When I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t fall back to sleep, as I lately took a habit of, I looked at today’s route. I dismissed the TA option right away because I want to enjoy my rides. There was a couple of alternatives: go to Spring Junction and camp there or continue to Reefton. The Reefton campsite had a full range of facilities but it was 45km further, including an eight kilometers climb. I finally fell asleep thinking I’d play it by ear.
I set off before 7am. The road was going gradually uphill through forest. Roughly five hours later I was at Spring Junction. I weighed my opinions and the scale tipped towards Reefton. Once again I opted for the longer ride.
When I glimpsed at the climb’s graph it looked ominous: a big spike. But I made up my mind and started pedaling up. At the summit I was surprised at how “easily” I got there. Ahead lay a long 30-kilometers descent sprinkled with small hills and patches of flat road, which I didn’t mind. Using the famed metaphor: the climb was the stick and the downhill was the carrot that had me going.
I arrived at Reefton campsite around 2pm. Since the price difference between setting up my tent and sleeping on a bunk bed was minuscule, I chose the bed. Maybe I’ll sleep tighter tonight.
Today in numbers:
129 km – distance cycled
500+ – cyclists who rode the 2018 Tour Aotearoa Brevet