I have loved following your journey through reading your blog and seeing the amazing photos you have

Soaked in grime, frazzled and with only an inch of sunlight left in the sky we arrived in Auckland on Thursday 22 nd March and I still can t quite believe it. We haven t had time yet to talk about how we feel now that we have finished, so it just seems rather surreal right now. For over two years our thoughts and actions have been almost entirely swallowed up by this goal we set ourselves, and suddenly travel nurse jobs we are here! WAHOO! I feel like I can finally let out the huge breath I ve been holding for so long. We actually did it, phew.
I ve been trying to remember when we decided to attempt such a big cycle ride. Looking back now I realise I didn t actually have a bike at the time (but I could buy one) and hadn t actually ridden one in about ten years (pah! no matter) and actually, thinking about it, had I ever ridden further than a 5km radius from school? travel nurse jobs I clearly went through some sort of thought process, and used some sort of intelligent travel nurse jobs rationale to decide that, yes, I could ride a bike to New Zealand.
It has been so much more than I could have imagined. I feel like I have fallen in love with the world, and everyone in it. It s just so bloomin beautiful, and filled travel nurse jobs with extraordinarily generous people. travel nurse jobs Each country we ve visited has surprised us with its hospitality towards two crazy cyclists and I feel lucky to have learnt about so many different cultures first hand.
Our final days were spent cycling up the North Island to Auckland. The road out of Wellington was busy with no hard shoulder so we opted to cycle along the beach instead. The beach was deserted and we made good progress close to the waves where the sand was densely packed.
Approaching Wanganui we had a crazy headwind which made progress painfully slow, but we were staying with a friend s parents that evening and soon after arriving travel nurse jobs at their home we were surrounded by food, drinking wine and enjoying a wonderful evening – it made me think of all the days we ve spent slogging away with nothing but a tent for comfort life is so much easier with friends around!
The following day we d scheduled 120km to Ohakune which would normally be tolerable but there was huge amount of climbing to do so when we arrived 10 hours later we were barely able to speak our hectic schedule in New Zealand travel nurse jobs was catching up with us hard and fast. We stayed with Bruce and Bev who nursed us back to health with lots of food and rest, but we desperately wanted to have a day off.  Time was running out before our flights though, so once more we hauled ourselves back on the bikes the next morning and kept on going. The roads in this part of the island were beautiful, and the New Zealand sunshine even popped out from time to time.
We had places to stay throughout the North Island which was wonderful, but it also meant that we couldn t be flexible travel nurse jobs with our daily distances and when the weather took a turn for the worse we were left battling into strong headwinds and rain on more than one occassion. We were socialising every night and cycling every day so it was a bit difficult to recover and we have both been feeling pretty travel nurse jobs exhausted.  Fortunately in Cambridge we stayed with a few rowers who go to bed even earlier than us (!!!!) so that helped a little.
We had started to fantasise about the end by this point, with only a few days left to go. Much of the cycling over the last few days went past in a very wet and cold blur. Unable to look up from the hard shoulder and soaked to the core I probably travel nurse jobs missed out on some good views, but my memories are of the families we stayed with. We ve been so well looked after over the last few weeks, it would take the world s longest ever blog to detail every experience but we want to thank the following for their amazing hospitality: Justin Emma, Allan Liz, Bruce Bev, Harriet, Richard Rosie, Kristin, travel nurse jobs Emma, Rebecca Michael, Nancy Martin, Lorna Kate. What a list! And that s just for the North Island!
And so after a few days spent in Auckland, we left New Zealand last Monday. Ryan flew to a wedding in Arizona, travel nurse jobs while I had one last thing I wanted to do to make the trip complete. For those that have followed us from the start you might remember that I was gutted by a knee injury in Germany, and missed some cycling between Antwerp and Munich. I keep picturing my little tyre track trundling across the world map we carry with us and there is a little break at the beginning travel nurse jobs and I HATE it.
I know it seems stupid, but there you go, I m competitive and like to do things properly. So I made the choice to pedal back home from Munich. My Dad has heroically volunteered to cycle with me from Munich to Dusseldorf, so I m beyond travel nurse jobs excited about that (thanks Dad!) I get to spend some quality time with him AND fill in my missing tracks.
It feels fitting to pedal back home too, rather than flying and being collected from the airport travel nurse jobs in a car. I m meeting Ryan in Holland so we can have a few days cycling back to England together. We arrive back at my mum s house in Cambridge on the 21st April IT S PARTY TIME!
An achievement beyond words something so special that will be with you for ever my only sadness is the ending of the blogs you both write so well, with heart and an ability to make us feel with you for a moment but I ll happily trade them for having you home!
I have loved following your journey through reading your blog and seeing the amazing photos you have taken! I am gutted there will be no more!! It s amazing what you have done and i m sure it has inspired others!
What joy you must feel to have done it! Once again I was smiling as I read about your thoughts and feelings. And I m totally with you on filling in the gap on your way home complete respect for yourself and a determination to achieve your goal .Fantastic!
Maybe it was fitting that you had to tough it out in the last few days to Auckland. A tough end to a tough journey and a final chance to prove yourselves through to the end. We have all admired your endurance in the tough times, travel nurse jobs but more than that we have loved to hear about what you have gained throughout the planning and execution of such an epic journey.
I am absolutely sure that cycling the missing miles is the right thing to do. If you hadn t decided to do this I am certain that you would always wish you had you would have had that sense that you hadn t actually cycled all the way from England to New Zealand! And quite apart from that Ryan would have been able to say that he d ridden further than you!
Like Sue, I shall miss the blogs (until your next adventure). You both have a real way with words. You write with such passion, such humour, that you draw us into your adventure and we feel some of the emotions you experience.
I really do hope I get the opportunity to meet you both some time you are an inspiration to someone who would have loved to have had the courage, and the opportunity, to do something similar, but never did.
Many congratulations and I look forward to catching up in person soon. Really enjoyed following you on the blog and this final instalment in particular. Whatever the shape, or scale, of any of our adventures, there surely can be no better legacy than to have fallen travel nurse jobs in love with the world , and its people. Cheers
Congratulations to both of you on such an epic journey. travel nurse jobs Thanks for the blog and the pics. It was always an exciting day when they popped up in my inbox. I am sure there will be even more adventures (but maybe not as strenuous). Warm regards from Angela travel nurse jobs and Jim (Eucla Caravan Park)
A ginormous well done to you both reading and looking at your blogs along your journey has been quite inspirational and we were with you vicariously all the way!! Phew what an achievement and still speaking to each other at the end of it all.
Congratulations Ryan and Bex on your fantastic adventure!!! You must have learned more than you will ever be able to explain to anyone (except each other). Your trip is an inspiration to many many people. Really travel nurse jobs looking forward to meeting you both in person in England.
Congratulations I can t believe you have completed your epic journey, it seems like yesterday I started reading your blog and following travel nurse jobs you (I m sure it doesn t seem like that to you!) It was a pleasure to read all your posts and see your amazing pictures.
What an amazing adventure. You two are a wonderful inspiration to the rest of us. I am so going to miss your blog postings and texts that I m going to have to find another couple to stalk. So what are you going to do now?
i am speechless in my admiration and share your view of the world. I do know that your family and especially travel nurse jobs your mum have cycled the way with you and I am sorry I can t be there to welcome you back home. Very very well done on such a life time and amazing adventure. I can t imagine what you do now
Becks, I completely understand why you need to cycle the missing miles, sounds exactly like the sort of thing I would do!! I love the fact that you both said you wanted to cycle to New Zealand and then, in a relatively short period of time, went out there and did it. A lot of people are all talk but life is about experiences and you two have more extraordinary ones now than most people accumulate in a lifetime, congratulations!! Can t wait to catch up when you re back xxx
bloody fantastic,loved reading your blogs and looking at your pictures,i only do small 3-4 day tours, all in the uk,as i have family commitments,but you and your boyfriend (husband travel nurse jobs soon to be i am sure),have and will inspire me to keep going for years to come.
Congratulations on reaching the end Ryan and Bex what a great adventure use have had! Im glad you ve made the decision travel nurse jobs to ride those last miles, and I ve included it in my latest blog. Im crossing over to France on the bike on the 19th, so if our routes are close it would be awesome to meetup (I ve probably got a million questions for you!)
I got my first touring bike after years of backpacking around the world, hope to live close to nature while exploring