Several kilometres down the line from Waipiata and the cold of the Maniototo in midwinter threatens to compromise the grip I have on the handlebars of a bicycle as silver as the landscape through which it travels.
Ice makes no distinction between man and material, forming on gloves, jacket sleeves and eyelashes, prompting furious clapping and the occasional internal question: why am I here?
Well, it's a simple story: an old mate who moved from Dunedin to Melbourne a dozen or so years ago - and has thus lived without those occasional news items that inform the rest of New Zealand about how cold it gets in these parts - suggested tackling the Central Otago Rail Trail in July.
The idea was first mooted in February, when hoar frosts were merely a concept, easily melted by sunshine or nor'wester.
So here we are, a few clicks northwest of Kokonga at 9am on a midweek day. At least, we think we are.
It's hard to get bearings amid the frigid fog, but we've been going for 40 minutes on a surface that won't thaw for a few hours yet, meaning the pace has been closer to hare (or rabbit, of which there are plenty) than tortoise.
The problem is, the faster you go, the worse the bite of Jack Frost who, having metamorphosed into Jumpin' Jack Flash to dance along the nerve endings of fingers, requires a second pair of gloves to be donned.
Thankfully, the sun rises just high enough from its lateral trajectory to scatter the mist and, in tandem with the mild physical exertion required of rail trail riders, eventually provides a comfortable warmth as we manage the 50-odd kilometres to Middlemarch, where pies and coffee await.
Amid the key points of the code of conduct developed for the Central Otago Rail Trail is one requiring riders to move to the left when encountering others coming the other way.
In July, such manners are not needed.
Not counting the gaggle of stray children mucking about near Omakau two days earlier, their mums clearly keen to get them out of the house for a few hours during the school holidays, we have met a total of five riders since beginning our easterly trek from Alexandra.
It's a different story in summer and autumn when trail users, old and young alike, arrive in packs.
However, the night before, as we hunkered down to drink beer while contemplating an extensive menu at the Waipiata Country Hotel, a grand total of four locals arrived at various intervals.
All agree: despite the sub-zero starts, winter offers the best views. They are right, of course.
The cold mornings often give way to clear days; there is no heat haze or dust to distract the eyes; and those garish clothes often worn by cyclists in a bid to be seen, and thus apparently remain safe, are also absent.
In their place is a stillness, framed and further defined by recent snowfalls on the Dunstan Mountains, the Hawkdun Range and, less so, the Rock and Pillars.
In such silence the spirit thaws.
Find out more
For more information, visit: www.otagorailtrail.co.nz and www.central otagorailtrail.co.nz
