Am in Christchurch at the moment having an absolute blast of a time. The weather is magic, the pubs are busy (especially so since I arrived!) and the countryside is looking mint.
Its great to be back in the mainland. This visit is a most timely one, I'm really rediscovering the magic this place has and I'm going to have to be back before too much longer. In fact that will be just two weeks away for Easter and the next installment in the 2007 Wedding Series!
Wednesday was a biggie, Captain Mark threw me and his bike in the Black Cat (http://www.blackcat.co.nz/) van and we headed off to Akaroa on a hot norwest day. Based on the handful of 5km bikerides I have recently done from Herne Bay to work I wasn't really in the greatest cycling shape but nevertheless I spent the rest of the day cycling 91km from Akaroa back to ChCh. I can confirm the hills haven't got any smaller!
Met some interesting folk along the way, I could really get into this cycle touring lark. Its a mellow way of soaking up the countryside. One Aussie guy named Terry was setting off for 6 weeks of it all around the South Island, so we had a great chat at the Hilltop over a beer for lunch while working out the best route to take for him. Then there was an inspiring 70 year old Austrian chap who was 3 months into riding the length of NZ , complete with 4 golf clubs lashed onto his bikeframe- his big thing was to play a round at every golf course he passes- as we left him he was hooning off to play the Duvauchelle course, the 38th course he's played in NZ. I hope and prey I'm doing stuff like that when I'm a septuagenarian, in fact I will settle just to be doing anything then!
So anyway, once the hill was out the way it was a fast freewheel down to Little River and a compulsory stop at my favourite Art Gallery on the planet...classic case of the Phoenix rising out of the ashes that one was! Then the slog back to ChCh round Lake Ellesmere etc was flat, but into the teeth of the baking hot norwester, was hard yakker. Briefly a storm threatened to blow in, and I even spotted a waterspout touch the deck as I rode the Little River Rail Trail (www.littleriverrailtrail.co.nz)
The Rail Trail is neat, and I sat on some of the initial committees that developed the idea a few years back when with the local council, so it was very satisfying to ride the finished product. A compulsory ride for anyone in ChCh with a bike!
Anyway thats enough waffle for one post....off to Bill' s wedding this afternoon and just to stay consistent it is another glorious day for it!
2 comments:
Arse. That sounds like fun, a million time more exciting that my anticipated ride tomorrow; a test run to work and back. It takes me somewhere between 45-90 mins on the train, and there have been whisperings that it could be done in 30-40 on a bike which'll save me tonnes of moolah and stress. And I'll be a lean, mean racing machine by the end of the summer. What can possible go wrong? oh, yeah, need to get my own bike...
Mate get in there and do it. Ride like your pants are still on fire ;-)
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