Emma is no stranger to the Bikepacking scene and is fresh from winning the 2025 GSB. These events never truly go as planned and wild weather played havoc with this year event. Emma's recollection of the GSB is equal parts inspiring and intimidating but we're sure she'll be back to defend her title!
"The Great Southern Brevet (GSB) is a staple of the NZ bikepacking community, a mountainous 1100km loop in the south of the South Island. I was originally not planning on participating (it's not a race, but people go fast), until everyone started talking about it and I felt left out. So, I became one of close to 200 riders making their way to Tekapo for the 2025 edition.
Day 1.
Unlike every other bikepacking event I've been part of, GSB runs with a very casual start time of 9:30am. And then we rolled out in a neutral proceeding, regrouping next to the canal for the actual start at about 10. I was excited to get going so made my way to the front of the pack as we headed onto the rough river road. We keep up a solid but civilised pace for the first 50 or so ks with plenty of chatting. I had a rock flick up and hit my ankle, the pain took a while to go away which made me nervous, but eventually it was fine. As we headed into the Black Forest Station I stopped to find a spot to wee, and as I walked into the trees I tripped over a stick and landed on the ground. Brilliant way to start. We were treated to nice overcast weather unlike the previous times I’ve been through there, but I still warmed up with the steeper climbs alongside Lake Benmore. Time flew by with company from other riders, before long I was on the A2O trail heading towards Omarama. The trail was busy with other riders so I tried to keep things contained. I did wash out my front wheel going around a corner, thankfully kept it upright cos a crash on an easy part of the course would have been embarrassing. I rolled into a busy Omarama 4Square carpark and had an efficient stop, I had carried lots of food from the start so just grabbed a few extras, filled water, toileted and kept going, passing a few riders in the process (including Jak) which is always fun. I enjoyed an iceblock, then a pie which was hard to force down. We started up the climb to the next saddle, which was steep and most of us walked a lot of, and I got passed by people. It was also now that I started regretting my shoe choice. Usually I use flat pedals for bikepacking, but due to the supposedly less technical uphill aspect of this event I’d opted to try clips and brought my xc shoes. Great for pedalling in, not so great for walking. I made my way over the top and down towards Oturehua, the descent got a few people with punctures so I made sure to be gentle. On reaching Oturehua I went to find water, saw the pub open with bikes outside, and found Jak and Andy inside. I spent a bit too long faffing here, sitting down to eat a giant sausage roll, once other riders came in I got a move on, taking a breakfast burger with me for later. Darkness fell as I made my way along the Rail Trail, I’ve done a few other races through this valley and this was the first time I haven’t been fighting to stay awake. It wasn’t long before I was into the next climb, which consisted of 50 billion gates, up and over before the final flats to end the day. I ate my breakfast burger and it started drizzling not long after. I rolled into Luggate at about 3am and searched for the domain that Andy had mentioned, where I found Joe and George had found some couches and parked up. I was being super careful to not wake them but accidently made a sensor light turn on. I quickly got my sleeping bag out and hoped on a couch. Unfortunately, the light kept turning on, so it was a very broken few hours of sleep.
Day 2.
GSB rules (loosely?) require a 4 hour stop each night, so I was planning to get going again at 7ish, but when I got up to use the toilet at 6 I suddenly had to throw up. After clearing my stomach contents I was wide awake, so I started packing up and got underway. I was worried to eat for a little while, but my stomach seemed to have settled so I ripped into a packet of lollies for breakfast. I started the climb up the Pisa Range, which quickly turned into a walk. It wasn’t long before I came across George who had been having gear issues. He was a much stronger climber than me so whenever he had to stop and fix something he’d catch back up. It was great to have company as the weather rolled in, we’d got most of the way to the top before the rain came in. Layers were put on just in time and it got much heavier as we dropped down the other side. We stuck together and took it carefully to avoid punctures. It didn't stop raining until we were down in Cromwell resuppling, and the sky cleared enough to give me false hope it was over. We left town still wearing all of our layers but quickly warmed back up along the Lake Dunstan trail, once again dodging plenty of other cyclists. We parted ways in Clyde as George headed into the township and I started making my way up onto the Old Woman Range. I was walking up another steep section when it started spitting, while I was stopped putting my jacket on Rainer (an absolute weapon) pedaled on past, having a quick chat then continuing on his way. Soon after a huge downpour came through, soaking me completely. Then the chilly southerly wind increased and despite having every riding layer on I got very cold. At this point I was at about 1200m but I knew we had to get over 1700 with plenty of ups and downs in between before reaching the next hut. I knew Jak and Andy were coming up the hill behind me so when I spotted a wee rock cave I decided to hop in it with my sleeping bag to get warm until I saw them. I settled in and got some food down while I waited, slowly warming back up. They came past about an hour later, we had a quick chat but I knew if I went back out in it I'd get too cold again, so stayed put. Not long after I got a fright as Jak popped up, saying that there was a hut just around the corner. I didn't believe him for a bit but got wet clothes back on and continued on the track for just a couple of minutes to find the hut, tripping over my bike as I tried to dismount in a hurry. We were all very surprised and relieved to have found this open hut which hadn't been on the map. I was convinced that the wind would die off during the night so I got up every few hours to check. It didn't.
Day 3.
As glimpses of light came, so did the sound of a bike rolling down the hill and stopping outside the hut. Doug came in saying how bad the weather still was and decided to join us, pulling out his sleeping bag. Not long after, Mark did the same. We were all trying to muster up the enthusiasm to get back out there when we saw Matt and Gary roll straight past, getting us all up and moving with varying degrees of speed. The following hours across the tops consisted of patches of sun, strong winds and intermittent snow storms. It was very slow going battling again the wind and through snow drifts. The five of us regrouped at the start of the Nevis valley, shedding layers and getting food in before the long slog up the valley into a headwind. I'd planned on just working together with the group but my competitiveness took over and I pulled away, getting a good gap by the top of the valley. I enjoyed the long descent down the other side, taking in the views and taking my socks off to dry. While opening a gate at the bottom I lent my bike against me, burning my knee with my the edge of my sizzling brake rotor. I continued onto the cycle trail leading to Lumsden, bumping into a dot watcher handing out sausages on the way, day made. I got to Lumsden with plenty of time before stores closed but set about doing an efficient resupply with hopes of gaining on Matt and Gary whose bikes I'd seen outside a store as got into town. It worked because as I got onto a bit of straight road after I could see them ahead, and then passed them not long after, comparing our experiences over the last 24hrs. I made quick progress and headed up past piano flat as the light started disappearing. I'd seen a hut on the map just before bushline that I was aiming for but when I got there it was dark and intimidating so I opted to continue along and find a spot under the trees to park up.
Day 4.
After a 4 hour stop, with a terrible ratio of faff to sleep, I got on my way back up the hill, walking the steep zig zags up onto the ridge. Once on the tops I was treated to a stunning sunrise with views out across the mountains. The wind also was starting to pick up, making the steeper sections more tempting to walk. Eventually I dropped down the other side, into the long, and at times steep, descent through farm paddocks. I was very happy to be on my capable and comfy Wilder, and felt sorry for those on gravel bikes. Arriving at the bottom I knew there was a wee detour before Alexandra, but it dragged for longer than I thought and I was happy to reach the bridge into town. It was heating up to be a scorching day so while resuppling I focused on cold drinks and iceblocks, preparing for an afternoon in the sun. I kept my pace low until passing the Poolburn Reservoir and the clouds started rolling it. Having been through this section multiple times now, I was prepared for it and had fun on the downhills. By now I'd figured out a no-hands technique for consuming baby food, so it was fast becoming my food of choice to keep my teeth happy. It wasn't long before I was crossing the Taieri River and rolling along the roads to Paerau, where the climb up onto the Rock and Pillar Range started. The clouds were becoming darker and it wasn't long before I felt spits of rain and it was time to layer up. The wind was picking up and as I got up onto the ridge I had to start making decisions about safety. This was starting to look like a similar situation to a couple of nights prior, but with some key differences. The big one being that the weather was coming in from the north, meaning it was much warmer. I could also see along the ridge to figure out what I would be dealing with, there were plenty of big rocks that I could shelter behind if needed. So as darkness fell I got all of my layers on and pushed against the wind, walking a lot. After some very slow progress I started dropping down the other side, thinking that the wind would die off. Boy was I wrong. The farm track zigzagged down the hill, one direction was an incredibly strong tailwind requiring intense braking and strong riding, and then I'd turn the corner into the headwind, often requiring walking into. At times I'd need my glasses on to have my eyes open against the driving rain. The biggest challenge was getting one of the deer gates open enough to get my bike through, and I wasn't strong enough to stop it blowing onto my bike as I wrestled it through the gap. I finally made it down to the road at the bottom, cracking up at the sign warning of strong wind gusts. Down in the valley the wind was less severe but I was treated to a tailwind all the way into Middlemarch, where I found a dry spot on the school verandah. The wind made sleeping hard but it dried all my clothes quickly.
Day 5.
I woke and slowly got ready, leaving not long before the sky lightened. After the weather the last night I was surprised that the wind had died down to just a soft headwind as I headed north. I checked the tracking after an hour or so to see that Matty (in 3rd place) was not far up the road and I was motivated to chase him. However, upon reaching Ranfurly a few hours later I faffed a bit too much resuppling and let out a bit too big of a gap. Things were getting warmer as I rode through Naseby and on one of the hills on the way out of town I felt a bug fly into my neck leaving a painful sting, so I stopped and knocked back a couple of antihistamines to try keep any swelling at bay and kept going. By now I'd also been taking painkillers to keep bum and knee pain to a minimum so I hoped the concoction would work. I was held up by a sheep traffic jam just before I started the climb up to Danseys Pass, a good excuse for a food break. The Danseys climb was warm, so I hiked my shirt up my back for cooling, resulting in some burnt patches, but the climb was a nice gradient and it wasn't long before I was up and over. The course took a turn off the road onto farmland and a bridle track alongside the river down to rejoin the A2O trail into Kurow. The trail was nice and wide but had some softer gravel in the middle and while on the aerobars I drifted in a soft patch and had to take evasive action to keep upright. There was less aerobar time after that. I arrived in Kurow to resupply and spent a bit too long chatting to short course riders, I was definitely out of race mode by now. The valley up to the final climb had a headwind for the majority and I hit a bit of a low, deciding it was time for the emergency redbull and eating all my lollies, which had me in a much better mood as I reached the top. There were stunning views out to the Southern Alps so I took a moment before rolling down the other side. As I reached the flats I could feel the wind picking up, resulting in a long slog with strong side and headwinds to get to the main road. Being able to see the road turn in front of me would either make me dread or look forward to the direction change depending on how the wind would then be hitting me. Nothing worse than what we get in Wellington though. Eventually I reached the cycle trail leading to Tekapo and was treated to a boosting tailwind for the final Ks. I'd been relying on music heavily and my phone died with perfect timing just before I rolled into Tekapo. I came to a stop outside the church after 4 days, 13hrs and 11min, very happy with the progress I'd made from previous events and more learnings to take into the next. "
- Emma Bateup