It was cold overnight; on the hills overlooking the camp it was snowing, and in my sleeping bag I was wearing 2 jerseys, a down jacket, a woollen hat, and fleece pants. I was warm enough with all that and slept well.
The morning was bright, warm, and breezy, so I laid out all my wet things soaked by yesterday's rain and let them dry.
I departed at 11am with most things dry and headed towards the Rakaia gorge.
The wind started off as a gentle breeze, and over an hour increased to a full gale. Wind more than 65kph! In my face, and sometimes to the side, blowing me into the road.
I was down to 6kph and working hard pedaling into the wind.
Fortunately I didn't have far to go before I changed direction and descended to the Rakaia Gorge.
Dust and sand was billowing up from the river, so much dust that the river itself was hidden sometimes.
The descent should have been fun but was not because of the gale wind blowing from the side. Whenever the shape of the land funneled the wind I was pushed violently to the side, it was scary.
I took a well-deserved break behind a windbreak at the Rakaia bridge campground and watched a rescue helicopter land in high winds on the riverbed to take someone to hospital.
Then refuelled with food and coffee I continued on.
The wind was my friend now; on a long 17 km straight the wind pushed me to 56 kilometres an hour without me pedaling at all. I think this is the strongest wind I have ever cycled with, and fortunately it was behind me. Those 17 kilometres I just coasted, never slowing below 25kph, and often exceeding 50kph. No pedaling! Just amazing.
But then I turned onto a differently angled road and the wind was from the side again for the last hour to the Waimakariri River. No good.
Wild plums gave me a boost of sugar in the last stretch, before I slept in my hammock in a pine plantation.
So tired. Happy to lie down.
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