Tender Rear! Timaru to Oamaru - 89kms

We should have slept like babies last night after our long ride. We didn't! Probably over tired. 
Del was determined to get to Oamaru today, so another early get away was called for.
                                                            Timaru's Sacred Heart Basilica
Traffic was light and a slight tail wind was building. Progress was slow as it took 15kms of walking/cycling up hills and humps to get back to nice, flat cyclable highway.

We've left Canterbury Province now and are in North Otago. Endless hectares of golden cereal crops edged with tall, treed hedges neatly shaped into perfect rectangles.
Butlers Berry Farm appeared out of nowhere just when we needed it. Had a compulsory coffee and muffin and we were on our way again.
Came across several crops of sunflowers. What a dazzling sight! Felt as if we were cycling in France again.

We considered stopping at Glenavy (23km from Oamaru), but decided to make the most of a growing tail wind and head for Oamaru. 
After 2 days of long rides, my seat pressure began to cause my backside discomfort again. Del gave me regular stops - brief, but helped to relieve the discomfort.

We crossed 12 river bridges today, the longest being the Waitaki, 906m.

At last we arrived in Oamaru and eventually found the 'i' centre. 
We located a lovely motel, near the beach and close to the penguin sanctuary.  We're hoping to visit there tonight and watch the penguins returning to their nests.



Comments

  1. KimFebruary 12, 2021 at 10:01 PM

    Enjoy penguin watching and a well deserved break!! Xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. CindyFebruary 12, 2021 at 10:21 PM

      Looking forward to it, Kim. Staying 2 nights so having a good break from the bike seat! Xx

      Delete
  2. Harry WhorwoodFebruary 13, 2021 at 8:56 PM

    I see the compulsory restorative. Now I feel a fraud having one (or more) without that effort.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 g...
Read more

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 Ho...
Read more

A Weighty Decision! Milton to Balclutha - 26kms

Image
To date progress has been pretty slow - too much walking due to the hilly terrain and our weighty trailers.  We needed to do something to make the journey easier. We couldn't change the hills - but we could reduce our load - again!  We resolved to courier/freight the heaviest item, the tent, and any other item not used regularly, as soon as we arrived in Balclutha. With 26 kms to cover, we left Milton a little later than usual, at 8.00am. The road undulated through lush farmland - obviously serious sheep country. The undulations were enough though to get us off our bikes. We must have dismounted and walked around 15 times! That settled it! The tent and accessories had to go! Tall rectangular hedges, typical of the area, are often found stretching across hectares of farmland as windbreaks. We checked out the Old Sod Cottage on the way. I think that the old sod must have lived a pretty miserable life in this dark and dingy little home. ...
Read more