Continuing on the TA route I rode on the River Road weaving along the Whanganui River. It’s narrower than a regular highway, at times only a one-car width. It reminded me Bolivian Death Road with the river down below on one side and the rock wall on the other. There’s a difference – it was paved.
For long stretches I was the only person on the road. It was quiet, only birds were chirping and Greengo’s tires were monotonously humming on the pavement. When the skies cleared, I would even say it was blissful.
It would have been nice to sit down and enjoy the moment but there were hardly any places to do so: most areas surrounding the road were fenced off and there was practically no rest areas along the road.
Last year, the Whanganui River was given its own legal identity, with the rights, duties and liabilities of a legal person. Which, using the name of one of my favorite songs, is “One Step Beyond”, in my opinion. I guess if there were no fences, I could have come down and had a chat with it, person to person.
In Whanganui I stayed at the house of a Russian couple, friends of friends. Maya and Sergei treated me with dinner, ice cream and lovely conversation.
Tomorrow, on the saddle again.
Today in numbers:
79 km – distance cycled
290 km – length of the Whanganui River