Christchurch to Blenheim

Leaving Christchurch is like leaving most sizable cities (like Dunedin was) using old routes that have now been superseded by motorways.  Considering it was around 8:30 when I left I thought the roads seemed very quiet, it was some time before I realised it was Sunday!  Hey, I'm on holiday, one day's like the next.
After seeing video of a touring cyclist in the middle of the Christchurch earthquake - with buildings literally collapsing around him - today I got another reminder of a cyclists vulnerability.

Not long before I rejoined highway 1 - north of the motorway - there was a narrow bridge with a grove of trees leading up to it. Attached to one of the trees a memorial with a bike painted entirely white attached to one of the trees. Given the very near proximity to the narrow bridge (only metres), I wonder if the rider was killed on the narrow bridge and the grove of trees at the end of the bridge became the fitting place for the memorial.

Touring Cyclist surrounded by falling buildings Chch

Roadside reminder

Jet another tourer - much in common

A little further up the highway I saw a cyclist approaching from the opposite direction, loaded with panniers. I took a gap in the traffic to cross to the opposite shoulder and the rider pulled up next to me.  The rider was Jet Agelink, a girl from the Nederland's. We talked and talked I'm not sure how long for, it'd have to have been at least 45 minutes. We had quite a bit in common, lots of places we'd been, but she's cycled a hell of a lot more of Australia than I have.  We talked of anything cycle tour related. Bike weights (hers must have been at least 60kg!!!! It was (&$:}% heavy. Mine much lighter at 40kg). Technology, she now carries a laptop because the frustrations of using these "phone" devices is just too much. I've decided these are good at phone and SMS, pretty reasonable at internet browsing - googling that thing you want info on - but lousy at things that do more than browsing in a browser. blogs, pics and the like. She found her answer in a small laptop (I assume it was a small one)
If you google cycledipity you should get her many blogs posted to the very popular cycling blog platform crazyguyonabike.com .
Prior to meeting Jet it had been a relatively still morning, just after leaving her - on her way to Christchurch - the wind came up from the north to north west making my travel up hwy 1 a lot more difficult. When reaching the turn off for hwy 7 it got worse as I was then heading straight into it. Highway One up the east coast being closed north of Kaikoura means all traffic from Chch to Picton ferries need to use the west coast, and hwy 7 is one of those routes to the west coast. For me hwy 7 is the way to Hanmer Springs another "tourist town" like Queenstown NZ, Victoria Falls Zimbabwe, Vang Vien in Laos. The thing about Hanmer Springs is that the much less visited side of it goes over some hills to the NZ version of Australia's Outback. Molesworth Station is the largest farm in the country and the track through it is open to the public 7am to 7pm daily (in summer months). There's only 2 places camping is allowed and they are pretty much the two ends 60km apart. Camping within the station is not allowed. At the far end (northern end) you exit onto a road that takes you down the Awatere Valley, that's another 100km of gravel roads but instead of camping being actively forbidden it's just passively not allowed.  My plan was to camp two nights at the southern entrance (Acheron campsite) for a good rest then continue north and spend maybe 3 days doing the Awatere.  Instead, the day I entered Hanmer Springs the heavens opened and I sought refuge in a cabin in a Hanmer camp ground. The next morning I left to ride Jollies Pass to Acheron - short day but a mountain pass - to camp and rest most of the day ready for Molesworth on the Wednesday. After pushing my push-bike up Jollies (just too much loose gravel on a slope that steep for my skinny road-tread tyres to contemplate) I got to Acheron at 10am to blue skies and sunshine. The temptation to continue was too great, I rode on. I had 9 hours til the road closed.  With 60km of unknown gravel road and at least two named passes to climb it was achievable. After 20km I thought I was doing fine, then the wind came up and the next 10 took at least as long, by what should be lunch time I was getting a little worried about my progress. Eating a tomato and a pita bread at one of my rests I made it to the top of "Isolated Pass" and from there I was happy, 

Part way up Jollies Pass

Molesworth Station

 

Yarra River?

Taylors Pass climb - Molesworth Station

 

  

Cob Hut Campsite - Molesworth Station

I would make it in time. The view from isolated pass looked straight down a long straight road on "Isolated Flat" where the wind would be on my back, at the far end a bigger pass then just 15km to the end. The flat was a breeze, the pass at the far end impossible. I could see from many km away that there was no way I'd be able to ride up that on a skinny tyred 40kg road tourer. I walked it in blocks of 30 paces, the left rear pannier removed and strapped onto the top of the pannier rack to allow leg movement as I walked it. From the top it was front and back brakes down the other side just with the rear on the point of lock-up. Then 15 km of normal dirt track loose gravel up and down until the end gate and campsite. After pasta for dinner I slept very solidly, (except when wondering about how another rider at Hanmer had said the Awatere was more treacherous for him than the Molesworth.)
In the morning the sky was blue the wind light and behind me and no cars in the small camp ground had bike racks that would allow me to pike out. The road from there I enjoyed, going in he direction I was I was following the Awatere downstream, so overall my ups had to be less than my downhills, the tyre tracks generally free of loose gravel ( as long as you avoided the middle and edges). Even the hills were such that a 1st gear grind would eventually get you to the top. The reward a long coast down the other side - just making sure you didn't go too fast lest some gravel get you unexpectedly. Then repeat, repeat, repeat.

Awatere Valley Road

  

After an early lunch about 11:30 the wind stepped up and changed direction, not sure if it was the time or the location that caused the change, but the head wind and not so good roads really slowed down progress. A few stretches of bitumen appeared near farms or on the steepest climbs. I passed the slip that had kept the road closed for months and months and eventually I decided to drop into a house, ask for water refills, and ask about the possibility of their front lawn as a camp site. I picked a house, yes to water, yes to camping. I had 82km of the Awatere behind me and 28km to go. Starting at 7:45 blue sky's, light tail breeze I headed off. Only a few km down the road it became bitumen and stayed that way!!!  What started as large cattle stations, became large sheep farms and now was grape vines as far as the eye could see (within the valley). At 28km I met a very quiet hwy 1 (carrying only a little traffic down to where it is closed), turned left and 25km later arrived in Blenheim.