Chain Reaction Challenge Update — Day5

Haast to Wanaka

Hey there Chain Reaction Challenge fans! It’s your favorite cyclist here, back with another update on our incredible journey through New Zealand and a Chain Reaction update.

Congratulations to Paul Rosham, Paul was awarded the Orange Leader jersey, sponsored by Pure Storage, and has raised $15,677 as an individual. AND over 55,000 in the time he has participated in CR events! Just an amazing amount by an individual! Congrats Paul!!

Today was day five, and boy oh boy was it a good one! The grand landscape of the mountains and vast lakes surrounding us presented a series of postcard moments.

I could barely comprehend the scale of it all, but boy was it breathtaking.

147km to our final destination and 2126 meter of climbing… a big day out in anyones books.

We kicked off the day with a 48 km warmup, with 613m of elevation, and let me tell you, that snuck up on us quickly. With the thought clear skies and the hope of the sun soon being on our backs, we pedaled on, despite the heavy mist (aka rain) ready to take on whatever the day had in store for us.

The front team, made up of the jersey winners, pulled us along at a great rate. Thanks Paul and crew!

After a quick break to top up, it was time for free play, lookout, this was going to be a big one. We faced 22km of free play, starting with a 15km climb, with gradients of up to 17% and an additional 600m of elevation — ouch!

A happy mike once we got to the top of Haast PastBut the magical views of the Haast River made it all worth it…or maybe it just made it easier to bear. Along the way, we passed some great photo spots, including Thunder Creek Falls, Gate of Haast, Diana Falls, and Fantail Falls, but alas, there was no time to stop and get those selfies today.

We were on a mission to conquer Haast Pass.

But what goes up must come down, right? And that’s exactly what happened next — a welcomed reward after such an effort. We had a 6.5 km descent dropping down 200 meters. Hold on tight, folks, here we come!

Now, we were riding alongside the Makarora River, which eventually opened into Lake Wanaka.

We stopped for lunch at Makarora Cafe — these guys put it on for us, food and view!!

We were pleasantly surprised by the number of picture-perfect spots along this beautiful 60km section where we could pull over and take in the views.

And then, we cut through to Lake Hawea!! OMG — we called it last night — tomororw was going to be the best day. And so its lived up to that, even with a little bit of heavy mist at the start!

With 30 km of cycling along these beautiful lakes, we knew we weren’t far from our final destination of Wanaka, it didnt matter though — the views, kai pai!!

And boy, were we looking forward to it — 4G and some good coffee in this hustling tourist town in central Otago.

Overall, it was another fantastic day on the Chain Reaction Challenge, and we couldn’t be more excited for what tomorrow brings.

Stay tuned for more updates from our journey through New Zealand’s breathtaking landscapes. Until next time, keep on pedaling!

Want to see some of the amazing country this challenge will take use through 👉 Day 5 video here

Kia ora for reading and haere raMike

By Mike Carpendale on March 2, 2023.Canonical linkExported from Medium on February 19, 2026.