March 21, 2016 Rest day Hokitika

It was a rest day today so we didn’t have to jump out of bed early and pull on all the riding gear.  Make decisions on too many clothes, not enough, leg warmers, arm warmers, vest or no, vest rain coat or not etc. etc.  Instead I rolled over and turned the electric bed warmer up.  Bed warmers here in New Zealand are the real deal.  They don’t have any central heating so they have these electric mattress heating pads which are so nice to cuddle into. 

Tom had volunteered to make breakfast so he cooked bacon and scrambled eggs for breakfast which were absolutely wonderful.  After several cups of coffee and lots of toast we headed downtown to the jade shop.

Agnes wanted to find a pair of ear rings to match her jade piece she bought the other day. Tom and Amy also wanted to buy some jade pieces.  Mark the jade carver was in working today and gave us a tour of his shop.  It was very interesting seeing all the different saws, polishers and carving tools he uses to make the jewelry.   Most of the tools are very basic but it takes a lot of skill and artistic ability to make such beautiful jewelry.  Looking at the raw jade was also very interesting as it looks like ordinary rocks before it is worked. It is really nice to find some genuine articles and not something made in China.

After the jade shop Agnes and Amy headed off to the hair dresser and Tom, Jos and I went to the local museum.  There is a lot of history here in Hokitika as it was the epicenter of the New Zealand gold rush of the 1860-1880’s.  There were pictures of hundreds of sailing ships in the harbor unloading men and equipment.  After the gold rush was over the industry turned to Whitebait (Whitebait is a tiny little fish like a sardine) fishing, logging and finally agriculture.  Agriculture and tourism are now the main industries. 

I cooked chicken on the grill for supper and after supper the neighbor cat jumped on the grill to clean it off.  

Tomorrow we are riding up to Charleston which is on the coast.  I don’t think there is much there as the motel where we are staying, phoned to say the only café in town will be closed for the day. 

Terry 

March 20 2016 Hari Hari to Franz Joseph Glacier

Today was day two of the reverse ride which we started to ride with the wind rather into it.  It was a very clever maneuver which worked very well.  The wind today was supposed to be 15-20 kms out of the NE which would have been right into out face but being we had sagged ahead we could now ride with the wind.  A great plan however the wind failed to show up today and so we rode up hill to the glacier rather than down with almost no wind. 

The morning dawned with heavy dark clouds and a drizzle of rain falling.  It was forecast to die off later in the morning so we took our time loading and getting ready.  By 9:30 the rain had stopped and we were anxious to get rolling.  It was at least 22 C but 100% humidity so what to wear was a good question.  I opted for bib knickers, jersey and booties over my bike shoes.  It was a good choose as within 5 kms  we were climbing a 3 kms hill which was at least 10%.  The down hill on the other side was pretty scary as it was also about 3 kms long and 10% however the road was wet, rough and had grooves cut into the asphalt which tended to grab at your tire. 

All of the rivers are totally full because of all of the rain.   Prior to the big rain storm these were all big empty dry washes.  It is an amazing transformation. 

I was feeling very good today an powered up all of the hills and rolled into Franz Josph feeling great. A great ride and despite the threatening clouds it never rained on us.  We weren’t there 5 minutes before the skies opened up and huge deluge ensued.  After Jos and Tom arrived we had lunch in an excellent restaurant.  I tried the goat pie which kind of meat pie.  It wasn’t Baaaad.

After lunch we loaded bikes and drove up to Hokitika where we are having a rest day.   We are staying in house called “The Villa” .  It is a totally restored and renovated historic home from 1914.  The place is absolutely magnificent.  Two nights in this beautiful place.  WOW.

When we were planning this trip Jos had offered me the use of his Avanti bike. This is the bike Jos rode across America with so I knew it was a great machine.  Jos had warned me that the rear brake is on the left rather than on the right as you use your right hand to signal with since the left hand side is on the ditch side.  It has taken a little getting use to especially as I use my left hand to manage my camera.   However there was always something different about the bike which I have not been able to put my finger on.  As I was grinding up this long hill I was looking down to see what gear I was in and I realized that the gearing was on the wrong side (see picture above).  Lots to get a custom to in New Zealand.

A great ride today and lots of fun. 

Terry  

March 19 2016 Fox Glacier to Hari Hari

There is a poem which is posted in several places on the West Coast which deals with how much rain there is here (see picture above).  We got that rain.  At 4:00Am it was hammering down so hard I thought that the roof was going to collapse.  By the time we got up it was still hammering down.  In addition the wind was just howling out of the north.  It didn’t look like a great riding day. 

So we drove up to Hokitika which was two rides up the road.  It is the only town of any size on the west coast.  This crosses the mountain range and we were hoping that the rain would be much less further north.  We would then ride back to Hari Hari this would give us a 73 kms ride with a howling tail wind. 

In Hokitika we went and found the bike shop which had been recommended by the Earniepedia.  It was great as we found some excellent New Zealand jerseys which have a great map of New Zealand.  It is the only place which sells them as they were special ordered.  I also found a replacement mirror. 

After the bike shop we wandered down the street to a jade carving shop.   As it turns out this shop is where Jos’ brother inlaw’s brother  is a jade craver there.  Agnes found an excellent piece of jade jewelry there.  It is called a “toki”

After a quick lunch we jumped on the bikes and headed south back towards Hari Hari.  Even though it all up hill we were just flying with the howling tail wind.  At one point we were flying along at 43 kms/hr.  I had the bike in the top gear and couldn’t pedal as fast as we were flying along.   We had a stop planed at the 25 kms point and we were down in just over 35 minutes.   The rain was holding off and so we pressed on.  At the 35 km mark the rain started again and by the 40 km it was just pounding down.  We pulled in at the 49 km mark at a place called the Bushman’s Center. It is place which should be on the top 10 most over rated places.  It is rumored they sell possum pie but they don’t. 

I was totally soaked and cold so I jumped in the van.  I had absolutely had it with the pounding rain.   Jos and Tom road the last 23 kms back to Hari Hari.

Tomorrow we will ride back toward Fox Glacier to complete the ride and the sag back to Hokitika for a rest day.   We have a very nice looking villa for two days.  It will be great to have a rest day.  Even better the storm front will have moved on. 

All in finding an excellent jersey and getting to ride down wind so fast you couldn’t keep up with the pedals more than made up for the pouring rain. 

Terry    

March 18, 2016 Haast to Fox Glacier

The weather forecast for today looked really horrible last night.  It had been such a glorious day and then there was a beautiful sunset so we drove out to a place where we could see the ocean and the sun set.  However even then the heavy duty clouds were setting in along the mountain tops.  The forecast was calling for rain fall of up to 5 mm/hr starting at around noon along with northwesterly winds up to 25 km/hr.  Not good news. 

So we decided to get on the road as soon as possible and maximize the ride before we got either blown or washed off the bikes.   Needless to say the alarm was not a welcome sound at 6:00 am. The temperature was quite warm in the morning and I had put on full heavy duty rain gear in anticipation of the deluge.  So it didn’t take long before I was sweating profusely. 

As each kilometer clicked by there was no rain.  So we were always thankful that no rain and no head wind.  The country side was really pretty with the mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. At one point there was a pile of white rocks along the beach which people had signed and left.  Including one from the “triplets from Phoenix  02/12/16”   

The mountains were shrouded in clouds and you could see that higher up it was raining very heavily. Of course when you are a rain forest you have to get a little rain.  Today was also the day of the typical New Zealand one way bridges.  These are marked which way has the right of way and then you just have to guess if the oncoming car will yield to cyclist. 

We stopped to eat sandwiches beside this old barn which had “Shhh”  in big letters on it.  It seemed like only place which did not have millions of biting sand flies. 

The last few kilometers to go and we were convinced that the rain was right around the corner as you could see it up ahead in some of the valleys and the temperature droped several degrees within a few minutes.  However it never started and we escaped getting soaked.  However just as we turned the corner with less than two blocks to go a bee flew into my helmet and even though I jammed my brakes and jerked my helmet off  I still got stung. 

I think the plan is to drive up to see the Fox Glacier later this afternoon.

So another great day of riding in the land where even culverts have names (see picture above)

Terry  

March 17 2016 Makarora to Haast

Today was the second of the iconic New Zealand rides. We were crossing the Haast Pass.  From Makarora it was 18.5 km from our lodge to the summit.  We were at an elevation of 390 m and the summit was at 545 m. The first 16 km were a gentle rolling grade but the last 2.5 kms was a 150 m climb.  The summit was under a canopy huge trees and we weren’t climbing  the switchback trail to outlook.  After the summit there was 3 kms of really scary downhill which ended in a one lane bridge.   The Garmin was registering 24%. 

We started out with high cloud and temps of 3 C.  As I rolled out on the highway a huge bird flew out right in front of me.  At first I thought it was a hawk but later learned that it was Kaka parrot.  Apparently they are quite rare.

As soon as the sun cleared the mountain it started to warm up and the cloud was quickly burned off.  

A few kms down the road were the Blue Pools which are a world renown site and has been very highly rated in the Earniepedia  guide to New Zealand.  The site is reached via a 1.5 kms walk down a board walk through some incredible forest.  The Blue Pool is where this creek comes down out of  mountains and meets the river.  The water is a beautiful shade of blue. 

The summit was next up and with only a couple of kms of hard work we were there.  The obligatory pictures taken we were off down the scary downhill.  The road was quite broken and I was on the brakes hard most of the way.  The one lane bridge at the base of the hill is one lane bridge but the right a way is against you so you have to right down to a crawl before crossing.  The bridge is called the Gates of Haast.  From there  we rolled  down another 30 kms to the confluence of two rivers which was also written up in the Earniepedia Guide.   The sun was out and it was beautifully warm.    The next site on the road was the Bellowing Billy waterfalls which was also written into the guide.  However as it was 1.0 kms off the road we decided not to walk into see them.  Pedal Tours was in the trailhead having lunch so we walked over to talk to them.  They were riding up the Haast Pass to Makarora.  This meant they started at sea level and had to cycle 60 kms uphill to the Gates of Haast and then climb the 24% scary hill with a 120 kms day.  Yikes! I cannot imagine doing the Haast Pass in reverse.

From there it was all downhill. We had about 40 kms to ride down a beautiful winding road with very little traffic.  The mountains and sky were absolutely stunning. 

The forecast for the next week is calling for heavy rains and north westerly winds.  It doesn’t sound great as we are headed NW and the rain and look cloud will obscure the beautiful scenery.    We will have to see how bad the wind is.  We have seen lots of 50+ km/hr wind.

What a stunning ride down an iconic New Zealand ride.

Terry 

March 16 2016 Wanaka to Makarora

Today the ride was only 66 kms so there was no hurry to get moving so we slept in.  It was great not to have to jump up and get rolling. The extra time to have the second cup of coffee was appreciated. 

Jos was not successful in getting his disc brakes working last night and he wanted to hit a bike shop in the morning.  Agnes wanted to hit the quilt shop.  Tom was busy hunting down his rain gloves which he had misplaced, and Amy & I were just chilling out.  We rolled downtown and after the third bike shop we found somebody who would work on Jos’ brakes. Tom found his gloves and Agnes got to her quilt shop.  Agnes found a New Zealand quilt kit and some fabric which has lots of sheep on it and it is really cute. 

By the time we were ready to roll there was a big nasty looking cloud bank coming over the mountain and I was starting to feel like we had miss our chance.  On the bikes the sun is shining nicely and we are making good time as there is a decedent tail wind.  The climb for today’s ride was 732 meters but it was spread out through the ride in a lot of steep little spikes.  I think the longest grade was just over 1 km long but it was pretty steep hitting 10%. 

From Wanaka we cycled over to Lake Hawea. Absolutely stunning scenery.  Following along Lake Hawea was absolutely breathtaking.  Then we crossed over a little pass called the neck back to Lake Wanaka.  By this time the wind has picked up and is just howling up the lake.  We were just flying.  Most of the time you could ride along at 30 to 40 kms/hr with almost no effort.

Tonight we are staying in a little farm house which is out in the country.  It is a very quaint place.  The sun was shining on the big over stuffed couches on the veranda.  Sinking into them with a glass of chocolate milk after the ride was heaven.  Agnes and Amy are preparing pot roast for supper and it smells wonderful. 

What a great day.

Terry

March 15, 2016 Queensland to Wanaka

The forecast for today was a light drizzle with less than 2 mm before 9:00 followed by little cloud and a south wind increasing from 6 kms to 15 kms by 10:00 am.  Temperatures in the morning at 14 C and increasing to 19 C.  Sounded pretty nice so  I had laid out  arm and leg warmers a riding vest and shorts and jersey.  When we got up the light drizzle was a full on down pour and it was closer to 6 C.  Plan B was to change the riding vest for the full on rain gear including shower cap , rain booties, white water paddling gloves, rain pants and hurricane rated rain coat.  So we are off into the downpour.

Now this isn’t just any bike ride this is the Crown Range Ride.  This is the iconic New Zealand bike ride.  While this isn’t the Stelvio Pass or Alp de Huez it is the highest paved road in all of New Zealand.  The ride starts in Queensland.  The first section is 25 kms which gains approximately 100 m.   At this point the switch backs start and there are seven switchbacks which cover approximately 7 kms.  The switchback section of the climb averages  5% however the Garmins showed sections of 15%.  At the end of the switchback section there is a section of 2 kms which is slightly rolling but more up than down.  At this point you enter Gorge Road which is a further 7 kms  which averages 6%. However the Garmin again pointed out sections in the 15% range.  At this point you are now at the summit which is at 1075 meters.  From the summit it is 40 km downhill to Wanaka.  For a grand total of 77 Kms and a gain of 1020 m.

Sounds grand but the rainy conditions changed things a lot.  Everything always seems to go sideways in the rain.  At the 20 kms mark we came to a very steep little pitch which was only 100 meters long but probably 12% and Tom down shifted as he jumped on the pedals. The chain was jammed between the granny gear and the second gear.  Jos pulled one section out with a cord and I got the other section out by backing all of the gear ring bolts off.  We made it past the switchbacks and got to the within 2 kms of the summit when my left pedal clip failed.  The little spring in the clip had broken and so I couldn’t clip in.  Pedaling with only one clip was impossible and I had to walk the last couple hundred meters.  After the required photos and congratulations we were off down the backside.  We made it about 2 kms when Jos’ rear disc brake locked. The rotor was white hot and the pads almost welded.  A little fooling around and we got the disc brakes unlocked.    We made it into town and hit a bike shop.  I grabbed a new set of pedals but Jos is still wrestling with his brakes.   As a side note the young women in the bike shop was from Canmore Alberta (Just outside of Calgary).

About half way down from the summit is a place where women have tied there bras to a fence in support of breast cancer.  It is quite a something to behold.

Well made it in save and sound.  Didn’t see any of all the highly rated scenery.  I guess I’ll just have to come back.

Terry