Day 27 of TA - Taking it easy
Tuesday 4th November
Distance: 32 km
Elevation gain: 291 metres
From Lake Rotoroa to Murchison
About 3hrs elapsed from 9:00am to 12:00pm.
A semi-rest day with only 30 km to ride into Murchison. We slept in, had a cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast and finally got rolling at 9am. The sandflies were still attacking in the morning. No rest for the wicked!
There was a decent 200 m climb up to the Braeburn Saddle over the first 3km, and then it was mostly 29 km downhill to Murchison. The Braeburn Track was wonderful cycling (after the 200 m climb). Rolling down through ancient beech forests and crossing mountain streams.
The gravel road gave way to bitumen and it was a great ride through the valley. Our luck with the winds gave out and we had a head wind riding the last 5 km into Murchison along Highway 6. This last section was real white knuckle riding with quite a few trucks buzzing by without much of a shoulder to cycle in.
Tonight we are staying with Owen - a bloke working for the local Electricity Distribution company. We met him yesterday (he stopped his car for a chat) and he mentioned that he would be happy to put us up for the night if we needed a place in Murchison. We saw him again today on the Braeburn Track and once more he offered his place…so we took him up on his offer.
It is very relaxing to spend the afternoon in Murchison - it's not a big town but worth going for a walk to stretch a different set of muscles and to give the cycling legs and butt a rest. Owen is cooking venison for dinner. Could be a big meat intake with NZ country hospitality.
Today's theme song is by Gang of Youths - Let Me Down Easy
We've had an easy day today. Tomorrow may be a big one…we are looking at accommodation in Springs Junction (77 km), but it's not looking promising. We may need to ride to Reefton and make it a 121 km day.
Goodbye to Lake Rotoroa, and the Gowan Banks Backpackers. I expect we will run into sandflies again...
The Braeburn track through the forest. Simply wonderful.
Some of the water crossings got a little deep but it gave the bike a wash.
Only 22km to Murchison. Notice the NZ Cycling sign halfway up the post. These guide the way on NZ great rides. They appear now and then at intersections, but not as often as you'd like.
Distance: 32 km
Elevation gain: 291 metres
From Lake Rotoroa to Murchison
About 3hrs elapsed from 9:00am to 12:00pm.
A semi-rest day with only 30 km to ride into Murchison. We slept in, had a cooked breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast and finally got rolling at 9am. The sandflies were still attacking in the morning. No rest for the wicked!
There was a decent 200 m climb up to the Braeburn Saddle over the first 3km, and then it was mostly 29 km downhill to Murchison. The Braeburn Track was wonderful cycling (after the 200 m climb). Rolling down through ancient beech forests and crossing mountain streams.
The gravel road gave way to bitumen and it was a great ride through the valley. Our luck with the winds gave out and we had a head wind riding the last 5 km into Murchison along Highway 6. This last section was real white knuckle riding with quite a few trucks buzzing by without much of a shoulder to cycle in.
Tonight we are staying with Owen - a bloke working for the local Electricity Distribution company. We met him yesterday (he stopped his car for a chat) and he mentioned that he would be happy to put us up for the night if we needed a place in Murchison. We saw him again today on the Braeburn Track and once more he offered his place…so we took him up on his offer.
It is very relaxing to spend the afternoon in Murchison - it's not a big town but worth going for a walk to stretch a different set of muscles and to give the cycling legs and butt a rest. Owen is cooking venison for dinner. Could be a big meat intake with NZ country hospitality.
Today's theme song is by Gang of Youths - Let Me Down Easy
We've had an easy day today. Tomorrow may be a big one…we are looking at accommodation in Springs Junction (77 km), but it's not looking promising. We may need to ride to Reefton and make it a 121 km day.
Goodbye to Lake Rotoroa, and the Gowan Banks Backpackers. I expect we will run into sandflies again...
The Braeburn track through the forest. Simply wonderful.
Some of the water crossings got a little deep but it gave the bike a wash.
Only 22km to Murchison. Notice the NZ Cycling sign halfway up the post. These guide the way on NZ great rides. They appear now and then at intersections, but not as often as you'd like.
Nice, cruisy day! Enjy=oy the kiwi hospitality.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear that it was a cruisy day, weather looks good in the photos, hope it works out for accommodation at the 77 km mark, 121 sounds like a pretty big stretch.
ReplyDeleteGood to have a better ride day, good for keeping the spirits up! How nice to have some Kiwi hospitality and venison too! Those sandflies will plague you at any river, stream or coast! All the best as you press on!
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