That'll do. After almost 16,000km and 13 months on the road we have arrived home in the Hutt Valley of New Zealand. We arrived in Wellington Harbour on a beautiful day and formed a peloton of friends and family to ride 30km to Baden's sister's house in Upper Hutt to signal the end of our journey. It has been a weird ol' month since we've been back. Baden really misses the cycle touring lifestyle while Shelley's enjoying being inside again. Thanks for listening to our series of podcasts. They've been fun to make. We have loved recording our memories in this form and hopefully you have enjoyed them too. Watch this space for future podcast projects and we will follow this in a couple of weeks in a How Are You? Where Are You? podcast bonus edition where we review the best and worst of the gear we took on the trip.

How are you? Where are you?

HAYWAY Episode 43 - Upper Hutt, NZ

We’re almost a stone’s throw away from home in this week’s How Are You? Where Are You? podcast. A lot of road has been traveled between Christchurch and the top of the South Island and we’ve been blessed to meet some brilliant people as well as enjoying outstanding autumn weather. We thought we had left all the beautiful scenery behind when we left the West Coast but the mainland has continued to delight especially when riding the lonely Rainbow Track through the country’s biggest farm. The weather tried to spoil the party that day but like what has happened so many times on this journey, the following day’s bright and brilliant sun erased any memories of struggle 24 hours earlier. Two of the most moving things to happen to us since we arrived back in the homeland occurred on this final leg. One was a visit to Baden's old stomping ground of Christchurch to see all the positivity to arise from the trauma of a devastating earthquake in 2011. The other was a visit to the Te Awhina Marae, the Maori meeting house in Motueka where we were privileged to be formally welcomed on but also to hear cycling comrade Nick sing. Peanut butter is the fuel that has kept our wheels turning since we arrived in New Zealand so we went to inspect the Pic’s factory in Stoke for any performance-enhancing qualities. Oh and something shat on Baden’s face. Photos to match this podcast can be found on our website at howareyouwhereareyou.com

HAYWAY Episode 42 - Picton, NZ

The West Coast of New Zealand's South Island covers the distance between the two major cities in the North Island, Wellington and Auckland, but this part of the country only has 33,000 thousand residents and bugger all cell phone coverage. This week's How Are You? Where Are You? podcast follows our journey up the coast and introduces some of the people we met along the way. All of them outstanding citizens. This trip home is blowing any stereotypes we had about the people of this land out of the water. We have ridden into big walls of kindness, laughter, wisdom and friendship. We visit some Greenstone carvers, glacier guides, a gold miner, a fisher and do our best to give some sort of verbal justice to the magical scenery, all while coming under attack by the wildlife in Arthur's Pass National Park. Photos to match this podcast can be found at howareyouwhereareyou.com

HAYWAY Episode 41 - Arthur's Pass, NZ

Like the hopeful miners of the 1860s New Zealand Gold Rush, we too struck the precious metal while cycling through central Otago. In this 40th episode of the How Are You? Where Are You podcast we follow in the footsteps, or even the cycle tracks, of the kiwi pioneers along the mighty Clutha Mata-Au River where we find signs of the bygone days. What the hills surrounding the Clutha lack in altitude, they make up for in stature. They hem you in as you ride down their valleys. Baden hones his sheep farming skills in a visit to a high country sheep farm and enters a heated discussion with Farmer Jack. The week of cycling ends over a bottle of central Otago Pinot Noir while relaxing at the Cardrona Hotel, one of the country’s most iconic pubs. We reunite with cycling comrade Nick who decided to cross the Crown Range with us to be hooked up with nice food and good times. Photos to match this podcast can be found at howareyouwhereareyou.com Music Credit: Southern Man by Denis Henderson

HAYWAY Episode 40 - Cardrona, NZ

We became members of a cycle touring gang in this week's How Are You? Where Are You? podcast. As we headed into the remote Catlins region of southern New Zealand we were joined by a couple of good buggers from the States. Brian and Nick taught us a great deal and we had a brilliant time riding through some of the most stunning landscapes these isles have to offer. Laughs and cheese rolls were shared on the journey and Nick's mechanical nous came to the fore when Baden's bike Fausto suffered his most catastrophic failure of the trip. A gallant attempt to resuscitate him an in impromptu ER in a woolshed was in vain, leaving the pair stranded in the wilderness until a kind Russian family came to the rescue. There were some giant hugs handed out in Balclutha when we went our separate ways. The Americans drawn by the city lights of cosmopolitan Dunedin while the local kiwis sniffed the smell of moonshine in the Hokonui Hills. Photos to match this podcast can be found at howareyouwhereareyou.com.

HAYWAY Episode 39, Balclutha, NZ

We've made it to New Zealand and without trying to sound deliberately cheesy, it's blowing our minds. Our journey so far has seen us arriving in Queenstown in the South Island (Te Waipounamu) and riding out into the Central Otago wilderness. We visited the magic of Fiordland and pedalled into the land of good buggers in Southland. This was recorded this a few days ago on Rakiura or Stewart Island - a beautiful blip of land at the southern tip of Aotearoa. Life in New Zealand is expensive but we've been loving tucking into the Jaffa Thins and meat pies and covering our eyes when it comes to doing the budget. Being tourists in our own country is a weird experience, especially when it comes to taking local advice from a French guy sleeping in the back of an old van.

HAYWAY Episode 38 - Rakiura, (Stewart Island) NZ

Apologies in advance for a navel gazing episode of the How Are You? Where Are You? podcast. We’re finding it difficult to make sense of our trip and what we have learned. It’s also not easy to try and explain why we have decided to cut our journey short but we give it all a crack for you here. It’s strange to think that were are about to start cycle touring in our own country. After eight years away there’s a whole lot of reacquainting to get done but they reckon the South Island is stunning so we’ll probably be alright. We do all this while grilling meat and drinking red wine on a remote beach in Uruguay. It’s been paradise but travelling here without our precious bikes…well that’s been super strange. Check out our blog at howareyouwhereareyou.com for photos to match this podcast. And if you are up for a read from someone who has written about the realities of cycle touring much better than we have been able to articulate, check out this blog. We felt strangely emotional about our whole experience after reading this.

HAYWAY Episode 37 - Valizas, Uruguay

We have found the end of our road in Latin America. This trip will be London to Lima. After an agonising decision, we have come to the conclusion that a year is enough and in this week's How Are You? Where Are You? podcast we discuss why our bikes will travel in a plane home from Peru's capital. The cycling journey isn't over however. We still plan to reintegrate into life in New Zealand by exploring New Zealand's South Island by bike starting on March 13. Every day is still an adventurous day in the world of cycling touring and the road to Lima was no exception. We were breathless at the top of the Cordillera Blanca. It even snowed on us! Baden has been looking forward to arriving in Lima to find out if the food lives up to its reputation. Listen in to make sure it doesn't disappoint. Visit our website at www.howareyouwhereareyou.com for photos to match this podcast

HAYWAY Episode 36, Lima, Peru

We have left the desert behind and have climbed back into the mountains following the River Santa to Huaraz in Peru's famous Cordillera Blanca. It's the world's biggest mountain range outside of the Himalayas. Seems we can't get enough of the Andes. You get a bit of a cycle touring warts and all How Are You? Where Are You? podcast this week. Our stomachs have been rumbling (in a bad way) and Shelley experienced some strange esophageal feelings while on her bike. Baden's lunch will annoy pet lovers out there and Shelley rocks out her translation skills as we interview Luis D'Angelo, a legendary Trujillo host of cycle tourers from around the world. Photos to match this podcast are at howareyouwhereareyou.com. Come along for the ride!

HAYWAY Episode 35 - Huaraz, Peru

We have been hammering it through Northern Peru. How did we get so fit? It seems like a lifetime since we were plodding through France trying to get used to this whole cycle touring thing if you consider a life to be 10 months. Check out the map on our website howareyouwhereareyou.com to see our effort over the first 11 days of February. We talk about why we've been putting the pedal to the rubber-soled shoe if that's an acceptable use of the phrase. There's been a lot of nothing riding through the deserts of Northern Peru but it has provided us with stunning scenery and plenty of time to contemplate some of the environmental issues in this part of the world, which we talk about in this week's How Are You? Where Are You? podcast. We were also invited to a sugar-fuelled rave masquerading as a 2-year-old's birthday party and the quality of the cooking in Peru has been a big step up for this trip. The big question is why Shelley has been preferring to eat all this magnificent food with less-than-hygenic implements? Go to howareyouwhereareyou.com for photos to match this podcast.

HAYWAY Episode 34 - Chiclin, Peru

We say goodbye to the Andes and hello to the the hot and steamy coast in this week's How Are You? Where Are You? podcast. The Andes gave us one of our most traumatic days of our trip and then one of the most magical. All in the space of two days. We have seen some jaw-dropping sights and try our best to turn the vision into words. Luckily we have some photos to help out. Check them out on our blog at howareyouwhereareyou.com It's sure strange to be sweating profusely again. What a strange enduring memory o be left with of Guayaquil, Ecuador's biggest city. We have managed to cool off by drinking the local brew and eating refreshing delights like ceviche. Cue a return for What's in the Pot.

HAYWAY Episode 33 - Guayaquil, Ecuador

We have climbed to the second highest capital city in the world. Somehow by arriving in Quito we have acclimatised to become human mountain goats with some strange ability to breathe at 4000 metres. Quito took a while to capture our hearts but a walk around the city's historic centre and a visit to the home of Oswaldo Guayasamin, one of Ecuador's most celebrated artists, did the trick. As always we have met some interesting characters on the way here and the transition back to using U.S. dollars in Ecuador has increased our need to become scavengers. Hear all about it in this the 32nd edition of the How Are You? Where Are You? podcast. Check out our blog at howareyouwhereareyou.com for photos to match this podcast.

HAYWAY Episode 32 - Quito, Ecuador

It felt like Colombia didn't want to let go of us and we certainly didn't want to let go of it. We arrived in Pasto on New Year's Day, only 100km from the border with Ecuador. We thought we would maybe rest a couple of days and go on our merry way but Colombia had more kindness and adventure in store for us yet. We ended up staying a week in Pasto (a long time off the bike for us) to immerse ourselves in their Carnaval de los Blancos y Negros. The carnival of the whites and the blacks sounds a bit racist and it's heritage is on the back of slavery but in modern times it has evolved into a colourful and musical display of Patuso pride in its traditions and indigeneity. It was an honour to witness. In another effort to delay the awakening from our Colombian dream, we decided to take the long way to Ecuador by cycling into the Putumayo province and riding El Trampolin de la Muerte, The Road of Death. Although we didn't tell our Mums it was called that until we reached the other side. Photos and a map to go with this podcast can be found on our website www.howareyouwhereareyou.com

HAYWAY Episode 31 - Baeza, Ecuador

Welcome to our special edition #Festive500 podcast. The Festive500 is the brainchild of the cycle clothing designer Rapha and is designed to get people riding their bikes between Christmas Eve and New Years Eve at a time when most of us are keen to get on the turps and stuff ourselves full of mince pies. The challenge is to ride 500 kilometres in eight days and we thought we might as well take up the task here in Colombia since we were planning on riding south anyway, although perhaps not this quickly. This podcast is a summary of our week on the bike with stories from the road between Sevilla and Pasto in Southern Colombia, an area of stunning scenery in the Northern Andes mountain range. Check out our blog at www.howareyouwhereareyou.com for some pictures to match the sounds.

HAYWAY Episode 30 - Pasto, Colombia #Festive500

It's all about Climbing, Coffee and Christmas in the latest Colombian instalment of the How Are You? Where Are You? podcast. We've scaled some pretty tough hills during our time here but they were all made to look like midgets next to the giant Alto de Letras. We bring you the story of how we inched up the world's longest road climb. Alto de Letras sits at the northern end of Colombia's coffee axis. They're the third biggest producer of the stuff in the world so we've seen acres and acres of trees and cute little farms dotting the countryside in this region. Normally, we don't drink a lot of coffee but for some reason during our time here we've been guzzling it down. We also really enjoy the unpretentiousness of Colombian coffee culture. To find out more, we went to an organic farm for a tour with a passionate guy called Mateo. Tis' the season and Colombians fall for Christmas big time. We've noticed lots of differences in how they celebrate the festive season and as a result we are probably going to have to create some sort of nativity scene on our bikes. Photos to go along with this podcast can be found in our blog at howareyouwhereareyou.com

HAYWAY Episode 29 - Salento, Colombia

The How Are You? Where Are You? podcast chronicles our cycle tour from London all the way home to Aotearoa/New Zealand via Europe and Latin America. Through this audio travelogue you can follow our adventures by bike and hear sounds and stories from the saddle. Original music courtesy of Callum Campbell.

hubhopper

How are you? Where are you?

hubhopper