Tell Me Another One

The difference between a good cycling trip and great one is the leadership and guiding.  Wrangling eighteen very different people, through rides, hotels (we will have slept in twenty hotels by the time our trip is over), and sites is a daunting task.  Feeding the hungry beasts even more so.
In come Bas and Sean, from Adventures South NZ - a dynamic duo full of expertise, information, and amazing stories.

Bas is a Renaissance man with a strong love of history, politics, and basically mankind.  Sean is a wealth of knowledge in all things Maori, flora, fauna, and the planet.  Bas has cycled around the world, Sean has served in the military with many tours of duty - thank you Sargent Major.

These two planned and plotted (with the help of the home office, Sandra) and gave us a trip of a lifetime.  All with humor and grace - even when the situation didn’t necessarily deserve it.  With their experience, they were able to adapt and adjust our rides to accommodate interests and abilities.  They cared for us - like really....that’s big.

They were the type of guides that made you want to go back and do more research on the subject, learn more because it was so darn interesting.  Besides everything I learned about New Zealand, it’s people, history and environment, it’s the storytelling that will stay with me.

Both Bas and Sean wove tales that made you laugh, wonder or both.  If I  had heard a story without Jeff around, I would hold onto it until a particularly nasty climb ( plenty to chose from), and retell it - while trying to breathe.  (It kind of reminded me of labor, and being distracted by a focal point, but let’s not go there.).  Anyway - this ones for you - Bas and Sean...cheers mates.

Sean left, Bas right...thanks to Sally for the photo