When I looked out to the east first thing this morn, the horizon was looking happily encouraging.
By the time we rolled out of the campground, the same skyline had a “red sky in the morning, shepherds warning” artist pallet about it.
And by the time we reached the road that would have us elevate up the Remutaka incline (an old railway line), we had a head-on gale-force wind and squally rain beating on us.
A swing bridge on a part of the trail referred to as Siberian Corner, renown for horrific wind gusts, was buckling and a swaying. I was first to it and knew someone needed to show courage. Like a duckling new to water, cool calm and collected on the outside, but paddling like f..k on the inside, onto it I went. Yikes it was roller coastery.
Losing a paper, scissors, rock to help Hannah across, I ended up running back across to run her and her bike forwards again! Cheers and laughter from the other two will still be echoing down the valley!
A couple of tunnels gave some shelter, but by the time we reached the actual summit on the Hutt Valley side, (1,141 feet above sea level), the rain was torrential, and wind compounded.
Veering off route and into downtown Upper Hutt (where I first started work at the Post Office during 1982 at aged 16), we dismounted at the mall like drowned rats. It allowed us some time to meal, drink, dry out and catch up with some mates Justine Henare and Delwyn Frederikson.
I have to mention that as we approached Upper Hutt on a back road, Grant out front startled three Pukeko’s on the left-hand side of the road. One couldn’t quite get the lift it needed flapping its wings profusely so as not to become bike kill and got caught in a gust of wind, it’s under belly hit the road enough to disperse some of its cloak and eventually managed to veer left, just clear a fence and then with lanky legs running like an ostrich does, still flapping its wings, had me in fits of laughter so much that I nearly died cos I couldn’t breath and had tears streaming down my face. The only time I was close to crashing off the bike!
These are the moments one cherishes from doing a ride like we have. Which a few hours later, concluded as we arrived at the Blueridge Ferry terminal and the end of having cycled the length of the North Island.
Job done. Feels amazing. Hard to believe. Got the photo. And twas awesome to be part of Piglet (Grant), Pooh (Baz), Hannah, and Damon who also finished the ride with us’s adventure.
A twist of fortune has allowed us to catch an 8pm sailing to the lower island therefore bidding farewell to Baz and Damon.
A day when reflecting back that has been encouraging happy.
A last blog post tomorrow.
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