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Well this was the big one: 145 km supposedly. In
fact the Haast Beach Holiday Park is not located at Haast Beach,
but is in fact located at Okuru almost 20 km down the coast. The
question was: who is up for the good old Imperial Ton - 100
miles? Some of us said "Yes". So at 7 am Tony, Roger, James,
Nick and Sean applied feet to pedals and left Wanaka to ride
into the history books. Conincidentally a breeze started up.
You can probably guess what happened next. By 9 am it was a
strong and gusting headwind. By the time we struggled through
The Neck (between lakes Wanaka and Hawea) it had become such a
gale that it was even a struggle to ride down hill. Soon
afterwards Nick and Sean surrendered to the Sag Wagon. It was a
cruel trick by the weather given the perfect cycling conditions
yesterday, however that is part of cycling in New Zealand. You
might as well learn to appreciate variability as well as
scenery.
But this is only part of the story. The rest (Barry, Martin,
Hannah, Hans and Monika) began their ride at The Neck, 30 km
from Makarora, and managed to beat most of the headwind. How is
this so? Well it doesn't rain and blow wind at the same time.
Makarora was the gathering point for lunch so we sat in the cafe
feeling the wind and looking at the rain in the distance. Those
cyclists who had started at the Neck felt fresh and continued on
their way. For Tony and Ken the challenge was too enticing and
they hit the road again. Roger accepted a lift to the top of
Haast Pass, then resumed riding on the down hill run.
Everyone enjoyed riding the pass. Some steep sections were a bit
too challenging for some of the riders. James and Daniel were
walking down a steep section when Tony went past at high speed
and used a conveniently located Runaway Vehicle Ramp to wash off
some speed. Tony later admitted to using the brake "all the way"
down the pass.
Did I mention that it was raining by now? The wind had in fact
stopped merely kilometres from Makarora to be replaced by steady
rain. This was not a problem for most however James has made it
clear he does NOT appreciate rain. Having survived the Battle of
the Headwind he was still determined to go the full distance.
Now things start to get a little confusing. Sean, Monika,
Bridget and Nick had arrived at Okuru via the Sag Wagon and were
setting up luggage and beds for the night. After which Sean
soothed his chagrin with a deep sleep in one of the hammocks
incorrectly described as "beds". Connie was back on the road
clocking up kilometres as she tracked the riders in.
Hannah and Hans arrived separately at Haast Junction seeking the
restaurant which appeared to Connie from the outside to be
hospitable, but ending up in different locations. Hans had in
fact found the "correct" location but once inside discovered it
to be simply a bar full of drunks. His grasp of the English
language mysteriously faltered enough to enable him to escape
back onto the road and look for the Sag Wagon. For Hans: 101 km
and a PB for longest distance in one day. Barry had bailed out
at Fantail Falls having covered 70 km - another PB.
James covered about 90 km but found the rain not to his liking
and bailed out in favour of a hot shower.
Daniel rode from The Neck through Haast Pass covering 60 km only
a week since receiving his UDC 36 via courier - another PB!
Ken covered the 100 miles too; but he has done it a couple of
times before so we shouldn't get excited about that - should
we???
Martin was the last to arrive at 7 pm at Smithy's Hotel Haast
Junction while the rest of us were dining. He had ridden all the
way from The Neck covering 101 km - another PB.
After his detour up the runaway vehicle ramp Tony went on to
complete his first ever genuine 100 mile day - another PB.
But the biggest PB of all was Connie who converted 160 km into
450 km while she shuttled back and forth between riders.
It was always going to be the biggest day of the tour. Nothing
went to plan but everyone had a big day. Because of the strong
head winds, followed by heavy rain, there were few photos taken.
Really, at the end of the day, you had to be there!!!
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