Day 6 – Jacksons to Springs Junction 150km
My planned 7am departure slipped towards 7.45, not wanting to leave the nice camp.... I actually felt quite good mentally, almost with a ‘naughty’ feeling, as I knew I would be skipping sections of the route today.
Got cellphone coverage again pretty quick once underway, Simon had texted to say skip Waiuta if pressed for time. Confirmed my thinking!
The roads were pretty easy, through dairy country as the route followed Lake Brunner for a bit. I stuck with the main road, having felt that by avoiding some of Simon’s gravel road detours I’d save some time. I was learning pretty quickly that if there was a long, slow way then the route would follow it!
Mentally I still found it hard – I wasn’t wearing MP3 yet and riding completely alone dark thoughts would come calling. I snapped out of the funk when I passed a sign promising Cafe delights to be had at Moana, about 10km ahead. Perfect place for a second breakfast!
At Moana, I passed the turnoff to one of the roads the route took (so if necessary next time round, it is possible to divert into Moana for supplies), before finding the (very flash) cafe mentioned on the sign. I rolled up, parked the bike in the custom made bike racks in the carpark & strode in. I was greeted by a lady in full chef’s whites. “Can I help you?” She enquired, looking at me disdainfully. “Can I have some food?” I nervously enquired. “Well we don’t open until 10.30” (it was 9.45am). She saw my look of disappointment. “What would you like?” she enquired. “What can you cook?” I shot back. “Bacon & Eggs okay?” she asked. “Definitely!” “Ok then, just sit down there (indicating the not so flash plastic outdoor furniture). Would you like coffee?”
Result! 15 minutes later the bacon, eggs, toast, hashbrowns and flat white were disappearing at emergency speed. As well as shovelling it down I was able to do the usual backpack sortie, removal of thermal layer and adding sunscreen and MP3 player.
Rolling out of Moana, music in my ears, it was going to be a good day. Caught up to & rode with a couple of touring cyclists, who hailed from Auckland (of all places). They had stayed at Moana and were only going as far as Reefton today, so a short day for them. As I got to the intersection with the main road I bade them farewell – they were riding a lot slower than me and even though the conversation was good, I wanted to push on beyond Reefton to Springs Junction for the evening.
I turned out onto the main road, away from Greymouth. Road sign gave the distance to Greymouth as only 14km. I was committed now.
I stayed on the main road all the way to Reefton, bypassing some of the more scenic backcountry roads (uphill & down) and bypassing Big River/Waiuta tracks.
Reefton – not that inspiring. Best eating to be found was the pub. Workingman’s breakfast (my second feed of bacon & eggs that day – a large one too, with the addition of 2 sausages and baked beans). Talked to Sandra & Mum, then it was off to the 4 Square to resupply, knowing I would be getting to Springs Junction later that evening and that selection there would be sparse. 4 Square & it’s rival Supervalue were the most uninspiring stores I have been in. Selection of snack food was woeful! Stocked up as best I could, then rode on towards Springs Junction, passing the reasonable looking campground as I left town.
Pretty soon I hit the beech forest – very pretty! The road undulated, then started to climb through the forest. I was back “on route” again and it was very scenic, travelling at the slower pace of a bicycle. The first bit of this ride was hard, mainly because I had definitely exceeded the daily intake of bacon & eggs! I’d have to switch to something else at my next cafe stop, as the very thought of bacon & eggs made me feel sick.
I’d almost been able to tell what the time was by what traffic was on the road and how cold I got. By 5.30pm the campervans had stopped coming and I was seeing company cars with nicely dressed people inside – reps for some company or other, heading back to Reefton or Greymouth for the night. Sunnies off, jacket on and into the haul up a long climb. Not that steep, just long at the time of day when long climbs aren’t particularly welcome. I did welcome the descent down the other side though – longer and steeper. Woohoo!
Suddenly there’s a tiny amount of flat road and there in front of me is Springs Junction. YES! I did a quick lap of the town – a sign for a Motel that did not exist, a closed up cafe, an equally closed up looking Motel (different name from the sign) and a very closed up (apart from the toilets – left open for the truckies) Petrol Station. That was it. Cold & needing to eat again, I explored a little further, knowing that if I rode on to Maruia the cafe there would be long closed (it was now nearly 7pm). The cafe was definitely closed and the Motel did not even have an office. WTF? Riding around the back of the Motel (past a ‘private property’ sign), I thought I’d pitch the tent on the grass behind the motel (on the private property) and spend the night there. The only thing putting me off this idea was that in the last Brevet, people who did camp there did not get any sleep – it’s an unofficial truckstop, with the big rigs coming & going all night.
I rode past the entry doors of the motel units (around back of Motel). A car outside one unit and...... a bike outside another! A 29er with a rear rack and a GPS mount, no less! I’d caught up!!!
Nervously I knocked on the door of the unit. Oops.... wrong unit! An older guy wearing a towel answered. I tried the unit next door. A surprised looking Peter McKenzie answered, happily agreeing I could be his room-mate for the night.
Turns out I hadn’t really caught up. He was part of a group that had rolled in late last night, after coming out of Big River/Waiuta earlier that day. They spent a fairly uncomfortable night in bivvy bags on the side of the gravel road just up ahead. The group rolled out this morning & left Peter behind. He had killed his brakepads on Big River trail and with no spares, elected to stay put and try and whistle some up. He was on the verge of pulling out of the Brevet. After a shower and dinner (I microwaved my emergency rice – rendering it largely inedible), we popped back outside for a look at Peter’s bike. It was the old Avid vs Shimano problem – he had Avid brakes, I was running Shimano. My spare Shimano pads would not fit Peter’s Avid brakes – the mounting pin is in the wrong place. We also both had the same multi tool – that has an Allen Key that will fit the Shimano pin, but not the oddball sized Avid. So even if Peter got pads from somewhere, he wouldn’t be able to fit them. I suggested he ride with me in the morning on towards Nelson, where he could get new pads (don’t think he has had brake failure before – it is possible to ride on stuffed pads – it’s just that they are really noisy and not as effective...). Peter checked in with his girlfriend, then elected to pull out (maybe there was more to it than brake fail?)
After walking around in the light rain outside talking on the phone to Warrick, Sandra & Mum (good call on not camping – the morning pack down is not that pleasant with a wet tent), I called it a night & settled down snugly into the spare single bed in the unit.
Oh yes – Peter did have a bonus for me – an MP3 charger that fitted my USB ported MP3. Full battery again – and definitely something I’ll be taking next time!
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