Rain, RIDE! Ride in the rain! Two and 1/4 Sisters ridden. NEW! Photos added!
Today we awoke to rain and by the time breakfast was over it pretty much was raining even harder. The ride started with the "three sisters," a series of three challenging mountains. Because of the rain we decided to catch a lift to the first rest stop at Fox Glacier and ride from there.
However, three quarters of the way up the first "sister" the rain had lessened and so Margaret and I decided to give the rest of the sisters a go. There were lots of turns and challenging climbs - 11-15% and up and up the second climb we went and then it began to rain and continued all the way down and up the third mountain.
So on went the rain jacket but the higher we went the warmer I got. So off came the jacket and then, before I even expected it came the downhill and MORE rain! I did stop to put back on my jacket, but by then it was counterproductive. ALL the way to the town of Fox Glacier it rained. Pretty much I was soaked through, except for my feet and my backside..Yes, the shoe covers and waterproof shorts worked even though Margaret said I looked like a dweeb. But my butt was dry!
Leaving Fox Glacier we were treated to sunshine and lovely gently rolling hills. Soon the honeymoon was over and it began to sprinkle again and from then for the next 50k on it just dripped, rained and was just generally wet. So on we rode, forget the rain clothes, it just didn't matter any more. Now I get why this is called the rainforest- duh!
We stopped for a quick photo opportunity at Bruce Bay and continued on to the Salmon farm for lunch. At that point I decided that 75k of riding in the rain was enough for me and so I took a lift to our lovely Wilderness Lodge at Lake Moeraki. Margaret continued the ride and by the time she had arrived, I had offloaded our luggage, showered and was ready to start the laundry.
The owner of the lodge took us on a tour of the surrounding area, when we met for the beginning of the tour, we spotted a Tui bird and I snapped this photo.
OUR TOUR GUIDE
And then the tour...OMG - I know elves must live here. There are thousand year old trees and woods full of ferns.
We also went down to the river to see the eels that live in the fresh water. They only grow and inch or two a year and some we saw are reported to be close to 90 years old. Kinda creepy, but cool.
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1 comment:
Nothing quite like going for a little ride in the rain. The fun of splashing through the puddles makes you into a kid again. Thanks for sharing your adventures. I got out with the D group yesterday to ride down to Tempe and had lots of fun check my pictures on Meet UP.
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