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Cape Reinga to Bluff supporting Mens Health

  • Day 24: Mossburn to Bluff

      12 March 2020
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    Last Day! A bit surreal really.... Back to regular living tomorrow. Kicked off at the usual time just in case we copped some head winds. This morning was probably the 2nd coldest start all tour, after the Camp Epic morning. The cool temperature encouraged just to pedal on and we had cut out the 70k leg to Winton by 9:30.

    Into the Adagio Cafe for my last cooked breakfast with a milkshake and when the order arrived it came with a complimentary Speights ale to crack at the finish line. After breakfast, we also stopped at the bakery for a doughnut and another shake and a chat with a group of roadies from Invercargill. Once on the road again we rambled onto Wallaceville when the roadies cruised by on their way down south. I had a wee play with them drafting until it was time to turn off, before stopping at a milk bar on the edge of Invercargill for my 3rd shake of the morning. The day is grey and cold so as I was coasting until Fenella could fly down, I stopped in at Macca’s for a cuppa tea. No shake this time. Thought I should start adjusting back to normal food.

    I started cruising slowly down towards Bluff, but after letting a couple of e-bikers get a head start, I couldn’t help myself and chose to chase them down. The roadie in me was too strong. That meant I had to pull up to wait for Fenella to get from the airport, but that’s fair play.... she’s been living thru the planning, prep, cost and the actual event. We still involve each other in our activities and celebrations so it would feel weird finishing this gig without her there.

    As it was, my ride buddy for the last week Chris was still there, and his wife had surprised him by coming down, which was really awesome for him. Also the Raleigh 20 boys had also just finished. Those guys were bloody legends and total respect for their achievement of completing TA on R20’s... (you thought I was nuts).

    With a few hugs and handshakes it was all over. We simply packed bikes into cars and headed off to regular life waiting for us.

    Job done.

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  • Day 23: Queenstown to Mossburn

      12 March 2020
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    A of sleep in this morning before catching up with an old work colleague, CJ, before joining everyone on the Earnslaw to get ferried over to Walter Peak Station. Up the Von valley we had a little shelter from the headwind, but once on the highland there was no protection. The gravel road became really variable, combined with showers and a cold wind made it tough going. The expanse of the High-country is just magnificent and another reflection of the varying vastness of our country’s beauty.

    20k’s out of Mossburn we turned onto a trail which provided a more consistent surface which enabled me to get into a rhythm and bang out the remaining distance fairly comfortably. A month ago this area suffered severe flooding and there were a couple of areas of the trail washed out.

    Stayed at the Railway Tavern which was beautifully cozy... the food great and the Publican was hard case.... A real character and top bloke. A superb way to finish a mentally challenging day.

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  • Day 22: Makarora to Queenstown

      12 March 2020
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    Amazing the difference 12 hours makes. Woke the usual time this morning to clearing skies and a mild morning. We started peeling beanies and outer layers before we had gone 10kms.

    Stunning morning views of both Lakes, Wanaka and Hawks. A cracking breakfast in Hawea set us up for a cruisey roll along the trails of the Hawea and Clutha rivers. We stopped and had 20min chat with some local riders at the bridge crossing the Clutha before I broke away to catch up with friends living in Wanaka. I only had an hour for cuppa and a chat with Kirsten and wish it could have been longer. Mental note.... Bring Fenella down for the weekend.

    Wanaka is such a beautiful place. It has all amazing beauty and space and charm without the commercial elements of Queenstown.

    After saying goodbye to Kirsten I was in chase mode. My ride buddy Chris was an hour ahead, so i was thankful for the tail wind up the crown range. A quick, obligatory pint at the iconic Cardrona Hotel and I created the peak and caught up with Chris at the top of the Crown. From there we had a quick downhill before riding the trails into Queenstown. I’d underestimated how much more riding it was to Queenstown and the legs were pretty cooked but the time we climbed up to where we were staying for the night.

    The walk back into town for dinner helped the legs, but we cabbed back up the hill to hit the pillows.

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  • Day 21: Lake Paringa to Makarora

      12 March 2020
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    The weather forecast was ominous. We did our usual start about 6:15 preparing for rain and relatively cold temperatures. And got through to Haast village before the weather turned. A good 2nd breakfast had us ready for the ride to the pass. 10kms in and the skies opened up and remained pretty constant for the rest of the day. I’m sure we missed some stunning scenery through the rain and cloud, but primary focus was on the Pass. It’s steep. Possibly one of the steepest, longest roads I’ve ridden up. It tops Horokiwi, which is the worst Wellington can chuck at you. All I can say is my only stop was the traffic lights. The road was fairly busy as well and there were a few pics I’d have liked to have taken, but couldn’t, so I focussed on climbing non-stop. From the top it was 17kms to Makarora and the initial downhill meant that the cold set into the body. By the time we got to Makarora, the people at the camp could’ve charged twice the price... we’d have taken it just to get under the hit showers. Another good days effort in testing conditions.

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  • Day 20: Harihari to Lake Paringa

      12 March 2020
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    Today was a road day and banged out some good distance. 160k’s. Most of the climbing was in the morning with 3 big hills before dropping into Fox Township. Before Fox, we stoped in at Franz Josef, but the glacier has rescinded so fat, there’s nothing to see from the town, apart from the Aussie Bushfire dust. Lunch had us at Fox and a wrong turn had me going up the wrong side of the Fox River to see the glacier.

    After Fox, we knocked off another 70k’s to park up at a little place called Lake Paringa. It’s quiet, the host couldn’t have been more helpful and I’d never have known the lake existed if I hadn’t ridden TA.

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  • Day 19: Kumara to Harihari

      12 March 2020
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    A different chill greeted my and my new riding buddy, Chris this morning. Not used to single digit temperatures.

    I can’t speak highly enough of the wilderness trail down here. It is just magical. The variation of scenery is just unbelievable. Really enjoyed riding on it for most of the day.

    1st Stop was cowboy paradise. The bloke there was raided by police a few months ago had some interesting stories about the event and the intent of the raid as opposed to what was reported. Unfortunately no food was available, so it was onto Hokitika for a double lunch, then riding down and railway line to Ross. This still was almost dead straight so I was straight onto the aero bars feeling like I was riding a time-trial. It’s incredible how much infrastructure has been ripped up with the changing population patterns. Still seeing heavily contaminated waterways from the old mining days... I don’t know if anything can be done with them, but it’s a bit of a blight on the majestic scenery.

    Last stop today is in Harihari. Which was a bit of a grind, but again some good mileage and stories for the day.

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  • Day 18: Reefton to Kumara

      8 March 2020
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    Big River! I thought the climbing in the first 30kms would be the challenging part of this ride. Nope. The ride up was awesome and was up in the Hut after about 3 hours. Met a couple of trampers in the hut who warned of the ride to come... aside from the walking the bike up a stream, we had 8kms of heavy, Pratt soil which sucked at your tyres. When you went off the riding line you were facing mossy roots causing the tyres to slide out. Tough going, but beautiful and quite different scenery.

    The wind picked up in the afternoon. The ride to Greymouth was a bit of a slog. I’d already chosen that I’d continue to Kumara for the night, so a ride down the river stopbank with Team Daz & Gaz (as I call them) provided me my photo checkpoint at the Greymouth bar before I started the first 30km’s of the Westland Wilderness trail to Kumara for a very chilled night.

    The wilderness trail was well groomed so it will be interesting to see what the rest is like tomorrow as the trail runs for 120km.

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    • 09/03/2020 by mads

      Good work Darryl. Seems like theres no need for encouragement, but I'll give you a big pat on the back for keeping up the pace on both the bike and the updates on your trip - keep on trucking.

  • Day 17: Murchison to Reefton

      8 March 2020
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    7:30 start this morning and the temperature is decidedly cooler. Today I pretty much rode the whole day wearing my jacket. 120kms isn’t a big day any more, but a little headwind certainly made it more challenging. The scenery is breathtaking. The challenge is to ingest each beautiful experience without normalising everything down to mountains and bush.

    Had a stare down with some cattle being herded the opposite way... The dog barking from behind eventually won and the cattle eventually shifted the the other side of the road.

    The last 30kms into Reefton was downhill. It were Kildare been real easy to put the head down n crack on, stopped for a few pics in the way, so hopefully they capture what enchanted me to pull over.

    Rode with a number of interesting people today, from many places. Really enjoying the diversity of the tour. When everyone is in bike gear, you assume that they’re all riding the tour. I talked with 2 folk from overseas at each end of the day, just enjoying our beautiful country. They both love the fact there are so many people at the their stops they can share stories with.

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  • Day 16: Nelson to Murchison

      7 March 2020
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    Funnily enough, I slept very well last night. A visit into a bike shop in Richmond and I’m able to free spin again. A very slow early ride this morning.. The legs are still feeling last nights effort.

    Today I thought would be wet, but in the end I somehow managed to avoid most of the rain. Rode 1.3km of Spooners Tunnel which is the longest unused tunnel in NZ. In the middle you can’t see a light at either end of the tunnel. Significant drop in temperature too. From the tunnel, I rode into Tapawera which appears to be a thriving Hop centre. After a good feed it was time to

    Up the pace. 65kms and 3hrs later I was getting swarmed by sandflies in Lake Rotoroa. From there a quick 200m climb and I was hoping for an easy 30km coast into Murchison. 3kms of road works put paid to that and with spent legs I finally rolled into Murchison about 7:00. A great steak at the pub, and a shower has the engine in refuel and recovery mode. After dinner, the skies opened so bike maintenance will have to wait till morning.

    So pleased I got in when I did.

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  • Day 15: Wellington to Nelson

      7 March 2020
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    An easy start with the ferry sailing caused me problems later on... rushing to put my bike back together at the ferry terminal left my front brake running against the disc.

    A gorgeous sailing over the Strait had us rolling off the ferry on time. A quick play with the brake and I thought I had it nailed for riding through the sounds. Unfortunately not.. I figured it was better to

    Push on and get sorted in Nelson. Everything was ticking along fine down to Pelorus Bridge. Turning up the Maungatapu saddle I figured I’d need to work a bit harder... little did I know how hard.

    I have nothing nice to say about Maungatapu... it’s the constant rock gardens the mean you’re having to focus on picking your lines the whole time...both up hill and down hill. I probably walked 1.5 of the worst bits where the extra load from the brakes just crushed me. Downhill had some gnarly rocks as well. I realised how much impact the brakes had when I hit sealed road again and had to pedal to maintain 23kph.

    A couple of dumb arse mistakes compounded by just a shit tour segment had me absolutely knackered by the time I got to my digs last night at about 9:00. At least I got to sleep in to schedule a visit to the bike shop.

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  • Day 14: Martinborough > Wellington

      5 March 2020
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    A 10km warm up into Martinborough had me kicking off at 6:00am... another sunrise start. The Wairarapa side if the Remutaka Inclide is a bit of a bumpy grind, but was at the summit and heading down the groomed Wellington side of the track. Timing was great as I was thru the incline gates just before Plunket set off a whole lot of runners up the track on a fun run.

    With good weather and the fact the river trail is really familiar, I had a proverbial flyer and was parked at the ferry terminal before 12.

    A big shout out to Shane at Kiwivelo who came in the hive the bike a good tune up and refresh on his day off. Bloody Legend.

    It was good to then catch up with the Hutt River Rats and spend some time at home, and sleep in my own bed.

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  • Day 13: Palmerston North to Martinborough

      5 March 2020
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    An early start saw me get another sunrise pic... this time at the top of the Pahiatua track.

    A light northerly had me into Eketahuna in good time and I was in Masterton by midday, although a little damp.

    At this stage I was pondering the feasibility of riding through to Welly for the day but the Southerly between Masterton and Martinborough hammered the legs and I parked up to a couple of giant milkshakes at 3:00.

    Stayed overnight at my sisters place, Rhona, and Fenella came over with some fresh kit for tomorrow’s ride. It was good to see her.

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  • Day 12: Hunterville > Palmerston North

      5 March 2020
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    6:00am left Hunterville with a fairly stocked belly and a packed lunch. We had some long riding today with very few towns in between, so not a lot of food options available. North Islsnd farm country is generally hilly and we were in farming central. Lots of hills, lots of gravel roads, lots of climbing.

    Apiti was our first real stop at about 11:00. Packed lunch came in handy, as we had been told there wasn’t anything available. That being said, the community hall was open from tea and more importantly water. A bloke was also cooking up all day breakfast on the bbq, so everywhere we go, people are going the extra mile to support the tour riders and it is really appreciated.

    From Apiti we were onwards to Ashurst we we copped our first serious headwinds. 30 degree heat into headwinds sucks the energy from everyone, so the last 20kms into Palmy Nth were an effort (there’s a reason Palmy has turbines in the hill)

    Tonight I’ve been hosted by good friends Claire and Rick. Watered, showered, laundered and well fed, gives me a great springboard to ride through time Martinborough tomorrow and a step closer to a night at home. Thanks guys really appreciate the effort.

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  • Day 11: Pipiriki > Hunterville

      5 March 2020
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    6:00 wave out to the Whanganui Adventure ladies as they started preparing a complimentary breakfast for everyone as we rolled out. We wanted to get down the river in the cool morning and we’re gifted some more beautiful views of the river during the dawn process.

    We also were gifted from a “TA Angel” a pair each of beautiful Nashua Pears. It’s a little weird when a guy passes you with a trailer on the back and the pulls up in the middle of nowhere. As I pulled out to pass the trailer, an arm sticks out the window with a couple of pears... at which point off he drives after a very quick thank you. No idea who he was but good on ya mate... they were my reward for getting to the final climb out of the river valley.

    Lunch and a brief visit the the bike store on Wanga’s... photo checkpoint at the lookout then on our way the Hunterville, which had some serious climbing in it.

    Stayed at the Station Hotel in Hunterville... very nice, good food and lovely rooms upstairs.

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  • Day 10: Owhango to Pipiriki

      3 March 2020
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    Kicked off about 7:00. And contrary to piropiro, it was warm from the start. We had a bit of a grind on gravel road before hitting the blue duck cafe in Whakahoro. We got our order in and eating before the rest of g Th be your turned up. It sounds like chaos reined after we left with 1 poor girl in there trying to do everything. We were away and grinding 500m on very technical sections on the track. Really chuffed with some sections I tackled, but walked some others. I spent 20min helping another rider dig his bike out of the bush. He’s dropped maybe 3-4m and whacked his head. We got his bike & gear in the track, then I worked on catching up with the team.

    Our reward a the top was some magnificent views and an awesome 5km downhill, I’m keen to do again. We had boats to catch and some of the bridges on the track slowed us up. We reached the boats with 10min to spare and were the blown away with the magnificence of the river. It’s hard to describe in words, and was actually quite emotional. I can see why Whanganui Iwi hold the river in such reverence. It’s a very spiritual place.

    We’ve decided to camp in Pipiriki with a lot of other TA riders tonight. Very cool sharing stories. The Whanganui Adventure folk have been superb hosts and I’ve spent the evening chilling with other riders and quietly getting sorted for the morning.

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  • Day 9: Piropiro Flats > Owhango

      3 March 2020
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    Really cold and frosty this morning. Didn’t want to get outta bed, if I’m honest. A solid climb had us out of the Timber Trail about 11:30. Went a little off course at Ongarue meaning we were slogging in massive heat into Taumaranui. We parked up in the shade for a couple of hours before we polished off another 30km /400m climbing in Owhango. Really pleased we got that climb outta the way as tomorrow we’ll be chasing the clock to the jet boats on the Whanganui.

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  • Day 8: Mangakino > Piropiro Flats

      2 March 2020
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    A sleep-in had us with a late 8:30 start. The wind was sharp and as we turned from Whakahoro into the hills we had our first real headwind for the tour. We lost an hour at the Arataki swing bridge with other people in front of us, however once we got into the Timber Trail, enjoyed the ride. A lot of climbing in the heat if the day, but we were rewarded with nearly 30 of downhill trails into Piropiro Flats and an awesome setup at Camp Epic. To be fair, the 12kms of climbing on the Timber Trail would be some of the best off road climbing I’ve ridden. The track was awesome

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  • Day 7: Matamata > Mangakino

      2 March 2020
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    An early set-out had us riding by lake karapiro early morning and a hearty breakfast at Arapuni.

    The next 50kn had us passing the other dams up the Waikato river into a welcoming party at Mangakino where our Hutt River Rats support crew had come up to refuel and restock our supplies.

    Today was draining...I think a week in,has taken a bit of a toll and we just took longer, but we got there. A spa and a massive feed of hearty food helped the engine and refuel the tank before hitting the bed.

    2 hours after arriving in Mango the skies opened again so whilst relived to be under cover, felt for those riders still on the trail.

    Thanks to Freda, Cathy and Fenella to come up an look after us.

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  • Day 6: Miranda > Matamata

      2 March 2020
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    What started with a pleasant sunrise turned into a bit of a mechanical nightmare with thunderstorms. One self-sealing puncture, was followed by a non sealing puncture was then followed by us finding blistering on another tyre in Paeroa. We had read a post regarding zip ties the night before which we enhanced with gaffer tape to protect the tyre.

    In between Paeroa and Te Aroha, the skies chose to open and quick smooth trails became instant streams. The rain was quite phenomenal.

    Once sorted in Matamata, we were fortunate to have our own TA angels in the form of Cushla and Bruce coming over to feed us a wonderful meal and prepped us the next day with Banana loaf and Bacon & Egg pie. Great food equals good energy and not a crumb was wasted.

    Bruce also made a mercy run to the bike store for new tyres, so after 65ks of steady and persistent rhythm from the zip ties on the forks, the fencing wire was despatched to the bin with the tyre.

    Thank you so much guys for all the running around you did for us.

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  • Day 5: Auckland > Miranda Hot springs

      23 February 2020
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    Started at the crack of dawn to get to the top of Mt Eden just after sunrise. Our reward was some beautiful views of Auckland followed by a great hot choc and conversation at Monsieur Madame at the bottom of Mt Eden. (Shame the pastries were still in the oven)

    Getting from Mt Eden to airport was relatively easy with Brendan mentioning that he’s had longer taxi rides....

    Today was hot. Topping 30 degrees at times. We took the coastal route to reduce climbing effort and benefit from a slight tail wind coming down the coast. No real highlights in the day apart from Fenella calling out that we were off course within minutes of missing a turn. Just as well Mission Control was keeping track.

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  • Day 4: Dargaville > Auckland (via Kaipara ferry)

      23 February 2020
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    Another 5:30 kick-off. Starting to get into a routine now. Get up early n beat the sun during the heat of the day. Only a 70km ride to the boat and the first 40 was brilliant. Calm conditions some magnificent views (check the gallery). Last 30 was rough. Rugged gravel road meant we were slow, but at the point we parked up at Waikaretu Marae for some lunch and to soak in the stunning vista of the Kaipara Harbour. Got our bike maintenance done for the day and sorted other bits and pieces in the shade before boarding the ferry over to Helensville. Again, the enthusiasm and energy from people watching the ride, tracking and keeping coming out as we go by is brilliant.

    Whilst waiting for the Kaipara ferry, we decided to extend our ride into central Auckland, to get a hop on the next days riding. That took longer than expected leaving us getting into the motel about 11:00.

    Going to pay for that in the morning with a slightly less early start, but at least we’ll hit Mt Eden about sunrise.

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  • Day 3: Omapere > Dargaville

      22 February 2020
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    This morning we set off even earlier 5:30. Pitch black was fine, because we couldn’t see the climb outta Omapere, which would be steeper than my driveway.

    We had a lot of climbing today and our reward was beautiful cool riding through the magnificent Waipoua Forest with the Giant Kauri. Obligatory photo stop to appreciate Tane Mahuta... pictures and words just can’t do these trees justice, and the threat of Kauri dieback needs to be addressed. I would hate to believe that after 1000’s of years, these great trees might start falling away during my generation’s watch.

    From Waipoua, we rode on towards Dargaville till we met up with my good friend Jane who joined us for the ride into Dargaville. I was getting hot as we neared Dargaville and in the middle of a rural gravel road met home-schooled “TA Angels” waiting on the road with cold water and melon. Timing was perfect and they’re tracking everyone coming down the trail to meet peeps from all over the world. Very cool.

    Dropped the bikes in a bike store in Dargaville, whilst Jane took us out to Kai-iwi fresh water lake. It’s one of the beautiful gems you never know exists until you start talking with locals and explore. The swim and the whole afternoon was the perfect tonic after yesterday’s drama. Had a wonderful day, so thanks Jane for coming over and sharing our adventure🙏.

    We had been thinking about getting a head start to Pouto point but chose to stay in Dargaville and get the laundry sorted. Fantastic service at Parkview Motel where the owners drove us back into town to do some shopping and get a meal. They also came out and picked us up after, which is worthy of this blog plug if you need somewhere to stay in Darga’s.

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  • Day 2: Ahipara > Omapere

      22 February 2020
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    We kicked off about 6:00am to beat the heat of the sun in the afternoon. Beautiful riding in the morning with some lovely views of the Hokianga, which meant lots of climbing.

    Missing the ferry at Rawene was the start of things going pear shaped... no biggie, just an hours wait, however a flat tyre and mechanical issues in the middle of nowhere cost an hour, culminating in a screw in my front tyre. No bike shops in that part of the country, so after a couple of attempts to repair my tubeless tyre... I ended up putting a tube in it. The afternoon was really hot with the wind providing the hairdryer effect, so the beauty of the morning was lost a little.

    Omapere is really short if water, so dived off the wharf and had a wash in the sea, to do my bit for water conservation, to cool off and wash away the stresses from the afternoon.

    Too early in the ride for that sort of carry-on so hopefully that’s all the mechanical issues for the ride out of the way.

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  • Day 1

      17 February 2020
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    Day 1 started in the dark climbing about 250m from camp to the start. We were at Cape Reinga for sunrise, an finally got going about 20min after the official start.

    Beautiful countryside. 90 mile beach gets a bit boring as it goes on forever. Passed a washed up whale carcass and a couple of dead stingrays.

    It got hot late morning, which is z a good lesson for us.... get up early and get going in the cool of the day.

    Next few days aren’t big rides, although there is a bit of climbing involved... loving being underway.

    There’s some photos of Day 1 In the gallery.

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