Days 1

St Arnaud: 10pm Sun. The first leg round to Picton took quite a few of us by surpise and has changed expections quite a bit. The heat and the hills made it slow going with a few riders showing signs of heatstroke. I was lucky enough to get two punctures early on which put me towards the back. The cause was thorn from the beach path and I had to make sure I got the remains of the thorns out of the tyres. At least 10 others got flats too. I made the call not to chase hard as it really was very hot. later on I hooked up with Jo and Chris at Picton, and then Bill and Gordon at Havelock so the ride to Pelorus was social, We got there before dark and no one was keen on going on, so we had a lovely swim in the river and then slept under the stars. This Brevet thing might just be hard work!