Cycling is a pain in the ass....literally!!!

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3rd March 2009 - CYCLING TO HARIHARI.....OH MY - THOSE HILLS!!!
We left Hokitika and headed south - or so we hoped. There were no sign posts leading out of Hokitika and so we just pedalled over the bridge and hoped we’d got it right. It was a 50-50...not such bad odds! I didn’t feel too bad today - well better than on the first day anyway and apart from the bum and crotch area hurting after the first 5 minutes, the rest of me felt strong. Good job too as we had a fair way to go!

It was 26km to Ross - the first town. It wasn’t all flat either but the hills were manageable and we pushed on at a good pace. We stopped a couple of times for water breaks but that was all. The two guys from the hostel in Hokitika drove by us and gave us a little beep just before we got to Ross. Kind of made me wish I was in a car even though I was also enjoying the cycle so far today. I think it helped that it was a clear day with good views.....not like the first day which was full of shades of grey! The hills, not being too tough made the ride more interesting too and it passed quickly. I always think to myself...”what goes up must come down” and that’s what kept me pedalling...I love the downhill parts!

When we arrived in Ross we stopped there for a 5 minute break. Quite a nice town, probably better than Hokitika but neither of us were hungry enough for lunch yet and so after a short stop we headed on. Another 22km to the next town.....woo hoo!! Just outside of Ross we saw a car pulled in and the 2 Scottish guys were waiting for us on the side of the road. Bless them...they had bought us a king size twix to keep us going and give us an energy boost! So nice of them...I didn’t have the heart to tell them I had given up chocolate for lent. We chatted to them for a good ten minutes before they set off again and we tailed behind on our bikes!

The next 20km to Pukekura were hard. It seemed like hill after hill after hill!! I wanted to get off and walk but I didn’t. I also longed for that twix but I didn’t cave on that front either. We lowered our gear and pushed on. I tried to sing to myself to make the time pass quicker but if you had ever heard my singing you would know that it wouldn’t work. There were far more ups than downs and no time for recovery in between each hill. My knees were feeling the strain a little but we kept going. We did pass a lot of fellow cyclists along our way which did spur me on and the scenery was awesome too so at least that was a bonus of our suffering!

When I saw the sign for Pukekura I was so so happy. Two thirds down and one third to go...boom!! We stopped at Pukekura for 30 minutes and went in a small cafe for some lunch. It was the only cafe in town and some of the menu choices were questionable as 95% of their menu was made from road kill. I managed to find a non road kill item but still had to sit on a fur lines bench to eat it. I am sure the fur was only just cold too.....yuk!! It was a nice rest and re-fuel though. I hoped the final 24km would be nicer than the last.

Back on the bike my hieny was sore...really wish I had more flesh there or that my pants had more padding! The ride was pretty hilly again too for the first 12km especially around Lake Ianthe but then flattened out nicely. We had to stop at a house to ask if we could fill our water bottles up too as the water from the road kill cafe was a lovely shade of yellow and without a doubt undrinkable! The family at the house were lovely and all came out to wave at us once we set off again. Love New Zealand! The last 12km were sweet as! The mountains that we had been riding towards all day seemed to encircle us, the sun was shining and everything looked stunning. A fab way to finish our ride for the day!

We arrived in Harihari at around 3.30pm. Not much was cracking off apart from a craft shop, a store and a motel which we had booked a backpackers room in. The staff at the motel struggled to make a full shilling between them and the guy working there was pretty rude! He claimed that backpackers should have their own sheets and wanted us to pay $5 for a duvet. We were stubborn and decided to go without. The room was basic as basic comes! 2 beds...that was it! There wasn’t even a kitchen to cook in. We managed to borrow some bowls for our cereal the next morning but for tea we had to buy food at the bar. Not the best but it filled us up. It was then back to the room for the night. We were literally in bed by 7pm and lights were out by 8.30pm. Nothing else to do but sleep. Another tough biking day tomorrow so probably a good thing anyway. I just hoped I wouldn’t get too cold without a duvet or even a sheet!

Cycled: 72km/45 miles

4th March 2009 - CYCLING MOUNT HERCULES & ON TO FRANZ JOSEF!!
I had a shocking nights sleep! I should not have been so tight and hired a duvet! I woke cold to the bone at around 2am. I had to put my mac on to sleep in (so many uses out of 1 item) and my scarf! Nat was wrapped up in her scarf and travel towel so I don't think she did much better than me. I did get back to sleep eventually but spent all night trying to squeeze myself under the pillow for extra coverage. Not good!!

I got up properly at around 7.30am and the usual routine of dressing, washing and breakfast followed. The sun was hidden by a mountain and so the morning felt bitterly cold which didn’t help my quest to get warm again. We set off on the bikes at 8.45am. The first 6km were lovely. Cold because the sun was still blocked from view but flat and fairly easy going and the views were tip top once again! We even saw our first glimpses of snow topped Mount Cook in the distance...stunning!

Our first major obstacle was Mount Hercules and it really was an obstacle! A steep 200m gradient over a stretch of 5-10km. We stopped at the bottom to take photos and psyche ourselves up. We both had the mindset that we would have to stop from what we had been told about it but we pushed on anyway! It was steep but we put the bikes in granny gear and pedalled! We didn’t stop once which was good because apart from a couple of places where it levelled off the rest of the way was up up and up! I was pleased with myself as was Nat. He put up a fight, showed us his might, little mountain Hercules!! Main obstacle of the day complete! To be honest the descent was worse...steep and windy bends! Glad my brakes worked anyway!

After Mt Hercules, the next 15km to Whataroa were nice. Few hills, few descents and some flat. It had warned up by that point too and the sky was clear. We took our time, had a couple of photo stops and arrived in Whatoroa at around 11.30am. This was the only town between Harihari and our destination of Franz Josef and so we stopped there for 30 minutes to have lunch. A tasty ham sandwich...yum!! We were back on the bikes by 12pm and the afternoon ride was more of the same. Good views, warm sun on our backs and a mixture of hills and flats though nothing too tough! We took our time again stopping at both Lake Wahopa and Lake Mapourika for water breaks and bum rests. There were a few longer inclines as we got towards Franz Josef but again we pushed on! My knees and shoulder were hurting a little and my quads felt tight but no major problems. Even so...I was glad there would be no cycling tomorrow.

On arrival in Franz Josef we checked into Montrose backpackers. It was nice and Nat and I ended up with a 6 bed dorm to ourselves for the night...sweet as!! I chilled out for the afternoon, had a wander into town and watched a film with some others in the hostel. The town of Franz was nice with an amazing backdrop of the Glaciers. Nat went for a horse ride whilst I wandered into town. Looked fun but not my cup of tea unless they are stuffed and rock back and forth! We met back at the hostel at 5.30pm and from there we went to the supermarket, cooked tea and watched good will Hunting. I phones home at 9pm to say happy 50th birthday to my mum. It was really nice to speak to everyone. Hope you had a nice day mum....sorry I couldn’t celebrate with you! Apart from that my night was pretty uneventful. I wanted a beer but had to settle for a cuppa and some fresh pineapple. Living on the edge again...one of these days i’ll go wild!! Went to bed at around 11ish.....glacier climb tomorrow...can’t wait!!!

Cycled: 62km/38.5 miles

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Photos

First Town Milestone!!
Discovered by the Germans in 1904, they named it Ross......scholars maintain that the translation of Ross was lost hundreds of years ago.