Last day of the ride – and the promised break in the rain came around 10am so we set off on a greasy track for the final day’s ride to Middlemarch – 41km. Finn the dog at Kokonga Lodge wagged us off an retreated to his dog house.

The track improved and the riding was easy for a bit as we rode across open farmland and then through a tunnel but it quickly became evident that it had snowed at high levels overnight when the temperature dropped profoundly!

The riding was still relatively easy, through more farmland, all the time riding alongside the Rock and Pillar Range with had a light dusting of snow on the top. All was going well (frozen fingers not withstanding) until we had almost reached Middlemarch when Colleen’s bike chain broke – our second chain break of the trip. So she pushed her bike past curious sheep into town.

After dropping our bikes, having a hot shower and a bite to eat, we were transferred to Pukerangi for the train trip down the Taieri Gorge to Dunedin, which even on an overcast day was amazing. It was also fitting to end the bike trip taking the train along the remaining part of the track

In Dunedin we were met by an old university friend of mine, David, who along with his partner Margaret, generously hosted us 4 tired bikers and provided some lovely wines from their cellar.

So after a day of exploring around Dunedin we head back to Wellington tomorrow to get ready for our Thanksgiving trip to California.