February 18, 2025
Springfield to Geraldine.
This morning I enjoyed breakfast in the Commonroom while charging more electronics. That was one of my favourite campgrounds yet. It just had a good feel to it. The washrooms and showers were spotless. And the Commonroom had a lot of character with a huge bench table for 20 and then loads of comfortable seating with a book exchange etc.
Back on the road I decided I would ride to Coalgate and then take a small diversion to Glentunnel to a small grocery store. I realized the road I was on just parallels the route so I continued and rode through some scenic countryside.
By late morning I was already at the Rakaia Gorge and the wind was severe. It was beautiful scenery but very difficult to ride with a big climb of 150 m into what felt like 50-60 km/hr wind. I looked at my speed and I was moving at 4 km/hr which in biking terms means you can barely keep the bike moving. I struggled to halfway and snapped a few photos then grunted it to the top. The winds continued for a while but fortunately got a lot better out of the gorge and eventually I had a tailwind and I was hitting 40 +.
Currently I’m at a cafe in Stavely during a milkshake. This is something very different here from home. At home our milkshakes are basically soft ice cream that’s thin enough to barely slurp through a straw. Here they are more like milk consistently with flavour. Sorry New Zealand but I like ours better. You get coffee. I’ll keep riding and see how far I can get today, possibly Geraldine.
I got back to riding soon after 1 and continued to plug away on pavement and then gravel. Today’s riding was fairly easy without that much climbing, except the hard one at the gorge. I made it to Geraldine about 4 and did a little shop then headed to a Holiday Park for the night. I’ll enjoy the showers, kitchen and other facilities.
Highlights:
-gorge was pretty
-fairly easy riding
Distance: 142 km and 848 m elevation gain
Today's ride: 142 km (88 miles)
Total: 2,187 km (1,358 miles)
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