Really Day One, Picton to a lodging inconveniently past Havelock

Distance covered 144 km

Time: 9 hours

Transport Modalities: Bicycle, Bluebridge Ferry, automobiles x2

Up at the crack of dawn to a view of my next door neighbor. Navigated the streets of Wellington mostly from memory and arrived on time to a delayed ferry. 

I survived about a minute and a half at the front of the boat. I am seriously questioning my warm clothes packing list.

I stop to eat in Picton and make some last minute bike repairs. I am melancholy as the last photograph my mother took was from a park bench in Picton. Sometimes I try to find the bench she took it from, but I do not today.

After about 10 miles I realize I'm enjoying vacation for the first time. Except for everytime a car comes from the opposite direction and I flinch towards it as I think I'm on the wrong side of the street. I notice about here that I've attached my handlebar bag wrong in 3 places.

I've booked a B&B about 7 km past Havelock, which is a pretty small town and the only sign of civilization for a long, long time. The B&B is also at the top of a very long, very steep gravel driveway. Riding back to Havelock for dinner is sounding less than pleasant. My host drives me to the slightly closer Trout Hotel in Canvastown and asks the bartender to drive me home.

Overheard at the community table:

We've got an Uber driver now.

Who?

Phil.

Oh, Phil.

I guess I should count distance cycled: 32 miles total (I missed a couple after getting off the ferry). 

1966 feet climbed.

Thinking of switching to metric so the numbers look more impressive

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