The bike packing adventures began with the Great Southern Brevet. The week leading up to the event was spent making a system to clip dry bags onto the handle bars and under the bike seat. While it did work, it needed regular adjusting and tightening as the bumpy terrain would soon loosen the straps and the bags would get caught on the wheels from time to time. Keith also discovered the need to get more weight off his back and onto his bike… there had to be a better way!

This time around, the preparation was better. The solution now, was custom made dry bags with solid attachment points. The bags worked well and lasted the 1300km distance, but were showing signs of wear by the end. Keith felt they could be further improved and even lighter…

This 3000km event from Cape Reinga to the Bluff took a lot of planning. In order to succeed, Keith wanted his bags to be as light as possible, while still keeping spare gear dry and being durable enough to last the event. Many hours were spent designing and perfecting the solution.

Success! The bags not only lasted the distance with minimal wear, but their light weight allowed him to finish in just 13 days. The designs gained a lot of attention from other riders and people started asking where he’d bought the bike bags from…

Time to go international! This event required additional water carrying capacity as Keith would be crossing the Australian outback on the 2300km ride from Adelaide to Ayers Rock. The frame bag was re-designed to take a large water bladder (this kept the extra weight centrally balanced) and bottle cages were added underneath the down tube and on the seat stays. With up to 12L capacity he was ready to take on the outback!

The logo came first… Riding the Alps2Ocean with his wife, the discussion turned to what would be a suitable brand name and logo. Elke suggested a kiwi made of cogs and bike parts and the idea stuck. The only problem was that it might look too much like a robot? Keith disagreed – “You have to be a bit of a ‘robot’ to finish a brevet!”

Keen to introduce friends to the bikepacking scene Keith completed the 2017 Kiwi Brevette. Old train tunnels, lush native bush, coastal roads, river crossings and frequent cafe stops made for a great time!

Keen to share the bikepacking experience, but a bit short on time, Keith and Elke did the North Island section of the Tour Aotearoa together. Completing the 1600km section from Cape Reinga to Wellington in 9 days. They managed to sneak through the Kaiwhakauka section just ahead of the huge deluge that wiped out the Bridge to Nowhere track and marooned a bunch of riders that had to be evacuated due to high river levels.

Keith's ROBO-KIWI rear harness came in particularly handy when Keith's seat post clamp broke on one of the most remote sections of track. Together with a titanium pot/mug, he created a make-shift seat to bike the remaining hills and kilometres to the Whanganui River jet boat pickup - that could've been a long bike-pushing walk otherwise!

Returning to his bikepacking roots, Keith completed the 2019 Great Southern Brevet route. Definitely still one of the hardest, but most picturesque routes he's done! A hot start, followed by some very strong winds made for some crazy riding over the Old Man Range, finishing with a big 300km day as he headed home.

The Tour Aotearoa 2020 was the third time the event was run. Despite having taken part on both previous events, this one was very different for a couple of reasons...

Keith was due to become a father to a little girl in 2 months time, but things were also changing on a global scale. When he flew north to start the Tour Aotearoa on the 5th March, New Zealand only had one recorded case of Covid 19. During the course of the ride, this number increased dramatically, countries started closing their borders and two days after Keith finished in Bluff, New Zealand declared they were entering full lockdown for 4 weeks. Many riders from the same wave and later start dates were unfortunately unable to complete their ride.

The event organisers have decided to run the Tour Aotearoa again in 2021 to help support small local businesses - normally the event is run on a biannual basis.

This was the second year the Tour te Waipounamu was run. After pulling out shortly before the event started in 2021, Keith was at the start line and ready to ride in 2022.

Probably one of the toughest New Zealand bikepacking races ever dreamed up, the route crossed many high country stations and backcountry terrain (such as the Dampier Range and Two Thumb Range) which would more normally be frequented by hikers and trampers rather than mountain bikers... One of the highlights of the route was crossing Stag Saddle (highest point on the Te Araroa Trail) in the Two Thumb Range - terrain very familiar to Keith, which he choose to tackle at night.

There was a lot of hike-a-bike and it took its toll. Unfortunately niggling knee problems did not improve and after a particularly painful ride/walk through Black Peak Station no-camping-zone to Benmore Dam, Keith was forced to pull out at Otematata. It was satisfying to have completed all the toughest sections, however still frustrating to have to withdraw with only a couple of days to go to get to the finish at Slope Point. Needless to say, there were new designs and concepts dreamt up during his journey, which will no doubt help shape the latest product range coming up soon...