Luke Yates Adventure 
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Triathlon; swim, bike, and then run. Not three separate sports. One sport. Three disciplines. Never has that been more apparent to me than after Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz this weekend. It was, to put it bluntly, a total shit show.
After 324 days away from home and more than 18,000 kilometres cycled on two continents, I was left with just 60 km into New York City. I spent my last night at the Beaver Pond campground in the Harriman State Park. My final meal was a packet of dehydrated Thai green curry that I had carried with me since Perth. It had been my backup meal for the whole trip but I… Read More
Crossing into Southern Ontario from Manitoulin Island was like arriving in a different world. After nearly a month of remote roads and 100 km between small towns, I was suddenly hitting villages and shops on a regular basis with traffic everywhere. There were still a few opportunities for a little bit of wild exploration though and on my first day off the ferry I took one of these and camped in the… Read More
I had a very enjoyable and relaxing week off the bike in Nipigon. I had been feeling increasingly exhausted travelling through Northern Ontario so to have a roof over my head and a bed for a few nights was very beneficial. It was great to spend some time with Claire and it was awesome to get out for some good hiking and to meet her friends in the town. By the time… Read More
Winnipeg was a great spot to take a day off. The hostel was a little odd and could have certainly done with a clean out, but it did the job of putting a roof over my head and giving me a bed in the city for a couple of nights. I had a few jobs that I needed to get done in the city and supplies to pick up. I also was… Read More
Heading into Calgary was a strange feeling. It felt like the last huge challenge of my trip was behind me, having crossed the Rocky Mountains. I’d hit the highest point on my trip and was leaving the bears and wolves behind for a while. But there was also a very palpable sense of sadness. My favourite moments from the whole trip have been in the mountains of British Columbia and the South… Read More
It was with a sense of growing trepidation that I landed at LAX airport. Looking out of the window I could see the heaving sprawl that is LA and had just flown over more people than live in the whole of New Zealand. I didn’t really want to get off the plane to be honest. New Zealand had become so comfortable. America by contrast seemed big, uninviting and just a little scary. … Read More
Having battled my way down the West Coast of South Island and across the Haast Pass I allowed myself three days in Wanaka. I was meeting friends from the UK and also from Canada (having met in Auckland) in Queenstown a few days later so was in no rush by this point. They are only separated by 70 km so it would just be a day of cycling to get between the… Read More
I left Wellington with a feeling of unbelievable excitement building inside me. The North Island is a wonderful place, but it really struggles to match the South. The scale of the mountains, the remoteness and the possibilities for adventure are just endless. I disembarked from the ferry in Picton with Christian and Marlena but after a good lunch, it was time to head our separate ways. It had been great to have… Read More
I found leaving Gisborne very difficult. The help and hospitality of neighbours Leigh and David combined with the comfort of having had my own house for three days courtesy of Lorraine and Brian Wilks had lulled me into a very secure position. The feeling was similar to leaving Auckland, but for some reason even worse. As before, I knew that I could do it. I had just 97 km planned for that… Read More
Luke Yates Adventure 