Services List

Planning and enjoying your ride is going to depend a lot on wise use of the services along the way. So here's the start of a list of them. What you still need to find out is when they open & close, what they offer (and at what cost), and if bookings are required.

Chances are that you'll get to a small town just after closing time at some stage in your ride. If you are in tour mode (riding well within your limits) you might have the energy necessary to push on to the next town. But if you plan to ride into the small hours, you'll want to have a sleeping bag and spare rations tucked away.

Please let us know if there are services en route that are missing from the list.
If you want the contact details for these businesses a google search, or call to the local info centre or 018 directory should do the trick.
Note that most towns also have a service station.

I'm not sure how cutting and pasting an Excel file is going to work - it looks great before I press post (which makes me very nervous). If it's crap, email me and I'll send you the file.

Distance	Location	Services
0 km	Blenheim	all
	Waikawa	dairy
58	Picton	food, accom
	Momorangi	cafe
	Linkwater	service station
89	Havelock	food, accom
	Canvastown	hotel
	Pelorus Bridge	cafe
143	Nelson	all
	Stoke	all, ex hospital
	Richmond	all, ex hospital
	Brightwater	food
	Wakefield	food
233	St Arnaud	food, accom
297	Murchison	food, accom, hospital
	Maruia	cafe, accom
373	Springs Junction	cafe, accom
416	Reefton	all
	Big River	hut
491	Blackball	hotel, accom
553	Jacksons	hotel
	Otira	hotel
588	Arthurs Pass	food, accom
	Bealy	hotel
	Flock Hill station	food, accom
	Springfield	food, accom
679	Sheffield	food
	Wharfedale	hut
	Hurunui	hotel
	Culverden	shops, hotel
859	Hanmer Springs	all, ex hospital
	Awatere Valley	B&B
1064 km	Blenheim	all

Some Useful Links, a budget, & a Schedule

So, in the interests of seeing 100% of starters actually finish, here's some info you might find handy.

The Great Divide race
David Blaines GDR blog
http://www.ultracycling.com/
The Tour Divide site
Bike Packing
Rough Stuff Fellowship

Warning! There's some really interesting reading in those links - take care not to let it get in the way of your riding!

If you are thinking about a budget for the Brevet, you first need to work out what gear you will take. After looking at the links above, Googling 'great divide gear list' will give you more to think about. Or you can look for the gear list on my Great Divide Kiwi blog. I'll probably carry a very similar load of gear (minus the overmitts, booties, anti-biotics, sun umbrella, and shower caps).

Once you have your gear sorted, what will the event cost you to complete? Here's my estimate:

Travel to the start/finish - $100
Accomodation (six nights in a backpackers) - $180
Extra Food than normal - $200 (plus normal expenditure)
Bike repairs/replacements (tyres, chain, brake pads, etc) - $350
SPOT nav-tracker hire - $65
Koha - $50
Misc (anit-flammes, sunblock, batteries, etc) - $100

Total - roughly $1045

Next up I was having a think about an 8-Day Finishers schedule - what're the minimum distances to aim for each day? Something like this perhaps:

Sat (noon start) - Blenheim to Havelock - 90 km
Sun - On to St Arnaud - 144 km
Mon - On to Springs Junction - 140 km
Tues - On to Jacksons - 180 km
Wed - On to Wharfedale/Townsend Hut - 156 km
Thurs - Thru to Hanmer - 150 km
Fri - Rest area at Hodder River - 135 km
Sat - Finish in Blenheim - 70 km

Since the eight day time limit actually kicks in at noon on the Sunday, this leaves a half day spare incase of delays required for bike repairs or bad weather. It's interesting to see that you could stay under a roof at the end of every day except for the night by the Hodder River.

The distances are estimates based on Google Maps and Classic NZ MTB Rides. They might be a tad on the short side for some legs. They come to a grand total of 1065 km.