There was a bit of snoring early in in the cabin last night but I had a surprisingly good sleep! It was very pleasing to hear the rain start at 4am and not be in the tent.
Despite the indoors accommodation it was not a quick pack up – I lost one of my gloves for a while (it had fallen in the rubbish bin, thanks Gerard for finding!) and then as we finally rode out, doing my usual wallet/phone/camera check I realised my wallet was (probably) still in my off-bike shorts. So I unpacked my seat bag for the second time (the first time being to look for the glove). As we started off (again) there was something weird going on with my gears… I looked down and saw my underwear, obviously having fallen out of my dry clothes bag, had wrapped itself around the cassette and was meshing with the chain, arghh.
After that inefficient start, it turned out to be a great morning. I was riding with Gerard and Col again, and our 830am departure coincided with a break in the rain that followed us for the next 45km. Interestingly for everyone else it rained all morning!
It was still pretty warm, and awesome seeing all the streams and waterfalls in full flow after the rain. We had a quick break in a shelter then pulled jackets on as the rain started again. With the drafting, kms flew by quickly and it was only when we hit the steep part of the climb that it felt tough.
There were several traffic lights for road works through the steepest section – impossible to get through with a bike on the green cycle, but plenty of room in the closed lane! This pinch was quite tough and with a higher ratio granny gear than the other, I had to go slightly faster. But thankfully it eased off, and with Gerard and I chatting about training regimes and riding partnerships, the rest of the climb seemed fast and painless.
We were at Haast Pass and took the requisite photo before putting on more layers and plunging down the hill. I took off first and managed to get up to 70kph before my cycle computer had its usual ‘wet die now’ response. It wasn’t long to Makarora, where my food-eating capacity and willingness to buy wifi perplexed the others.
And the rain now stopped! We bowled along in patchy sun, even getting warm, till we encountered several cruel but short climbs around the Neck, where you cross over to Lake Hawea. The southerly has arrived and the sky ahead looked grim. We persevered and just before Hawea, the rain started again.
But thankfully I was staying in Hawea, with Geoff and Maureen, two lovely wave one riders who had offered accommodation. It’s funny how the knowledge they had done TA removed any hesitation I had about staying with strangers. It was a very good call, with lots of laughter and stories shared (the broken down boat, the cyclone, the fascinations of riding group dynamics…) over some excellent pasta, beside a roaring fire.
Hearing the rain pour down outside made me very glad (again) not to be in the tent! In fact I’m not going to get back in it on this trip, having booked a room in Queenstown tomorrow (I’m concerned that with the southerly and forecast snow I’m going to arrive very cold) – and then a last night to look forward to at the Mossburn hotel.
So tomorrow it will be on with all the warm layers. Today was of note for bad driving – quite a few passing attempts came close to head on collisions, plus we saw a tourist actually filming with his phone while driving… here’s hoping the Crown Range will be better!