Thanks to a smart pedal adjustment, I stopped clipping in and started really riding today. Managed a total of 22 plus kliks down the rail trail stopped for photos, cleared some sheep from the trail and felt good (except for now as I am typing this my right knee is grinding and throbbing). The Dunstan House in Clyde was beautiful and Claire, who had won a trip to NYC with her daughter, was a fabulously accomodating host.
From Clyde we went on to Omakau for lunch and stayed in a home in Lauder (like Estee). Bas and Lyneke whipped up a fabulous breakfast aided by muffins from Nikki our hostess. Mary Jo and Bob stayed in Omakau and were endlessly chided about remembering the backup battery for the cooler this morning.
Lyneke decided I should start out at Weddeburn 11ks further up the trail from the faster riders. Without clips it was fast cycling mostly downhill and a fair amount of coasting. The others got going in Oterahua, which involved uphills and unlit tunnels. We got to see the Hayes Engineering Works, a historic site where many of the tools that made New Zealand agriculture possible were designed and machined. We walked back to the center of town, which was a first for Kathryn.
I felt pretty good after arriving in Ranfurly (Kathryn and I had been there earlier with Bas to get the bus lubed), so I ate a quick chicken salad and pedaled off to Waipiata. More basically flat downhill riding and a modest amount of sheep chasing. I arrived in Waipiata just before the bus. Had a Mac’s Gold in celebration.
I’m writing this as we await dinner in Naseby (we stopped here for morning tea earlier in the week). After dinner, we’re going curling. Good thing I brought those fleece pants. More at the next connection point.
