Distance: 88 kms. Ride Time: 6:33 hours.
Today’s distance is slightly shorter than
yesterday, but with a little fatigue remaining in my legs, I expected it to be
just as hard. So I rose early, breakfasted and got on the road. Once again the
wind was in my favour, and I had soon reached the coast, were the sea was
perhaps unusually placid.
The road undulated along the coast through farmlands. At least the scenery was a little more varied than yesterday, and there
were a few small settlements along the way. At Colac Bay the pub looked
inviting so I stopped for lunch, and was served the biggest burger I’ve ever
seen.
Soon after I passed through Riverton where
I stopped briefly to buy a sports drink. The shopkeeper raised a wry smile when
he remarked that it was a hot day for cycling, as I stood before him
wearing gilet, arm and leg warmers with my cycling kit.
After a short break I set out on the final
30 kms leg to Invercargill. This is a very busy stretch of road, and
particularly uninviting was the regular smell of farm effluent carried on the
wind. By now I was feeling quite saddle
sore after two long days on the road, and the final kms were distinctly
uncomfortable, but I arrived in Invercargill at about 4:30pm and booked in to a
central backpacker.
The Speights Ale House is right next door, so
after a quick shower I enjoyed the roast of the day – a nice change from pub
meals served with “chuppies”.
Tomorrow I had planned a short return dash
to Bluff, just the bike without all the panniers and gear. But the weather may
intervene yet again as rain is forecast. We shall see.
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| Looking back at the Waiau River mouth... |
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