Schedule blown...

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.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What a difference a day makes...**

Arapuni to Mangakino 54.7km The sign could have said North. Cross the swing bridge and turn right to rejoin the Waikato River Trails NORTH. If they really want to be kind, they could even say turn right for North and turn left for South. Which is why we did a 2.8km loop around Arapuni before finally picking up the WRT in the right direction. We'd set off wearing our warm tops because the day had dawned bright and clear and chilly. By the time we'd wound our way through the single-track toward the dam, at the top of the final climb we had to stop and strip off. On over the dam, uphill the other side and on out into the farmland. Sudden stop by Marg. 'I don't have my gloves'. My offer to return the 3+km to where we'd disrobed was (thankfully) refused, and we continued, in discussion about where another pair of gloves could be sourced. While stopped I also posted on the TA FB page where we thought they were lost and where we are staying tonight. I was also hopeful
Read more

Sublime to ridiculous...

Image
...via a couple of hills Clevedon to Miranda Hot Springs 63.1km The problem with publishing what may be temporary instructions in a long-term document is that the user can never be sure if they still apply. Such was our dilemma leaving Clevedon (apart from wanting the stay forever at Karinya). On the one day between Auckland Anniversary holiday and a three-day closure of McNicoll and Otau Mountain Roads, would the log-trucks be taking a day off, or working flat-out while they could? At home we'd previously decided to take the weekday alternate route up the Ness Valley, and we stuck to that choice. A wise choice as it happens, as the Kennetts' recommendation to avoid OMR on weekdays is actually an official prohibition to cyclists by Auckland Council. The day had a slightly inauspicious start when, after waking at 6 to get ahead of the forecast heat and later rain, one of us succumbed to a 'dicky tummy' and needed a little lie down while things settled somewhat. And befor
Read more

Into the abyss

Image
Hunterville to Apiti 65.6km Today looked like being a toughie, but not as tough as Steve & Jill were going to have it heading all the way to Ashurst via SH54. Lack of accommodation elsewhere, you see. Of course, it only occurred to us about 10km before Apiti that our AirBnB has two double rooms... The Station Hotel proudly announces that it has no self-service kitchen, and no food is allowed in the rooms. So we prepared our usual breakfast & lunch rolls outside on the pub tables. The facilities are otherwise fine, and the hosts welcoming to cyclists. We got away shortly before 9, leaving town on a quiet backwater street. Before joining the melee that is SH1, for about 5km. Actually, this was not bad at all: traffic was light, the shoulder 'adequate' as the Kennetts have it. Even on the uphill, all the traffic used the passing lane to pass us, we never had to contend with two drivers focussed on passing/being passed and thus paying less attention to slow-moving two yello
Read more