I thought the last 150km to Christchurch would be easy. Not so: headwinds, crosswinds, three truck near-misses, rain, and Christchurch’s large size made them actually quite hairy.

Two days ago, I made it 80km from Arthur’s Pass to a small town called Springfield. Nice Alpine climate and scenery, lots of hills and wind. A few folks I met invited me in for tea. Yesterday, I went another 80km to the Fosters’ place in Sumner, on the far side of Christchurch, through occasional rain. And today, I biked 30km across Christchurch to return the bike. This city sprawls a bit.

In total, 660km (390mi) over 9 biking days + 3 rest days. Some days, I felt like I could do 50 miles more, but most days I was sore and tired. I feel kind of the same as I do about hiking: it’s got many good sides, and the right people make it all the better; but it’s still an endurance sport, and it’s hard to get excited about doing something that will be mostly crummy. Still, I’ll probably end up doing it again occasionally.

Going north as we speak: tonight to Picton, tomorrow to Wellington. And then we’ll see what happens.

EDIT: some stats, for future reference:

Feb 4: 60km, 2pm-~7

Feb 5: 78km, 12:30-6:20

Feb 6: rest

Feb 7: 56km, 10am-1:30

Feb 8: 83km, 9:30am-… 4?

Feb 9: 80km, 10:30-4

Feb 10: rest

Feb 11: 102km, 10am-6:30pm

Feb 12: rest

Feb 13: 82km, 10:15-6:55

Feb 14: 79km, 11:15-5:15

Feb 15: 29km, 12:00-1:45