6 minute read
BIKING THE OLD GHOST ROAD
There is a particular breed of people that enjoys biking 85 kilometres, slogging it out over three hot days on advanced grade five trails. We meet Sue Paterson who did such a trail last summer.
Fifty-five-year-old New Plymouth local Sue Paterson says she never thought she would do the Old Ghost Road. She knew it was infamous for being a difficult and technical track, but also appreciated that it was set within a glorious part of the West Coast. Situated in the Kahurangi National Park, the track starts at Lyell, an old gold mining town where the only remaining marker is the cemetery. The track itself is a long-forgotten gold miner’s road that has been revived as a mountain biking and tramping trail, administered and maintained by a non-profit organisation. It takes two to three days on a bike and four to five days by foot.
Each year, Sue and her husband Dean take their campervan from New Plymouth down to the South Island for an explore. On one of those trips, her husband cajoled her into biking to the first hut of the track so she could see how beautiful the area really is. Sue spent the first three and a half hours almost continually heading uphill, but once she arrived and recovered something clicked, and before too long the couple had booked their hut accommodation for the following year.
THEN CAME THE PLANNING
Already fit, Sue thought she would do an internet search on the best exercises for cycling and it came up with ‘core’. If you hold your centre, it makes for more efficient cycling as well as taking the strain from your back. Sue found a challenging class at her gym and set about strengthening her core.
Sue wasn’t new to cycling. Living in New Plymouth, her backyard offers many opportunities to enjoy a spectacular bike ride. She sought out as many steep hills as she could find, biking up one side, down the other, and then repeating. As well as core work she also did some extra training in the gym.
The couple didn’t load their bike with panniers, instead they spread the essentials-only load between a handlebar bag, a rear carrier, and a light daypack. A number of businesses support those who bike and tramp the Old Ghost Road, so Sue and her husband hired sleeping bags that were waiting for them in the hut in order to cut down on the bulk they needed to haul.
Keeping their packs to the minimum, Sue and Dean chose to eat freeze-dried meals: beef bourguignon one night and mediterranean lamb and black olives the other. Toast and coffee made up breakfast, and lunches were peanut butter sandwiches. Some fruit was included as well as some ‘just in case’ food, which proved useful when she discovered a weka had opened the small bag on the front of her bike and nicked off with her scroggin and brunch bar.
Then of course there was diabetes to include in the trip. Over the three-day trip, she took two insulin pens in case her pump was damaged, a blood testing kit in case her CGM was not working, a spare insertion set in case it was ripped out, and Glucagon. With technology being such a game changer, she needed to be prepared, so had her pump and reader fully charged, and she also brought along a charger pack as a backup.
If you are new to multi-day bike journeys and would like to embark on one, then remember to first talk to your specialist doctor or nurse.
EPIC RIDE
Sue says the whole trip was an epic ride but that every day was challenging in its own way. The first half of day one involved reliving that three-and-a half-hour climb her husband had conned her into doing the year before. On day two, the initial part of the track turned into an expert grade five ride. There were tight switch backs on the edge of a bank, which she says you wouldn’t want to take too quickly or else you’d go over the edge. This is when her nerves kicked in and her blood sugar levels rose accordingly. Sue credits her smart watch for ease of checking her levels. Being able to check numbers in a glance with a wee turn of the wrist meant not having to take her hands off the handlebars or continually stop the bike to do a blood test, do a scan, or check her phone.
If you are exercising six to eight hours a day, blood sugar levels can drop afterwards and continue through the night. At the end of the day, the pair stayed in the main trampers huts, but sleeping closely to others meant Sue was keenly aware of trying not to rustle bags when she needed to find a top-up in the middle of the night.
‘YOU CAN DO THIS’
The second day provided time to get off their bikes and push. One of the highlights of the track is the Skyline Steps: a 60-metre plummet via 300+ steep steps. This involved carrying their bikes down, another good reason to not have their bikes weighed down with panniers and non-essential gear. After coping with these stairs and a few other steep downhill areas, the couple’s hands and shoulders were well exercised.
The final day was only 17 km, and Sue says by that third day of biking she felt great. The uphill climbs eventually came to an end, making it all much easier and stress-free, and this also allowed Sue’s blood sugar levels to be at good levels. Two hours later, they were out and tumbling into an open-air riverside shower for a well-earned wash.
Asked if Sue has any extra advice for those with diabetes wanting to do a hard ride, she says, ‘Don’t let diabetes be an excuse for not taking on a challenge – you do need to plan more and make necessary adjustments to factor in the diabetes – but there is a sense of accomplishment knowing that you can overcome a challenge despite being someone with diabetes.
‘There certainly was a feeling of accomplishment when I crossed the finish line. I knew it was going to be hard but the whole way I just kept telling myself, “You can do this. You are doing this. You are going to finish.”’
CYCLING THE OLD GHOST ROAD
• Day users are free, but you do need to book if you are staying out for the night.
• You can book private sleepouts, hut bunks, or tent sites.
• For bookings and more info, go to oldghostroad.org.nz
