South Island New Zealand by bike.

Beef brisket and cheese pie. A good pie makes everything seem better The rain arrived around   4 am   and stayed with us until close to lunchtime. Packing up a campsite in the rain is not one of the great joys of bike touring, but by about  8:30 am  we were rolling again. The first stop was a short ride into  Sheffield , home of the famous pie shop. <!--more--> Breakfast was a  beef brisket and cheese pie , which can only be described as world-class tucker. A good pie makes everything seem better. From Sheffield we continued along  Inland Scenic Route 72 , which gradually moves you away from the Canterbury Plains and into more undulating foothill country. The road runs right along the edge of the ranges, and the riding reflects it — rolling terrain with the occasional sharp climb thrown in. The  granny gear  made its first appearance of the trip today. The highlight of the day was the long freewheel down into  Rakaia Gorge . Even ...

Right. Let’s ride. Bikes rebuilt, bags strapped on, and a quick test roll confirmed two important things. 1. Everything seemed to work. 2. These bikes were now a lot heavier than I remember. Leaving Christchurch  was always going to be the easy part. Actually leaving on time proved a little harder. We finally rolled out of  Ashley a bit after 1pm , much later than planned, after dealing with some IT issues that needed sorting before we headed into the sticks. Not even one day in and the itinerary has already been thrown out the window.

Now that the bikes have arrived in one piece and the airport fun is behind us, it’s time to explain the plan. Over the next few weeks we’ll be riding roughly  1,600 kilometres across New Zealand’s South Island , starting in Christchurch and finishing in Picton . From there we’ll catch the ferry across Cook Strait to Wellington before heading home. The young apprentices, give them a wrench and a pair of pliers and kiwi kids could build anything .

I’ve never been a big fan of air travel at the best of times. Add a 2am alarm, a bicycle, and a month’s worth of self-supported touring gear — all while quietly wondering if my interpretation of “under the weight limit” matches the airline’s — and it’s not exactly screaming   holiday . At this rate, we might need a rest day before the trip even begins.