Bikes traded for a car

After cycling 4,500 km, and driving 3,800 km, our computer finally crashed so new post and pictures will be added once we return to Victoria (end of May).  We are doing well, Patti hurt her shoulder playing in the waves so we are now finishing the trip on 4 wheels and an engine.

Thursday March 18th 2010 - We cycled to Cathedral Cove, a 10 km ride to Hahei. Cathedral Cove is a super beach with a rock arch, a place for tourists...not to be missed. We are having a great day, playing in the water, soaking up the sun, body surfing. We are getting tired so we decided to take one last wave and surf to the shore and call it a day. Here comes the big one, I dove under it but Patti decided to jump in it so the wave took her strait down and she hit her right shoulder on the sand. The hit was hard enough that she felt a “crunch”. The first thing she said to me is, I hurt my shoulder!. We got out of the water and made it to the bikes. She rode down the hill to Hahei and ask for some ice at the Orange Restaurant. It doesn't look good at all for riding. Patti iced her shoulder and the owner of the restaurant, Lesley, gave Patti some anti-inflammatory cream (Arnica) to take the swelling down. We decided not to ride right away so we ordered a pizza for dinner. As I am getting the pizza, Lesley offered Patti a ride back to the campsite if she is not feeling right. As the time passed, she was not feeling right so she took the ride in Lesley's pick up truck and I rode back to the campsite. The shoulder is not getting any better and we were told that she should go to the hospital for x-rays.

The next day, we decided to go to the hospital. The closest hospital with x-rays is in Thames, 55 km from Hot Water Beach. This is where the Hot Water Beach Holiday Campground owner, Sharee, offered us a ride to Thames Hospital since she had to drive to Auckland. We accepted the offer and got a ride back to the campsite at the end of the day.

A day at the hospital the verdict – The end of the bike trip
No broken bones, Patti has what is called a Football shoulder' basically, a bruised AC Joint...something like that...Soft tissue damage...she is out of commission for the next 12 weeks which means, IT IS THE END OF THE BIKE TRIP! YEAK!

The day after – Riding in a car
After spending 7 days at the campsite, Patti felt well enough to move on. We found a car rental company and hired a 1996 Toyota Caldina for 31 days at $30.00 per day (insurance included). It is a wagon style car so we can fit the bikes and all the equipment inside. We are since, driving around, from Coromandel; to East Cape and where ever we will have the time to ride to. We are doing hikes along the way and Patti enjoys her beach time...man there are a lot of beaches along this coast!

Cheers!

Yves and Patti