Time: 7:03 Distance: 111.17 km Ave: 15.7 Max: 49.3 Altitude Gain: 610 m

Yesterday I was blessed with a following wind and, once the morning cloud burned off, fine and sunny weather. Today's forecast promised much the same, and after my normal breakfast fare of oats and tea, I packed my gear and set out at 8am. The route today skirted the foothills of the Southern Alps, and within a few minutes I saw views of snow-covered mountains, and the farmland gave way to trees, with the sounds of forestry work echoing in the distance.

For the first hour or so I rolled along lazily with the wind at my back, but then the effort began to increase as the wind moved around until it was eventually right on my nose, and growing stronger and stronger. I plugged along slowly until eventually I reached a tiny hamlet, aptly named 'Windwhistle' and shortly after plunged into Rakaia Gorge.

I stopped briefly at the café - it wasn't actually open, but the owner gave a me a coffee and then the hard sell on his vacant land, before tackling the first uphill of the tour, the climb out of the gorge - short and steep, and back onto the plains once more. Here the wind slowly swung around behind me again, and I enjoyed a long gradual down hill section where I travelled at over 40 kph without pedaling for kilometer after kilometer.

By the time I reached the café at Alford Forest the sun was very strong. I had two sports drinks to wash down a burger and chips. With more than 70 km still to cover, I was soon back on the bike, making good time with the tailwind before it again swung around to blow on my nose again for quite a distance. Eventually the route changed direction so the wind was once again in my favour, and I covered 20 kilometres at a good pace with very little effort.

After a brief stop for an ice cream at Mayfield, I was faced with 20 kilometres of gun barrel straight road to Geraldine, which I eventually reached, nearing exhaustion, just before six. I had planned to meet up with local rider reader Peter, but the information centre was closed, and when I spotted the holiday park a few hundred meters down the road, settled on a cabin.

After a warm shower the bed beckoned and I was tempted to lie down for a few minutes before trying to contact Peter. Nearly two hours passed before I awoke, and it was too late by then.

Soon after leaving Glentunnel, views of snow-capped mountains appear...

The Rakaia River gouges the plains...

The farm below is for sale - want to buy it? What you can't see in the picture is how hard the wind is blowing...

Rakaia Gorge was carved by melt-water from Mt Hutt in the background...