shebikeshebikes

Wow! We’ve just returned from a family holiday at Lake Tekapo. The goal for the week was to get away with the family and get in some good training at the same time. We left on the Sunday and to make it all interesting, Carol cycled Thompsons track (part of the Gold Rush Course) from Omakau to Tarras. I drove round with the boys to meet her and stopped to buy the holiday groceries on the way. After a lovely lunch at the Tarras Country Coffee shop (definitely recommend it) we drove on over the Lindis pass. It was my turn to ride when we reached Lake Pukaki and they dumped me on the side of the road and off I went. Fantastic scenic ride, shame about the head wind but I guess that’s just life on a bike sometimes. At one stage I thought that the wind was gusting and making a really odd sound in my helmet…. however it turned out I was being dive bombed by Magpies! But, they’re not going to do you any damage with a helmet and glasses… unless you decide to weave out into traffic.

We rented a holiday house called “the Barn“. It’s a great space with a massive living area downstairs and bifolds that open up to that magnificent lake view and a yard with enough fencing to keep the toddler in.

The next ride we did together (thanks Nana for looking after the kids) and we rode up to the Mount John Observatory and back. A very short steep ride up the hill but well worth it for the views and coffee at the Astro Cafe. You’ve got to check out Mount John, wicked views. That afternoon Fynn and I went for a ride through one of the reserves. Really rough vehicle track in amongst the pines and although it was hard, Fynn stuck at it and we had some really great “father-son” bonding time.

The last ride of the trip was a split ride. Carol and I drove out 30 km to the Mt Dobson skifield access road. I set off up the mountain and Carol started on the road bike back to Tekapo and was happy to get up Burkes Pass without getting off and walking! After rolling around laughing at my previous Magpie experience, Carol ended up having a couple of her own and even had a “flight wing” (2 Magpies) dive at her . The ride up Dobson was steep and hard. at about the 90 minute mark I passed a car going down and they happily told me that it wasn’t far now. We’ll that was a lesson learnt, far in a car vs far on a bike when you’re riding uphill are very different things! at 125 mins I’d reached my cut off time and had to turn back about 1.8 km from the ski field. Although I was sad not to have made it I was pleased I made the decision because riding downhill on an access road is really hard work because you’re constantly braking and trying to stay on the road, and the chill or riding back down adds to the difficulty. If you’re going to ride up above the snowline make sure you have enough kit because although it’s hot going up, it’s very cold going down.

The plan was that on our return we’d probably have one of us ride out from Tekapo… but 5 cm of spring snow and blizzard conditions ended that opportunity.

We’re looking forward to going back to Tekapo next year and exploring the area some more.