Cycling Recap

In February 2021, we cycled 3 trails and as they are fairly short, I figured I would just write a single entry rather than multiple posts. Partly because 2 of the trails merged into each other and I rode one in its entirety and part of the other on the first day and then finished the rest of the trail the next day. The other ride was only a couple hours long. The trails are as follows:

• Lake2Lake Trail 
• Location: Te Anau
• Grade: 2
• Distance: 19km
• Clutha Gold Trail
• Location: Lawrence
• Grade: 2
• Distance: 73km
• Roxburgh Gorge Trail
• Location: Alexandra
• Grade: 2
• Distance: 33km, but contains 12km jet boat ride

Lake2Lake Trail

This gravel trail is found Te Anau and heads out toward Lake Manapouri along the Waiau River. At some point when the trail is completed, it will finish there.  At the moment it is 19km long, one way, which is predominately on gravel with short stints on the road. Where the trail official ends at the moment, you have to turn around, but you can ride the road to Lake Manapouri and ride back to Te Anau via some quieter back roads from what I could gather.

The trail is easy to find and to follow. Prior to leaving Te Anau, stop by the Takahe and other bird enclosure. It is right off the trail, but worth a little wander around. Then as you continue along the trail don't be surprised if you see trampers as you can get to the Kepler trailhead from this trail. It would add several km to a 60km trail, but if you're walking that far, what is a few more, right? When we did the Kepler, we parked at the trailhead and proceeded to do two 30km days. This was after a long couple weeks of adventuring with the in-laws. We had tramped the Milford, Rakiura, and cycled the Otago Rail Trail before ending on the Kepler. I had entertained the idea of running the Routeburn on the rest day between the end of the Otago Rail Trail and Kepler, but my legs felt like they needed the rest. My feet hated me with 5km left of the Kepler. I don't think I would have made these extra few km if I even wanted to.

After passing the trailhead, there are picnic and camping areas along the trail. Don't get to complacent though, as there are warning signs on the trail that state that the river could rise quickly. So be cautious if there has been bad weather. The Waiau River is on your right on the way out and occasionally you can get close to it, but other times you can hardly see it. The trail has some short steep climbs/descents and even a short section where walking is asked for. This was a narrow section with a steep drop off. 

For the bulk of the ride we encountered nobody other than a few riders on our way back. They snuck up behind us and tried to pass without comment. Ninja bikers. Why can't riders be taught to signal their intent? Trying to pass up hill and then losing momentum and having to stop just past us. This wasn't a fun experience. Getting back to Te Anau, we went in search of food. Several of the places we've tried before have closed up shop as they have been quite impacted by COVID. I would like to ride more of this area and see what the trail is like when it is completed.

Clutha Gold Trail

For this trail, we spent the night in Lawrence and organized a shuttle the next morning to Roxburgh Dam, where we would be dropped off and then cycle back to Lawrence. We had entertained getting dropped off at Alexandra and then cycling the Roxburgh Gorge Trail with a short jet boat ride, but it was going to be a very expensive day if we had done that. So instead we opted to do a shorter shuttle and then stay in Alexandra to complete the Roxburgh Gorge Trail the following day. You might see that there is a $10 per day trail fee on some of the brochures or websites. You don't have to pay this as I talked to the lady at the iSite and she said that it couldn't be enforced and just said that they would gladly accept any donations to support the trails. I ended up paying for the trail passes, but you could also leave money in various donation boxes along the trail.

The 73km trail follows the Clutha Mata-au River and passes through several towns. These differ in terms of what they can offer, but the brochures list out what they have. You'll be able to find food and drinks in all of them and that is what mattered to us. The trail only has one significant climb, but the rest of the trail undulates. Its easy to get lost looking around at the landscape or the placards displaying historical information.  

It was a hot and dry day with very little cloud cover. There are a few sections of trail that are in amongst the trees, but for the most part plan on using lots of sunscreen. The ride is pretty straight forward with plenty of sign posts and distance markers. There were a few randomly placed toilets on the trail in case you get caught out needing to go outside of the many little towns.

The bad part of the ride, starts in the final section from Beaumont to Lawrence as the trail turns from the river. The trail now is next to the highway and you get to listen to the sound of traffic rather than the river. You also have to cross back and forth across it as I'm sure there was property issues with allowing trail formation and access. The Big Hill climb culminates with a train tunnel. Both are rather short in the grand scheme of things, but we had our bike lights so we were able to ride through without an issue. The descent after is fun and I got to witness two bulls challenging each other for supremacy. They proceeded to butt heads for several minutes without a clear victor before I tired and continued on riding. After arriving back in Lawrence, we loaded up the car and grabbed a quick couple things from the shops as we planned on riding early the next morning. Actually I planned on riding another 22km that evening. 

Roxburgh Gorge Trail

After completing the Clutha Gold Trail, we drove from Lawrence towards Alexandra, where we had booked a nights accommodation. We stopped again at the Roxburgh Dam, but this time on the West side of the river. Here is the start/finish of the Roxburgh Gorge Trail. This trail is in 2 sections and if you want to ride in its entirety you need to get a jet boat to shuttle you or do what I did and do 2 out and back rides. The jet boat covers 12km and needs to be booked in advance as it leaves on a schedule. At some point I hear the trail will be completed so you could ride it straight through. Until then you can decide how much cycling or money you want to spend on doing it. I believe we were quoted a couple hundred dollars for the jet boat. Instead I cycled an extra 20ish km. 

Roxburgh Dam to Shingle Creek Elevation (Return)

I had previously cycled the other section (Alexandra), so this section (Dam) was entirely new to me. It was also more difficult than the other section. The trail is very similar, but the elevation made it more of a challenge. It could also have been that I was close to having cycled 100km by the end of the day. B decided she had had enough cycling for the day and did a short walk on the track while I did an out and back. There were plenty of switchbacks to contend with and a couple gates that were keeping the cows penned in. I tried my best not to startle them, but they seemed like an excitable bunch. They decided to run down the path of least resistance, which just so happened to be the cycle trail. It was once they got to the other gate that they turned off the trail. I saw nobody else on the trail, but then again it was getting late in the day. After finishing the trail, we drove the rest of the way to Alexandra. 

Alexandra to Doctors Point  Elevation (Return)

The next morning, we woke up early to tackle the rest of the trail before check-out so we could get a shower before driving for the rest of the day. B and I drove to the trailhead to save some time, but the trail has several signs throughout the town. The trail starts next to some historic bridge footings and then follows the river until you come to the trail end 10km away. This is where you would grab the ferry down to the section I had done last night. I love riding this section with the steep gorge walls and barrenness. Its an easy ride, with very little elevation. However, there is a short section that you must walk your bike. I recall the last time I rode this section, I ended up riding up the section, but walking the descent. I would love to get to this region in the Autumn as the colors must be amazing. 

Doing the trail early meant that we didn't see anyone until we were almost back to Alexandra. It also meant that we got to see the sun come over the East side of the gorge. The sun quickly started to warm up the trail and it wasn't even 9am. I kept thinking that Jawas were going to jump out at us though. If you are in the area, I highly recommend this section of trail.