Friday, June 15, 2007

Descent into Hell (well, Taumarunui, anyway)


At 3am I'd reached the point where I couldn't sleep anymore koz I was too cold and damp. My broken collarbone (1996) started to ache, which is a good indicator that things aren't going to improve comfort-wise unless Steps are Taken. So, I got up and after an hour's worth of hot cups of tea and trying to fit all my gear back into the saddlebag I was on the road by four. Bear in mind this is early winter, I'm at 500m altitude, it's overcast, with a full moon and it's been raining, so I was wearing four layers of wool and had my raincoat's hood up pretty much all of the time for the entire trip.


It was a beautiful moonlit night, with frost on my legs and cold feet. I stopped every hour or so for hot miso soups. Couldn't do anything about my feet except get off the bike and walk for a bit, which got them warmed up a bit.


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