Time: 3:40 Distance: 46.13 km Ave: 12.5 Max: 56.7 Altitude Gain: 560 m

After yesterday's big effort, I was feeling very weary. I haven't found my touring legs yet, and decided on a shorter day today, to Fairlie instead of Lake Tekapo. Since the first serious climbing is expected on these sections, followed by some quite long days, it seemed sensible to take it a little easier for the next two days. I'll have to make it up later if I can.

While breakfasting in the holiday park kitchen, I heard the time check on the radio, and realised I had not allowed for daylight saving when setting my clocks. No wonder I was arriving late each day.

So it was nearly 10 when I rolled out of Geraldine. Knowing it would not be a long section I didn't hurry. It was a windless and cloudy morning - much nicer conditions for riding, after the hot sun of the past two days had left me quite sun and wind burned.

It wasn't long before the road turned up, and I was soon using my lowest gear on a 10% grade. Remembering how difficult I found these grades in Tasmania, I was very pleased with the new lower gearing that I've fitted to the Sabbath. In the hills, cultivation gave way to grazing - sheep, beef cattle, and deer. To one side of the road lie Pleasant Valley. Beautiful Valley lie to the other.

Eventually I reached a pleasant rest area near a river, and stopped to lunch on the salad roll and carrot cake I bought from the dairy (milk bar, café) in Geraldine before tackling the final climb, the biggest for the day, and then a nice long roll down into Fairlie, arriving about 2:30. Here the holiday park has wifi, so I have spent the afternoon updating journals and relaxing.

Tomorrow I tackle Bourke's Pass enroute to Lake Tekapo.

These high fences are not made for wooly jumpers, if you get what I mean - but by the time I got my camera ready, the deer had moved away...