Welcome to my blog! My name is Elisha and I am the crazy, novice cyclist who is preparing to tackle a 4,000 mile journey around New Zealand in the name of charity and world exploration.

The rules – my route must begin and end in Auckland and must take in the (broadly recognised) most northern and southern points of the islands, Cape Reigna and Bluff respectively. In addition, I must carry with me all of the kit that I require – no support vehicles, just my legs. In the interest of making things especially tricky for myself, I must not cross land using alternative transport – feet and the bicycle only.

The bike – saying a very heartfelt cheerio for now to Bobby, my delightful Bobbin who has seen me through the first few months of my cycling career, I have invested in a Dawes Ladies Karakum – a touring bike with actual gears! Bobby, I love you but six gears just isn’t going to cut the mustard in New Zealand.

The route – This photo shows very roughly my initial plans for a route. If you know anyone along the way, please put me in touch! It is currently just shy of 4,000 miles, so still needs a little tweaking. (Hopefully I will be able to sort a less blurry version in the near future!)

The charity – as well as being an incredible life experience, this is undoubtedly going to be a ridiculous, physical challenge for me and as such, I am hoping that people will dig deep for the wonderful charity, Emilie’s Charities.

As a result of a tragic cycling accident, the charity was set up in the name of Emilie Harris and has been successfully raising funds to improve the lives of children in developing countries. It is a fantastic charity, which fits both with my cycling ambitions and my passion for education. I do hope that I can make the Harris family proud.