“A refreshing holiday……?”
Monday 14 May: Dawns breaks. Poor sleep again due to Marc’s snores of exhaustion … wasn’t this trip supposed to be to recharge us? Refresh us? I am not sure anymore! So, I crawl already exhausted, out of bed most unwillingly as the morning is moving on and we have to get back on the bikes again. But- the positive aspect is -the weather is fine. The sun is shining and as we make our leave from the lovely motel I can feel the warmth on my back. A good start to the day!
First hurdle…not sure where we are going as there are no protruding obvious signs to say this way this way…. Second hurdle- my knees and quads really don’t want to move and they are talking firmly at me asking me in their grinding and groaning hey you… why are we back on this bike.…hey ,.didn’t we do this yesterday….no I don’t want to push the pedal anymore…hey are you hearing any of this………but, no, I am not listening to my knees as I slowly follow trusting my husband this was the right way on the track. In hind sight…. maybe I should have listened!
Walkers and other bike riders are also on the path today and as I am slowly weaving my way along the track, listening quietly to my knees complaining, I espy a rather large woman and partner come up behind us and overtake us. Now this person was rather large, and she passed me….and of course I felt awful and so unfit because I was moving moderately as my knees were complaining and really didn’t want to be there….and she overtook me.! But my ever-gallant husband looks at my concerned face ” am I really that unfit…and says… “she’s not carrying anything, she is only doing a day trip”. That made me feel better. At least I can say bravely to my knees…- hey we did this all yesterday! So on we went!
The scenery is different from yesterday- almost tropical….no dairy farms but a temperate rainforest appearance as we weave and wind along the gravel track to meet the gorge’s tunnel. Stopping to take the photographs of “smile…we are here doing this…look at us” the tunnel ahead looks so dark and sooooooo long! You cant see the end! So, of course, the video goes on, (I mean after all we have to video this part of our ride today…) the bikes are poised…. bursting at their bits…. charged, ramped up, ready to go…and we enter cautiously into the long ominous gaping hole that opens its mouth to engulf us in its darkness.
And yes, wow- what a ride that was. We enter one very, very, very, very long kilometre of wet, gravel, dripping water, dark….and ever rising up…….the track ( old rail tunnel) deceiving and tricking us into believing because it is so dark that it is not rising …but oh my goodness – it is! Marc is behind me taking the video…( hey do you know I actually look quite fit on the video by the way…with my plaited hair flying behind me…..ah- looks can be deceiving believe me as I was finding out today !)…..and then he decides to pass me ( Yes, you got it…because I am going too slow) and videos the ride all the way to the end of the tunnel. “And here she comes,” says the bright male voice on the video (who in reality must have been concerned waiting for me) as a red faced heavy breathing female pedal rider eventually appears with a grimace and words of “that tunnel definitely got higher!”
My husband agreed!
See …told you knees…. I was right – we were rising, you were not complaining for nothing.!
So many more kms along and on the trail we visit the Victoria Battery (gold mining history), beautiful waterfalls and stopped for the much desired and needed railway station coffee cake and Lemon and Paeroa…I mean we are in the area that makes it, we have to have at least one glass (not bad really and thirst quenching)! This part of the track is quite pleasant – still gravel and hard travelling but the views and ambience are worth it.
Did I really say the words, “worth it”?
Did I really have those words utter from my mouth?
Did I jinxed myself by saying it…?.
I should not even had thought it…because the last 9kms were definitely not worth it!
Up…down…up…up…down…. round, bend, twist, round, up…more ups. More downs….my husband graciously calling out to me, “another hill” as he rides in front “…..yes….it is another hill….oh look there’s another hill…..REALLY!!!!!!!!!!!
Heavy gravel on the track, swaying and sashaying through underground passes, wet steep tracks that threatened to catch me and throw me sideways…undulating tracks steeply bending and twisting without much break between the rises and the falls……sweat pouring off me, running down parts of my body I don’t wish to discuss….no , you guessed it, I am not enjoying myself at this particular last worst awful (is that enough adjectives)part of the day.. and to make it worse my oomph and puff had completely oomphed and puffed away! and to top it off, my knees had put the breaks on and were now fighting me , refusing to work any harder, any more , simply saying no!
(An aside here…I must admit in all seriousness here, what was scary was getting to the top of one of these rises and stopping at a bridge and finding that I could not breathe. Struggling to get that breath of air into your lungs and its definitely not happening and you wonder if you are going to breathe at all…. feeling so constricted as I was there, hanging onto the rail…literally gasping for air……! Yes we all agree that breathing is a wonderful thing as you inhale and exhale air to assist you in your daily activities but I got it out of whack…my in and out got confused and I ended up panicking as I gulped for air on top of that bridge trying to desperately suck in oxygen to help me retain my ordinary breathing…not a good feeling believe me! But it passed , yes I breathed again …and we rode on….
My ever happy positive husband says, “…look five kms to go!”
Oh yes!
Oh so excited the end is actually in sight!
I can leave this track and head for comfort
Yes!
yes!
No!,
Spoke too soon.
Down another rise and gaining speed …and all of a sudden the now ‘gravel turned concrete track bends at a severe right handed turn ,and, what on earth….it goes straight back up…no run off, no warning…no lovely sign to say “ severe turn be careful” or “make a good run at it and please don’t forget to turn sharply”…no indication of anything nothing….so you can guess what happened….
Yes…she went over AGAIN!
That demon bike of mine turned, reared and cavorted its way sideways into the wire fence bucking off the rider and she went sliding and hitting the concrete edge rather abruptly! Tangled once more in a wire fence. You guessed it, same arm as yesterday but now we added mean bruises to the left bum cheek and thigh with my right ankle twisted slightly.
Again I was stuck…could not move as the air was sucked out of me on impact….and fearful of that electric fence aspect from yesterday.
Again my hero comes rushing to my assistance and lifts the bike off me…
No…no electric fence again but a very hurt bruised upset angry woman who spat out a few choice phrases and words (no you do not want to hear them believe me…) to her husband through the tears coursing down her face.
And then a very determined tired woman took the bike from her sweet tender husband and walked angrily up the rest of the hill, only reining in and mounting that demon bike when she could see the tarmac of a gentle road to ride upon into the town we were staying that night.
A smile to the owner of the motel….
The key in the door
The shower on
The bed beckons me with its warm embracing eiderdown.
And my darling husband says to me,
“You know this is our holiday…resting and enjoying ourselves…”
I would kick him now if my ankle wasn’t so sore …!