Day 5: Geraldine

The northwester was blowing this morning. Warm and dry it was blessedly cooler than yesterday’s oven like temperature. It is also the harbinger of rain. We set off towards Arthur’s pass into an increasingly grunty wind and then turned south towards lake Coleridge. Before the lake we again turned west into the wind and headed towards the Harper and Wilberforce valleys. The scenery became progressively more dramatic as we approached the higher mountains. Rain and cloud was spilling over the main divide but so far we remained dry. The sentinels of the Birchwood range disappeared into the rain and mist creating a foreboding atmosphere but truly spectacular. Our trail heads up the braided Wilberforce river and rapidly became more challenging as we rode over rain slick baby head boulders. We crossed a few smaller braids but inevitably met the first of the deeper crossings. 

Decision time. Bernie had a walk to be sure but in reality we had only one choice. Crossing meant a real risk of getting trapped by rising waters and we only had 3 energy bars which meant Bernie would be on the menu sooner than expected. 

So we turned back, having a quick look at lake Coleridge inlet on the way. Then a run back down Harper road with a tail wind and glorious undulating gravel. Eventually we exited into the lower third of the immensely spectacular Raikaia gorge and followed the river down to the inland scenic road which would be familiar to most. From there a cruisy afternoon ending up in Geraldine. 

A short but most enjoyable day. 

To be honest I was quite pleased as issues have been developing. The usual theme of ultra light travel and long days, exaggerated by extreme heat and physical effort meant that laundry day was overdue. Big time. Yet again. 

Yesterday we stopped for a coffee in a paddock and I noticed that the blow flies left a huge cow turd to congregate on my jacket. Then in the night I heard some rustling in the corner and found one of my socks making off for greener pastures. Hard to understand to be honest. I’ve only worn them every day since I left home 5 day’s ago. Never mind my riding shorts that have had the same treatment. 

Oh well. Use your imagination. It was worse than that. 

So laundry and a bit of bike maintenance was a late afternoon well spent. 

You might wonder what 4 high functioning adult males would talk about. We spend pretty much the entire day talking on our helmet comms or during breaks or meals. I have concluded a few things. One is that we are not high functioning males or in fact, more specifically, not any kind of high functioning life form. What we are Is teenage boys in worn out bodies, possibly a good description of any male over the age of 18. 

Of course much is too deviant to make it onto these pages. 

I’m going to change the subject. It’s better that way. 

I’m tired today. Yesterday and in fact the day before were big days. At 2pm the civil emergency alarm triggered and as you can imagine I leapt out of bed like a cat, assuming it was a quake or something as dramatic. Turns out it was just one of Dave Macs multiple alarms. He doesn’t even know which. After settling back into rem sleep eventually the fucking thing went off again at 530 this morning. 

Dave Lear is sharing a room with him tonight. I have done my time. 

Tomorrow we head through the MacKenzie country across the pass of the same name, then the Hakateramea and lastly the iconic Danseys pass into the Maniatoto. It’s also bike service day with a change of oil needed before we head into the mountains again.