Whitemans Valley

Whitemans Valley

Training for a half iron man takes time and energy especially as the event gets closer. I had a big day to get through which included a 2.3k pool swim, a 100k bike ride and a 5k hilly run. One good thing was that the weather was calm, fine and mild. I had to seize the day as spring can throw up rough weather indeed. After the swim I chose to do my ride from Petone Foreshore. From here I could avoid traffic by taking the Eastern Hutt  Road to Wallaceville, then head into Whiteman's Valley. I would also avoid hills, a hard thing to accomplish in Wellington. The wind would be in my face on the way out, but push me home when I needed the support most. The one hill I would have was the one to get me into Whiteman's Valley but I had done it plenty of times before and knew it to be a steady climb and not too strenuous.

I parked by a dairy and headed first out along the coast to Eastbourne as otherwise I would not accumulate enough kilometres. It was a pleasant ride and finally I could feel some warmth to the sun as I cruised to the end of the village then made my way back again. For a while I had a designated cycle lane as I headed to the Eastern Hutt Road. This is a rare commodity in Wellington but as we have just re-elected our cycling mayor for another three years I live in hope we will gain more. New Zealand is slowly creating cycle trails and a new one has just been opened in Wellington using river trails and an old railway to get to over the Rimutakas to the Wairarapa. I look forward to giving it a try on my mountain bike.

The traffic was light and well behaved however, and I made my way to Wallaceville without incident.
I wound my way up the one hill and stopped at the top. Several chickens live in this spot and I saw them pecking and scratching by the roadside as I had a snack and admired the view. Whitemans Valley is a magic place away from the city. It is a soft and gentle area lightly scattered with houses tucked up driveways amongst mature trees. Many areas that surround Wellington are rugged, steep and over grown with gorse. Whitemans Valley was at its best - lush green and fertile with cattle, cows and sheep grazing contentedly in the warmth of the spring day.

Cattle in Whitemans Valley

I got back on my bike and focussed on keeping up some speed and not just drifting along. I poked my nose up a couple of side roads to ensure I would reach my goal of a hundred ks.

One of the little side roads

As I cycled along out of the corner of my eye I saw some movement. I had disturbed a couple of wild deer and they were racing alongside me. First one got in front of me, leapt the fence with amazing agility onto the road and then with a bound leapt the fence on the other side of the road and disappeared into a patch of bush then the second, a little smaller, repeated the feat. I did not have time to react but they had calculated well and were about twenty five metres ahead of me when they crossed my path. They were lovely graceful animals, both hinds. Unfortunately they have become pests in some areas since they were introduced by settlers and damage native forest.

It was near here that two deer leapt across the road in front me, vaulting the fences with ease

A little further on the road was blocked by a farmer driving his cows to milking. I chatted to him as I waited and found our one degree of separation. He had worked in Taranaki where I grew up and we had many acquaintances in common. He owned a dairy herd but not a farm so share-milked for a living. His cows ambled along in no hurry as they crossed in front of me, staring as they went. It took about ten minutes for them to finally make their way to the opposite paddock and head to the milking shed.

The roads were quiet, flat and easy to negotiate

I continued on my way and saw a bright flock of Eastern Rosellas in the bush nearby. These are another set of intruders which have made themselves at home at the expense of our kakariki, or green parakeet. I made my way out of the valley via the Blue Mountain Road, a steep and windy descent into the Hutt Valley. At the bottom I turned left and retraced my steps to the Petone Foreshore.

Kakariki

Eastern Rosella

Once there I put my bike on the back of the car and set off on my five k run. My legs did not have a lot of run in them. The first couple of ks were definitely more of a waddle but after that my muscles relaxed a little and I could gather some pace and rhythm. I chose to forgo a hilly run and instead ran around a grassy park until the app on my smart phone called Run Maker informed me my 5 ks were up.

'Thank goodness for that,' I thought, as I collapsed into the car. I would be glad when the race was over and done with in six weeks time but I was pleased I was coping alright and at least the training has taught me how to swim distances, something I have never managed before.

Sheep grazing in Whitemans Valley