"We're all too used to comfort, it's boring."

Hayden is no stranger to spending days on end on a bike, having completed his first ultracycling event amidst the COVID ridden 2020 where he placed second overall. Badlands 2020, a 725km bikepacking off-road adventure, covering 15,000m of elevation and crossing the only official deserts in mainland Europe, was how Hayden got hooked on ultracycling. 

Taking just over 52 hours to complete and not without a multitude of obstacles to tackle along the way, adding a couple of extra km's here and there, a broken seatpost clamp and the battle to find food along a deserted route. The New Zealand edition of an ultracycling event was an easy decision for Hayden. 

Check out his interview with DotWatcher here where he explains the method to his madness.

Starting tomorrow morning 8am in Invercargill, "the Tuatara 1000 is a 1000km journey through some of the best terrain in the deep south of New Zealand." Though having only completed the set-up of his bike mere hours before travelling down south, Hayden is more relaxed and excited about his second ever ultracycling event. 

Putting all his faith into a GPX file directing him around his 1000km tour of the South, which is relatively unfamiliar territory (asides from the Tour of Southland appearances), he still has faith in completing the course in under 3 days. With typical Southland weather likely to play its part in the challenges of the ride, the unpredictability of ultra-racing is what drives Hayden's desire to compete in more. 

FOLLOW HAYDEN LIVE HERE

Check out the video of Badlands 2020 below.