here goes……………………Weather is an interesting subject. Perceptions of weather are relative. If you live in Antarctica 10 degrees is T-Shirt weather. When I lived in Alaska we used to ride mountain bikes in the snow and In temperatures around minus 10. Alaskans winge and complain when it gets above 20 degrees. If you live in Wellington a 60 knot gale is a refreshing breeze and in Los Angeles, if they get a couple of showers, the first ten minutes of the evening news talks about the storms that hit. The media love to talk about the weather and this can only be good news because it means there is nothing much else to talk about. As people get older they worry more about the weather and this is because there is nothing much better to worry about. A couple of years ago some fool invented the term ‘weather bomb’ and now anytime a squall passes through we are getting bombed.. And the strangest thing of all is that in America, most tornados ‘touchdown’ in a place called Tornado Alley. Why would you live in a street that is so dangerous? It’s beyond me.

Some things are capable of influencing the weather around them. Local weather effects can, and often do, override the macro weather patterns. Mountains have been known to do it…and people. For example, I know one guy who I work with who has a permanent rain cloud over his head even on the most brilliant days, I recently met a couple of Americans on a cruise who had their own personal weather systems, and I suspect that one of my taller friends is tall enough to affect the weather at least within 50 meters or so. Yes, we are surrounded by the weather and thankfully, that’s all I have to say on the matter. One of the things that I am grateful for is that when I fly I usually get high enough to be above the weather, but right now I’m not flying so I’m going to wander downstairs in my gumboots and have a few quiet reds. I guess that means, that tomorrow, I’ll be under the weather.

And by The way. In case you were wondering, tomorrow I’m predicting a few showers with fine patches, light to moderate SW winds and a chance of thunderstorms, hail and snow so slap on some sunscreen and don’t leave your umbrella at home.