Day 13 of TA - You are the Guest of Honour!

Distance: 40 km

Elevation gain: 745 metres
From the start of the Timber Trail at Pureora to the Timber Trail Lodge (half way along the Timber Trail)
About 4hrs riding time, and 5hrs elapsed from 7:30am to 12:30pm 

Firstly, let's recap the last few days
I arrived in Pureora on Monday 13th October at 12pm and it started raining and blowing.  It didn't stop for over 24hrs.  I had a forced rest day on Tuesday in my little cabin - catching up on admin and Netflix.  I was lucky there was mobile reception.  The rain was very damaging for the centre of the North Island and many roads were cut by flooding and landslides.  The flooding subsided quickly but the landslides would take longer to clean up and it would be days before all roads are reopened.

I phoned the Timber Trail Lodge on Tuesday morning (while it was still raining) to check if they had a room for me on Wednesday night.  Yes they did!!  I chatted to Orla about the rain and conditions of the trail.  They had guests due to ride the trail on Wednesday.  That gave me confidence that once the rain had passed I would be good to ride on Wednesday, and critically I wouldn't be on my own on the trail.

By 2pm on Tuesday there was a lovely blue sky and the rain had passed. I even went for a walk around Pureora to stretch my legs.  But the bad news came at 4pm. Orla called me to say the Lodge was cut-off due to landslides on local access roads and that no-one else would be riding the Timber Trail on Wednesday.  I would be on my own, trailblazing on the Timber Trail.  Would I even be able to get through to the Lodge?  Landslips, trees blown over across the trail, flooding and trail damage - all possible and likely given the amount of wind and rain.  I went to bed with so many what-ifs rattling around in my mind it was hard to get to sleep.  

Back to today,  Wednesday.
I was awake early and put on the radio (RNZ National) to hear the local news while I got ready.  Lots of roads cut etc.  Not unexpected.  I packed up my bike - it was lighter without the food that I'd eaten.  However the heavy burden of today's ride more than made up for the weight.  With unjustified optimism I rode away from Pureora and onto the Timber Trail.  

The first 15km leg was all uphill.  Climbing from about 550m to 971 m (according to Strava this was my biggest ever climb).  The trail was in fairly good condition given the weather.  There was only one fallen tree across that trail that required me to take all my panniers off and lift everything up and over the debris.  Even the bike had to be lifted up and over.  Very inelegant.  By the time I was over the summit of Mt Pureora it was getting really cold.  There was a breeze, and combined with the high elevation, I put on my rain jacket and tried to warm up.  My toes were freezing, my fingers were getting numb and it was difficult to operate the camera on my phone.

The final leg (15km - 40km) was mostly downhill to the Lodge.  There were 3 more trees down across the trail that required me to dismantle/lift/assemble.  It was slow going but I wasn't in a hurry.  With each passing kilometre I was feeling confident that I would get to the Lodge.  

At the 22km mark I crossed the Bog Inn Creek on a massive 115m long suspension bridge.  And my spirits soared.  There were workmen at the bridge performing regular scheduled maintenance.  They had arrived on quad bikes from the Lodge end of the trail.  That meant I could get all the way to the Lodge.  So relieved.  

The rest of the ride was a joy - there were smooth and rough sections, lots of water to ride through, some of it was deep - up to the axles.  I cycled on and reached the Lodge at lunch time.  And I was welcomed like a long lost friend.  Because the staff were stuck in the Lodge, and there were no other guests, they called me the Guest of Honour.   I've been put in a better room and being well looked after.  I shared photos and kilometre markers of where the trees were down on the trail with the Lodge staff - they would be in contact with the DOC staff.

Pizza for lunch with fresh fruit for afternoon tea. The promise of a lovely dinner and a big breakfast tomorrow.  There are only two very minor issues in an otherwise fantastic day:
1) The track for day 2 of the Timber Trail is unknown.  There could be multiple trees or landslides blocking the track.
2) The Emergency Services have been in touch with the staff at the Timber Trail Lodge and informed them that the end of the Timber Trail, down near Ongarue, is flooded and I won't be able to get out.  In fact the road that I was planning on using tomorrow to ride from Ongarue to Taumarunui is currently underwater.  I might need to spend an extra night at the Lodge.  

Today's theme song is by The Saints - (I'm) Stranded
'Cause I'm stranded on my own / Stranded far from home, alright
Yep, I'm stuck at the Timber Trail Lodge due to flooding downstream.  I need river levels to drop at Ongarue at the end of the Timber Trail, and highway 4 to be reopened before I can get out.

There are worse places to be stuck 😀

Start of Timber Trail.  I was very nervous at this stage of the day.

One of the trees that I needed to climb over with the bike.  It doesn't look bad, and is easy to get over if you are hiking.  The bike and all the heavy gear was the problem.

So happy, one of the workmen at Bog Inn Creek bridge took my photo (and now I knew I could make it to the Lodge).

Water over the track.

This is a good place to be stuck.