JWST World Bicycle Tour

March 22, Home

Scott — Wed, 22 Mar 2017 09:19:15 +0000

Hello everyone! My apologies for being so late in making this post. I am back in the USA, and just completed my first couple of weeks working for Ball Aerospace again. I am currently out at Goddard Space Flight Center, supporting the testing of the telescope. I must have run into 1000 people who wanted to know why I hadn’t made a final post. And, the answer is simple: a very bad case of procrastination. So, I figured I’d add this brief post and then come back later and post one or more additional entries, reflecting on the ride.

JWST seen from the observation deck.

While I was still in New Zealand, I was looking at the prospect of going to Cuba before returning back to the USA, but decided to put this country off until after the launch of JWST. This is a ride that one could easily do with just a few weeks of vacation, and that is what I will do. My reason for “pausing” the world tour was two-fold. First, I was running out of money and getting dangerously close to that point where the bills might not get paid (little things like the mortgage, health care, etc.) Secondly, the political situation in our country is just too unstable. I wanted to make sure that I was employed if/when things started to fall apart. And, then there is the whole travel insanity. Can a defense contractor hire someone who has visited a communist country? They can now, but who knows about tomorrow?

The last post I uploaded was on Feb 12th, in Christchurch. I spent several more days there before heading back to the USA. It was nice to visit with John and Adrienne who were so generous to me during my visit. I also spent some time visiting with my friend and colleague, Marcos van Dam. Marcos took me to a Baptist church that met in a local public school. This was one of the more interesting and intellectual church services I think I have ever attended. The theme that morning was on “Finding God in artistic expression.” There was original poetry, music, van Gauge, history and lectures about local art. That afternoon, Marcos took me on a drive through the hills near Christchurch. Beautiful!

My good friend Marcos.

(A week or so later, Marcos contacted me to let me know that wild fires burned much of the land that we drove through that afternoon. What a loss, but only temporarily so.)

Eventually, the time came for me to fly back to the USA. The trip home was long, but otherwise uneventful. Actually, there was one thing that occurred worth mentioning…the flight from Christchurch to Auckland. No one ever asked to see my identification! Not at the check-in counter, security nor the departure gate… kind of like the old days!

I spent a couple of weeks finishing up some work for the National Solar Observatory in Boulder. While there, I gave one final presentation to an enthusiastic audience.

One final presentation at the National Solar Observatory.

I think I’ll retire this presentation. I have given it about 50 times, and it deserves a rest.

I’ll add at least one more reflective post in the coming weeks. No more cycle touring for now anyway. But don’t worry…”This song has ended–but the story never ends!” There will be adventures to come! Will you will join me?

Scott Acton

Feb 12, Back in Christchurch

Scott — Sun, 12 Feb 2017 08:06:39 +0000

Hello everyone!

I forgot to mention in my last post that the ride into Dunedin put me over 1000 miles for New Zealand! And what a ride it has been… some of the most difficult roads, but the friendly people and beautiful vistas have made it worthwhile.

After an exhausting ride to Dunedin.

The next day after arriving in Dunedin was Monday (2/6). Back in the USA, however, it was still Sunday–Super Bowl Sunday. My hosts located a pub in town that was showing the Super Bowl, and we went to watch it. There were just a few people there–all college students and a few Americans.

A Super Bowl party.

I was disappointed that all of the commercials were for ESPN, instead of the usual ads. Some of the New Zealanders complained too, understanding clearly the most entertaining aspect of this venue. And just one more thing… am I the only person who realizes that the Falcons lost simply because they shifted to a “prevent defense” with too much time left on the clock? That it wasn’t really a great comeback by Brady?

The next day, I made three appearances to promote JWST: Kavanagh College (a k-12 private Catholic school), the Otego University Physics Department, and the Dunedin Astronomical Society (at the local museum). I ended up getting a TON of press from this, especially from the visit to Kavanagh College. A newspaper reporter and photographer came by and talked to me for a while, and took some pictures. An article was printed the next day, featuring the graphic I showed at the top of this post. Cool!

The only problem is that, with all the time I spent talking to the paper, getting my picture taken, and a teacher giving a lengthy lecture to the students about their expected behavior during an upcoming field trip, there wasn’t any time left for me to actually talk to the students. Seriously! I had 60 seconds and was able to answer some questions. Some of the students were able to come to the public talk at the local museum at least.

Before the talk at the Museum. The fellow in the red in the front is a student at Kavanagh College. His name is Anton. Anton is one of the most impressive kids of his age that I have encountered on this journey. I expect great things to come out of Anton.

Here are several links to articles, etc. that came about because of my trip to NZ.

The Press (A Christchurch newspaper)

The Otago Daily Times (Dunedin)

Channel 39 (Dunedin)

Dunedin Astronomical Society

The Otago Daily Times (Dunedin, again)

Radio New Zealand (Somehow the link has me named “Chris,” and the telescope “Hubble.”)

I seriously did not expect all of this attention! It feels nice to have someone take notice.

The following day, I stayed in Dunedin so I could cycle up Baldwin Street, supposedly the steepest residential street in the world. I could believe it. The street is paved with concrete rather than asphalt. Otherwise, on a really hot day, the street would all run down to the bottom. That’s how steep it is. Now, I need to be completely honest. There is a **really** steep section at the very top that I did not ride. I was afraid that my bike would fall over and I would roll down the hill. But, I did the other part 3 times, so I could get the pictures that I wanted. I’ve already posted the picture of me cranking up the hill on the 3rd attempt. But here are a couple of other pictures from the very top of the hill, and one taken from the bottom.

At the top of Baldwin Street is a mural of Baldwin Street. And there are chickens at the top of that.

Acrophobia kicking in here!

Baldwin Street as seen from North Street.

I managed to find my way to the Emerson Brewery to sample their wares (big surprise, I know). This is the southern-most brewery I have visitied! Great single hop IPA and a couple of others that I really liked. I also had my picture taken next to the New Zealand Navy.

Southern-most beer on the Tour.

I am told that this ship is the complete New Zealand Navy. I cannot confirm this, however.

On Thursday, (2/9), I took a bus back to Christchurch to visit my friends John and Adrienne. I am here now. Yesterday, I saw a monarch butterly in their yard and snapped this shot.

Art in nature

Yesterday evening, we had a dinner party with some very interesting people. First, there was Gary and Ruth, a couple. Both Gary and Ruth suffer from cerebral palsy to some extent. I love meeting people who experience life differently than I do; you might say that this is why I am doing this ride. It was great talking with these neat folks!

Then, there was Mark Rocket who was the first New Zelander to book a flight on Virin Galactic’s suborbital space ship. Now is that cool, or what!? Mark is also a founder of Rocket Lab, a New Zealand company that will launch your payload into space. $5M gets a 150 kg payload into LEO. That’s a bargin! It was a nice dinner, and we watched the ice moon rise on the ocean.

Across the sea, a pale moon rises…

I will check back with an update in a few days. See you then!

Feb 9, 2017, Dunedin, New Zealand

Scott — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 20:53:45 +0000

Hello everyone! I have been resting for a few days in Dunedin, the Edinburgh of New Zealand. It is an interesting town. The streets remind me of San Francisco. I’ve had a chance to give a couple of lectures here, and I am glad that I came. In a couple of hours, I am going to be taking a bus to Christchurch, to meet up with my friends John and Adrienne.

I left Omaru the morning of 2/4, with the goal of an easy ride to the town of Waikouaiti. The ride along the east coast was excellent! Ocean views nearly the entire way.

Great view of the ocean on the east coast of the south island

This was also a rare day without wind!

I got a later start than I had planned, and I really wanted to stop and see the boulders of Moeraki. As such, I decided to stay at a campsite near Moeraki beach. The rocks themselves were impressive–their location, even more so. Why are these here?

Boulders of Moeraki

The campground was full, but there is always room for another tent. I pitched my tent near a loud family and a pair of fishermen. I wish Big Agnes could figure out how to make their tents sound-proof. I have long since taken to sleeping with ear-buds and a white noise generator.

My Big Agnes tent. I guess I have spent about 150 nights in this tent!

That evening, I saw a perfect 1/2 moon just as the sun set. This is a rare occurrence. I use this concept in my lecture when talking about how Aristarchus estimated the relative distance to the sun using a 1/2 moon.

Half-moon

I got an early start the next morning (2/5) heading for Dunedin. A short conversation with a local cyclist and warm showers host convinced me that I should follow the main highway for as long as possible. I’m glad I did that. The scenic cycle route seemed to have as much traffic as the highway, but without shoulders, and was steeper to boot.

I got some really nice views of the ocean along the way. I am going to miss this!

More costal views

Eventually, I turned inland and I approached the climb through the mountains on the way to Dunedin. Farm and range lands reappeared; beautiful as always.

Farm lands and hills reappear

The final push to Dunedin required two climbs–a small one and then a steep push uphill for 10 km. It was not nearly as difficult as I expected it to be. I got some wonderful views of the city, or its suburbs, as I reached the summit.

The view from the summit riding into Dunedin

The ride through Dunedin to my hosts, Paul and Oana, entailed an unplanned 700-foot climb, which was probably closer to 1000 feet because I chose the route poorly. When I arrived, Paul took my photo. I was pretty exhausted! Later, I will post about the lectures I gave here in Dunedin, a Super Bowl party and a ride up Baldwin Street.

Feb 4th, Oamuru, New Zealand

Scott — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 22:00:44 +0000

I have had a pretty uneventful two days riding to Oamuru. It was mostly flat or downhill, and the wind was only a factor during part of the first day. Yesterday, I had a good tailwind and averaged about 25 kph!

I left Omarama the morning of 2/2 with the goal of Kurow, a small town near the half-way point. I immediately ran into two other cycle tourists who were doing something quite interesting. If you are reading this blog, then you know how difficult it can be to get your bike to the airport, all boxed up, and the same for your personal gear. These guys solved the problem by using a bike carrier that converts into a trailer. When the time comes, they will ride to the airport, fold up their “Bike Friday” collapsible cycles and put them inside the carriers, along with most of their gear. This becomes a hard-shell suitcase with wheels on the bottom.

Collapsible bikes and trailers that convert to bike containers

There was only one difficult hill in the ride, but the wind was in my face. Fortunately, there was this sign to remind me of the wind.

In case you forget the headwinds…

After the getting over the only hill, I came upon an impressive-looking hydroelectric plant.

Hydroelectric plant

And that was pretty much the only interesting thing that happed the entire day. I arrived at the small town of Kurow, and set up at a very quiet campground. The next morning (2/3) the wind changed directions and I basically coasted into Oamuru. I passed a cliff that contained drawings made by the Maori hundreds of years ago. The drawings did not lend themselves to photography, but the cliffs are interesting enough.

Cliffs with Maori drawings

Much of the past several days I have been either riding next to, or on, the “Alps to Ocean” cycle trail. The idea of a dedicated cycle path is a good one. However, it has been poorly implemented. Much of the surface is loose gravel, tough to cycle on even for a mountain bike. But, they are getting the right idea at least.

Alps to Ocean Cycle Trail

At the campground in Oamuru, I met several other cycle tourists. A pair of young men from Japan have been touring for over a month. Daniel, I guy I have run into at a couple of other campground was there and we shared a bottle of wine, along with Thomas, from Germany. Daniel is seriously thinking about doing a ride to support Doctors Without Borders, an organization he has worked with. As a nurse, Daniel has traveled to many places including the Middle East.

Left-to-right: Me, Daniel, Thomas.

Today, I am going to stop a bit early at a campsite that is on the beach, and has a lot of very large round boulders. I will try to post a few pictures later. The day after tomorrow, I will have a very difficult ride into Dunedin. Here is the elevation profile:

www.cycletour.co.nz

I may not have internet tonight, but I will certainly make a post after arriving in Dunedin.

Scott

Feb. 2, Omarama, NZ

Scott — Wed, 01 Feb 2017 21:13:11 +0000

Lake Tekapo has been my least favorite city so far. It is overrun with tourists (of which I was one) and the attitudes in the people that always seem to accompany this blight. You might call it the Estes Park of New Zealand. Even still, the lake was beautiful and I am glad that I stopped there.

On the way to Lake Tekapo

I met some interesting people at the local campground, all of which were also cycling. Most of them were following the Alps-to-Ocean mountain bike trail. The next morning (1/31) I checked the weather forecast and found that the winds were supposed to hit about 35 kph. However, for much of the day, they would be at my back, so I opted to press on to Omarama, an 80m km ride. For riding out of town, I had my choice of the highway, or an alternative route that paralleled a long canal that joined two lakes (Tekapo and Pukaki). I decided to chance the latter, and took off on what started out as a difficult mountain bike path. I had been told to hang in there, however, because much of it was supposedly paved. This proved to be true, and I had a very good 5-10 miles, literally being blown by the wind, along a completely abandoned paved highway. (It was gated on either end).

A forgotten highway, along the Tekapo Canal.

Eventually, the highway turned to the west and my tailwind became a cross wind. The road turned to gravel as well, and the local hills that had been shielding me from the worst of the wind disappeared. I had no choice but to get off and push my bike. This was hard work! I had to really lean into the wind to keep myself and the bike from being blown over. Supporting the bike by the handlebars, I found that the rear of the bike would be blown down wind, so I ended up pushing the bike at an angle. Eventually, I was overtaken by a fellow that I had met at the campground. He and I pushed our bikes for a mile or so, until we found a shack to sit behind to get out of the wind. We guessed it was about 60 kph. Here is a picture of Joe pushing his bike. You might notice that the wind, coming from the right, is causing his bike to fishtail.

Joe, pushing his bike in the presence of the worse cross winds I have ever experienced. Somewhere, there is a picture of me doing the same thing.

After an eternity, the wind died down a bit, and the road eventually turned back to pavement. I could ride again. The fellow I was riding with was much faster than me, and I never did catch up with him. I’m pretty sure his name is Joe. Farewell, Joe! By this time, I knew that my planned destination of Omarama was out of the question. When I arrive at the south end of Lake Pukaki, I decided to continue on to the small town of Twizel, where there was a campground.

Near the south end of Lake Pukaki

I could have taken the highway, but there was this intriguing little dirt path… Oh well, you only live once! I took the dirt path and didn’t regret it at all. What an amazing ride! It wound its way through a region that reminded me a lot of the Waikaloa region of Hawaii, except that there were all of these little pine trees everywhere. I was completely alone.

What a foreign looking landscape! How do you descirbe this? An Arctic tundra? Amazing ride.

Eventually, I arrived at the campground in Twizel and set up my tent. Later that evening, I rode over to the local grocery store for some food items. It was a tiring day and I was in a reflective mood. I had ridden my bike for nearly a year and traveled almost 10,000 miles. And here I was–in Twizel. One of those moments.

My bike in Twizel.

I had thought about taking a day off in Twizel, but the Wi-Fi connection (that I paid for) at the campground was non-existent. So, I got up the next morning (2/1) and rode the last 31 km into Omarama. On the way I passed a spill way for Lake Ruataniwha. Hydroelectric power is very common in NZ, but I don’t think there were any generators on this outlet. I am struck by how blue the water in these lakes is!

A spillway on Lake Ruataniwha

It was just after lunchtime when I arrived in Omarama and I thought I’d treat myself to a good meal. The local café offered a steak at a good price–the catch, however, is that you have to cook it yourself.

Cooking my own steak on a rock. In this style, you salt the rock rather than the steak.

The steak comes out raw along with a chuck of rock that has been heated (so I was told) to about 400C. I may have misunderstood about the temperature; that seems a little hot for cooking. But it was hot! You cut off little pieces and cook each one as you go. Kind of like fondue, but with molten lava.

Today I will start the first day of a two day ride to Oamaru. I am not sure what is available in the middle; I may need have to do a bit of wild camping. I will check in when I can!

Scott

Jan 30th, Tekapo, New Zealand

Scott — Mon, 30 Jan 2017 03:25:34 +0000

I got a late start out of Geraldine (1/29), but this gave me a chance to talk with Peter Aldous, a local astronomer, about JWST. Peter has a very impressive amateur observatory that he makes available for public use. He was up until 1 AM the previous night, with a group of tourists looking at the Milky Way. He is also looking for supernova, and has discovered several.

Peter Aldous, local astronomer

10 miles into the ride, I passed a place with a sign that read, “Brewery Café,” which turned out to be exactly what it said it was. I didn’t dare have any beer so early in the day, and with all of the hills in front of me, but I took a bottle along for later (OK, I had just a taste of their IPA). I chose the “Star Gazer” ale. It had a hefeweizen feel to it, but it was very good.

Southern-most brewery so far.

The day proved to be very hot, and I had a hard time getting hydrated. The hills and the heat really took a toll on me, and I started feeling quite sick (stomach). That tends to happen to me when I push myself hard in the heat–the main reason I am in New Zealand instead of Australia. I was really surprised by this sudden burst of heat. It was even somewhat overcast

Overcast as I rode through the farmlands.

Because of the fatigue, I decided to stop early in the town of Fairlie, making the jaunt to Tekapo a two-day ride instead of the single day I had planned. There were several other cyclists who made the same choice, and I had a lot of company in the campground. When I checked into the campground, I paid for a GByte of internet and explained to the host that I wanted to watch Dr. Who, since we can’t get that on-demand anymore in the USA. His response was something like, “Now what’s that about? No Dr. Who? Why, I’d figure with Donald Trump as president, you folks ought to be able to have pretty much whatever you want!”

I got on the road today (1/30) to finish up the ride to Lake Tekapo. It rained a bit last night, and the weather turned cold. The clouds did not boil off till mid afternoon.

How could they know?

On the way, I passed this neat little spot on the road that had a lot of antique stuff, and this classic Chevy with its original paint job. You can’t see it in the photo, but this car had black California plates on it!

Classic Chevy

Later I passed this monument which was erected 100 years ago. It reads, “O ye who enter the portals of the MacKenzie to found homes, take the word of a child of the misty gorges, and plant forest-trees for your lives. So shall your mountain facings and river flats be preserved to your children’s children and for evermore.”

100-year old monument

The mountains in the distance were spectacular, and what forrests remain are certainly worth preserving.

And all will turn To silver glass, A light on the water, All Souls pass

This was the driest part of New Zealand that I have experienced yet. It could easily be Eastern Colorado or Wyoming.

Dry grass lands

My friend, Thad Walker, has put me in contact with some people in the Physics Department at the university in Dunedin, so I will get to give one more presentation before leaving this fine country! Tomorrow should be an easy ride, with good tailwinds, to the town of Omarama. I will try to post an entry there.

Cheers

Scott

Jan 29, Geraldine, New Zealand

Scott — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 19:09:03 +0000

I spent several days in the Christchurch area, and left the morning of 1/27, with the goal of heading south. Some days earlier, I had contacted the owner of a local cycling touring website and was strongly advised against taking SH-1 south, due to the traffic. It would have been much easier, otherwise. So, instead, I headed west, back over part of the road that I traveled going into Christchurch, turning south to take a more inland (and scenic) route. The first time on this road, I had moderate headwinds coming from the east. Naturally, I expected a tailwind this time, since I was going the other direction. No such luck–I had strong headwinds almost the entire day. Consequently, I only made it about 70 km to the town of Glentunnel, where I stayed at a campground. I was greeted almost immediately by this beautiful grey cat with only a stub of a tail. The tail poked up, like it had been injured at some point.

Cat with no tail

The next morning, I was speaking with the manager of the camp who said that this cat actually had a home somewhere in town, but had been hanging out here for a few weeks. “That’s why we don’t feed it–we don’t want it to think it lives here.” Heck, **I** fed the cat 3 times in less than 16 hours, and I know others did too. The cat lives there.

The next morning (1/29) I headed to the town of Geraldine, a 65 mile ride with a killer climb near the beginning. Martin–a cyclist from Australia overtook me and we rode together for about an hour. He was much stronger and younger than I, and he had almost no gear. As a result, he literally flew down the road, and had a 100 miles as his goal for the day. It was nice to have some company!

Martin from Australia

The ride this morning would gradually take me to a summit overlooking a gorge, with a rapid decent down to the river. The killer climb would be climbing back up the other side. But what a view!

Best view yet

Before leaving the Christchurch area, I removed 10 pounds of gear from my bike, and will retrieve it when I return to leave NZ. I could really feel the difference as I climbed out of the gorge. On the way to Geraldine, I stopped in a small town for some coffee and stumbled upon a road rally with classic cars.

Classic car rally!

(Paul–I saw a Desoto that could have been yours, except for the steering wheel was on the wrong side!)

More old cars

The remaining ride into Geraldine was easy, but wow–did my body hurt about everywhere. I don’t know why I felt it so much on this day, when I have not on so many other difficult days. Perhaps because of the distance. Along the way, I passed fields that were lined with trees–really amazing hedges. I suppose they are there for the wind which can be brutal.

Enormous evergreen hedges went on forever

Another day riding awaits me today. My goal is the city of Dunedin, which has the steepest street in the world.

Jan 26. South New Brighton, New Zealand

Scott — Thu, 26 Jan 2017 05:46:35 +0000

I’ve taken several days off in Christchurch and spent most of it soaking up the hospitality of John and Adrienne. John and Adrienne are both devout vegans and it has been so refreshing to be eating healthy for a change! I started staying at the home of their daughter and son-in-law, who were away on holiday. After two nights, we all moved to John and Adrienne’s actual place, which is near the beach in the Christchurch suburb of New Brighton. I am there now and will get on the road to finish up the South Island tomorrow morning (1/27). Last night, we went outside to take a look at the Southern Cross, something I have not seen since living in Hawaii. The southern sky was amazing! I tried to take a few pictures with my phone, but–hey–it’s an iPhone after all, not a scientific instrument. The constellations all looked upside down, an artifact of my inability to reorient myself to the southern hemisphere. I had a good view of the Andromeda galaxy and a number of globular clusters within the Milky Way.

Last Saturday (1/21) I was given a tour of Christchurch by Jane Pearce, the person who booked me for a lecture at a local pub. Jane took me to a brewery (by my request) and I tried a couple of the local beers.

Jane Pearce who organized the lecture at the Pegasus Arms pub.

I was struck by how much of the central city of Christchurch has still not recovered from the Earthquake of Feb. 2011. Literally, the entire city center was destroyed, nearly 6 years ago. I don’t remember it being that bad, but it clearly was.

Christchurch is still recovering from the quake.

One of the iconic buildings in Christchurch was nearly destroyed. Here is a picture of Christchurch Cathedral, prior to the quake:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ChristChurch_Cathedral

I’m including a shot prior to the earthquake because I hope it will be restored to its original condition. Meanwhile, the Anglican congregation that used to meet there is now meeting in a temporary building that is constructed primarily out of cardboard.

A carboard church building.

I went to church there last sunday! (How could you not? Seriously, a **cardboard** building!). The chairs were made out of lumber reclaimed from the quake. When I first saw these, they looked like they had a serious design flaw, since the horizontal sections at the back should split along the grain. A closer examination, however, shows that this feature is intentional; a steel rod holds it together and allows for flexing when occupied.

Clever chair design

Leave it to me to go all the way to New Zealand and be fascinated with the design of a chair, but that is the way I am.

On the way to my current location (South New Brighton), I was using google maps to navigate, listening to instructions with ear buds. I saw a man across the street who was waving at me and saying what sounded like, “Hey–are you a cyclist?” I was in a sort of a bad mood so I found myself thinking, “What clued you in? Was it the bike jersey? The cycle shorts? The BIKE?” I took the plugs out of my ears and he repeated himself. I was mistaken. He had said, “Hey–are you that scientist?” The local paper had run an article about my project that morning. And, I do tend to stand out a bit. It was nice to meet someone interested in astronomy and my year-long project.

Hey–speaking of astronomy I gave a presentation at the Pegasus Arms Pub, to an audience of nearly 60 people. It was a great group of folks, mostly members of the local chapter of “Skeptics in a pub.” Those of you who know me well, know that I am a “theist.” (Not to be confused with atheist.) Still, I found much in common with these people who, like myself, clearly love science and use it to determine truth in the universe.

Skeptics in a Pub. Wonderful people!

Well, it is Jan 26, and it has been nearly 10 months since I left Boulder to bike. I am approaching the end of the tour. I need to decide if I will go to Cuba or not. A number of people have expressed an interest in cycling through Cuba with me, but so far, I have no takers. I have decided that I do not want to cycle in Cuba by myself. I am waiting to hear from one other person, but in all probability, I will put that country off for a time in the future. But we will wait and see! If you are interested in riding with me, now is the time to speak up! It only takes one other guy–preferable Spanish-speaking–and I will do it!

Cheers,

Scott

Jan 22nd, Christchurch, New Zealand

Scott — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 02:41:35 +0000

Hello folks! I have a bit of catching up to do. I was not able to post images on my last blog entry, so I will add them here.

I love the contrast between the green land and this purple bush.

As I approached Greymouth, rivers became larger and more numerous. I wonder what this area would have looked like in the flood that would come the next day.

Rain was forecast. I guess this created a negative fire risk.

I left the holiday park the morning of 1/18 and cycled about 2 miles back into town to the train station. It was just pouring rain, and the wind was blowing in my face. I think in a much earlier post, I used a reference to Noah’s Arc to describe the sudden rain storm I had in East Texas. I regret wasting that reference on a mere suggestion of a rain storm; a light sprinkling by comparison. On the morning of 1/18, it just dumped on me.

I spent about an hour at the train station awaiting the train to Arthurs Pass. When the train arrived, I helped the attendants put my bike in the baggage car, and then went back towards the passenger cars to get on the train. The train started to pull out of the station–with my bike on it! My initial reaction was to run after the train, as though I could actually catch up with it and jump onto it while running. The train left and I was a bit dismayed. The officials present assured me, however, that they were just taking the train to be cleaned and it would be back in about 20 minutes. Whew!

Several people had warned me that I should have booked my train tickets weeks in advance, as this is a very popular ride and would likely be full. 2 days prior to the ride, I booked a ticket on line and was surprised when it went through without a hitch. The picture below shows my car on the train to Arthurs Pass; not exactly sold out. There were 5 of us.

A nearly empty train to Arthurs Pass

The train ride to Arthurs Pass was beautiful. I tried to take a few pictures, but water on the train window made this difficult. (It turns out that there was an observation car with open sides, but I did not know about it.) Here’s the one good image that I acquired.

Along the way, I noticed several roads that were under water–clearly, this was not a typical rain storm! When we arrived at Arthurs Pass, I got soaked just retrieving my bike from the baggage car. Arthurs Pass is not what I expected; there not any obvious services. I checked the camping app on my phone and found that it was about 10 miles to the closest official camping place. If I had to set up my tent in this rain, everything would get soaked and I was already cold from the soaking I had received that morning and in departing the train. I figured a hotel would be a good idea, and noticed that there was only a single obvious place in the town. I followed the signs to the hotel and found it–prominently displaying a “No Vacancy” sign. Oops.

Now, I don’t speak New Zealander very well, but I was pretty certain that “No Vacancy” translated to “Come on in!” And, I was right. Although the rooms were all full, the management offered me a cabin that they had on their own personal property, next to the hotel. The fire place was a nice touch and I got all of my gear dried out. What nice people! They even invited me back to their house for a glass of wine.

Nothing like a fire to warm you up, through and through.

I had the option of spending a full day and a second night in Arthurs Pass. But when I woke up the next morning (1/19), something in me just said, “Get on your bike and ride.” I bid farewell to my kind hosts and got on the road. This proved to be a really good decision. I was heading South out of Arthurs Pass. It turns out that a few hours earlier, a huge landslide **North** of Arthurs Pass blocked the highway and the train. This was not a problem for me–I was heading south. But it meant that I was the only traffic on the highway. Yes! It was mostly downhill (at first anyway), and then the rain stopped and the sun came out. And, I got a good tailwind to boot! 20 perfect miles of riding. As I descended from the pass, I could see many areas where the water had washed over the road the night before.

Angry runoff from previous day’s flood.

You would think that the ride down from a pass would be mostly downhill. But the ride to Christchurch is really 4 different sections. The first was a gradual downhill section for about 20 miles. Next, there was another 20 miles of challenging hills, followed by the steepest and scarriest descent I have ever experienced, and then a gradual 40 mile downhill cruise to Christchurch. The hill section was difficult indeed. I had to push my bike for about a mile because it was too steep for me to peddle. After this particular climb, I ran into Michael–a fellow that I had met earlier on the way to Greymouth. He had a tough time getting to Greymouth along the coast, and didn’t stay there–which was why I could not locate him 2 days earlier. He was on his way to explore a local cave with some other people who had a car.

The constant climbing was wearning me out, and I was out of snack food and needed a break. Since I couldn’t make it to Christchurch in 1 day, I had allocated two, and knew that I had to stop and camp somewhere. I found a nice quiet spot near the Porter River and made camp. The water was clean, tasted good (I purified it) and I was mostly out of the wind. Here is a picture I took of my tent near the local mountain peaks.

Mountain peaks.

After making a double portion of pasta and soup, I cleaned up the dishes and called it a day. It was getting really cold, so I put on 3 layers of clothing for the night. Even still, this proved to be the coldest night in a tent I have ever experienced. (You may recall that I am using a very light blanket sort of thing rather than a sleeping bag.) It rained, but I stayed quite dry (yea!). As I left my tent the next morning (1/20), I could see that the peaks had much more snow on them than when I went to bed.

Awaking to snow on the mountain peaks.

I also noticed that a small puddle of rain on the tent fly had frozen. I guess I should have kept my “zero bag!” I finished the climbing section and began the rapid descent from the mountains.

Somehow the road doesn’t look as steep in a photo.

From here on, it was a causual downhill ride into Christchurch. Farmland reappeared, and I said goodby to the New Zealand Alps.

Beautiful mountains behind me.

The wind changed directions and became a moderate headwind, which basically canceled out the downhill advantage. I arrived (about 7 PM) at the home of John and Adrienne, my hosts in Christchurch for a few days. I’ll tell you a bit more about them in the next post. Tonight, I am giving a lecture at a local pub. My understanding is that more than 50 people should be in attendence. This will be the first pub speaking venue on the tour!

Until tomorrow,

Scott

Jan 18, Greymouth, New Zealand

Scott — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 22:19:11 +0000

Yesterday (1/17), I biked from Reefton to Greymouth. The weather was cloudy and was supposed to rain all day, but I saw almost none. At the half-way point, I had an option of taking a longer, more scenic route,–with more hills. I did that, and welcomed about 20 miles of stress-free cycling.

I met a cyclist from Scotland–Kevin–also heading to Greymouth. I had hoped that I would be able to meet up with him a group of 3 other cyclists but could not locate a single one. Greymouth is a rather large place, with many backpacker hotels and several campgrounds. I settled on a “Top Ten” holiday park and pitched my tent with threatening rain clouds moving in.

It rained almost the entire night, and is still raining now (1/18). As before I got a bit of water in my tent, but I figured out the cause and can prevent it in the future. There is a central tent pole running the length of the tent that has a tendency to slide to one side or the other under the weight of the fly. When that happens, the fly touches the tent and the water wicks through. I will add an additional pair of guy ropes to hold the pole in place, and to lift the fly away from the tent. This should be the end of water in the tent!

I have several really fun pictures from yesterday’s ride, but I cannot seem to upload them. Since starting the ride last April, I have been plagued by this mysterious “http error” whenever the internet connection is less than ideal, and it often prevents uploading the images. If there are any Wordpress experts out there I will gladly take advice (note: I do have a way of uploading the images directly from my phone, but they are too large in their native resolution to upload).

In a couple of hours, I will be on the train to Arthurs Pass. I am told that this is one of the most scenic train rides anywhere.

Cheers