Wednesday October 17, 2012, 70 miles (113 km) – Total so far: 161 miles (259 km)

We left Hanmer after a leisurely cooked breakfast. It was Jocelyn’s 22nd birthday so she cooked for her dad! We rolled out of town after nine in a hard blow. There is nothing like a few steep hills and hard wind to wake you up. It took us two hours to backtrack to 70 where we turned north. It was there where I had my first flat. If you read my first journal you know that flats were a sore subject with Jocelyn as she had seven of them while I had only one and that was just 200 miles from San Diego. I had almost made it across the entire country without one. So this first one for me was a bit alarming and I thought Jocelyn was going to tease me to no end but she was silent although I saw a few smirks.

We had a pleasant quiet ride to Rotherham where we saw the town’s only pub so we went in for lunch with the locals. When we told them we were headed to Kaikoura they all looked at each other and laughed. “Have fun on that” they said. Shortly after that we rode into hill country and thought about those people laughing. I guess they knew. We had a real go at it and it was unrelenting. I looked at my map and GPS and we decided to stop at a lodge in Mt. Lyford for an accommodation. Well the hills became little mountains and with the little traffic on the road we wondered if the lodge would even be open on a weekday. We didn’t have a phone number so we pressed on until we saw the only 3rd car for the afternoon coming up a hill. It was a truck and Jocelyn flagged the driver down. A very nice gentleman was heading to Kaikoura and offered to take us there. What a score! We passed the lodge and the sign said open but there were no cars around so I’m glad we got a lift.

We talked at length about the sheep and farming business. The little mountains turned into big ones. I think we would still be there if not for Frasier. He dropped us off on the quay of Kaikoura where we found a bike shop to readjust the brakes that I had adjusted and messed up. Bike brakes seem so simple yet I have never really figured them out. After that we found a nice motel as we were both beat and needed some good rest. After laundry and cleaning up we celebrated Jocelyn’s birthday with a few pints and dinner. Then it was straight to bed. Tomorrow we want to try and reach Pedallers Rest Backpackers in Ward. “Pedallers’ Paradise”- a cycle touring guide to New Zealand’s South Island by Nigel Rushton highly recommends the accommodation.

We rode 45 miles and were driven 25.