On the road again

 

So we left Dunedin towards Middlemarch in wind and rain and 11 degrees. Already after eleven kilometers we had to take a break to warm up and eat some pies. 😉

 

sad to leave "our lovely home"

sad to leave “our lovely home”

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The rest of that day was pretty exhausting and after two months of non-cycling we didn’t feel fit. The weather was bad, the road was extremely hilly and sometimes even real steep and we were just not fit. Nicely enough, one woman stopped and asked us if she should bring our heavy baggage to Middlemarch so that we would have to carry it. Of course, we were too proud to do so, but still we were overwhelmed by this nice gesture. 🙂

 

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Well, then after 76 km we really reached Middlemarch and put up our tent. The great thing about New Zealand is that there are camping grounds nearly everywhere, so we can enjoy a hot shower after an exhausting day on our bikes. Plus many of those camp sites have a kitchen too where we can cook our meals. Excellent!

In Middlemarch got onto the Otago Central Rail Trail which is pretty flat as there used to be a railway which has been turned into a bicycle trail. On the other hand it was only gravel and dirt road, so after a while a bit annoying. In any case we could see that such bicycle trails are very popular in New Zealand: Rarely we have seen so many cyclists on one day, except maybe at the Danube Trail. 😉

 

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Our next night we spent in Ranfurly which is, compared to most of the other villages on the trail, pretty big – there is also a big Foursquare supermarket! From there we went on the next day, always along meadows where masses of sheep and cows were hanging out and enjoying life. But as soon as Stefan got from his bike, there were running away – so shy. 😀

 

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And of course it had to happen soon: At around five in the afternoon we had our first flat tire in New Zealand – on Alexandras back wheel. It seems that the already a few times repaired tube didn’t really enjoy the gravel road. 😉

 

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Our next stop was in a special town, well special just in regards of its name: Alexandra. 🙂 In the meantime the weather turned around and got really nice again, so we could enjoy the beautiful evening by eating outside. But during the night it got freezing cold again and it stayed that way until the sun came out next morning, then it got really hot quite quickly. Funny enough all the other campers were telling us that it was going to be a lovely day for a bike ride. 😀 And that it was indeed: It got so hot that we got burnt although we put on sunscreen regularly. After eight kilometers more the next day, we had finished the Otago Central Rail Trail.

 

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