Wow! What a day, I blew out 130kms and walked off my bike feeling I could blow another 130km. I’m sitting in the Amberly Hotel still buzzing from the endorphines from today’s ride.
The Statistics
So yeah, 130kms in 11 hours. Admittedly, I had a big pig out stop at the Culverden Bakery (excellent suggesting Vic!), and I stopped to chat to some foreigners who were travelling my route, but in reverse.
So today wasn’t a big bust my gut – get to the endpoint, day.
And, I probably had the most satisfying ride of my journey so far 🙂
Cheap Accommodations
Interesting night last night. I bunked in a dorm with four other guys. They were all in bed by the time I got back from dinner at 9:30 so I quietly snuck in and went to bed and sleep.
Only to be tapped on the shoulder at 5:00am by the Aussie guy who reckoned, “hey mate, you’re snoring really badly!”
I really couldn’t sleep after that – the selfish bastard! So by 5:30am I was out of bed getting my gear together for an early ride in to Culverden.
I got down to the kitchen and there was another guy from my room. He too reckoned I’d been snoring: “You should really get that looked at.”
Guys! There’s a reason dorm accomodation is only $40! There’s always some guy who snores REALLY loudly.
Well there is in every dorm I’ve slept at … 🙄
They could have at least let ME have a good night’s sleep, even if there’s might be troubled.
Some people, aye?
The morning: Hamner Springs to Culverden
The Road Gods were smiling on me today, rewarding my hard efforts with some easy K’s this morning.
I’m currently sitting in Culverden bakery, gobbling down the best pies I’ve had for a long time!
Culverden always reminds me of the Glenn Campbell song, Galveston. I particularly like the bit that goes:
While I watch the cannons flashing
I clean my gun
And dream of Galveston
There’s a lyric. I dare anyone not to have a tear in their eye!
A young boy just walked past sporting a mullet I would have been proud of back in 1986.
So Long Hills, Hello Plains
The photos below give you a hint of today’s weather conditions: overcast ominously threatening to rain. It kept the temperature below 18, and made for a nice comfortable ride.
Here’s a picture of the last of the foothills from Hamner Springs turn into the first of the Canterbury Plains.
Culverden to Huranui Leg
This part of the ride initially pissed me off. The journey is so tangential to the direct path from the two points that I got grumpy that Jonathan and Erik had thrown in this time waster of a route.
And then I stopped and thought this route is in here for a reason – there’s something about what I’m seeing that’s different. And that something was the lush green pastures and the nature of Canterbury farming.
Canterbury dairy gets a lot of stick for intensive farming on porous soils, leading to nitrogen absorbion straight into the water table.
This pasture looked fertile and rich. I’m looking forward to seeing the lower end of the Canterbury plains for a contrast. I’m no farmer, but what I saw was highly productive agriculture.
Once again, opening my eyes changed my view of this alternative path.
Huranui to Amberly
There’s always a tension in doing these rides, especially late in the piece: will I get to the destination during daylight.
On the map, this leg looked like another pain in the arse – distance without destination, and a gentle meander through the country side, while the sun sets on my soul and my life.
Then I rode through some real Heartland parts of New Zealand: Harwarden and into the back blocks of rural Amberley.
I bumped into Belinda, a local who owned the farm at the top of the hill. Belinda was out toodling about on her very expensive, very high-end, Specialized e-Mountain bike. We chatted and she assured me that I should relax about the time – it will only take me 2 hours to get to Amberly, and I should just enjoy the ride.
And just like that, I did – a fantastic mountain bike ride in the true sense of the word. Not only that, but what looked like Big Hills now, after 6 days of cycling, turned into totally doable hills.
I was starting to stand up in my bike, treating the hills like a stepper exercise – something you can only do with a decent base fitness and physical strength.
And the more I did it, the more I nailed it, and the stronger I felt, and honestly I stepped off my bike in Amberly with a ranging endorphine rush bordering on sexual 🙂
Fuck what a day! Lets go again! 🙂