Wind & Waves

There's been a lot of riding in the last week - today and yesterday are much needed rest days, although there's been some cycling to get around, including up a very steep hill just outside where I'm staying now, in Christchurch.  Some of you will recognise the name of the city from the news - there has been a series of bad earthquakes here over the last year or so.  I spent some time in Christchurch when I came to New Zealand ten years ago - I think it will be a shock to see the difference in the city centre later today.  Even on the short ride from the station yesterday evening there was evidence of damaged buildings.  More on this later on when I've done some exploring.

Meanwhile, a journey update:

26/01 Nelson was beautifully sunny.  As soon as we got out of the city it was unbelievably windy. Progress was slow being battered by a very strong headwind.  It is never enjoyable when you have to pedal downhill.  At least the hills don't seem that much different to the flats.  Only 61km of the intended 80 or so - just too demoralising to keep going by about 5pm!

27/01 More of the same.  There had been one very big climb the day before, and an even bigger one today.  You know the wind's bad when it feels like a relief to go to a long drop toilet, just to be out of it, rather than in and out of the long drop as fast as possible! The view at the top of the climb was pretty good, lots of mountains around, no surprise that the lowest pass (Hope Saddle) was over 2000ft, highest altitude on the bike so far, some of the surrounding peaks were over 5000ft.  There was absolutely nothing in the way of shops on this route, and supplies being a little depleted for lunch items the meal was raisin bread (2 slices), chocolate (8 small squares) and shortbread (3 biscuits).  Not ideal! Plenty of rice and porridge in the bags but it's just not practical to stop to cook during the day - takes too long.  Good job there was a shop in Murchison and a lovely campsite by the Buller River - 71km ridden.

28/01 102km to Westport - biggest day of riding, luckily without luggage (see photos).  Followed the Buller River nearly all the way - pretty scenery, rocky gorges and clear water.  The road would tightly along the edge of the river.  The wind had dropped a little, and without the bags on the back the bikes were a little more aerodynamic.  My cycling buddy and I tried to help each other out by riding close behind each other - taking it in turns to be at the front and take the wind, pretending we were in the Tour de France.  Even on our non-flashy bikes (they are not as racing like as the one I ride to school with the curly handlebars) it made a real difference to be the person in behind - you could have a break from pedalling and not work so hard to go up the hills.  Also an amazing pie shop about halfway through was a big help!

29/01 57km to Punakaiki - some big climbs, but also the fastest downhills so far at over 61km/h! The road followed the coast for much of the day - rugged coastline with huge crashing waves to the right, lush, green rainforest to the left. Still a headwind but not so much as the last few days which was a relief.  The campsite was right next to an awesome beach - loads of rolling surf and spray.  The first clear night in ages (cold, brrr!) meant an amazing display of stars - the best since Western Australia, with the Milky Way and a very bright moon.

30/01 Probably the best day's cycling so far, 54km to Greymouth almost all along the coast, not a cloud in sight!  Great views and rocky scenery, including the cool pancake rocks just south of Punakaiki.  Reward for 9 days with no rest day was fish and chips on a driftwood covered beach by the Grey River mouth.  Really pretty, and the best fish and chips so far in NZ.  They even came wrapped in actual newspaper.

31/01 (6km) The only pedalling today was to the train station!  Greymouth to Christchurch is a great train trip through the northern part of New Zealand's mountain range - the Southern Alps.  It is spectacular mountains, rivers, viaducts and tunnels.  When I get the video working on here i'll put some up.  The best bit is that on the train there's an outdoor viewing carriage - it has a roof but open sides, so you can see loads and feel how fast the train is - and get a little chilly!  I'd wanted to do the train ride since I was last here, so was very excited.  Using the rest day to travel from the West Coast to the East means that the next section of riding will be along the Canterbury Plains next to the Southern Alps, visiting some lovely lakes and Mt Cook village to do some hiking in the mountains. Fortunately...

01/02 ... That doesn't start until tomorrow! Rest day 2 today - (another vaccination) and a chance to explore Christchurch.  Also it is a relief not to be sitting on the bike seat!  Legs are not too tired, it's more general aching from the discomfort of riding - especially hands, neck and shoulders.  Happily, my lips have now recovered from some severe wind damage - for a few days last week I looked like a frostbitten Antarctic explorer! On the downside, the tan lines are now verging on the ridiculous.  Whilst mentioning Antarctica, I met a lady the other day who works for NASA who had just spent a few weeks in Antarctica on a space balloon project, testing equipment that will later be used on space missions.  Sounded awesome, and a fantastic place to visit.  Probably a bit cold there though. (I think this is the project http://www.csbf.nasa.gov/antarctica/ice.htm) 

That brings you up to date.  Going to try and do mapmyride on the routes, then you can see the hills etc if you a mapmyride user.  It's a good site, you can map walks/runs you do as well to see how far you went and what hills you climbed etc, well worth signing up to if you have a few minutes spare.  Anyway, thanks for reading, night night to you, good morning to me, time for me to stop eating cereal and get on with the day!  Take care, Miss Butler.