|
On the day that cold weather and high winds lashed the country – the Canterbury Mountain Biking Club donned the Gore-Tex and rode the Little River Rail Trail...
The night before the ride had seen Christchurch lashed with rain - rain, rain and yet more rain. And as we gathered outside the Princess Margret Hospital on that cold, rainy Sunday morning: A few of us were thinking that the ride was going to be canceled and that we were going to have a morning coffee, a bit of a chat and then call it a day. Especially seen as the the radio was announcing that trouble was being caused by high winds and rain up and down the Country. However, for some strange reason we drove to Little River and started to ride one of the most open and exposed pieces of track in Canterbury. When we got to Little River, the main road was down to one lane, as surface flooding had closed off a lane. It was raining, and cold. The drive to Little River had taken us through a countryside filled with flooded paddocks and fresh water falls that cascaded down the Peninsula Hills. We wasted no time getting the bikes out of the cars or getting kitted up, and before too long we were soon on the trail. The rail trail itself was in great condition despite the torrential downpour. The first section of the ride was to Poranui Beach road, there was a slight head wind and it was reasonably hard going, Taking us 40 minutes to bike the 9 or so kilometers. Here, we all had a conflab and decided that we could continue the ride despite the cold and the wind. The next section took us down to the Kaituna Valley Car park, with the wind at our backs this was done in record time, and I think we all really enjoyed this bit of the ride. There were bridge crossings, farm gates and jolly looking sheep to brighten up the day. However, no one enjoyed the ride back. The head wind was a cold, callous energy sapping killer. It was slow going. No one talked and everyone put their heads down and ground a path back to Little River. Back in Little River we all piled into the cafe to warm up, down coffee and scoff hot food. We had a good chat, and wondered what people would think of us for riding on this terrible winters day. PostScript
I promptly went home and had the next week off work. Followed by another week of being ill. Motto of the story.. Never lend your girlfriend your good jacket - no matter how much she complains. Riders
Rob Lancaster, Graeme Read, Carl Schurger,, Rebecca Robertson , Mike Allison, Ride Leader: Claire Heppenstall Sundries
 Little River to Kaituna Car Park The GPS Capture shows little change in the height of the terrain. From Little River to Kaituna Valley car park. Total Distance : 29.27 Km Total Accumulated Climb: 97 m |
