After the Geyserland Gravel Grind, both my friend Amanda and I had a bit of a reality check. We found that three day event very hard and it took at least a week to recover afterwards. We had always talked about doing another ride in the Wairarapa on Labour Weekend, and we were both keen to see if we were fitter than when we did the Gravel Grind.
Day 1: Wellington/Hutt Valley to Remutaka Incline Summit
Distance: 45 km
Moving Average: 16 km/h
Ascent: 513m
Descent: 234m
This Friday was not a public holiday, and so Amanda and I decided to take half a day leave and get an early start on the long weekend. Being in the Hutt Valley already, I had a shorter ride than Amanda who started from her work in the Wellington CBD.
I set off at about 2pm to meet Amanda on the Hutt River Trail. Before leaving I weighed my fully loaded bike. It was 25kg without water or the camera I carry in my small backpack. The bike is about 12kg (not light), so bags and gear including tent, sleeping bag, Exped mattress, clothes, billy, tools, gas and cooker therefore weighed 13kg.
After the Gravel Grind I found the 45mm WTB Riddlers had rubbed paint off the chainstays. Probably when caked with mud or when stressed on the downhills. Not ideal, so this trip I put on some WTB 40c Nanos. Fast on pavement but not as comfy as the Riddlers.
It felt odd being on my fully loaded bike close to home, but soon enough I had rendezvoused with Amanda and we were in the swing of bikepacking once again. The trip up the Hutt River Trail and on to the Rimutaka Incline was uneventful. We reached the incline summit at about 4:30 and made camp. This was the first time I’d used my brand new Macpac Sololight tent. It was one of the last left and on sale as this model has been updated. It’s light without being too flimsy and is easy to pitch with plenty of room for sleeping. It’s not high enough to sit up in properly, but no small tents are really.
After dark I heard another cyclist arrive and stop further along the track from us.
Day 2: Rimutaka Incline Summit to Kiriwhakapapa
Distance: 107 km
Moving Average: 19 km/h
Ascent: 713m
Descent: 819m
The morning showed that another cyclist had indeed arrived overnight. He was going to go around the south coast back to Wellington. We got going at about 7:30. A nice easy start to the day as it’s all downhill to Cross Creek. The short section from Cross Creek to the carpark at the end is a really fun rollercoaster singletrack. There are plenty of blind corners so I was a little concerned about meeting someone coming the other way, but it was still early and nobody was in the carpark when we got there.
Siberia Gully, Rimutaka Incline
The road to Featherston is narrow in places and a somewhat lumpy gravel cycle track parallels it, but after starting on this we just went on the smoother road. Before long we were having second breakfast at a café in Featherson. I had called in unannounced to my Aunt’s place on the way, but nobody was home so I cycled past all the cafes until I saw Amanda’s bike. Being Featherston and not Paris or even Wellington, this was a one minute job.
Fuelled by an excellent breakfast (scrambled eggs on toast for me) we set of once again. From here Amanda had designed a zigzag route to get to Kiriwhakapapa to make sure we 1) did a bit over 100km, 2) stayed off busy roads and 3) went through Greytown and Masterton so we could stop for food and drink. The morning ride to Greytown was very pleasant. Strong northerly winds were forecast but had yet to arrive, and we enjoyed a quiet mix of sealed and gravel roads.
Arriving in Greytown we bought some lunch from the French Bakery and then continued past Dalefield school (which was having a calf and lamb day) where we stopped on the side of the road in the shade to eat it. Our route then wend its way north where we started to battle against the building northerly. We were closer to the Tararuas here and the wind was much stronger and gusty here. After battling into a head wind up a short climb, I decided to take it easy on the descent as gusts of wind were blasting through from the side. Amanda overtook me and at one point I saw her wobble sideways as a gust hit. Soon enough we’d turned a corner and had a good tail wind for the run into Masterton.
Lenticular clouds over the Tararuas
On Masterton’s northern bypass we stopped for food at the Renall Street Dairy. Conveniently the dairy had some chairs outside so we sat there having some afternoon tea. After a few minutes we heard some sirens approaching from our right and at the same time Amanda noticed the flashing lights of a police car approaching from out left. Nek minute a car being pursued by the police car to our right goes past. It wasn’t going particularly fast and I got a good look at the driver who seemed very nonchalant smoking a cigarette without a care in the world. There was also a passenger in the front seat who was much more animated. He seemed to be having a great time, but what was most notable was he was filming the pursing police car with his phone held high out of the window.
The police car approaching from the left could do nothing to stop the fleeing car driving off the way he’d just come and so had to flip a u-ey. A few seconds later a third police car that had come from somewhere else altogether went past. Realising he’d missed the boat (or car), he then flipped a u-ey; rather suddenly too and I think gave another driver a fright. Peace returned for a minute, but as if to underline the ridiculous scene we’d just witnessed a biker on a canary yellow Harley came gurgling down the road and lurched off out of sight with a great V twin fanfare. I think he was trying to be cool but it just made me laugh.
Renell Street Dairy
The rest of the day’s ride was comparatively uneventful. The main highway north to the Kiriwhakapapa road is busy with lots of trucks, so it was good to arrive safely at the campsite after a good day’s cycling.
Day 3: Kiriwhakapapa to Martinborough
Distance: 114 km
Moving Average: 17.6 km/h
Ascent: 1097m
Descent: 1408m
Being a long weekend the Kiriwhakapapa campsite had been quite busy with family groups. Despite this, and the gusty wind that would rattle through the valley periodically, I managed to get a decent night’s sleep.
Our route from the campsite was the old tram track to the Mikimiki Valley. For us both it was mostly unrideable. Even a decent mountain biker would not be able to ride it all. But it was mercifully short and also really pleasant.
Old track to Mikimiki Valley
Mikimiki Stream
After an hour or two we were heading down the Mikimiki Valley on a nice gravel road with a nice tail wind making a quick trip to SH2. We then did a few kms towards Masterton before turning north on the Opaki Kaiparoro Road. The wind was really making itself known and some the straights were quite hard work. We briefly talked to three road cyclists who overtook us and were doing the Dreyers Rock loop road. We turned off before this and went over the unsealed and twisty Dorsets Road.
View from Mikimiki Valley
Dorests Road
Top of Dorsets Road
On the tops
It was a slow but fun climb up and over the top where the road turned into a grassy farm track over open hilltops. The views over Wairarapa were really good and the descent down the sealed Kaka Amu Road on the other side was lots of fun. This section up and over the hill was the highlight of the trip for me and thoroughly enjoyable.
The wind was not easing off at all and after looping down back to SH2 we had a howling tail wind. I was going over 40km/hr quite comfortably. Fun!
We stopped in Masterton for lunch at a café with pleasant outside seating. A BLT and chocolate milkshake hit the spot nicely.
Shortly after getting on the bike again I decided to call in on an aunt and uncle who live nearby. They were home so I ended up being 45mins behind Amanda. I was trying to make up for lost time but our route along Te Whiti and Longbush roads seemed more of a side wind than the tailwind I was hoping for. Somewhere beyond Gladstone I heard someone calling out from behind. It was another cyclist (Kevin, if I recall correctly) who lives locally. It turned out the three people that passed us in the morning were staying with him. He was very talkative and excellent company. Before long we had caught up to Amanda who had stopped for a rest a waited for me before going on slowly again.
I began to flag as we approached Martinborough and had to rely on party mix sweets to keep me going. On arriving in town we went straight to the pizza joint to stuff some calories down our necks. It was then a short ride to the campsite where there were nice hot showers.
Martinborough Campsite
Day 4: Martinborough to Hutt Valley
Distance: 97 km
Moving Average: 17.2 km/h
Ascent: 904m
Descent: 831m
In the morning we packed up our tents. It was notable how dry everything was. Usually there’s at least some condensation, but even the tent floor that had been on the grass was bone dry. If only it was always like this…
The NW wind was still blowing but it was mostly a side wind as we cycled SW down Lake Ferry Road. Amanda got dive bombed by a couple of magpies. They’re a pest to people and native birds alike, so I wasn’t too sad to see a number of dead ones on the road that had probably tried to dive bomb passing cars.
Lower Valley Garage
There was then a section of head wind at the start of the East-West Access Road. It’s a quiet part of the country, and even more so today on a public holiday with hardly any cars at all. So it was surprising to see a number of police cars. There were at least half a dozen that passed with the space of half an hour. Some were full of police so they must have been on some outing; having a break from chasing stolen cars in Masterton perhaps.
Amanda continued to get dive bombed by magpies. Happily I seemed to be immune. In the end we could only conclude that the magpies disliked her white helmet and ignored my blue one. David Attenborough needs to investigate I think.
The road north back up to the start of the Rimutaka Incline was actually somewhat sheltered. The wind wasn’t too bad, and although there was a bit of rain by now it mostly stayed away. There were a couple of annoying vehicles that passed too close and too fast, but I guess you get that anywhere.
Back towards Cross Creek
The wind did have one last go at us near the summit of the Incline as we approached Siberia Creek. Short exposed sections were a real battle as the wind really belts down the hill here. In 1880 a train got blown off the track here and I’m not at all surprised.
Rimutaka Summit Tunnel
At the summit we discovered there was a trail “open day”. Which meant there were quite a number of cyclists and some council staff providing food and encouragement. However, we had our own lunch which we ate at a picnic table and then headed down as the rain started. There was a coffee van at the start of the trail and we couldn’t pass without stopping for a hot chocolate. How convenient!
Before long I was home. Amanda lived further away so got a few more kms under her belt.
After doing this trip I felt in much better shape than after the Geyersland Gravel Grind. Amanda said she felt stronger too. Maybe the Tour Aotearoa is going to be achievable.