Today was epic. Not particularly long (70 km) but seriously hard riding with a loaded bike.

We didn’t fuel adequately to start with, due to extreme lack of choice at Mrs Glens and nothing else open. We had snacks with us and kept munching through the morning ‘session’.

We lasted longer than England did in the cricket!!

When we got ready to leave it was 0c. We rugged up. By the end of the ride it was 20c and we sweated!

We started off by heading back down to the jetty, but the clouds were still low. Blue skies were peaking through, along with the occasional alp summit.

The road was quiet as we headed out, heading off the road to cross Hugo bridge. The bridge crosses the Buckler Burn, popular during the gold rush.

A good solid gravel path, that rejoins the main road at the top of one of the days hill climbs.

Today was marked by two aspects.

The first was the wonderful views as we hugged the edge of the lake all the way back to Queenstown. As the clouds lifted, the sun shone, the views were fantastic.

We have over 90 photos so have just picked a few to show here.

The second aspect, this is a hard ride on a loaded bike. There were at least half a dozen climbs either 14-16% sections, some extended lengths. On a couple of the extended sections I pushed.

When riding with your shoes cleated into the pedals as you climb and the speed reduces, there is a point of not enough momentum to keep the bike moving forward without falling.

You need to make that decision to hop off first, otherwise you are risking damage to the bike and self.

To twist my foot to remove my shoes from the pedal cleats I find hard after 12% as you need to do it when the foot is not under load climbing. If you keep going you are committed to the climb no matter what.

Better to be safe than sorry!

Pushing a loaded bike up a steep hill is also not easy 🤣 but here we are climbing ok.

Today’s climbing graph.

The views are what made today brilliant, here are a selection.

Queenstown is ahead to the left, Shotover River straight ahead.

We were looking forward to finding food, and headed to a supermarket for supplies.

After leaving a super busy town centre, we were on another cycle trail heading to Arrowtown. It was a good quality gravel path.

The path runs around, and later through, one of New Zealand’s most famous gold courses, Millwood. Very peaceful and scenic. There are numerous accommodation sites within the resort.

Tonight we are staying in unique accommodation in Arrowtown, a renovated Bedford bus. It is comfortable including a very tiny shower/toilet.

Our bus overlooks Arrow Creek, where the cycling path also runs. We followed that into the centre, enjoying another nice Italian meal.

Arrowtown is a popular day trip for Queenstown tourists. The town evolved in the 1960’s following the discovery of gold in the adjacent Arrow River. The town has preserved around 60 original gold-rush buildings.

It was warm and very pleasant.

There is an interesting Chinese settlement, closer to our bus, where the Chinese miners lived during the gold rush. The last Chinese resident died in 1932. The huts have been restored. Sadly the Chinese suffered dreadfully with local racism, and were forced to rework old tailings and not seek new claims.

A very satisfying day. A magnificent but challenging ride, rewarded with breathtaking scenery.

Thanks for reading 😊❣️