Biking About Banks Peninsula on Two Wheels - three wheels soon.

After a night with Mike and Lyn during which we attended an excellent concert in the Christchurch Town Hall we gathered by various means and, with the help of the Wilson and White whanau, were delivered onto the Summit Road on the Port Hills, above Christchurch, to start our journey. Up and down we flew southward, relishing the view of the Canterbury Plains and the Southern Alps - the playground of our teenage years.

Fresh and Ready to Go

A Coot and three Crested Grebes (look carefully)

Mike, 90; Jim 88; me 87)  had electric bikes but even with them it seemed hard at times but the swoop down to Gebbies Pass and beyond was great. We made good progress along the rail trail and the birdlife along the edge of Lake Ellesmere made for more interest. At the head of Lake Forsyth we were delighted by the presence of several Crested Grebes (NZ bird of the year), two of whom were carrying ducklings on their backs. At Manaia where we stayed the birdlife was abundant and a few eels lurked under a foot bridge also preparing for a long journey. Breakfast at Little River was quiet - without the usual banter and stories - as we slowly munched our way through our muesli. It wasn't just our old teeth that made the process so slow. At the end of breakfast Jim asked if we had enjoyed our muesli. Mike and I politely said it was fine, whereupon Jim confessed that it was the leftover muesli from our last foray into the hills over a year ago! He is, of course, partly of Scottish and Presbyterian origins.

Eel at Little River

But the old muesli was good enough to see us get to the top of the first hill where we rested and lunched in a bus shelter at Hilltop. For Mike and I the climb brought back earlier memories. In 1959 Mike had volunteered me to run the same uphill leg for the Canterbury Uni  Harrier team (he did all the legs of the race over the years! In 1995 we'd muscle-biked up it on our way to Hinewai and now this). From the hill top we biked steadily and slowly, and up and down. along the Summit Road into a developing southerly. Above Akaroa we turned off to the left and cruised down to Hinewai with only a few electrons left in our bike batteries. However we were greeted with a notice which suggested that electrons were available in the local defibrillator.

Welcome to Hinewai for Old Cyclists

Hugh, Jim's brother greeted us warmly with a cuppa as we watched the rain commenced through his window with a million dollar view.  Lyn, who had kindly ferried some of our food and some liquid refreshments was there, along with Liz, Mike's sister who had famously nearly scared a possum to death one night in Carrington Hut - poor thing (one or both of them). The rain developed and it poured all night and next morning. It was well timed as we needed a rest. Jim's granddaughter, Eva, arrived to meet up with her grandad and his scurrilous mates and for the afternoon we wardered southwards towards Stoney Bay Peak to the beech terrace via a convenient track loop. Good jaunt.

Beech Terrace at Hinewai

But Where is the Billy?

This night seemed to be the occasion for all our pent-up stories which were told in all their versions. Poor Eva didn't know who to believe.

So later next day we set off down to inspect the new plot of land Hinewai had acquired, linking it from the ridge tops to the sea. At the bottom we abandoned our bikes to trek via the newly formed track through to new land. The abundance of poroporo, kawakawa and ongaonga was remarkable. Then more uphill to Hinewai. The day was not without incident. At the start I managed to steer off Hugh's track up to the road and ended upside down under bracken and gorse (both favourites of Hugh and mine) with a bloody knee. At the carpark I asked a visitor if they had a bandaid. I was sat down and the skin tear skilfully dressed. "Are you a nurse " I asked; "no, I'm a doctor" she replied. I always fall on my feet! Once again the uphill cycle from the beach was a bit of a grunt for the aged - even on electric bikes.

First stage of getting off the ground these days!

The evening was pleasant once again with Hugh joining us to ensure that we didn't over-re-hydrate. Next morning we started back for Christchurch. I managed to get to the carpark OK and was just finishing talking to Catherine on the phone when Jim arrived - he had outdone me and gone over backwards on his bike, landing on his head. This time he was examined by an old retired vet who declared that he was still alive and good for biking. His cure was to rest occasionally when headaches developed. The bike back to Little River was great in good weather. We had lunch at the caffe and trundled on to Manaia - and so to the last day.

We got away soon after eight and found the road over to Port Levy quite heavy going. Mike had problems with getting into his lowest mechanical gears. This resulted in him running out of puff and killed off the hill climb for him. He had to resort to coffee at Little River and the tender care of Lyn who rescued him. Jim and I wept silently for his predicament - as he did too - no matter how much he loved Lyn and lowland coffee.

Jim and I struggled on but it was not Jim's day - he avoided a truck by stepping into what he thought was a shallow ditch. It was not a ditch but the edge of a 'cliff'; but the heavy vegetation saved him. I arrived to find a bike on the road and no Jim. What will I tell Anne, I worried? But I found him trying to get back up onto the road and with the truck driver (it was not his fault) managed to help him up. We finally gasping (at least me) to a stop at the top of the climb for a bit of food and a drink. The downhill was steep and shingley with lots of ongaonga along the side to ensure that we didn't stray from the road.

Finally we ground our way up the the saddle between the Monument and Mt Evans - and cruised down to Purau and Diamond Harbour.  An iced coffee filled the time waiting for the ferry to Lyttelton; free, courtesy of our pensioners Gold Card. Our batteries were too low to enable an assisted ride to Sumner so Ann was called to help. A lot of grunting and wrangling managed to get both our bikes aboard the car and we were off to Sumner where I was treated to Wilson hospitality prior to my departure for home and Catherine, who, meantime, had been coping with the aftermath of retinal detachment surgery. All is well and recovered on that front - as I write.. We are already thinking out plans for next year. Not so many hills maybe.

The sad end to our trip was that a couple of days after we finished Mike had a stroke. It affected most of his left side but with his usual doggedness and the help of the Christchurch hospitals and Lyn he made a good recovery and is now back home. We'll take this into account with our planning for next year! And even better, I visited Mike during C's and our quick tour of the South Island and he continues to recover well. Getting about well with the aid of a walking stick. I'd imagine that he'll be chopping wood by now.