It was a further 22km ride from Blackball to Greymouth this morning. The legs were recovering from yesterday’s effort so I was hoping for an ‘easy’ day.  Once loaded up at supermarket, I went to the Greymouth bar for the photo checkpoint. 

The day’s ride would be along the ‘West Coast Wilderness Trail’, a grade 2 cycle track.  I had few expectations, but it was fantastic! The hard packed, smooth gravel track made for a fast spin, giving the legs a chance to loosen up after Big River.  It followed rugged coastline, before heading inland alongside a couple of reservoirs with pretty views, and through native bush. The birds were out singing, the friendly fantails came out to say hi, the equally friendly bumblebees did the same. There seems to be population explosion of bees in the South Island, all wanting to pollinate our TA riders. 

A gentle climb took me to the Kawhaka pass, followed by fun singletrack with lots of switchbacks, arriving at a replica Western town known as Cowboys Paradise. 

So a unicyclist walks into a bar….
“You’re doing the Tender Arse (TA) mate?”
Yep…straight shootin’, cowboy.

I cooled off with a beer (a ginger beer) then sped off down the dusty road. 

There was another awesome singletrack section around Lake Kaniere. Tight, smooth, fast singletrack is about the most fun you can have on one wheel.  With a single pivot point, the unicycle comes alive when things get twisty.

By the time I reached Hokitika, I was grinning ear to ear. It was a fairly long day (123km) but the well groomed trail kept me in better condition than yesterday. 

I took my second checkpoint photo, the Hokitika clock tower, to the bemusement of locals (it’s on a traffic roundabout). 

Tonight I get to stay with our friend Makaira and his parents David and Glenys.   They made me a lovely meal and made sure I was well fed before bed!  A perfect end to a perfect day.