Mark Johnson finishes his bike ride early in Featherston after 400km on the back roads.
Mark Johnson finishes his bike ride early in Featherston after 400km on the back roads.
When the call went out for Mark and Julia Johnson to babysit two-year-old granddaughter Nora in Wellington, the pair was more than happy to put their hands up. But getting there was another matter.
The Greenmeadows School principal decided he’d rather take a pushbike to Wellington for the babysitting gig. No stranger to cycling, Mark undertook the Tour Aotearoa (TA) last March, biking the length of the country over the course of several weeks.
“I enjoyed the opportunity to go on a lengthy bike ride and see a different part of the country,” he says.
The plan was to take three days to get to Wellington via the back roads, leaving a day early so he’d have a bit of time up his sleeve. But Cyclone Hale had other plans, as it was already wreaking havoc in the North Island and delayed Mark’s departure by a day.
He left home at 9.30am in unpredictable conditions, arriving at his mate’s house in Pōrangahau by 5.30pm via Patangata and Route 52.
“The sun came out and it was really, really humid. The rivers were up extremely high - all of them. It was a bit freaky, especially the Waipawa Bridge.”
Mark stresses it wasn’t a race - he would always stop every two hours for a rest and something to eat and drink. He says during that night there was significantly more rain which was forecast to clear.
“The forecasters were right. There was a southerly headwind all the next day. It takes off three to four kilometres an hour, which over a 10-hour day means you’re 30 to 40 kilometres behind where you want to be.”
An unexpected detour that day took Mark towards Ākitio Beach and back to Waione to reconnect at Route 52. This added an extra 25km to his 160km day.
The road closure at Ti Tree Point between Wimbledon and Weber created a delay and detour.
“It wasn’t a disaster. There was very little traffic - 30 cars max all day. And I got to see a part of the country where I’d never been. But it cost me two hours.”
Mark says he averaged about 18 or 19km an hour.
“There was quite a lot of climbing which slows you down, but that last 40km into Masterton was very enjoyable - a gentle descent.”
Mark had left Pongaroa that day at 3.15pm with 90km still to go. He booked a room in Masterton so the pressure was on, with him having to arrive before the office closed at 9pm.
“I got there at 8.15pm and had still had two stops for food and drink.”
Babysitting day was drawing closer as day three dawned, and Mark was getting a little worried.
“The rivers were still high and I was looking at the damage on the Remutaka Incline. One section can be really affected by the weather.”
He scrapped his planned route and chose to bike to Featherston via 70km of back roads, where he met a relieved Julia who had been stranded in Māhia, also worried she might not make it.
“I was going to be left holding the baby, as the road had been closed out of Māhia for 36 hours.”
