Tism

Rest day - Fox Glacier Today is our first full rest day. We had a sort of rest day at Murchison (since it was only 32km for the day) but this one feels different. A glorious sleep in, a lovely cooked breakfast and a full day to relax and do not much of anything. That's a big piece of wood We are staying at a backpackers in Fox Glacier and it’s perfect. Nice and quiet, a full kitchen and lounge area and most surprisingly a hot tub and sauna. The hot tub felt amazing yesterday and I might do another soak later this evening. Just because I can really.   As I type the rain is falling heavily outside and the sound of it drumming on the roof while I sit in warmth and comfort somehow makes the whole experience very hygge. I think if the sun was shining and the sky blue I would be bemoaning the lost opportunity. Instead, I am sitting here congratulating myself on the excellent planning to pick this as a rest day. The hot tub is just behind that gate, beneath all that rain I should be ...

Harihari to Fox Glacier After a relatively flat few days following the west coast of NZ, we started to head inland. Our goal for the day was the town of Fox Glacier. It’s right next to the Fox Glacier. Leaving Harihari An easy start The riding from Harihari started off easy enough. Sunday morning here so the roads were super quiet and with the low cloud we settled into our predictable riding style. Hovering around 20k/hr and letting the miles melt by. Unfortunately by kilometer 7 the miles started solidifying and it was our legs that were melting as we began our first of major climb of the day. In retrospect, it was not a big hill but first thing in the morning we felt it. After cresting the saddle at 140 or so of elevation we descended the other side for a bit of steady riding towards Franz Josef. Low cloud and quiet roads The first glacier Today is a story of hills and mountains. The riding along the coast has always had this ominous mountain range to the east and today it became muc...

Day 8 - Taking it easy We have accommodation booked in Harihari so our destination is set. Our route is taking us on the Westcoast Wilderness Trail to the town of Ross, followed by some highway riding to our motel. Pacing Yesterday was a big day. Basically round it up to a century and you’ve got a lot of time in the saddle and distance on the wheels. Tony and I were both pretty spent when we rolled into Hokitika and this gave rise to a solid discussion about pacing. We definitely have some distance to make each day - that’s just part of doing a trip like this. However, we are doing a good job starting early and that means we are arriving in the early afternoon with lots of time in town to do our chores (stretching, laundry, bike care and blogging) and grab some dinner. What we have found is that we are pushing it hard to get to our next stop when in reality we have time to take the foot off the pedal a touch. Today we put that into practice. The overall difference in our time was meani...

Ikamatua to Hokitika The plan for the day was to leave Ikamatua early, make our way to Greymouth on the west coast of NZ and then south-easterly down to Hokitika. It was going to be a long day in the saddle, but mostly paved roads and not too much elevation gain. Obligatory selfie outside our Ikamatua accomodation Routine We have settled into a bit a routine now. Alarm goes off at 530am. Both of us are already stirring anyway. Crawl out of bed and begin the process of packing our stuff into the various panniers an d bags; a quick bite to eat and some coffee; then on our way. Today was no different and we were peddling at 7am.   Low cloud for our morning commute Cool running The morning ride was through a lovely country road, passing farms and rolling hills (wait a sec, didn’t I say those exact words on a previous post?) and we made great time on the road. The cloud was low today and it kept the temperature down. One of the benefits of the country roads are the lack of traffic....

 Day 6 - Springs Junction to Ikamatua Today was all about speed. For the most part, our approach to the Tour Aotearoa is to keep it on the level. No rush, no drama, just take it in. “It is what it is” could be the motto so far. However we had done some forward scouting and knew that rain was forecast to hit at our destination around noon.  An early start Since we wanted to make it to Ikamatua by noon that meant an early start. 530am and the alarm took me from my gentle dozing to full awake. Full disclosure, I was in bed and asleep at 8pm the night before so that meant a pretty solid sleep. Feel free to save your sympathy for later in the blog post. Getting ready outside our little cubby-bouse The body keeps the score Tony was a bit more diplomatic in his post regarding our morning routine today .and I’ll elaborate just a touch more. Some mornings have been intentionally lazy but this was not one of them. Our goal was to be riding by 630am so we were up and loading our bikes st...

Day 5 - Murchison to Springs Junction We wanted to get an early start today so it was up at 6am and a light breakfast of egg and bacon sandwiches, coffee and chocolate milk. Breakfast of champions I hear you ask? Why yes. Yes it was. Another beautiful day Hitting the road at 7am we were greeted with a still, calm morning blanketed with low cloud and fog. The mercury was reading 7 degrees but my optimism added several degrees to make it awesome riding conditions. Our goal was Springs Junction, via the Maruia Saddle with a bit of highway riding to finish things off.   Starting off the day The start of the ride was - like much of the Tour Aotearoa route - through bucolic farmland, nestled in a wide valley. The pace was nice and easy and after the rest day yesterday the legs felt a bit stronger. Before too long the clouds lifted and we were riding under blue skies, with no wind. Just perfect riding.  Low clould over farmland Sun is shining. Amazing day Maruia Saddle The Marui...

Day 4 - Lake Rotoroa to Murchison Not gonna lie, yesterday was a tough day. The terrain was amazing, the weather was stunning, it was just a long day. On top of that, it was the second big day in a row. So much for easing into this journey. Today we decided on an active recovery day. Just an easy 32km to Murchison which will set us up for some longer days ahead. The decision was also made a bit easier by a chance encounter on the side of the road. More on that later. Green fields and rolling hills. A feature of our journey so far. Lessons It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a gravel road in possession of a good curve, must be in want of a shit-ton of rocks. I don’t know the science behind it - and frankly I don’t want to know - but every corner on a gravel road is just a magnet for a ball-pit worth of round rocks that behave remarkably like ball bearings. That’s the lesson from today's ride. Fortunately, forewarned is forearmed and I had a safe day in the saddle. Hike-a-bi...