Mini Brevet

I hadn't even heard of a 'brevet' until earlier this year.  If you want a definition you can click here to check out the Wiki page on Randonneuring (also known as Audax).  Suffice to say it involves long distances on bicycles.

There are a few domestic examples, probably the most famous of which would be the Kiwi Brevet around the top of the South Island and the Great Southern Brevet around MacKenzie country/lakes/Central Otago.  Both are in the vicinity of 1,100 km of on and off road riding.  You pretty much fend for yourself and can stay in anything from 5 star hotels to roadside drains.  I think the purists tend to say that you shouldn't use any support that is not available to other riders, so staying in your mate's lakeside mansion in Queenstown is possibly frowned upon in some quarters.

The idea of doing one has been tickling the inside of my skull ever since I heard about them and accordingly, in a few cycle trips earlier this year I picked up sections of the Kiwi Brevet to see what it might be like.  So ... an item on a bike shop website for a 'Mini Brevet' starting from Petone as a bit of warm up training for the two fore mentioned classics stirred my interest.  A few enquiries elucidated that details were sketchy and organisation seemed pretty casual - also that it was the weekend after Taupo.  I shelved the idea while focussing on Taupo.

Taupo safely out of the way (see previous post) my interest in the Mini increased as the memory of lactic acid in the legs faded during the week.  By Thursday the only thing that was really putting me off was the horrendously windy weather forecast.

The original proposal was to follow the coast from Petone to Wairarapa, cross to the Pinnacles on the road to Ngawi, head up through the Haurangi crossing to Waikuku lodge (not as flash as it might sound), eventually emerging in Martinborough, take the main roads to Featherston then down to Cross Creek and over the incline and down the river trails to Petone again.

Unfortunately, despite the PM opening the cycle track, the owners of Orongorong station clearly hadn't read the news and are still being sticky about access.  The route was therefore amended to head up the valley and take the hilly option into the incline before continuing as before.  All up about 255 km with the option of caning it in one day or staying wherever the fancy took you (both drains and hotels being in the offing).

The organiser, Barryn, sent me a cue sheet with pretty good blow by blow instructions during the week so all that was left was to front up on the day.

The plan

Initially I had an idea of trying to get around in a day but if I was too knackered then to bivvy up somewhere (forecast was consistently predicting 15degrees night time temperature) or get a bed in Martinborough.  Another likely possibility is that I find that I haven't recovered from the previous weekend's exertions as well as I might have thought so I could ring home command for a strategic extraction.  Anyway, I figure I can get away without lugging a sleeping bag and tent around.

Start

The starting point is less than 3km from home so I potter down on the bike in good time.  I see a bike by a van (good sign) but nothing else.  Then a tall chap with wild hair wanders over, it's Barryn and he is most definitely not dressed for cycling.  It turns out that he's recovering from some historic damage and wont be riding the trip with us.  Slowly more bikes turn up until we have about 12; some of which have ridden from the other side of Wellington (apparently there were also one or two late starters).  The weather forecast seems to have scared off a fair few shrinking violets.

There's a real mix with some loaded for action and a few as light as me.  I'm pleasantly surprised to see Julie and Thomas turn up but there's no-one else I recognise.

We chat until just before 8am when Barryn decides he may as well set us off more or less on time.  After a group photo we set off in single file up the river trail and into the teeth of a fierce nor-wester (which pretty much maintains its enthusiasm throughout the trip).

12 fine specimens

Cross Creek

The Hutt river trail is pretty familiar but has it's interesting moments.  Including the delightful passage past Stokes Valley and a couple of sections I hadn't seen before in Upper Hutt.  Anyway, they keep us off the road until a brief stint up Plateau road to tunnel gully where we join the old railway route at Station Drive.  As we are traversing the incline twice this weekend, Barryn has decided to turn us right and over the hill at the end of Station Drive.  We grind up to the top then fly down the other side to join the main track.  It's a bit drizzly at times and windy but nothing worth getting a jacket out for.

On the hurtle down from the top tunnel I pass someone familiar coming up; turns out it was Barryn - didn't recognise him in the helmet; it seems he will be joining us at strategic points.  Also coming up are about 100 soldiers in little groups (there's probably a military name for them).  They scatter when one of their number calls "bike!"  Fortunately, they always get the message just in time as I'm flying with little prospect of stopping.  At the back is an older gentleman without a pack and carrying a walking stick - probably for beating recalcitrant recruits.

Pirinoa

From Cross Creek the route turns right and down beside lack Wairarapa, the wind is now blasting off the hills and pushing the bike sideways.  There's no other bikes in view until I catch up with a chap (Geoff) that started with us but has to be home tonight so is going to come back via the coastal route (sh!).  We say good bye at the East-West access road where I take the long and fairly boring road across the valley with the wind making it less than pleasant until the turn towards Lake Ferry (then we skip along).

Pirinoa is a tiny settlement (no - it's the "gateway to the coast") between Martinborough and Lake Ferry and a little before the road east to Cape Palliser and Ngawi.  It has a wonderful old-school general store that still sells petrol and has unfinished wooden shelving and counter.  It's quite sizeable with plenty of choice - well worth supporting.

As I pull in about 1240, the lead cyclist from our group (Dave) is finishing a pie, he's travelling lighter than me and is set on doing the whole loop in a day (as far as I know he made it).  He pushes off as I head in for an iceblock.  Simon and another Jeff and a few others pull in just before I leave and make a bee line for the pie warmer.

Haurangi Crossing

The gnarly part of the trip runs from near the pinnacles on the south coast up and down and up and down and up and up to about 750m then down to 240m then up again to 500m at the end of Haurangi Road (the saddle up the road from Waikuku Lodge - about 23km ride from the coast).  A fair proportion is too steep to ride and parts are a bit overgrown so it's basically tedious.  Anyone that tries to convince you otherwise is probably not your friend.

It's pretty hot but the wind keeps clouds scudding across and the temperature down. There's one spot where it's not clear where the track runs - I wait for a bit until a few other riders turn up and we have a good old confab until someone turns up that has been through before and points definitively in the right direction (the one that I had picked based on my topo map).

East from Haurangi crossing towards the Orongorongos

From the high point there is a rocky, bike bending downhill chute which has been known to eat trail bikes (i.e. mine).  A few ride it but I'm behind someone that stops so the choice is taken away.  It is followed by quite a nice section of track for a couple of kilometres along a ridge before the final plummet to Turanganui River East Branch.  At this point I am travelling with Andrew who decides to head left a few hundred metres to Sutherland hut where he intends to stay (as do a number of others in the end).  I follow the 4WD wrecked track up valley aways where I come across Barryn and Julie who have come in to meet us. 

Dave of course has long since disappeared into the distance.  A few of us team up and head out for Martinborough (Simon:  "I want to go somewhere that has beer").

By this time I'm feeling pretty knackered and know there is no chance of a late night arrival at home so revert to the 'find a bed in Martinborough' plan.  The wind pushes us around a bit on the way down the long gravel road but as it is a net drop of about 450m I can keep things ticking over and keep Trevor and Jill in sight.  I'm impressed with their level of energy and find out later that Jill has won the Coast to Coast four times.

The shadows are long beside us as we head into Martinborough but there is still plenty of daylight left at around 730pm.  Time enough for a few beers then sortie out to find the Thai restaurant as the best option for dinner.  "We" at this point is Barryn, Trevor and Jill (who turn out to be good friends of Barryn) and other Jeff.  

My digs are at the Top Ten camp site and I have a very comfortable cabin to myself.  As I check in around 9.45pm (as the proprietress is just about to go to bed) a dishevelled cyclist turns up - another one of our number who must have been doing it tough.  After 172km I'm pretty happy to wash the grime off and crawl between clean sheets.

And Home

Up at 6 and on the road by about 6.50.  Breakfast consists of a chocolate OSM crumbled up and soaked in milk in the fridge over night then microwaved.  It is not quite as revolting as it sounds and much better than eating it straight.

The nocturnal noises are borne out - the wind is fierce.  It's a long slog across the valley into it but that's why they invented aero bars.  I spot Barryn, camper van and company by the Ruamahanga river and later he toots as he drives past half an hour later.  As expected he has stopped in Featherston so we chat for a bit.  He notes that Simon and Jeff left earlier and that as there is no welcoming committee in Petone this will be the last I see of him for this trip.

Turning south at Featherston it's the familiar trip down to Cross Creek with the brutal cross wind.  Still, should be used to it by now.  From here there's the long grind up the incline into rainbows and light drizzle.

I catch up with Jeff shortly after the top tunnel and we scoot along at a good clip.  This time the route mercifully does not take us over the hill but around the more traditional route to Station drive and through to the last tunnel to Maymorn where we have the final (and fortunately very short) hill.  Here we catch up with Simon giving him a hell of a fright.

Rejoining the river trail is a signal that it's getting close to the home stretch.  Simon finds another gear and skips ahead around Avalon while Jeff and I continue at a more reasonable pace (he is riding back to Wadestown).

About 4 hours after leaving Martinborough I wheel through the gate with water having run out some time ago.  It's great to rest weary, filthy legs.

Post Script

We head out for lunch at Mike and Angela's and on the way back see Andrew heading along the Hutt road and another one of the group just coming off the bridge over the river.  I assume Julie and Thomas got out from Sutherland hut okay.  The following day Barryn confirms he thinks everyone got home.

All up it was quite an experience.  It wasn't a route I had thought of trying in a weekend and I have to say I wouldn't choose to do the Haurangi crossing again owing to the amount of pushing. However, once the coast road is open it will create some interesting possibilities for round trips.