Today’s ride over the Haast pass was something I had been looking forward to. There is nothing like a good road climb on a unicycle, and I remember a hair raising descent in the rain when I rode this pass in 2007. What’s fun going down must be equally fun going up!
It was going to be a long day, so I left at 0700 on the dot. The days are getting shorter, with daybreak coming about 7.15 instead of 7.00am.
I was blasted by a strong headwind as the road took us into the hills. This time, I was bothered by it, as I wanted to make good time due to the distance. Unfortunately, unicycles have the aerodynamic properties of a flying brick wall, so it was bit of a fight. A few riders started close to me, so I tucked in behind for a draft.
The wind stopped as soon as we entered the hills. Must be some sort of funneling effect!
It was a gentle rolling climb following the Haast River for the next 40km or so. I was enjoying my ride, as the landscape become ever more spectacular. The only downside was the significant road camber, which required effort to compensate.
At the 50km mark, the road went skyward, we’d reached the aptly named ‘Gates of Haast’. It was a 350m climb over about 3-4km, then a gentler climb for 5km, then another kick upwards for the final km.
I considered switching to 125mm cranks, but was doing OK with the 100mm, so it saved a few minutes fiddling with pedals at each end. The 29″/100mm climbs well to about 5% gradient. It becomes a stand-on-pedal grind at 10%. Nevertheless, I passed a number of TA riders. A unicycle is light and has no drivetrain, so is very efficient at converting energy into motion.
We reached the summit at 564m. Not a particularly high pass, but comes with a pretty solid climb. I took the checkpoint photo then spun my way down the hill, while the TA bikers whizzed past on their fancy schmancy freewheels!
Lunch stop was the Makarora Country Cafe at 82km. Seems the place to be, with over 20 TA riders sitting there having an extended break.
I tucked into a very cheesy ham toastie, drank the chocolate milk, then went on my way. The final 50km took us along Lake Wanaka then Lake Hawea, before turning in to the Lake Hawea township. It was very picturesque and there were many unicycle photo stops along way.
