Déjà vu

Today's walk was a repeat of one I did back in October 2007, just before I left to walk the Nakasendo, and took me into town, up Papanui Road to Northlands, and back home via the Papanui to Riccarton Railway Cycleway.


The cycleway is the mostly dead straight section from around the 10km mark to around the 15km mark. It was nice to be away from all the traffic, but as I was walking I couldn’t help thinking that I'd much rather be cycling this stretch. There's something slightly demoralizing about walking down a seemingly endless perfectly straight pathway. Being fenced in didn't help either. In a way this highlights the different needs of cyclists and walkers. As a cyclist, I want flat, straight paths sheltered from the wind. As a walker I want more variety, and views. If I were designing a similar pathway for walkers I'd put in a few twists and turns and dips and rises to relieve the monotony.


Incidentally, when I walked this route in 2007 I had 17 days left until departure, and I'd walked 767.9km! Mind you, I'd been training for a bit longer than I have been this time. But it just goes to show how under-prepared I am.

Distance walked today: 18.3km
Total distance walked since Tokaido training began: 257km
Days left until departure: 18