The first 60km was very nice, next to the Buller Gorge. It reminded me of my hometown in Colorado, near Durango. The hills were easy to medium grade (have discovered hills are better than flats for back and a** cause can get out of the saddle more). One thing to watch out for at Buller gorge are the sand flies--they are on your legs within 5 seconds of stopping. Fortunately I brought insect repellent and it appeared to work. Quite hot on this inland bike ride, leading me to strip down to just layers 3 & 4. The worst section was the 30km of flat straight-aways between Inangahua Junction and Reefton (a rather boring gold mining town with lots of trucks rumbling through). Arrived in Reefton, took a shower, took a nap, ate a boring dinner, watched TV, and slept fitfully (room was right next to a main trucking throughfare).
Spent some time fixing my bike seat that was giving me a sore. Final solution was to wrap my neoprene rain booties on the seat and tied into place with my spare inner tubes.
B&B Web-link:
Quartz Lodge
Trip Stats:
90 km; 3 hours 45 minutes
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