Are We There Yet, Del? Rakaia to Timaru - 105kms

Up early again and got away at 8.00am. Light wind and weather fine, though a little chilly to start. Our aim was to get to Ashburton as we didn't make it there yesterday.
Arrived in Ashburton early, around 10.00am. After coffee and a yummy muffin in a Robert Harris cafe, we decided to continue on to Temuka. 
We passed endless, flat fields edged with rows of tall wind breaks. Large herds of cows munched placidly. The traffic was fast and very noisy.
We passed a lavender farm, too.

I was beginning to feel a bit saddle sore so we looked out for a handy motel in Temuka.
"No Vacancy" at every one! The 'i' centre advised that the Crusaders rugby team were playing a pre season game that night and all accommodation had been taken. 
That settled it! We'd have to battle on to Timaru.
We stopped for a late lunch on the wayside.
We were both getting weary by now. Del patiently stopped regularly to give me a break from the saddle - my "bum breaks"!

At last we reached Timaru and quickly found the Ashbury Park Motel. We staggered off to nearby PaknSave to get dinner, then collapsed in the comfort of our unit. We did over 100km today!
I may never ever move from this comfy sofa!!

Comments

  1. Simon HenleyFebruary 12, 2021 at 12:09 AM

    105km - wow! Are you going to take a day off tomorrow, or keep on pushing ahead? xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CindyFebruary 12, 2021 at 9:41 AM

      Del wants to get to Oamaru, so I guess we'll be pushing ahead again today, Simon. Probably take a rest there. Xx

      Delete
  2. Harry WhorwoodFebruary 12, 2021 at 9:06 PM

    Take the sofa with you? Del can pull you..? Well done both, I remember bum ache, but never had it to that degree. Hope today went/goes well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CindyFebruary 12, 2021 at 9:18 PM

      Pretty much more of the same Harry. Ready for a rest day I think.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What a Cycle Path! Kaiapoi to Christchurch - 30kms

Image
The Riverland Holiday Park, where we spent last night, is adjacent to the Riverland Golf Club and seems to cater for groups of visiting golfers. Great facilities - motel units, cabins and camping areas. Yesterday we encountered a new, tarsealed cycle way into Kaiapoi. Today we found the continuation of it, just a kilometre from the holiday park.                                                A group of well endowed bulls watched us as we left and we passed one of the large irrigation systems that keep this area so green. The many arches span the entire length of the field. We quickly found the cycle track.  Wow! It is tar sealed, wide and runs beside the motorway, protected from it by a sturdy, iron fence. Apparently it takes the rider all the way to the city centre! We were enjoying it so much that we missed the turn off to Hornby! After many checks of the Google map, we left the cycle lane and cut across to the west of the city to our motel in Hor
Read more

Rain! Picton to Blenheim - 28kms

Image
Heavy rain during the night. Woke at 5.15am and spent some time extracting the bikes and trailers from the shed, in the dark and rain, then manoeuvering them up and around all the obstacles in our way to the front door. Breakfast was a banana and cold water.  We sprinted off, walking our gear down to the Bluebridge Ferry in the rain, only to find that sailing was delayed a whole hour! The ship's passengers are interesting!  A large gang of patched Mongrel Mob officianados are heading off for a big convention down south. Lots of back slaps and secret hand shakes! The hold is packed with their motor bikes! And- the captain's just announced we can expect a lumpy ride and 5metre swells! Yay!! One big wave sent rubbish bins flying and kitchen gear crashing to the floor. Passengers leaving the cafe staggered from left to right to left as they made their way. Our bikes had been lashed to the side of the hold so were undamaged and, as we were near the exit, we managed to ge
Read more

A Very Long Day! Palmerston to Dunedin - 63kms

Image
Got off to a good start at 7.00am this morning. No rain so far and little wind. Walked a long hill out of Palmerston then enjoyed a good cycle.  Full of energy, we cycled over the Waikouaiti River and through the town. Around the 23 kms mark, things changed drastically. We walked virtually the whole 3 kms, only to find that another 5 kms followed. More walking! We stopped for coffee and a snack to re-energise at The Spot, a convenience store at Blueskin. Previous cyclists had suggested that, to get to Dunedin without the heavy traffic, we should head for Port Chalmers and take the cycle path from there into the city. A good idea, we thought. Just south of Waitati, we left the highway and took the Blueskin Road. It was quiet with virtually no traffic, but it quickly became steep, winding hills. More walking - in fact - these were the steepest hills we'd come across.  Eventually, after endless walking, we were rewarded with
Read more