Sunday 13th Dec
Got up early and loaded the bike up and the weather was looking good. Craig has given me one of his Weather Smart Seat covers to try that he has made and then sells to the bike shops hear in New Zealand. The fore cast was thunderstorms on route and by the time we were ready to leave it was clouding over. I nearly ran out of fuel although according to my trip I had at least another 30 to 40 miles on the tank I managed to get it the next 3 miles to the petrol station by shaking the bike and getting the last dregs to the fuel tap side.I think they must of reset my trip when the tyre was changed. We stopped for a coffee and the weather had turned really cold,dark, lightning and thunder and within a few miles everywhere was white with a 20 to 25mm layer of hail. This made the going very slow not only because of the icy conditions but the muppet car drivers not slowing down and driving to close to each other. There were 4 car pile ups, cars in ditches at the side of the road, usual stuff for these sort of conditions. In Christchurch there were also roads that were beginning to flood and then on the way out of Christchurch we got blasted by a fresh load of hail. It was about 30 miles out of Christchurch when we could actually see a break in the clouds and it was not long before we were riding in brilliant sunshine, still bloody cold though and very windy. A very Memorable ride.
Very impressed with the seat cover. There is no sitting in a pool of water as the rain just runs off.
Monday 14th Dec
It was a really sunny start he day as Craig and I set off along the Molesworth trail. The trail was easy riding with stunning views, we were in no rush and just enjoyed a gentle ride along the trail taking in the scenery, stopping every now and then for a rest or just to take some pics. It got very hot later in the day and the new seat cover works a treat, it felt very airy down below lol. It only took us 4 hours to cross the 100 miles and then we set off to meet Darryl at Saint Arnard stopping for a spot of liquid refreshment on the way. Once at St Arnaud we met Darryl who had not been their long, we booked in to a backpackers in this tiny little town we road off to collect the gate key for the Rainbow and to also pay for the permits. Once we had collected the key we returned to town and went in search of food and drink. A good night of good food, beer and company.

Tuesday 15th Dec
Despite us all feeling a little hungover this morning we were up early grabbed some breakfast and set off to ride the Rainbow, it was another sunny day although a little cold due to the altitude. The Rainbow was not nearly as rugged and technical as we had been lead to believe but still heaps of fun. There were a few sections at the start that were a little tricky and a few water crossings but nothing too scary certainly nothing as deep as on the Nevis Valley Road. We stopped off at the hut where we were planning on staying for the night but it was only lunch time so we had lunch and decided to ride on in all the way back to Hanmer and stop at a backpackers. The last 20 miles were very cold and it started to cloud over, we arrived in Hanmer at about 5 O'Clock and stopped for a beer while we discussed our options and all agreed in the end to get a bed for the night at a backpackers then grab some food and a few more beers. It's been a great few day's and I really enjoyed the company, its been good fun riding and drinking with people instead of traveling alone and I am going to miss the company both on the road and at a bar in an evening.