Ebike Hum

'Are you asleep?' No: possibly a bit chill with an open window and only a sheet covering I've been dozing for a while. 'It's raining...' B*****r. If there's a particular day we don't want rain the only worse one would be tomorrow. The gurgling I'd earlier, irrationally, put down to water circulating in the heating pipes is water running down the drain, louder now as the rain intensifies. Still dark, find my phone, 4:47... Check the three weather apps I use; sailors' habit, look at them all and choose the one you like! Yr.no looks a bit weird till I realize I've got Reefton NSW. Depressingly, all are very consistent: 8mm of rain in 24 hours easing later in the day. 'Cup of tea?' Silly question. In the kitchen Robin & Guyon are prepping for their regular 6AM start (lucky for them I pulled some shorts on over my skivvies!). We discuss the forecasts; like us they've not looked at one till now. Seems a bit odd to be heading out ear...

Springs Junction to Reefton 45km (in the wrong direction) Two cups of tea and an oaty bar... Breakfast of champions. Away at 8 for the short (and, it turns out, brief) ride to 'Quartzopolis'. First off, 6km steady ascent to Rahu Saddle in the morning chill shade of the beech forest. With fully charged battery, both personal and bicycle, Marg shot off up the hill at 15kph; I had to use the Trail setting to keep up with her. A brief pause for a photo, and a second halfway for a breather saw us at the saddle by 8:40... Pause for the obligatory photo and to don a windproof shirt for the descent. And what a descent. After agreeing that some restraint was required, swmbo declared that 40kph was a sensible limit and off we set. I've never before gone 6km without having to turn a pedal! Even the bits that looked flat were downhill, and the uphills were flat. Very little (and very courteous) traffic meant we could just enjoy the ride. Very glad for the shirt: by halfway my thumbs we...

Murchison to Springs Junction 81km (1269m altitude gained) Our biggest day yet, including the daunting Maruia Saddle... Going to SJ as no accommodation available at Maruia, but makes for a short day tomorrow. Two quarter-pounders with cheese and salad last night set us up so well we skipped brekkie and hit the road just before 8. The ride up the Matakitaki valley is a 30km steady climb, just like Tadmore Valley... Except this time there wàs no wind! A lovely morning ride, with the occasional gut-busting climb out of side valleys: one such got an encore from me after Marg left her gloves at the photo stop for the old Six-Mile powerhouse.  Further on, as we were taking a refreshment break, a Landy with an eMTB on the back stopped; the driver's 'thing' was to ride over the saddle and back; coincidentally he'd been in the next unit at the Murch motel and we had a little chat about the TA and our plans.  Matakitaki River is crossed by an old bridge where it passe...

Lake Rotoroa to Murchison 34km Even a leisurely packup to let Louise's enormous breakfast settle (photo...) saw us on the road at 8:15, an early start by our standards. A very short day planned on basis of expected camping last night and our biggest day so far tomorrow. A quick run up the hill to the lake for the obligatory photo, and read about the mad goldminer/logger and his dugout canoes then back down to the junction with the dreaded Braeburn Track. With no battery concerns it was a relatively easy climb to the saddle (the lovely Louise had warned us she always pushed her non-e MTB to the top), although Marg must have looked like she was labouring as an old guy out walking his dog said 'You need one of those electric bikes'. I'll leave you to provide the response... There followed a long, steep, glorious, sweeping run downhill on good gravel through the dappled shade of beech forest, through four fords of varying depth. I arrived at the Tutaki Road junction with sl...

Tapawera to Lake Rotoroa (Gowanbridge) 62km Douglas Adams created a character, a lorry driver who was also a rain god (but he didn't know it...). The clouds loved him and followed him everywhere. He had umpteen words to describe rain (possibly 42, but that might be a different story). I sometimes feel the same applies to me and the wind! A quick visit to the 4Square and a half dozen yoghurts for brekkie and a couple of jumbo sossie rolls for lunch and we were off. A fresh headwind greeted us as we turned onto Tadmore Valley Road and stayed with us throughout the relentless 30km grind up the Tadmore valley toward the saddle. The valley runs roughly NE-SW, the prevailing wind is from the NW: this wasn't supposed to happen!! To conserve Marg and her battery (expecting not to be able to charge it at a DOC 'standard' campsite tonight), for a while I was domestique to her chef d'equipe but she soon decided the small benefit of a me-sized hole in the air was not worth the ...

Nelson to Tapawera 63km according to MMR I still didn't find an Honest Lawyer!* Fortunately no lasting ill effects from Marg's tumble yesterday. Worried as a back problem could end the adventure. I will claim the magic fingers did the job... Today was a cruisy 63km on mostly flat seal and gravel. En route to Richmond the road book bore little resemblance to what was on the ground so we followed the Old Railway route until it joined the Estuary track: IMO the better option as the latter runs alongside the busy SH6. But that's how we missed the landmark pub.* At Richmond we were passed by Sally and Nick; they'd been at Nelson hospital until 11pm before she got the all-clear. Said we'd see them in Wakefield but they were long gone by the time we got there. Just caught the Rhubarb Cafe for an excellent lunch. Beyond Wakefield SH6 is an ongoing theme as the route regularly reconnects with it to run alongside (and occasionally on the shoulder) but it's much less busy ...