London to Auckland

In memory of Agnes Robertson

The team hasn’t really seen each other since leaving London; predictably the riders are way faster than the support crew! Still, we managed a little catch-up in the pub, had a bit of a yell at each other and ended up happily talking through various issues. As a result, team morale is high.

It’s also high because we’re on schedule. That’s unusual and we’re enjoying it now, because who knows when we’ll be on time again.

We’ve had a good ride on the Rhine; conditions are pretty good, though the river is flooded in parts.

We had a great welcome from the Dutch city of Nijmegen which will be remembered for a long time.They had a fire boat spraying water high above the river and put on a great morning tea. Thanks to Bill Holdsworth and Steve Sobot for organising this.

After that we stopped in Cologne and Frankfurt and were greeted by a tonne of media, including five camera crews. It took us an hour to get through all the interviews in each place. The coverage has been brilliant and people are starting to recognise us en route, which is very cool.

The German Childhood Cancer Foundation has also been very supportive and Travis and I made a visit to a local children’s cancer hospital – the good, if serious, reminder of what the Ultimate Ride is all about.

It’s prime camping season now, being the German summer, so we’re having to slow down to avoid pissing people off. We’ve been through about 10 locks and we’re keen to get through as many as we can tomorrow (Tuesday) with a target of around 24. They’ll be 60 locks in total. Later….