March 5, 2025
Oxford to Rolleston
It was a colder morning when I left Oxford, it did not get above 7C (44F) till lunch time, and the cold southerly of the previous two days was still blowing. However the rain had relented leaving just showers.
I had decided not to go any further south and instead enjoy a couple of days around Canterbury. I have concluded that my conventional approach to touring (panniers and tent) was not going to work for this route. All the cyclists I met of a similar age to me were either riding e-bikes or had support cars (so were not carrying a load and could take a break in the car if the road was too tough). The next mountain pass is a long steep climb, and there are two more after that. The pass south of Omarama is a good example.
Nor did I want to have difficulty again and become a problem for others. It is supposed to be fun after all 😊
So today I am making my way to Rolleston via Darfield. It should be a good ride and will be interesting to see parts of Canterbury I haven’t visited before.
There were periods of morning sunshine interspersed with light showers as I rolled out of Oxford past the West Oxford Hotel heading for the Waimakariri Gorge.
The gorge is not very deep and the one lane concrete bridge across the river not very long. Soon I was climbing back out and up to the west Canterbury Plains.
The showers were being pushed north across my path by the persistent southerly. It was cold enough that the warmth on my legs from the exhaust of passing milk tankers was welcome.
The Darfield Bakery was busy and a warm refuge from the southerly wind outside. It really felt like there had been a significant change in the weather, to the more unsettled and changeable climate we get in autumn. I can recommend this place if you are ever passing through. Good food and friendly people.
One notable thing about Darfield was the extent of new sections becoming available for residential development. This town of 3,400 is commuting distance to Christchurch and is clearly quite appealing to people looking for a flat building site at a reasonable rate (average sections are around $260k).
The roads around Darfield are all long and straight, and the few vehicles that there were gave me a wide margin when passing.
I ran into road works associated with renewing the chip-seal, which slowed traffic nicely. At one point the road narrowed to one lane while various machinery was being used to flatten and form the other lane. It was about 500-600m long. I queued at the lights controlling the traffic, along with several cars. On the green light they all charged off at 30-40 km per hour leaving me plodding along through the loose gravel at 15kph, which was OK until a vehicle came up behind me, then passed me by driving on the grass strip on the right side of the road. Unconventional but effective I thought.
Just then a hand came out of the passenger side window and made a remarkably offensive gesture, which made me think (a) obviously doesn’t like cyclists (b) don’t engage (I recalled good advice from a policeman who pointed out to me I don’t have a stab proof vest).
But as I watched (partly wondering if they were going to drive into a ditch) they kept going all the way down the length of the roadworks making the same gesture. Must be hard sometimes to work on the roads.
It was good to arrive at Rolleston and have a warm shower, and access to a range of eateries in the main street.
Today's ride: 63 km (39 miles)
Total: 439 km (273 miles)
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