Day 25

Crazy day! It started well eating breakfast with the lovely Maureen and Geoff. With little packing to do, I was on the road by 8. Unlike yesterday, where I wore contacts due to rain, I decided to return to my sunnies again as I was conscious that my eyes were not fond of the unshielded cold wind.

It was raining and cold when I set off – I was wearing leg warmers for the first time in the Tour, and they would stay in all day! Plus full rain gear and my unstylish helmet rain cover. I really enjoyed the ride to Albert Town, a gravel path alongside the clear river. When I crossed the river (and took the requisite photo) I was on familiar ground, having stayed in the area last year when we went to the NZ Mountain Film Fest (highly recommended!). As I zoomed along I heard someone call my name – Gerard and Col were staying right by the track and invited me in for a coffee and second breakfast. We chatted for a while in the nice warmth, hoping the rain would stop as forecast. Luckily I did not keep waiting as I would still be there!

I set off, having 16km more than them at the end of the day to reach my accommodation. I continued among the now very familiar track to Wanaka, feeling a bit cold and resolving to purchase some full-finger gloves before I headed up the Crown Range.

In Wanaka I headed straight for my favourite cafe and ordered a hot chocolate and caramel slice. Sitting outside (but under cover) eating it, I felt very happy. Lucky to be here, appreciating all the amazing people I had met on the Tour, and thinking about seeing my loved ones again soon. I smiled and ate my caramel slice.

Next stop Outside Sports where I made a very quick gloves purchase. In retrospect possibly too small but they stretched throughout the day! I started up the road to the Crown Range, which seemed to get colder and colder. The last 30mins before Cardrona were very chilled and I started to think about what I could do, particularly about my icicle feet, running through all the items I had with me. My feet were already in plastic bags and shoecovers but it wasn’t enough. Then I thought of cutting my emergency blanket in half and using this instead of the plastic bags!

At Cardrona hotel I ordered a soup and hot chocolate, and warmed up. I then had a second hot chocolate and muffin, then enacted my emergency blanket plan to the slight bemusement of the neighbouring American tourists who had befriended me. In the meantime, the rain outside turned to giant snowflakes! This was not exactly welcome.

I started off again and my feet felt much much better. I swapped the plastic bags to my gloved hands and this really helped them stay warm, though operating gears became more of a challenge. It took me maybe another 90 minutes to reach the top, with a few stops. My legs were a little weary and while my temperate was good, I needed to keep up food and fluid. I also had to stop and put contacts on as my glasses were filled with snow and I couldn’t see. I also put my camera in my pocket, hoping body warmth would get one last bit of life from its fading battery!

I kept pondering – and becoming increasingly annoyed by – the fact that only about half of drivers had their lights on despite the terrible conditions. Not great when as a cyclist your reflective things need light to be seen. Some bad driving but generally better than yesterday.

The last 500m was a grind and I might have walked if the lack of shoulder hadn’t made it stupidly unsafe. But reaching the top felt surprisingly triumphant and I shouted a woohoo to the sky. I pulled into the rest area and managed to snap a few photos on the resurrected camera. I didn’t want to stop too long as I knew the descent would be brutal. This meant I decided not to spend time digging out and putting on extra clothes.

Screaming down a hill at 55kph in needly sleet is not recommended. I thought maybe this was what laser dermabrasion of your face felt like… I stopped every five mins on the descent to thaw my face and wished for a scarf or buff to cover it with. But then the descent levelled off and things were much better. I took the turn off to the gravel road, glad to be away from the impatient drivers, and made my way down to Arrowtown.

I was aware I was getting too cold and needed to rewarm. Probably because of my chilled brain, I had difficulty finding the Main Street despite having been there many times, and went round in a big circle with Google being very unhelpful. Eventually I spied the shops and went inside the first thing I saw – a pub. Do you have any hot drinks, I asked? I ended up with a lemon and ginger tea to which I added two sugars! I also nipped off to the bathroom and put a dry thermal layer next to my skin. And then had some lovely soup. The kind bar manager asked if I wanted to move closer to the fire but I was keeping one eye on my bike! After a while even though I wasn’t exactly warm, I knew I needed to go.

I headed back to the trail and there encountered Tony, who’d just come over. We swapped some stories and bike chat, and it stopped raining for a bit. This trail section was surprisingly hilly and took longer than I expected, though it was very nice. We had a break and I pushed on alone as Tony wanted to take it a bit easier. Even though I was trying to go fast, it was still 8pm before I reached Queenstown. I’d decided I’d have dinner and then head to my accommodation, which was out of town. The first thing I saw was a hipster burger joint so I leaned my bike against their sign and ordered the first appetising thing on the menu. Dithering needs to be avoided when you’re chilled! I quickly ate my burger while regularly casting glances at my bike. Queenstown seemed very busy (as had Wanaka) after the isolation of the past week.

I hopped back on the bike and headed up an annoyingly hilly, dark and fast-car-filled 5.5km to the Top10, where I was excited to see my unit had a bathroom and kitchenette. Doing a lot of camping on this trip has given me a renewed appreciation for plumbing and hot water.

Thankfully tomorrow is a bit of a sleep in before the 10am Earnslaw.