Middlemarch to Daisybank Cycle Training
On Saturday morning we headed out for a wee jaunt on the mountain bikes. The plan? to see if we could do 100k round trip on the cycles. Fit For Life Coaches are running a group event for some of our crew on Labour Weekend 2010. Our intention is to ride the Rail Trail in one day. Thats 150km in the saddle on an ex railway line, fairly flat, but gravel all the way and some inclines. It requires endurance and some mental depth to be able to crack it. This morning was simply part of the build up to see how the crew was going to hold up.
We arrived at Middlemarch and started with a nice coffee at the local cafe, and then jumped into the saddle. Heading off to Hyde. It's a consistent climb from Middlemarch up to Hyde so it's a grind! not too evil but a grind none the less. As we progressed we started to get comfortable finding a rhythm and the right amount of layers to be wearing. It's worth noting that the Rail Trail is in some very remote and exposed country and you need enough gear to manage a turn for the worse in the weather, it can be very cold or very hot and has the potential for extremely strong winds.
Our first place of significance is Ngapuna Station this used to be the stopping point for Skiing enthusiasts who were headed to big hut back in the 1930's to 1950's. Here we adjusted our gear and carried on. Heading on up and past the Rock & Pillar and on towards Hyde where we stopped for lunch ( a welcome break at 27km) to refuel.
After a quick stop we headed out of Hyde towards Tiroiti things get a little more interesting as you are now looking down into the Taieri river off to your right and you get to ride through a Tunnel, most unnerving as all the light disappears for a brief second as you ride though. Topping out at Tiroiti you get a nice little downhill reprieve across a couple of nice bridges, one of them spectacularly high with awesome scenery to boot.
We cruised on to where the the trail hits the main state highway for the first time since Hyde. It's called Daisybank, there is nothing there other than a road and the trail either side. We checked in with each other and decided it was time to turn back. We had gone 38km but were still short of making it to Waipiata our goal for the day so we could crack the 100km round trip. Slightly disappointed but in hindsight making the right choice we headed back for Hyde.
The pace was now much more pleasant as we experienced a downhill incline all be it small it sure felt good. We stopped in Hyde for another fuel stop and then off for the last downhill run to Middlemarch or so we thought. It seems like your really motoring towards Middlemarch but as you flatten out on the last 6km it is a real head trip, you just seem to get no closer for some time, it's dead straight and goes on forever, suddenly you are there and within sight of the cafe, the most welcome thing you have seen for quite some time.
We managed 76.92km (see map below) and fell short of our 100km, We were very tired and sure need a bit more training to make the 150km in one day, we will head off on the 9th of October to have another crack at the 100km, if we can do that we will chop out the full trip no problem. All in all it was a great adventure with awesome views and a great test of our riding skills. Can't wait for the next one.