The story of my trip...

Hello everyone!

This post if just to give you an idea of my trip, and what I got to see. This was from Palmerston North to Christchurch, 30th of January to the 5th of February.

I left Palmy on Tuesday 30 Jan, at 8am. A fond farewell to my much loved family, and my home for so long. The first leg of five was to Wellington, and the start of a 500km ride. The weather was lovely, and things went very smoothly; no near misses or anything. I made it to Otaki (halfway) on time (yes, I had made a plan, and even thought it was just me, I intended to stick to it). The sun really heated things up, but I just kept on pedaling.

Kapiti Island. As you may know, this is a very narrow stretch of road, but the cars were pretty kind, as were the trucks. The island is one of the things I'd always associate with Wellington, even if it was still some way to go. I enjoyed counting down the distances on the road signs...

The long road still to come. Still, my spirits were high - the whole feeling of actually doing the trip was amazing.

At Porirua, cycles leave the motorway. After this, you head through the suburbs of Tawa and Johnsonville etc. There was a good deal of climbing, followed by an amazingly steep descent.
I was staying at Aurora Tce, one of the steeper streets in Wellington, and I did my best to power up, but it was far too much at the end of the day. Feeling ecstatic, I said hello to my friends, Adam, Simon, Derek and Luke, and had a well earned break. I had done easily the longest trip of my life (140ish km), in 8 1/2 hrs, and felt great (the fatigue hit about 3 hrs later, with a vengeance).

Bikey at Aurora Tce. Still in one piece

I took it easy on the 31st, before the aquatic leg on Thursday 1st Feb. As I had no means of cycling on water, I decided to catch the ferry. After a choppy sail, I disembarked in Picton to find rain! Yarrgh!

Grim. I got very wet cycling out of Picton, but a little rain never hurt anyone, and it provided a nice contrast to the first day. Yippee.

The halfway point for the day was Blenheim and I stopped off to see Pene, a friend from Outward Bound. It was very overcast, even though she assured me this was one of the sunniest places in the country. Oh well.

Pene and I. Blenhiem - sunny 364 days a year.

David decided to take the smaller size, so as to reduce the amount of weight he needed to carry. The light weight model is pictured here in Blue/Black

Leaving Blenheim. A continuing countdown to my target.

Vineyards. I must be in Marlborough.

The winds on this day were incredibly helpful, and the whole leg to Seddon (53km) took only a couple of hrs. I even seemed to be blown over Weld Pass, one of the biggest climbs on the trip.

Weld Pass. This climb was challenging, but I do enjoy a good challenge. The descent was intense, let me tell you.

A few km out of Seddon, SH1 reverts back to the 19th Century, where motorists and cyclists alike wait patiently to cross a one lane wooden bridge (left). On the right, a new bridge takes shape.

I stayed at a campsite in Seddon, which seemed like a nice small town.

Seddon has a train station. And a nice feeling of community (not pictured)

I relaxed before the next leg, 105 km to Kaikoura on the 2nd February. This was a very nice ride for the most part, along the coast with the sun shining.

I met a French cyclist who was heading the opposite direction. He told me it was easy riding (yes, for him), but things soon turned bad. For the last 40km, I had no water, and it was a head wind, and the rain came in, and it was freezing cold, and I was getting slightly hysterical, wondering 'where on Earth' Kaikoura was. (Having never traveled the coast before was interesting. It was good for the most part, not fearing any section, but in this instance, I wish I'd known when I was 'just around the corner'). My best option, as I saw it, was to push on; stopping only made me cold. Of course, I eventually did get to Kaikoura, only to have the bad weather follow me.

Relief. To show you how cold it was, I've included a numb finger in the top of this shot.

With the bad weather, there was no view of the mountain-coast-ocean I'd been so looking forward to. Overall, though, I still made good time. I stayed in a very nice backpackers, where they had the fire lit (!), and tried to do something with my right knee, which felt like it was falling apart on the inside.

The next day (February 3rd) was overcast, but I had good winds again, and set off at a roaring pace. The target was Cheviot, 73km away. About 15km out of Kaikoura, however, I had a blowout on my front tire, which proved to be incredibly problematic. I spent about 3/4 hr trying to get the tire off, but as it was new, it was very tight. I rode on for a few km, and came across an old man in a caravan (note, this was along the Kaikoura coast, and it felt like the most isolated place of my trip, even though it was still SH 1), from whom I borrowed some teaspoons. For once, my Kiwi ingenuity shined, and I managed to change the tube (oh, I'd also had a slow leak the previous morning, so I hoped my repair work was adequate).
Back up and running, I continued down the coast. The road went inland at Oaro, and into the Hundalees. This was another section of climbs and drops, and it went pretty well; I had to stop periodically to pump up my tire, though... Carrying on, I was looking forward to Parnassus, and the prospect of water. But as with Clarence the day prior, I had to push on as a lack of services denied me a drink. It was probably for the best though, as once in Cheviot I learnt that their tap water had a bacterial contamination. Not the sort of thing a thirsty cyclist wants to hear. That night I met some German cyclists on a tandem, and we all worked together to change my tire (it was even harder than the first time, and took three men to get it off!!!)

(No photos during this down time)

After more grief with the tire in the morning, I finally managed to get away. I had been aiming for Kaiapoi (93km), but thought that 'God willing' if I could get to Christchurch that day, then I would go do it. February 4th

Cheviot. <- Kaikoura - Christchurch -> Only one way to go, really.

More climbing on this leg, with the Greta Valley. This was tough, as my knees were really hurting; but after that it was the Cana'bree Plains, and the 'home stretch'.

Christchurch 79km. Fantastic. This was near Greta Valley. Smooth cycling from here on.

Photo of smooth cycling. This was my view for almost the whole day - the sun behind me (which meant I was heading south!), and road just rolling.

The day carried on, and I just kept cycling, and after working my way through the suburbs, and then the inner streets, I finally made it to Cathedral Square! I was totally elated, and incredibly overwhelmed; this trip I had been planning for so long - training, researching, packing, and finally doing - had come to an end in glorious success!

Mission Accomplished! How sweet is that?

Six days after leaving home, I had made it to my new one. My knees were aching, and my bike was almost falling apart - tubes covered in patches, chain and gears squeaking... - but I had done it! This started as a crazy decision, but by taking all the little steps, I managed to do it.

And so I had done it, and am now in Christchurch. It's a very lovely place, and I'm having a great time. It is of course, not without its hazards.

Beware! That guy is all kinds of trouble

My new home. Ilam Village has lots of international students, and mature students. And me. Not sure how I fit in there, but I am the New Zealand reference book.

So that's me and my wee journey. I hope you've had a nice time reading my blog