This morning lots of riders were getting ready and heading away between 730 and 8. Along the road we passed Toshi, Ellen and Brent – leapfrogging would continue for much of the day. Some people were slow and steady, others faster with longer breaks and it was fun to keep catching up.
We headed along a quiet back road with lots of hops growing, before coming out on a more main road, which became the even-busier SH6 after Kawatiri Junction. There was a stop/go for road works soon after, which meant a large line of cars then passed us… we did these few kms fast to spend as little time on this section as possible.
Turning off to Lake Rotoroa was a welcome respite with little traffic and a gentle 10kms or so to the cafe. Best muffin of the trip so far! Brent and Ellen rolled in while we were eating – unfortunately the sand flies then started to swarm.
After taking a photo of the peaceful lake, we headed along the Braeburn track towards Murchison. This was a beautiful ride, with sweeping gravel downhills through the beech. A bit more main road and we were in town – another cafe stop! It was only 230 and seemed too early to stop. We thought about heading for the motel in Maruia but it was full. Thinking that there might be camping possibilities in the beech or next to one of the halls marked in the map, we decided to press on despite the rain forecast.
It was another beautiful ride up towards Maruia saddle – good gravel, zero traffic and beech forest with views of the mountains. We were trying to outrun the bad weather we could see coming in but inevitably failed. About 5 I put my jacket on and we continued the climb, winding up through beech and across a number of fords. By 630, I’d been feeling tired for a bit and needed a rest (a little while back, I’d asked Josh how he was going, he said ‘great’!). I ate a whole cookie time bar (extremely unhealthy but massive calorie source) and some peanuts and steeled myself to go on. But Josh had been looking round and suggested this large verge area would be a good campsite. We knew the saddle was very close so biked there to see if it was better – no – then headed back to set up camp.
The light rain became heavier as we set up our tents and set Back Countries to rehydrate. I had a few hot drinks and washed my shorts knowing there was zero chance they would dry… we wondered if some other cyclists would join or pass us but no one did – sensibly tucked up in Murchison out if the rain! Hopefully it stops raining by morning. One motivation for going on today was it means we can aim to stay at the Big River hut tomorrow.