Queen Charlotte

Once again the excitement about riding the trail didnt allow for a good sleep. Got up really early and went grocery shopping...had to buy pickles! What is the point having a sandwitch if it doesnt have any pickles in it? Jokes aside, I needed them to compensate the lack of isotonic water. Even though i borrowed a tablet from a German roomate i felt that it would be good with some extra salty stuff. So, prepped quite a lot of food and took 0.75l of water hoping to get some water along the way.
Showed up to the water taxi spot with full gear. The bike was already loaded on the boat and the captain just started checking-in the group. We were all present and so we started boarding on time. I was a bit in a hurry cause the time that was available for completing the trail was 'only' 7 hours in the best case. Boat would arrive round 9.00 at the start and pick up at 16.00 from the finish in Anakiwa. Thankfully the guy from the bike shop presented an option, as a safety feature, to call him when i would get reception somewhere in the middle of the trail to let him and the boat taxi if all goes according to plan or if we should make any changes for the pick up. The length of the full trail is 70km (Ship cove to Anakiwa..). If i could manage to consistenly ride about 12km/h then i would have some slack for misshaps/breaks/food or whatever comes along. That is pretty much my running pace, should be easy!
Well that pace is for a flat course, with the planets aligned...etc not for biking a tropical jungle trail. I am very curious how this will end up.
The views from inside the boat, and even better from the boat's deck, were amazing! It took around an hour to reach the trail's start 'Ship Cove' and once there everyone went straight into it!
Bikes (me) are supposed to start before the hikers so they dont cross each other in the trail. With me setting up the bike and getting a pic or two i started last. So, I passed all the hikers in the fist uphill and I felt fresh and nice! It didnt last long! The trail showed out of the gate that it will not be easy to complete...the uphills were seriously steep and the gearing on the bike didnt allow for fast spinning. Grinding my way up and down soon i cleared the first 5th grade uphill and my legs melted...
That was the point i decided to just enjoy the trail and exit/picked up at the 50km mark 'Torea bay' at 16.30.
Now i had actually the time to go to the look out and enjoy the amazing view. Took my time riding further while taking a lot of images and trying to make everything stick in my head.
The ride itself besides the uphill part was just ok. No difficulties no nothing. Beautyfull views and certainly interesting to ride through the jungle...
It was another great New Zealand experience, thats for sure!Les mer