Ebike Hum

 Featherston to Wellington 83.2km Day 31 of 30! If you're wondering about the title, we (I) originally intended to ride on through to the sign at Te Papa and make the final photo 'Welliington'. But instead of the 4km extra round trip from Bluebridge I settled for a quick half at Trax before catching the last bike-friendly train home! A blustery, slightly chilly start from Magnolia House just before 8; the gale had abated but the wind turned Southeasterly overnight, with a hint of a shower in the air. We never felt more than a few drops, despite the cloud being well down on the Remutaka as we cycled out to rejoin the route. The forecast was for morning showers coming through from the South, clearing to a sunny afternoon, so we were going to meet and pass through any weather coming over the hill. Long sleeves while riding for the first time in the trip... The run out to Cross Creek Road was longer than I recall, the cycle track weaving on and off the road shoulder as we cross

Featherston to... Featherston 0km An unscheduled rest day in the Wairarapa due to the gale-force winds. Despite having a lot of support lined up for our return home today we made the late call last night based on the weather forecasts. Which if anything were conservative... Fortunately we have a network of wonderful friends who simply(?) adjusted their schedules to our whim. Equally fortunately, Magnolia House could accommodate us for a second night. If our experience of first being blown down the high street, then fighting our way back up it is anything to go by, NOBODY should have been out on a bike around here today.

Masterton to Featherston 74km A short cut out of the campground via the pedestrian gate not only delivered us directly to the river path out of town but spared us a sharp climb and descent on the road. We crossed the river via the suspension footbridge and carried on down the opposite bank through the park-like riverside path, avoiding any contact with SH2. Back on the road, our first turn took us onto the rural road we would follow for the next 37km. Have to say my sense of direction was all to cock, as my brain was convinced we were West of SH2, but as our next destination was Martinborough, which is East of SH2, we'd have to cross it somewhere. Wouldn't we? Not... The surrounding landscape has much more form than the final run into Masterton, consisting of river flats and gullies, but the profile is benign and we're making (relatively) rapid progress. The first 20km disappear by 10AM, but then we're climbing gradually toward the high spot for today. There is a sense

Ekatahuna to Masterton 46.8km (ooops!) Today we're getting a lion, but I haven't seen it yet. At least, I think that's what Marg said. After she went out (for the usual reason of aging) she came back and put the jug on. It's 6:41, so she certainly didn't say we'd get a lie-in... Actually, we had a lazy start, only getting away just before 10. I spent time writing up the Pohangina blog while my notes still meant something, Marg spent time organising having hot water available when we get home (thanks, Margaret!). And other important things. It's a short day, only 42.2km, if you go the right way, and no major hills. If you go the right way. From the campground we were already more than 1km along the route, so that was a good start. Less good was that it was at the bottom of a steep drive. Already using assistance before we'd gone 100m. We followed the gravel South Road up and down a bit, catching some last long views over the rolling hills to the Tararuas

Palmerston North to Ekatahuna 68km Big shout out to Karena & Margaret at the Esplanade Motel in Palmy. Keen and involved TA supporters, less than 200m off route, upgraded room so we had (but didn't use) a spa bath, loan of a high volume footpump, loan of a car to go up the hill for groceries. Stars! Reason we didn't partake of a spa was that we were hosted to a full roast lamb dinner by Marg's cousin, so our evening was fully occupied. A great catch-up and even better meal. We started the day in trepidation as almost out of the box we were on the Pahiatua Track (PT), which is effectively an undesignated state highway. To make matters (potentially) worse, the alternative Saddle Road is closed during the day at the moment, though not until 10 AM on Friday. So we tried to get away reasonably early, though a long conversation with Karena delayed us a little. We'd debated whether to head back North to the old Gorge road, which is officially closed to all users but passab