Popularity of Stat Attack 1: Debatable! That was published way back in June 2023… where did that time go? Anyway – here we are for an update on some random statistics and facts….
Date we left Lincolnshire: 10th April 2023 (Easter Monday)
Days since we left: 305 Days (as of today, 8th Feb 2024)
Different places slept: 227 (that’s a lot of moving around!)
Countries visited: 23
Distance cycled: 16,628km (10,332 miles)
Metres climbed: 153,997m (17.4x up Everest)
Longest tunnel: 5.4km (Kanpuzan Tunnel, Japan)
Longest bridge: 4.0km (Kurushima Bridge, Japan)
Worst tunnel: 1.2km at 12% (Kamikochi, Japan)
See a theme emerging here? These guys love their infrastructure!
Lowest temp slept in: +1degC (Kamikochi, Japan)
Lowest temp cycled in: -1degC (Queenstown, NZ)… and that was without windchill! I’d far rather have been in my down sleeping bag in our waterproof tent at that point.
Highest humidity: 95% in South Korea, and it stayed that way all day and all night. Disgusting to try and camp in that – especially when you’ve not been able to take a shower!
Highest point above sea level cycled to: 2450m (Mt Norikura, Japan)
Worst meal: Instant noodles with no water… the scouted out tap wasn’t connected, so we found ourselves sleeping at the top of a mountain pass with no water. I ate uncooked super noodles. Sarah ate her breakfast for dinner. Neither approach was that satisfactory.
Most beautiful campsite: We’ve had some stunners… and some shockers. But a very recent one on the shores of Lake Wakatipu on the South Island was amazing. No road access – so just full of cyclists, with the most incredible views. But I’ll save that for when Sarah blogs it!
Number of different visitors/devices accessing this blog: 8,042 – that’s a lot of people… thanks for reading!
Most popular blog post: It’s. A. Lot. – unsurprising really seeing as it’s one of the oldest! We used to put a link up on Twitter (X), Facebook, LinkedIn, etc… every time. We figured everyone who wants to know knows now, but maybe you didn’t know about the e-mail alert you can get each time one of us posts!
Comments on the blog: 740 – which includes us replying to a fair few of your lovely comments and questions
Sleeping mats broken: 3 (Matt x2, Sarah x1) – these Big Agnes mats are super comfy and super lightweight, but the glue binding them together keeps breaking… but so far they keep warranty replacing them!
Cheapest mat replacement: A dog bed (£5) – good enough for Matt to sleep on for three nights before the mat was replaced…
Branches of the Mammalian family seen in the wild: All three! Our branch (humans, cows, horses, etc), the Monotremes (lay eggs but produce milk – such as the platypus and echidna) and the Marsupials (kangaroos, wallabies, koalas) which birth a foetus and then incubate in the pouch. Amazing!
Spiders and snakes seen in Australia: We don’t talk about that
Roadkill seen in Australia: Again. I’ve seen and smelt enough to last a lifetime.
And I think I’ll close there… the weather is fierce on the South Coast of New Zealand at the moment (50kph winds today to cycle in), the internet is a bit dodgy and so far I haven’t broken this website (a miracle!) and whilst I tap this out on the picnic bench looking out over the bay, some tiny Hector’s Dolphins have started playing in the waves… I’ll take that as a cue to look up!
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