Morning came and I was feeling pretty terrible. Not just the lack of sleep but a growing sadness that what had been such an amazing trip was ending in such a sorry state. I made a coffee and consulted the map to plan my next move. From here I could just continue along the highway towards Campbell River or stick with the original route of heading back inland. The southern half of the island would be predominantly road riding through more populated areas. Therefore, this was the last real opportunity for some remote gravel riding. I looked online and managed to book a motel in Gold River so, as long as I made it, I’d have a bed for the night and set off away from the highway. 

 

This turned out to be a great decision. The scenery was spectacular and the good quality service roads were completely empty. Despite some challenging climbing and a significant calorie deficit for the past few days, the body felt surprisingly good. The afternoon was a gradual descent along the service roads following the Gold River and into the town with which it shared a name. The afternoon sun was punishingly hot and I rode straight to the gas station for drinks and ice cream before rolling over to the motel. The UK doesn’t really do motels in the same way and I’ll miss their slightly chaotic energy where often no staff members seem to be fully aware of what is going on. Still, I managed to secure a key and headed to the annex across the road for what was a basic, but perfectly serviceable room. 

 

There was a restaurant around the corner from the motel so I went off in search of more fried beige delights. One of the hardest things about being on the road for this long is the inability to cook fresh, healthy food. I had a slightly better night's sleep but was still relieved to be in a motel room rather than in the tent.