Mist covered the lake, the mountains and our campsite this morning. It was eerie and beautiful, but cool and everything was dripping wet.
I got up early and ate, filtered some water and looked for good photo opportunities. The area around here is what I was expecting from NZ scenery – so serene and the scale was fantastic.
I packed and we headed out with the uncomfortable reality of the climb to the highest point on the Rainbow Trail in the first few kms.
If I could plan my perfect day cycling, then the first hour would be an easy spin. In Asia, this was often the case, and the first hour was always my slowest, regardless of how much effort I was putting in. After that, the terrain could be difficult but I was always well warmed up and ready to get stuck in.
Today, the first pinch had me walking 😁 and it wasn’t that steep.
I walked only three small sections. I feel no shame about it, but it’s a reaction to what my body is telling me. It was also based on traffic. I stopped as four 4wds went by at the same time as a couple of motorbikes. Saturday traffic. In the end it was a very tough climb, and Eric, Carrie and I enjoyed the rest at the top.
From there, looking at Komoot’s elevation chart, the rest of the day was an easy downhill with a few bumps. It was anything but.
The descent was awesome. I nearly fell of when I cut across some gravel, but the rest was a load of fun. My near death experience for a roadie like me, would be very ho hum for a downhill mountain biker, I’m sure.
We again had lunch under a bridge. It was the only shady spot for kilometres. We still had a long way to go and progress was slow, but we never rushed. The environment we were in demanded to be viewed – and the roads deteriorated for a while which meant things were even slower.
Soon after, we were in another gorge and there were lots of trees, something that was totally different to the morning’s terrain. There was a fairly steady stream of cyclists coming the other way. One guy was on an eBike and intending to head over to the Molesworth road and down to Hanmer Springs. He must have had a spare battery stashed or a great support crew because eBikes become very very heavy when they run out of charge 😁
We paid our $5 fee and soon the road got rocky and steep, as the lady had said “it’s a bit humpty for the next 10kms”. What followed was a relaxing ride through forest.
Near the Rainbow ski field, the road was sealed so everything was easier … until the final climb which went forever.
The descent into St. Arnaud was welcome, but the best campground was full, which meant more riding (uphill)to get to the next one.
We set up tents and then Eric and Carrie went back to town to find something to ‘jazz’ up their dinner (there’s one small shop at the petrol station). They came back with beer, ironically at Teetotal Campsite – what a strange name.
The night was spent listening to some world class snoring at the tent next to me. It even rivals my old mate Paul Barge, who was legendary on work trips.
The Rainbow Road has been absolutely fantastic.