Organising, Padded Pants and Acting out the Christmas Story!!!

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27th February 2009 - GOODBYE DORA & ORGANISING OUR NEW MODE OF TRANSPORT!!!
As I drove into Christchurch it looked pretty different to the other cities we had been to. More run down I suppose but we were on the outskirts and I suppose it will have been like all the rest in the centre. We found our hostel pretty much straight away...Cokers. It was really cheap and when we got there we realised why....it was like being in Blackpool!! The floors were uneven, the carpets had vivid 1960s patterns on them, the whole place was decorated with the worst borders imaginable and what must have been a monster tin of gold pain!! To top it all off it was so dark and dingy that everything had an air of dirt about it!! Nice!! It was definitely our worst hostel in NZ so far without doubt!!

We dumped our stuff and then I reversed out of the smallest driveway ever so that we could head into town and drop the car back. That was a nightmare in itself as the shop was in the middle of a mall so we had to park on the road and keep running inside. It was bit of a nightmare to be honest but eventually we go someone to come outside, check her over and take her off our hands. Will the mayhem we didn't really get chance to say bye to the car properly but I would miss her (especially when biking up a hill). She served us well, never broke down and was so so easy to drive!! Loving the automatics!!

Once we had dropped the car off we headed into Cathedral Square to find a cyclists bible called 'Peddlers Paradise'. We found it fairly quickly, got some lunch and then went through the book planning our route depending upon difficulty and the number of days we wanted to spend in places. It was going to be tough and we seemed to have far too many stops and not enough days. We decided to keep our rough outline and then head to the bike shop (Natural High) to sort everything out. I was so scared!!

At the bike shop Kaye and Andrew helped us out. They showed us the bikes and we had a practice on them. They then went through our route with us and advised where we should get trains or buses and which parts we should bike. It was going to be tough and they advised that we may hit a brick wall at first but just to push through as it would get better. They also persuaded us to buy some padded pants. Gees...I thought I had grown out of padded pants as a toddler but here I was buying a pair. Andrew advised that sore bums and other areas were inevitable but the pants would really help. We were sold...anything for the slightest improvement of comfort!! We left the bike shop with our panniers that we would have to pack up that evening and a small list of things to get. We were both happy with the route now and it looked like we would have a few spare days to play around with. Looking Sweet!!

On the way back from the bike shop we went to the supermarket and chemist to stock up on the emergency food supplies such as cereal, muesli bars, raisins and salty nuts (in case of cramp). We wouldn't be ale to carry much else on the bikes and would have to buy meals as and when needed. We also bought a tub of Vaseline to ward of the saddle sores, a tube of savlon to treat the saddle sores and a tub of Anti-flam for aches and pains!! Sorted!! It was then back to the hostel to chill out, have tea and pack up. I forgot bread though and so I went back out to find some. I thought it would be a 2 minute job but arrived back at the hostel 1 hour later after walking the streets, getting lost and having to get a taxi back. And I didn't even get any bread in the end!! Nat thought it highly amusing and laughed at me for ages!! Funny!!

Packing was tough…..we pretty much had to half our stuff we had. It was a case of taking minimal stuff and not too much weight as we would have to ride with it up the hills. We did ok and got in most things we needed!! Once packed we each did our own thing for a while with regards reading, phone calls and the internet, before heading off to the dark and dingy room that was our bedroom for the night!! Glad it was dark as it meant I couldn't see the dirt!! I struggled to get to sleep for a while too...excited and nervous about the biking adventure!! I managed to get off at around 1am and hoped and prayed that I wouldn't get woken up during the night!!

28th February 2009 - DAY 1 BIKING.....SORRY, THERE IS NO ROOM AT THE INN!!!
I did not have the best night. I was nervous about the biking, my ankles were itchy from the bites and the big guy sleeping on the bunk below me kept getting in and out of bed with all the grace of a Rhino!! Still, I managed to sleep for most of the night which was better than Nat managed as she had a snorer sleeping below her…unlucky!! I woke up properly at 7am and cleared out of the room and into the equally dirty kitchen to have breakfast. Nat got up and went out to the post office. She was gone for a pretty long time and I was so pleased to hear that she had gotten lost after all her mocking of me the previous night!! Looks like both of us need a better sense of direction!!

Once breakfast was done with we both got ready, applied teh vaseline liberally and then slid into our padded pants. So big and padded especially between the legs…I felt as if I was walking like John Wayne but I were told that they felt worse than they looked!! Plus…a big sticky out bum never did J-Lo any harm!! Anything to save pain from the bicycle seat. Once dressed I ensured my panniers were packed with everything and was good to go. We waited outside the hostel (so glad to be leaving and never returning) for Kaye (the bike woman) to pick us up. She arrived at 10am as arranged....perfect!!

Once at the bike shop our bikes were given a final once over and we had another practice ride. We then left half our stuff in storage and attached the panniers to the bikes…..made a massive difference and I was not looking forward to getting up any hills with that extra weight attached!! We were also given a run down on how to change a tyre but I think I’ll stick to my plan of thumbing down help and saving my own hands from getting dirty!! It was then time to get pedalling!!

The plan was to cycle 48km to Darfied and then stay there for the night. It was small town and we didn’t think there would be a problem getting accommodation so we didn’t pre-book. The riding was quite nice especially to begin with. I could feel my bum and groin area hurting after about 30 minutes of cycling and felt thankful for the padded pants and how much worse it may have been had I not had them. Who would have thought that I’d ever wish for a bigger bum!!

The ride out of Christchurch was ok…a steady incline all the way…almost felt flat. There were no monster hills and the roads were pretty straight. Nat led the way as she is much more confident on a bike than me…I am clumsy and have been known to fall off occasionally!! We kept a nice pace and after around 90 minutes we arrived at West Melton for our first stop. There wasn’t much there…a petrol station and a pub...both selling pies!! Neither of us are massive pie eaters and so we stuck to a muesli bar and a banana to keep the energy levels up. After re-fuelling our bodies we set off again and it was pretty much the same as before….grey road, grey sky and not much else. It was a shame about the greyness but at least the rain was holding off. We cycled for another hour or so chatting as we went along before reaching Kirwee. We stopped there for another quick bite to eat (apple and muesli bar) out of our own stocks as once again pies were all that was on offer from the lone petrol station.

So far so good!! We got back on the road just after 2.15pm to do the last 15km to Darfield. My knees were feeling it at this point but the incline was still nice and steady and nothing to heavy on the old muscles!! It was still very grey and after a short while the rain started to come. I was pleased when I saw the ‘Darfield’ sign at around 3pm…made it!! A town with everything we needed…..shops, post office, internet and backpacker accommodation. We rode up to the motel and asked for a room. No Vacancies!! What?!! We were told to try further up the road. I had a really bad feeling and knew it would have been wise to book…I kept my fingers crossed!!

The rain was getting heavier and we were pretty much soaked to the bone by this point as the trusty macs can only take so much water. The hotel down the road did advertise backpacker accommodation but once again we were told “there are no rooms left. Sorry”. Shit Shit Shit!!! (sorry mum). What were we to do? We were stuck on bikes out in the rain. There were no more places in town and we didn’t have a tent! The man at the hotel saw the look on our faces and advised that there was a bowls tournament on and that was why the town was full. He said our best bet would be to ride another 15km up the road to Sheffield and there were some cabins we could stay in there. I was not happy!!!

I paddied!! I don’t usually paddy but I did today. If I had a pram I would have thrown my toys straight out! I did not want to ride any further in the rain. I wanted a nice warm shower as I was freezing, I needed the toilet and my shoulder was killing!! Nat was ok and tried to coax me around. We didn’t have any choice anyway so we had to ride on but even so I was not happy. Lesson learnt…always book in advance!!

We made it in around 45 minutes. Sheffield was a tiny town and the only place really was the Sheffield Hotel where we had the cabin waiting. The guy from the hotel came out to meet us and showed us to where we were staying. It was not a cabin as you would expect. It was a wooden hut/shed!! We got stripped out of our soaking clothes straight away and wrapped up in some blankets that we found in the room. Felt like bloody Mary and Joseph only without the donkey and the child!! The hut was definitely equivalent to a stable only my guess is that the stable would have been warmer!! It took us ages to half warm through and by that time I was ok…no longer in a mood…thankfully for Nats sake!!

Once dressed we headed across to the hotel pub. The man and woman were lovely and they put the kettle on for us as we sat by a nice wood burning fire. Once we had warmed through fully we cracked on with sorting out a shuttle bus out of Sheffield and on to Arthur’s Pass for the following morning. It was a trauma in itself as all the numbers we had were wrong and the pay phone didn’t work but once again, the woman from the hotel came to our rescue and let us use their phone. They had definitely taken pity on us after seeing the state of us when we arrived.

We sat in the pub for a while. Only about 10 locals in…probably the whole town had turned out for Saturday night drinks as everyone knew one another. We were lucky too in the fact that the hotel served food on Saturdays and so we ate there too and filled our bellies. We had a final brew and then went back to our hut to get some sleep. Oh my god…the roof was leaking and one of my panniers was open just where the drip was coming down. Luckily I had most of my stuff in plastic bags but there was still a puddle at the bottom of my pannier. I’m sure Mary and Joseph never had a leak in the stable!!

After drying my bag out I moved everything so that only the floor was getting wet. We then loaded the bed up with around 7 blankets and climbed in to keep warm. There was certainly no heater and no hay either!! We both read and wrote in our journals for a while before falling to sleep to the sound of drip drip drip drip!!

Cycled: 63km/39 miles
Gradient of 300 metres on a steady incline.

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Photos

The Hut!!!
This was a pic of the hut the following morning.....looked a lot worse in real life and in the dark and gloomy rain!!!