Wow, what a day. The beginning and end were ok, but the middle part was sensational.
It started at the Kurow Hotel where I stayed last night. I met a nice couple from Norway. The guy had grown up in Brisbane and they were riding the A2O in the same direction as me, but not going as far today.
I caught up to them after a few kms and they had some puncture issues but we’re hopeful that everything had been fixed. I might see them up the road.
Out of Kurow, the trail climbs high above the road which initially feels frustrating until you see the view of the area. First wow of the day. Then, the trail follows a series of hydro lakes which are beautiful.
At the final dam, the A2O trail ascends the hills through a series of single-track switchbacks. When I saw them, my legs said – surely not. I shouldn’t have worried. The views compensated for the effort easily. What followed was 16kms of mainly single-track ups, downs, switchbacks, lakes, rocks, and steep drop offs and with every uphill came a bombing descent that was a load of fun. I loved every minute of it. Life without panniers has its advantages. Here, the descents were quiet without the rattling pannier hooks and bags bashing against the rack. It also meant that I could easily navigate the gate systems that they use to prevent other vehicles using the trail.
I needed to filter some water as it was really hot, so I had a swim too and the water was just fantastic. The day couldn’t have got better.
At the end of this section, things flattened out for the run into Omarama where the local cafe had my first decent meal of the day. Here, I met some bike tourers from Belgium before heading over to the camping ground.
There, i met Steve who is an interesting old Canadian doing the TA hike. He was full of interesting stories and tips.