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Day 10: Hanmer Springs

The transport day north through Canterbury started with low cloud and drizzle. Dave Mac seemed happy enough with his heated grips, windscreen, cruise control and all sorts of electronic gadgetry to keep him comfortable and upright in the wet slippery conditions. I at least had warm winter waterproof gloves so I took some comfort from knowing that Dave Lear was suffering more than me, with his thin summer gloves. Corners were scary with the usual glassy bleeding tar seal and the knowledge that at any time there was only a square inch of rubber in contact with the road. To be honest, back in road mode, my mind was taken off the conditions by a 500cc piston hammering my perineum 5000 times per minute. 
We rode from coffee to coffee with some time to reflect on things. For me that was a little scene that played out while we were having breakfast. There was a young couple posing for photos in the car park. I’m quite up to date with the modern world so I immediately knew they were influencers. It’s easy to tell as the young lady had a mouth like a pursed anus and high cheekbones that can only be achieved through multiple layers of makeup. She was dressed in very little, despite the cold. The young man looked pleased, thinking she had dressed in very little for him but of course with age comes wisdom and so I knew she was dressed in very little, in a car park, for her friends to admire. I’m not sure where her friends were. 
As wise old men we knew to keep our eyes on our bacon and eggs, lest we offended by looking at her barely clothes. The young couple preened for a while in the car park, the young lady enjoying influencing and the young man happy because he didn’t have a clue and thought he was relevant. 
I took a sneak peek because it was hard not to. I hope I didn’t offend her chastity by doing so. I couldn’t help but notice that she had waxed off her perfectly good eyebrows and replaced them with painted black caterpillars. I’m assuming she did this to please her young friends and not to please her young man. I say this because as an older man I can confidently say I have never turned down sex because a woman has eyebrows. 
I considered strolling over and giving the young man some advice, along the lines of “run and don’t look back” but he seemed happy in his influenced state. 
I am glad I am not a young man in the 21st century. I am also glad I am not a young woman in the 21st century, it seems complicated. Thankfully I am also no longer relevant so I can think about other things now. 
Tomorrow we head North out of Hanmer on the Rainbow Road. This road follows the Wairau river from the high plains down into the beech and ultimately St Arnaud. I believe it is beautiful but have never done it. https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1km_XmliksgdX9YyHbpYo-MclXhbNPV57https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1rg3dpGjnFty4c9B40cijCIkHOoaYNu0_

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