Having gotten all the things I needed, I set out towards Darfield on SH73. The road was very busy, but fortunately Christchurch is quite cycle-friendly, with bike lanes and even some special traffic lights for bikes. SH73 initially had a separate bike lane and later a wide paved shoulder. Traffic was so dense, though, that I was glad to take a quieter route via Halkett soon.
This road with almost no cars eventually turned into a field road where only sheep watched my passing.
Darfield is just a small town but has everything from a supermarket to a jail.
From here I went on to SH77, a more busy road again, going towards Glentunnel. Shortly after that little village I took a lunchbreak. I had by then ridden 75km. My solar charger worked fantastically in the afternoon heat and recharged 50% of my phone’s battery in 40 minutes.
Continuing towards Windwhistle I found that the name is well deserved. A strong headwind sucked all the power from my legs. The next 20 km weren’t much fun at all. Then I reached the edge of the Rakaia valley and got rewarded by a beautiful view.
The following descent was welcome and even the return of the headwind on the last kilometres couldn’t stop me on the way to the campground.
My Christmas eve dinner was tomato creme soup, rice and quinoa and ciabatta with cheese.
Now I’m lying under an amazing starlit sky while all around the wind howls.
Merry Christmas!
The full track, including my shopping spree can be found on ramblr: