Kaiaua to Kuranui Bay (Thames)

Long boring straights on gravel. Limited shops on this route. The only shade was the two (or three) beautiful little stations. Barely came across other riders after Miranda. Head or side winds destroyed me! This “easy” ride took me 7hours total. My legs were burning, and my butt hurt. Don’t expect food stops either - there were no restaurants or cafes. The wharf in Thames only does fish n chips. I wore my new Tinelli bib shorts and they are terrible - really should have tested them on a shorter ride! created by the local rotary club that look like old train stations. Plenty of lovely, clean restrooms (toilets/WC) along the route. Tomorrow I have to do it all again in reverse. Never doing this section of the trail again hopefully after tomorrow.