TA Day 16 - Masterton to Wellington

91.3 miles, 3117’ climbing

Lodging: Sebel Hotel Wellington

Today was our longest ride so far on the TA. We left Masterton fairly early, navigating morning traffic. Soon we were headed out of town on a paved road with no shoulder in the fog. We had our blinking tail lights on, but it was a bit unnerving at times when trucks passed in denser fog. Most traffic seemed to be going the other way. After ~12 miles, the fog lifted. Our morning ride had rolling hills and little climbing, and we made pretty good time.

About 30 miles into our ride, the hills opened up. We saw a large hawk fly up from the side of the road, and as we passed we saw that its kill had been another hawk. Gasp!Cannibalism! Probably hit by a car.

It was breezy and we started to see olive trees and grape vines (all covered with nets), and we arrived in the charming town of Martinborough. It was full of cafes, wine shops, and gift shops, with lots of visitors. We stopped for an early lunch, and a man renting bikes lent us his floor pump so we could get our slightly soft tires up to pressure. This will make climbing easier.

Out of Martinborough, we had some rough gravel, a little pavement, and then a singletrack connector to the one big climb of the day, the Remutaka rail trail. We were getting a lot of sun for a change, and it was a steady, warm climb. Fiball we reached some rail tunnels, long enough that we pulled out lights to pass through them. There was also a long swing bridge which broke up the climb. We took our checkpoint photos in the tunnels then soon topped the pass where we were rewarded with a fast descent to Te Marua through beautiful forest of ferns and trees, greenery growing on every surface.

We stopped for an ice cream and soda at a little store, then began our descent into Wellington. It was supposed to be all down hill, and we decided to try to get near the harbor. We had early afternoon ferry tickets to the South Island, but possibly we could change to the morning departure.

Our descent was mostly on riverside bike paths which descended ~27 miles through parks with just a few funky connectors and a disturbing lack of public restrooms. Although downhill, we had headwinds up the river valley. At one point we stopped to let an uphill rider pass through a gate. He asked if we wanted a beer, then told us he was meeting his cousin Mark who we’ve been passing on the Brevet, and he rode it 2 years ago. With 20 miles to go, we declined, but it was a fun moment of trail community. A couple different people asked if we were on the TA.

We reached the coast in the town of Petone where we followed a coastal bike path to Wellington. In the busy beach area of Petone, we saw a woman with her belongings sleeping on a bench, the only identifiably homeless person we’ve seen on all of the north island, so different from the numerous homeless camps around the city at home. 

We arrived at the Wellington harbor just at dark and booked a hotel, then had showers and got a pub dinner just before their kitchen closed. It was a long day, and we’re glad to be comfortable and close to the ferry terminal.