Previous : Day 11 – Rangiwahia -> Eketahuna
Thursday, March 2nd, 2017 Eketahuna -> Featherstone (60 miles)
I said goodbye to Andy and pushed on ahead. At this point I hadn’t really been told about his cycle racing career and assumed (wrongly) that I’d never see him again! So I was somewhat surprised when he caught me up a few miles later and gave me a cheery ‘C’mon slacker’ in his ‘Up North’ dulcet tone. I will give him his due, he certainly knows how to haul his fully loaded touring bike along the gravel roads. There was no way I could keep up with him. But then I had to keep telling myself that an ex elite level road racer who used to ride for SiS (Science in Sport) was not going to be a slouch.
I think that might explain why today I only took one photo!
The pair of us reached the picture postcard town of Martinborough in later afternoon. It was obvious when we cycled into the town that it wasn’t going to be a cheap place to stay. Whilst we were stood outside the i-Site info center a helpful chap came out and introduced himself (can’t remember his name), but he was a friend of Stuart and John who were also doing the race. When we told him about our dilemma of where to stay he got on the phone and made a call. He then told us to cycle to Featherstone where there was a backpackers lodge.
When we got to the backpackers lodge the owner came out and said Andy and I could have the lodge to ourselves for $20 each! What a result. It had a kitchen and laundry facilities so we were sorted for the night.
Exploits of one man and his bike travelling adventures 