Oliver & Lasswell Travel Blog: Still More Wind. . . .

View from our room in Hokitika as I write this.

If I'm talking today about Day 3, and we just finished Day 7. . . am I ever going to catch up?

Day 3 ride info from Christchurch to Hanmer Springs: NZ Day 3 Christchurch to Hanmer Springs

Route map from RidewithGPS: NZ Day 3 from Christchurch to Hanmer Springs

I try to ride 100 miles once each month. Since we were going to be in New Zealand for most of the month of April I looked for an opportunity to turn one of Brian's tour rides into a 100-miler (a "century" in cycling parlance. A century is 100 years, a 100 mile bike ride is a "century". . . get it?).

There were several candidates:

Day 3 79.5 miles and 3,033 feet of climbing

Day 4 85.1 miles 6,126 feet

Day 9 83.4 miles 4,453 feet

Day 12 79.5 miles 3,428 feet

Day 13 88.8 miles 6,731 feet

Each option required I add 20 miles, or less. I didn't want it to be too hard in order to avoid causing worry for Brian, the tour operator, having me be out there for an extended period waiting for me to finish. That eliminated Day 4 and Day 13 as the climbing stats would make the ride longer.

Day 3 took it over Days 9 and 12 simply because I could get it done and out of the way earlier in the trip. And both of those days had some issues in my head that made them less desirable. Day 12, for example, is an out and half-way back kind of thing that made it funky (again, in my head) to add 20 extra miles.

Plus Day 3 was an easy adjustment to the planned ride for that day by simply starting from our hotel in Christchurch instead of driving out 30 minutes to the official ride start near Saltwater Creek. By simply changing the start location in the RidewithGPS map it came out to a convenient 105 miles. And with only 3,000 feet of climbing? Perfect!

I even etched out an alternate route on Brian's suggestion that took a detour away from a busier road and added about 5 miles.

When I left the morning of April 9th my plan was to do the 110 mile route with the slight detour Brian had suggested. I figured that I could do the additional 35 miles in 2 hours and meet up with the rest of the group about the time our two routes intersected. 35 miles miles, 2 hours, 17.5 mph average, flat terrain. . . no problem.

I have noticed reading through some of my earlier descriptions of some rides I've done as "my worst day ever on a bike". I've had a few of those. This one only happens to be the most recent.

Prior to this one, my last worst day on a bike was the Dead Swede Hundo in Sheridan, WY, in June 2025. 100 miles, 50 of those miles (the middle 50) straight into a block headwind of above 30mph sustained and well over 40mph gusts. Couple that with a poor tire choice and terrible fueling and I had done the slowest century I think I'd ever done to that point. 7 hours 39 minutes riding time, 8 hours 2 minutes total time.

And that was with 7,575 feet of climbing.

April 9th? 7 hours 43 minutes moving time, 9 hours 6 minutes total time. With just 3,274 feet of climbing.

A ride that distance, with just 3,000 feet of climbing should have taken 5 1/2 to 6 hours riding time max. I was easily two hours slower than I should have been and it is absolutely the slowest century I've ever done. It was ridiculous. I almost quit at least 3 times. It was so stupid.

What happened? Can't blame the bike too much. Granted it's not my bike (it didn't fit me exactly like my own bikes--something I talked about in an earlier post), it had slow tires, it just isn't the same. But that didn't create anything more than a few minutes difference.

Still acclimating to the time change, etc.? Probably a little bit. I've not felt particularly on point since I've arrived here. The first 25 miles were flat, little wind yet I was still struggling to make 17.5 mph. On those roads (trails, actually) in those conditions, I should have been able to easily run 18.5-20.0 mph. But every time I looked down. . . 16.5 mph, 17.0 mph, 16.0mph. It drove me crazy.

I will say something complimentary about the bike trails in and around Christchurch. I was able to ride the first 20 miles without sharing the route with a single automobile. The trails are in good condition, not overrun with nitwits absorbed in their own little worlds. It was great. I don't know how extensive the trail system is throughout the city, but in the direction I went, big thunbs up. 👍

That plan to do 17.5 mph for the first 30 miles and 2 hours? Forget it. I wasn't going to be able to do 25 miles in that time and I had to adjust the route from the planned 110 miles to the initially conceived 105. And even then I missed the group by about 5 minutes. I knew that because I'd come across Brian Farrant at the side of the road and he made me aware of the gap. He'd been waiting for me to show up as I was now the last rider of the group. Right after I saw Brian, the wind picked up.

A lot.

And the wind grew stronger as the day wore on. Right after I saw Brian at mile 27.4 the day became a struggle.

That 5 min gap Brian mentioned? It was not coming down. I was not seeing anyone on the horizon. Usually I can spot a few people up ahead and can target them to give me some motivation. And usually that results in more speed. Not this day. I was drained. I didn't have any strength. My mind was not in a good place. I finally spotted Sarah-Lin Aamodt and was able to catch up to her. No one else was in sight at that point.

Finally, at about mile 42, the group had stopped at one of the tour operator's normal pit stops for water and fuel and I was able to catch up. But as soon as I got there they all left.

From mile 43 to about mile 51--Waipara Flat Road--I was in a terrible state. The first 4 miles were into a fierce headwind. The road was super busy and the shoulder was minimal. Then it headed more uphill in a shallow steady climb that may as well have been Mt Everest. I could NOT keep up with anyone. I was in the smallest gear for a modest climb and I was dragging ass.

I did make it to the top, slowly and pissed off and it was the lunch stop. It couldn't have come too soon and I was in a sorry state mentally and physically. I ate some and tried to regroup knowing that I wasn't even half way done yet. Coming up that hill and losing contact I was thinking there was no way I wanted to continue. Or, if I did, how the hell long was it going to take?

But after lunch continue I did. I started off with Linda and Patti Baumert, both on e-bikes. They let me lead them out but after two miles I told them to just go ahead, I wasn't going to be able to keep pace. So they did! 😂

Wind in the face. No one around ahead or behind. . . I came upon a crossroad of O'Carroll's Rd and High Street and the Hawarden General Supermarket at mile 57.2. . . just a little market serving the rural community. I stopped and went in for a RED BULL! A Red Bull had saved me once in 2017 on a horrible day in the Pyrenees, and a time or two since then. I had to do something. I don't really like Red Bull's but there's no denying the boost that it is capable of giving me.

And it worked. It took a couple of miles but I re-found my strength and felt like I could pedal with some authority. About that time, or not long after, the route turned WITH THE WIND at mile 60 for a short, fast 6 mile run that was a total blast. At 68miles though? Back into the wind. I can't describe how much it sucks riding into a strong headwind. Maybe that's the sole problem with this ride and the Dead Swede last year. Wind. Maybe it just sucks the life out of me and my mind gives up.

By mile 75 my boost had run its course and I was losing touch again. A group of 4-5 went up the road without me. . . I couldn't keep up. These were people I ride with all the time and should have been able to keep up with without any problem. Not this day.

At Culverdeen at mile 84 the "short route" riders were done. I still had 20 miles to go. The only person that rode with me was John Engstrom. I would have gone on whether he did, or not. I was glad when he said that he'd go along too, just for a sort of bit of company.

In Culverdeen I should have had another Red Bull. I had a Coke instead. Coke's don't work for me like the Red Bull can. I don't know if a second Red Bull would have helped, but the Coke did little.

I was ok until about mile 92 and the wheels came off again. I had to send John ahead of me because I was holding him way back. It wasn't fair for him to ride my pace, even though I'd warned him I was going to struggle the last 20 miles in.

And struggle I did. Same as before. Every little bump up felt like someone was grabbing my shorts from behind and stopping me from moving forward. Cramps had been rearing up in my thighs a bit earlier and they were beginning to nag at me again. Slowly, slowly, tenth by tenth of a mile we slowly made it to the turnoff towards Hamner Springs. It was only 5 more miles!!

Garmin computers generate a stat showing the number of climbs in a ride, at what mile they start, how long they are, and the average gradient. The last climb was right at the very end up to the hotel in Hamner Springs. I don't remember the exact data of the climb but it showed to be about a half mile with an 8% pitch. Feeling as I had all day I was dreading it. When it finally arrived--it was almost nothin'. Suffering avoided and mission accomplished. Sheesh what a day. . . .

I didn't take any photos this ride. Linda did. . . I'm not in any of them: