Day 14 - High on a hill and a bit of Strength

Day 14

My usual packing routine saw me leaving Eketahuna at 07:20... far too early for anything in that little town to be open.. even on a Monday morning. So breakfast was going to have to wait 20 ish miles until I got to Masterton, my first aim for the day.

It was an unbelievably beautiful morning.. the sunshine lighting up the fields of gold and framing the 'hills' on either side of the valley. It wasnt hot yet but the sun warmed the bones as I peddled out of town. I kept my Ipod off this morning.. wanting to hear the early morning sounds of the landscape... and I was already feeling bloody good. Words had been written in the sand this morning filling me with Love Hope and Strength and I kept them with me as I pushed onwards.



I musta broke my speed record for this trip so far as I rattled out the miles to Masterton, lost in thought of what the day could bring... Rimutaka 'Hill' looming large on my horizon. Its all I could think about. Fear could even be used to describe what I felt about the test that was awaiting me... made worse because I didnt know exactly what that test would be like.
Called a hill but described with reverence by everyone I have talked to about it... it could be the stuff of legend.. or it could break me.

I had no choice.. I had to go over it.. and yet it was only a part of my 84 ish mile day. But it swamped my mind.. enveloping me with dread!

Masterton appeared quicker than I expected and I was sitting down having ordered pancakes for breakfast by 0900. When in walked two touring cyclists.. and by touring I mean kitchen sink carrying.

Todd and Luciana were from the USA and were going from south to north. We swopped stories of hills and traffic and mileage and was great to talk shop about two wheeled journeys.

But given I was on a more stretched schedule I devoured my pancakes and hit the road again.
Next stop Featherston and the beginning of 'the climb'!
The twenty miles were made tough on what was a relatively flat road by the headwind that had sprung up.. gusting at times and making it difficult to keep up a good pace. The tarmac wasnt of the reasonable sort most the way either so the two combined were making me work much harder than I would normally have to on a stretch of road such as this!

The fields remained a golden hue and the mountains were pinching the road ever closer together as if to say... 'dont forget we are here'!

As if I could!

Got to Featherstone in a reasonable time though the last 5 miles were of the crawler variety... being beaten into submission by the wind. However ... once there I was determined to have a leisurely lunch and rest.. ready for the test to come. Either that or I was procrastinating. Whichever it was.. I took an hour over lunch and whilst I was sitting there got a surprise call from Lorraine. Now Lorraine is a lovely lady who I met for 5 minutes in the Peak District.. chatting about walks in the area and when she heard I was coming here.. she immediately said she would meet me at the end! How lovely is that! Anyway.. the phone call distracted a little and made me smile so thank you Lorraine... im almost on the same Island as you!!

At half one I set off and immediately was climbing... then descending .. then climbing as the pass came into view. You know how things are never as bad as you imagine? Well in this case it was worse... the bit of the pass I could see was incredibly high up and I wasnt sure how the road got up there in such a short space... I took a VERY deep breath and commenced the climb. It was very narrow in places with little or no shoulder to ride on. I developed a strategy of hopping from one wider shoulder bit to another... getting round the bends as fast as I could and staying quite fad out in the road on bends so cars and trucks saw me early. The gradient was steep but not impossible and my legs almost felt good!

The view .. whenever I stopped for a break.. became grander as I gained altitude and was verging on breathtaking.

Fortunately few lorries were around and I could hear them coming a mile off... so whenever I heard one I pulled over in a safe place and waited for it to thunder past. I got a lot of waves and a few thumbs up from drivers who appreciated the effort of climbing this thing... and it just went on and on and on. Bend after bend.. narrow with crash barriers on the outside..  I was in a world of hurt... but I was getting up it. 1 and 3/4 hours later I crested the rise with a fist pump to myself and tears sprang unbidden to my eyes. By far the highest hill Id climbed up on a bike and although it hurt.. I stopped frequently and was pretty slow... I had cycled every inch of the way.


I met a couple from Derbyshire: Stuart and Helen.. who kindly took my photo next to the pass monument (Soldiers had marched from the Featherstone training camp over the pass at the beginnjng of their journey overseas to fight). We got chatting about the ride and the charity and Helen kindly filled up my top tube bag with sweets to keep me going. They waved goodbye and went sweeping down the mountain. If you are reading this Stuart and Helen..  thanks for the sweets.. they got me to Petone. It was lovely meeting you and I wish you a safe onward journey.



Downhill reward right?? Errr nope. The wind had started to really gust up here and given my light bike every now and again I was caught and blown sideways. This meant I went down very slowly and carefully.. brakes on most the way. Even so.. what had taken me nearly 2 hours to get up... took 15 mins to get down. Once at the bottom the hills hadnt gone completely and with that and the strong headwind  ..my legs were turning to jelly again.

Im going to jump forward a bit now... speed through Upper and Lower Hutt to Petone. I had already tried a couple motels in Lower Hutt to no avail and so was forced to contjnue on. Eventually.. slighy desperate went to one of the beachfront motels to be told that they were fully booked as were most motels in Wellington. Explaining my plight... i.e from Eketahuna.. over the hill etc... Lynnie took pity on me and phoned round a few other motels ... all booked up. Then she said she'd be back and disappeared for a few minutes. On her return she offered me a room in their private living part of the motel for 100$. How kind to open up their own space. As I went in and Lynnie showed me the room she said her husband Graeme had brain tumours which had spread and he was due an operation in two days time to help with the symptoms of his terminal cancer. I then said that I was riding for a cancer charity and explained about LHS. 'Its meant to be then' said Lynnie. Once Id settled in my room and showered and changed I started to go out for food. Lynnie came over and gave me the $100 back as a donation to the ride. I was so moved by this gesture I couldnt stop thinking all the way to the chinese and back. I wanted to give them something..  both as a thank you and as a gesture of solidarity in Graeme's fight. I looked at my bands.... Love... Hope... Strength...

They mean a lot to me and at the same time I was arguing with myself.. it is only a band.. you have another at home... but will it jinx the journey if I give one away (I couldnt bear to part with them all) . As I went back to the motel.. I was still arguing with myself. I went in and Graeme.. Lynnie and their son Nathan were eating dinner. I took off my strength band and offered it to Graeme as a gesture for his fight ahead. STRENGTH... I wanted to keep love and hope with me but I get my STRENGTH out on the road from all my family and friends supporting me.. it was only a gesture but I tried to convey to Graeme and Lynnie what the bands and the words mean to me.

Tears sprung up in all our eyes... Im so glad I found it in myself to give the band away... only a gesture but the meaning behind it was solidarity in the fight they had ahead.

So today.. the writing was in the sand and I stood victoriously High on the hill... which didnt matter in the end quite as much as giving away some STRENGTH.

(If you are enjoying this blog and feel you can sponsor me to help in the fight against cancer... please go to www.justgiving.com/GoWithTheCrazy Thankyou)

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