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Hugh Spear
From the fast lane to the slow lane in twenty easy years.
Interests: Cycling, Sea Kayaking, Ocean Racing, Paddling, Skiing, Reading, Watchint films
Recent Activity
Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Day 4 - Return
This was my final day on these mountains and my plan was to return to my car, but rather than take the long diversion of the track, I was going to try to navigate over the hills using the directions a back-country skier would follow during the Winter. This was... Continue reading
Posted Jul 25, 2017 at Travels by Bicycle
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Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Day 3 - Betty Bear Hut
On the third day my destination was Betty Bear Hut. To get there I would need to cross the Continental Divide at Hagerman Pass. On the third day my destination was Betty Bear Hut. To get there I would need to cross the Continental Divide at Hagerman Pass. Continue reading
Posted Jul 25, 2017 at Travels by Bicycle
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Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Day 2 - Skinner Hut
On the second day in the Rocky Mountains I was going to descend from Uncle Bud's hut, cross over to the other side of Turquoise Lake and then ascend the gravel track, followed by the old railway grade towards Hagerman's Pass to reach Skinner Hut. I decided that as my... Continue reading
Posted Jul 24, 2017 at Travels by Bicycle
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Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Day 1 - Uncle Bud's Hut
I got up in the condo in Vail I was staying at, and made breakfast and made some sandwiches for later in the day. The bike shop would not open until 10am and would take an hour to reach, so I had plenty of time. I had already packed most... Continue reading
Posted Jul 28, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Colorado 10th Mountain Division Hut Trip - Preparation
I planned to visit Vail in Colorado in July 2016 and wanted to do an interesting bike trip. I had already heard about the 10th, Mountain huts as places to stay in the Winter when you were travelling cross-country on skis. But then I read this article which opened my... Continue reading
Posted Jul 28, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Lithgow to Mittagong Day 3 - Tuglow River Campground to Mittagong, 130kms.
I awoke early, just after 5am to the sound of heavy vehicles. I realised that the logging truck on a hill above my camp, had started work again. I turned on my head torch and whereas the previous morning I could see condensation on the inside of the tent, ready... Continue reading
Posted Jun 19, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Lithgow to Mittagong Day 2 - Lake Lyell to Tuglow River Campground, 73kms.
It hadn't been a great night in my new tent, with new sleep mat and new sleeping bag. There was a lot of nylon against nylon and as I hadn't pitched my tent level, I found myself pressing against one side and the end of the tent. There was a... Continue reading
Posted Jun 19, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Lithgow to Mittagong - Day 1
This trip was inspired by two others. Chris from Omafiets bike shop has described his journey here, and he was in turn inspired by Arran Pearson's crazy account of the same journey in a single day. The cycling starts at Lithgow railway station and finishes at Mittagong railway station. Before... Continue reading
Posted Jun 18, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 10 - Flying home - wrap-up
As I said at the start of this journey, this trip has transformed my attitude to cycling. I have done several multi-day cycles in the past, mostly with others, and mostly supported by a vehicle. This was my first on my own and unassisted. Somewhere on the way I stopped... Continue reading
Posted Jun 4, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 9 - Wanaka to Queenstown 88 kms
Having had at nice breakfast with Jude and left her with an awkward hug, I headed off. This was my last day on the bike, and by this stage in my journey, I wasn't really thinking about the cycling. Instead I was thinking much more about people and places. Jude... Continue reading
Posted Jun 4, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 8 - Makarora to Wanaka 60kms
It was a beautiful morning and I went down to wave goodbye to my new Welsh friends. They would have the fun of descending the Haast Pass in the sunshine. Then for me the view would be of lake Wanaka initially. And then lake Hawea. Every corner brought a postcard... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 7 - Haast to Makarora 78.5kms
I was woken by thunder, lightening and very heavy rain. It was 4am. I thought of the rugged bike packing tourers and knew they would not care about the rain, they would just get on with it. I on the other hand, turned over and went back to sleep. I... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 6 - Fox Glacier to Haast 122kms
When you wake up and see this from your bedroom window, you know you did some good in a previous life. I got up early, showered and packed and headed out to get some breakfast. I decided to have breakfast in the restaurant where 12 hours earlier I had dined... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 5 - Hari Hari to Fox Glacier 88kms
I left my little piece of the middle ages at quite an early hour. It was light, I was awake, I'd finished cleaning up, and it wasn't raining. I cycled to the general store I'd used the previous day and got myself a coffee. While I drank the coffee I... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 4 - Hokitika to Hari Hari 70kms.
It had rained all night, and the morning looked dark. I didn't want to cycle in the rain without some lights. This West coast road was the only one for anyone travelling any distance, so I could expect quite a bit of traffic. Fortunately Hokitika has a pretty good cycle... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 3 - Bealey to Hokitika 110kms
My plan today was to start early and do a bit of climbing before breakfast. The Bealey Hotel wouldn't open early, so my best bet was to get to Arthur's Pass and get breakfast. So that is what I did. It was dark when I got up and retrieved my... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 2 - Springfield to Bealey 72.4kms
When I started this journey I was glad that I'd broken the trip between Christchurch and Bealey into two. The distances don't look too long, but there was a fair bit of climbing, and as I was to discover, a headwind for most of the day. On the plus side,... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Day 1 - Christchurch Airport to Springfield 69.4kms.
The Air New Zealand flight landed at Christchurch at 1:30pm on the Friday. I had already emailed the airport beforehand, to ask how to dispose of my bike box. Their response was an indication of the welcome cyclists are given in New Zealand, and contrasts markedly with the New South... Continue reading
Posted May 5, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Christchurch to Queenstown - Credit card Bicycle Touring in New Zealand
Posted May 4, 2016 at Travels by Bicycle
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Mothers Day Presents
Posted Apr 30, 2015 at Jenny's Painted Pots - Pottery Painting Parties in Sydney's Northern Beaches
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Leaving my iPhone and moving in with the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 + Gear
Posted Apr 12, 2014 at Hugh Spear's Blog
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Tradional Vase by David Green
Posted Mar 26, 2014 at Jenny's Painted Pots - Pottery Painting Parties in Sydney's Northern Beaches
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