Day 17 - the wind blew away my words
Day 17
Apologies for length of blog... a lot to recount today!
Awoke this morning to rain.,. No not just rain, an absolute downpour. It was 0500 and the rain was hammering down. Bugger! No excuses today... just got to go and face it. So packing up took slightly longer as wanted to ensure everything was locked down and watertight. My Apidura bags arent immune to a deluge but pretty much everything I ned to stay dry is housed within another waterproof bag.. double layering! My off bike shoes were conveniently housed in a plastic bag from my shopping trip the day before, as they are in the webbing on the outside of my rucksack.. all my electrical kit is in another waterproof bag in my rucksack... everything else including me will have to get wet! Rain gear on and poked my head out of the door and to my surprise the rain had pretty much stopped and there were clear skies overhead. The 'hills' had dark clouds hovering above the, but they didnt seem to be moving much.. so I pushed off, eager to make the most of this break in the weather.
Approximately 8 miles down the road I ended in up the small town of Renwick where I did a very small detour to the town centre and found a cafe for breakfast. I was impatient as time was thundering on and I was going to have a long day. The road reports were not great with stories of flooded roads and impassable places although SH63 seemed to be clear. Nonetheless I was impatient to get going. My first aim for the day was St Arnaud.. 66 miles away. I wanted to get there by 2pm, which would give me enough time for the last 35 miles or so to Murchison... that was plan A! There were alternate plans but I told myself to just get to St Arnaud and then see how the land lay.
Breakfast done I set off in the knowlege that there was nothing until I got to St Arnaud. 2 hills stood in my way and for some reason, these held a lot of dread for me. I knew the road up to the climbs was one long steady drag upwards but until the climb it should be reasonably straightforward. Of course I didnt touch any wood when I said that and the cycling gods were paying attention. The sun had started to beat down a bit... not as hot as previous days but enough to make me worry about water supply... nothing until St Arnaud remember.
The road was flanked by hìlls... and the hills to my right in particular were pretty imposing. Clouds hanging over them and a very jagged appearance whilst being covered in dark green trees. Just next to the road, vineyard after vineyard, organised in neat rows and bringing a semblance of order to this wild landscape. It looked very picturesque in the early morning sun and captivated my attention for a good few miles... until the headwind hit me.
About 10 miles into the day.. the wind sprung up and because im a cyclist... inevitably it was a headwind. From trotting along to crawling at around 6 mph it took every ounce of energy to keep moving in a forward direction. My day was going to pot. The one thing I had been truly concerned about was a headwind as because I was heading down a valley on a pretty straight road... once the headwind had sprung up... there was no escaping it. This went on and on.. with no respite whatsoever. I was also going uphill slightly and the 2 combined were sapping me of every grain of energy and motivation I had in me. I was at a very low ebb. Not only were the headwinds destroying me, they were destroying my day and possibly the entire trip from now on, as if I stopped at St Arnaud at only 66 miles, that meant tomorrow would become a 100 mile day and the weather could be even worse rain wise.
My head started focusing on plan B, never good this early in the day.., its like admitting defeat... only there wasnt anything I could do about it. If the headwind continued in this manner I would have to stop at St Arnaud and accept the consequences tomorrow, whatever they may be.
And so it continued. The scenery was becoming more grand as the miles crawled on by and with the sun out, even in the headwind I managed to appreciate how lucky I was to be free in these surroundings. Not a great sign... this showed that I had already given up on my earlier goal of murchison and was starting to accept plan b.
I cant tell you how much I was aching from battling the wind. Every fibre in my body was screaming at me to stop ... but I knew there was nowhere to stop and I would have to keep plodding along. I did so with an increasingly heavy heart. Add to that because it was warm and I was sweating so much from the effort, my water was already running a bit low, especially when there were two climbs to come.
The first climb was just a slightly steeper extension of the drag up I had been doing all day and was surmounted easily enough. The descent was blighted by the ghastly headwind, so much so that I had to peddle downhill, no free ride today. In the ten miles between that climb and the second one, the road remained reasonably flat and having recalculated time I thought I might get to St Arnauds by 15:00. I knew it was a downhill trend from there to Murchison, but also have discovered that nothing is that simple in this hardland! No counting chickens for certain. It was about 13:00 when I started hallucinating or so I initially though. There in a layby was a campervan, and more incredulously, a food van!! I pulled up to it and touched it to be sure it was real.. it didnt vanish!
On offer were toasties and milkshakes and coffee and bananas and..., and...
A lifesaver if you were me and had been battling with every fibre all morning and were worried about running out of water. The lady, from the phillipines originally was serving 3 other customers... all dressed in bee suits. Across the road was their van stacked high with hives. It explained the presence of so many bees in the last few miles and they told me that there were hundreds of hives in this area. They also told me that it had been a bad season for manuka honey (used for just about everything in these parts) and told me stories of their morning on the road... felled trees... washed out roads. Fortunately none on my route, although I had noticed that the rivers were full to bank bursting proportions and literally thundering along with gallins of dirty water filled with debris. It was quite a sight to behold as previously all the rivers I had crossed had been mere trickles with dry riverbeds. No longer apparently!
Once she had served the beekeepers and they had driven off I ordered a cheese and onion toastie and a vanilla milkshake with a banana as an appetiser. It didnt take long and I sat swatting biting flies off my legs until the lady came and gave me some insect repellant. Pesky things.
It was time to get back in the road, now 13:30 and once again recalculating time and distance in my head (I spend a lot of time doing that). Reaching st Arnaud by 15:00 was still a possibility but in what state?? But things were about to get worse....
15 minutes down the road... a bee flew into my mouth... we both got a shock im sure but he hit out first and stung me on the inside of my lower lip.... a few swear words resounded around the previously peaceful countryside... I spat him out and was left with a throbbing pain... enough to distract from the headwind for the next 10 miles. Bees have gone onto my hate list along with dogs!! From that point on, I saw bees everywhere and understandably was a little nervous. I couldnt feel the sting still in my lip but wanted to check so flagged down a passing car and to the bemusement of the two occupants, asked them to check. All good , stìng not there ... but now lip was starting to swell a bit and I had a tingling sensation on my right cheek and jaw. Hence the unhappy lid photo posted... I was in pain and frankly pissed off. Headwinds, now this... what next?
Ahh yes, the climb. Like many things you fear, it wasnt as bad as I had been imagining, especially after Rimutaka hill. I climbed slow and steady, happy for the brief respite from the headwind. I stopped for a breather to find myself, shamefully, overtaken by another touring kitchen sink type cyclist. Fully loaded he passed me then stopped. He was from Australia and muttered something about the headwinds, then said 'the rain is coming, I need to get to St Arnaud,' and off he went. His legs going round with singular effective monotony. I didnt want a repeat of the Bo cycle hopping incident, so stood there and stuffed dòwn a breakfast bar and let him get far enough ahead then recommenced my climb, it took a while but I eventually topped out and as if by magic the rain started falling. Drizzly, not downpour variety, it didnt last too long and the mainly down hill to St Arnaud was accomplished by 15:00 despite the resumption of the headwind.
It was decision time and I went into the cafe with a lodge opposite and sat pondering my options. It was late, the headwind could worsen, I had already used up reserves of energy I didn't think I had and to make it worse, torrential rain was pouring down. As I sat there a group of germans sat at the same table, two of whom lived here, the others visiting. We got chatting and I asked about the road to murchison. Hilly but nothing major, nothing like what you've gone over so far. The rain stopped and suddenly I saw my phoenix take off... Fuck it, Im going to do it!
I set off at 15:40 and soon was on the road by myself again. It had opened up into a beautiful valley, mountains at the end, the sun shining down on the glistening road ahead, gently sloping downhill. Suddenly I was overcome with the beauty of it all, and thoughts of all my friends suffering with quiet courage in their battle with Cancer... Mike, Dave, Eira, Sara. Before I knew it tears were pouring down my cheeks even as I was practically shouting 'Fuck it' above the slightly gentler headwind. My legs went round faster as the childlike idea took hold that if I could get to Murchison, complete 100 miles on this day, then all my friends would be ok and Cancer would not win... if only I could get to Murchison. Tears are falling down my cheeks as I write this because I know that such thoughts are not part of the reality of cancer, but in those moments I believed. Fuck it juice coursed through my veins and gave me strength to keep turning the pedals, faster and faster, essentially running on empty, but finding the strength from the example of my friends.
The road ran round the hills following the course of the river, dipping and climbing with the shadow of the phoenix above me .., my fuck it juice lasted well into 15 miles and then started running out. The gorge and the road were something else, running through dark green covered hills with the river thundering down the valley, at times far below, at times right next to me. I crossed the river several times on narrow bridges and the road kept running along the side of the hills. With 20 miles to go, the rain came, drizxly at first, then bucketing it down. Someone might have well thrown several bucket challenge worth over me. It would have had the same effect. Still climbing then descending, fuck it juice ran out and then it was a battle to the death.. or at least total exhaustion. I could barely see out of my glasses, but didnt want to remove them as rain in the eyes at speed is far worse. Fortunately there were few cars and even fewer lorries. Eventually the road turned and headed towards Murchison, the final 6 miles.
Those six miles lasted forever. The road had flattened out and I thought I was going a decent pace but it took forever. Past the murchison motor lodge (no cabins) and eventually the town sign appeared. I had promised myself id stop at the first sight of accomodation and begged the cycling gods to let there be a vacancy. There was... bloody hell, im here!
Shower and heater on full blast to begin the drying out process. A phone call from Lorraine (thankyou) to check I hadnt drowned, then a nice meal of nachos loaded with beef mince, cheese, sour cream, washed down with ginger beer.
It has been an epic day. The wind has blown away all my words except for these. I have given everything I am and have to the road today.... if you appreciate my efforts and feel you can sponsor me, please go to www.justgiving.com/GoWithTheCrazy.
LHS X
Apologies for length of blog... a lot to recount today!
Awoke this morning to rain.,. No not just rain, an absolute downpour. It was 0500 and the rain was hammering down. Bugger! No excuses today... just got to go and face it. So packing up took slightly longer as wanted to ensure everything was locked down and watertight. My Apidura bags arent immune to a deluge but pretty much everything I ned to stay dry is housed within another waterproof bag.. double layering! My off bike shoes were conveniently housed in a plastic bag from my shopping trip the day before, as they are in the webbing on the outside of my rucksack.. all my electrical kit is in another waterproof bag in my rucksack... everything else including me will have to get wet! Rain gear on and poked my head out of the door and to my surprise the rain had pretty much stopped and there were clear skies overhead. The 'hills' had dark clouds hovering above the, but they didnt seem to be moving much.. so I pushed off, eager to make the most of this break in the weather.
Approximately 8 miles down the road I ended in up the small town of Renwick where I did a very small detour to the town centre and found a cafe for breakfast. I was impatient as time was thundering on and I was going to have a long day. The road reports were not great with stories of flooded roads and impassable places although SH63 seemed to be clear. Nonetheless I was impatient to get going. My first aim for the day was St Arnaud.. 66 miles away. I wanted to get there by 2pm, which would give me enough time for the last 35 miles or so to Murchison... that was plan A! There were alternate plans but I told myself to just get to St Arnaud and then see how the land lay.
Breakfast done I set off in the knowlege that there was nothing until I got to St Arnaud. 2 hills stood in my way and for some reason, these held a lot of dread for me. I knew the road up to the climbs was one long steady drag upwards but until the climb it should be reasonably straightforward. Of course I didnt touch any wood when I said that and the cycling gods were paying attention. The sun had started to beat down a bit... not as hot as previous days but enough to make me worry about water supply... nothing until St Arnaud remember.
The road was flanked by hìlls... and the hills to my right in particular were pretty imposing. Clouds hanging over them and a very jagged appearance whilst being covered in dark green trees. Just next to the road, vineyard after vineyard, organised in neat rows and bringing a semblance of order to this wild landscape. It looked very picturesque in the early morning sun and captivated my attention for a good few miles... until the headwind hit me.
About 10 miles into the day.. the wind sprung up and because im a cyclist... inevitably it was a headwind. From trotting along to crawling at around 6 mph it took every ounce of energy to keep moving in a forward direction. My day was going to pot. The one thing I had been truly concerned about was a headwind as because I was heading down a valley on a pretty straight road... once the headwind had sprung up... there was no escaping it. This went on and on.. with no respite whatsoever. I was also going uphill slightly and the 2 combined were sapping me of every grain of energy and motivation I had in me. I was at a very low ebb. Not only were the headwinds destroying me, they were destroying my day and possibly the entire trip from now on, as if I stopped at St Arnaud at only 66 miles, that meant tomorrow would become a 100 mile day and the weather could be even worse rain wise.
My head started focusing on plan B, never good this early in the day.., its like admitting defeat... only there wasnt anything I could do about it. If the headwind continued in this manner I would have to stop at St Arnaud and accept the consequences tomorrow, whatever they may be.
And so it continued. The scenery was becoming more grand as the miles crawled on by and with the sun out, even in the headwind I managed to appreciate how lucky I was to be free in these surroundings. Not a great sign... this showed that I had already given up on my earlier goal of murchison and was starting to accept plan b.
I cant tell you how much I was aching from battling the wind. Every fibre in my body was screaming at me to stop ... but I knew there was nowhere to stop and I would have to keep plodding along. I did so with an increasingly heavy heart. Add to that because it was warm and I was sweating so much from the effort, my water was already running a bit low, especially when there were two climbs to come.
The first climb was just a slightly steeper extension of the drag up I had been doing all day and was surmounted easily enough. The descent was blighted by the ghastly headwind, so much so that I had to peddle downhill, no free ride today. In the ten miles between that climb and the second one, the road remained reasonably flat and having recalculated time I thought I might get to St Arnauds by 15:00. I knew it was a downhill trend from there to Murchison, but also have discovered that nothing is that simple in this hardland! No counting chickens for certain. It was about 13:00 when I started hallucinating or so I initially though. There in a layby was a campervan, and more incredulously, a food van!! I pulled up to it and touched it to be sure it was real.. it didnt vanish!
On offer were toasties and milkshakes and coffee and bananas and..., and...
A lifesaver if you were me and had been battling with every fibre all morning and were worried about running out of water. The lady, from the phillipines originally was serving 3 other customers... all dressed in bee suits. Across the road was their van stacked high with hives. It explained the presence of so many bees in the last few miles and they told me that there were hundreds of hives in this area. They also told me that it had been a bad season for manuka honey (used for just about everything in these parts) and told me stories of their morning on the road... felled trees... washed out roads. Fortunately none on my route, although I had noticed that the rivers were full to bank bursting proportions and literally thundering along with gallins of dirty water filled with debris. It was quite a sight to behold as previously all the rivers I had crossed had been mere trickles with dry riverbeds. No longer apparently!
Once she had served the beekeepers and they had driven off I ordered a cheese and onion toastie and a vanilla milkshake with a banana as an appetiser. It didnt take long and I sat swatting biting flies off my legs until the lady came and gave me some insect repellant. Pesky things.
It was time to get back in the road, now 13:30 and once again recalculating time and distance in my head (I spend a lot of time doing that). Reaching st Arnaud by 15:00 was still a possibility but in what state?? But things were about to get worse....
15 minutes down the road... a bee flew into my mouth... we both got a shock im sure but he hit out first and stung me on the inside of my lower lip.... a few swear words resounded around the previously peaceful countryside... I spat him out and was left with a throbbing pain... enough to distract from the headwind for the next 10 miles. Bees have gone onto my hate list along with dogs!! From that point on, I saw bees everywhere and understandably was a little nervous. I couldnt feel the sting still in my lip but wanted to check so flagged down a passing car and to the bemusement of the two occupants, asked them to check. All good , stìng not there ... but now lip was starting to swell a bit and I had a tingling sensation on my right cheek and jaw. Hence the unhappy lid photo posted... I was in pain and frankly pissed off. Headwinds, now this... what next?
Ahh yes, the climb. Like many things you fear, it wasnt as bad as I had been imagining, especially after Rimutaka hill. I climbed slow and steady, happy for the brief respite from the headwind. I stopped for a breather to find myself, shamefully, overtaken by another touring kitchen sink type cyclist. Fully loaded he passed me then stopped. He was from Australia and muttered something about the headwinds, then said 'the rain is coming, I need to get to St Arnaud,' and off he went. His legs going round with singular effective monotony. I didnt want a repeat of the Bo cycle hopping incident, so stood there and stuffed dòwn a breakfast bar and let him get far enough ahead then recommenced my climb, it took a while but I eventually topped out and as if by magic the rain started falling. Drizzly, not downpour variety, it didnt last too long and the mainly down hill to St Arnaud was accomplished by 15:00 despite the resumption of the headwind.
It was decision time and I went into the cafe with a lodge opposite and sat pondering my options. It was late, the headwind could worsen, I had already used up reserves of energy I didn't think I had and to make it worse, torrential rain was pouring down. As I sat there a group of germans sat at the same table, two of whom lived here, the others visiting. We got chatting and I asked about the road to murchison. Hilly but nothing major, nothing like what you've gone over so far. The rain stopped and suddenly I saw my phoenix take off... Fuck it, Im going to do it!
I set off at 15:40 and soon was on the road by myself again. It had opened up into a beautiful valley, mountains at the end, the sun shining down on the glistening road ahead, gently sloping downhill. Suddenly I was overcome with the beauty of it all, and thoughts of all my friends suffering with quiet courage in their battle with Cancer... Mike, Dave, Eira, Sara. Before I knew it tears were pouring down my cheeks even as I was practically shouting 'Fuck it' above the slightly gentler headwind. My legs went round faster as the childlike idea took hold that if I could get to Murchison, complete 100 miles on this day, then all my friends would be ok and Cancer would not win... if only I could get to Murchison. Tears are falling down my cheeks as I write this because I know that such thoughts are not part of the reality of cancer, but in those moments I believed. Fuck it juice coursed through my veins and gave me strength to keep turning the pedals, faster and faster, essentially running on empty, but finding the strength from the example of my friends.
The road ran round the hills following the course of the river, dipping and climbing with the shadow of the phoenix above me .., my fuck it juice lasted well into 15 miles and then started running out. The gorge and the road were something else, running through dark green covered hills with the river thundering down the valley, at times far below, at times right next to me. I crossed the river several times on narrow bridges and the road kept running along the side of the hills. With 20 miles to go, the rain came, drizxly at first, then bucketing it down. Someone might have well thrown several bucket challenge worth over me. It would have had the same effect. Still climbing then descending, fuck it juice ran out and then it was a battle to the death.. or at least total exhaustion. I could barely see out of my glasses, but didnt want to remove them as rain in the eyes at speed is far worse. Fortunately there were few cars and even fewer lorries. Eventually the road turned and headed towards Murchison, the final 6 miles.
Those six miles lasted forever. The road had flattened out and I thought I was going a decent pace but it took forever. Past the murchison motor lodge (no cabins) and eventually the town sign appeared. I had promised myself id stop at the first sight of accomodation and begged the cycling gods to let there be a vacancy. There was... bloody hell, im here!
Shower and heater on full blast to begin the drying out process. A phone call from Lorraine (thankyou) to check I hadnt drowned, then a nice meal of nachos loaded with beef mince, cheese, sour cream, washed down with ginger beer.
It has been an epic day. The wind has blown away all my words except for these. I have given everything I am and have to the road today.... if you appreciate my efforts and feel you can sponsor me, please go to www.justgiving.com/GoWithTheCrazy.
LHS X
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