Kiwi brevet 2012. Day 6

Murchison to Nelson; 178km     

I was greeted on this morning with cold fog. The first 20km seemed drag on for ever. My body took an age to warm up. First climb of the day was the gentle Braeburn saddle. By the time I summited the Braeburn, there was a small posse of riders cresting over together. The fast decent down into Lake Rotoroa was awesome. Taking a quick pee stop was a mistake as the local sand flies are more than friendly. Next up was the gruelling walk with a bike up the Porika Track. This side of the trail is steep and rocky. It felt good to roll over the top where I soon  began a very fast decent down into St Arnuard. Some really awesome riding where you have to concentrate making sure you get the best line possible. Another important thing is to make sure you have everything strapped on well! Strap it on as my good mate S.H would say. As I hit the seal it was again some long straights before I was feasting on some pies from the local shop in St Arnuard. This feed was well needed as I felt like I was hitting the wall. All washed down with chocolate milk. Next on the agenda was the road through to Nelson which is relatively downhill give or take a couple of large bumps, but ultimately you end up at sea level having started at 700m(St Arnuard). It was great to give the legs a break on some of the nice long descents. As I was entering Nelson on some of the coastal cycleways it was very cool to see some local support out for K.B riders with chalked up support on the cycleways. I arrived in Nelson around 6.30 and headed straight to Pizza Hut where I ordered to large meat lovers pizzas. I went to the Cathedral steps and enjoyed pizza followed by a Flat White. I stashed half a pizza in my day pack for the following day. Oh, if I had known how crucial this cold pizza would be! The temptation to stay at home was very high but in honour of completing this brevet by the rules. With belly full of pizza I headed up the Matai valley campground. Was thinking if David Mangnal(My Training manager from Ob who put me onto this silly event) might be around. I spied through the fence and saw a very distinctive pair of yellow holey soles. A quick catch up with David, Ange and Hannah before I was cruising through the new single track in the Matai which is now permanent feature of famous Coppermine loop. Thank you Nelson city council! I headed up to the base of the Mangatapu climb and camped at water reservoir. A superb camp spot! A quick cup of tea and some sleep was in order. Before I went I checked my stats on my cycle computer. Average speed of around 12.5km and 11 hours sitting on the saddle. From memory none of my days were under 10 hours. Some people may think this is unhealthy but genuinely, most of the time I love this!!!