About Mark J Thomson
Most of my riding is in New Zealand with a few rides in the south end of the UK. I have also written of my adventure supporting World Record holder Joanna Sharpe as she sets 5 records in Australia travelling the length of the country.
51,265 km
2318:40 h
Recent Activity
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
November 21, 2025
A perfect day, sunny, little wind, 2 of us set out to do the Hamilton 200. Lunch stop at Cambridge, hot climbing through French Pass,pie and drink stop in Morrinsville before a sprint across the plain back to the start.
07:55
200km
25.3km/h
1,550m
1,550m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
November 7, 2025
The opening 200/300km ride with Kiwi Randonneurs. 4 riders did the 200 route, Jo and I did the 300 route. 07:00 hours, no wind, clear sky, amazing day to start. The 6 of us rode out through fresh seal, and spun down to Waitakaruru, chatting easily in the quiet traffic. A couple of quick turns into Canal Road East, we lost the 200 group. Hmmm, maybe they stopped at the Ruru Cafe for an early coffee. Jo and I continued along Hopis Road to Pipiroa Road, and blow me down, there they are... they got a little route confused... Quick toilet stop in Ngatea then the rest of the way down Awaiti Road, and the Tahuna Paeroa road to Endowment Road. Both Jo and I noted how easily the miles clocked in the company of these guys, from the Philippines, now residing in New Zealand. We parted company with the 200's heading towards Manawaru, Jo and I going to Tahuna and onto Morrinsville. Through Tahuna, we have teh rolling "hilly" section. This is a pretty flat ride so at the worst, they are rollers. We maintain a steady pace. I'm monitoring my achilles tendons, still aggravated form the tour I did the week before. They are grumbling but OK. It's so nice to be riding through familiar territory, not needing to rely on GPS comments to understand my progress, rather understanding the landscape in ride able sections to my next destination. Lunch at Morrinsville, a sausage roll and a good coffee at Ronnies cafe. Then off to Matamata. We stopped at Waihau to say Hi to the Alpacas and sheep (and hide from the temperature, sitting at high 20's, and sneaking up into the low 30's. The wind is nothing to speak of, and a tail wind... hot hot hot. A quick toilet and wate stop at Matamata (complete with a tourist photo with Rocky and Miss Ari.B) and we are heading back north. We are in the last couple of stages having sung the half way song. Today there have been a number of cars tooting, not in a friendly manner. Especially along where the shared path runs. Ignorance runs high in this area. Caz Turkish Takeaway in Te Aroha - by far the best in the Waikato, and the standard by which I judge all, didn't disappoint, a great kebab for dinner with a tasty coffee, then to Ngatea and the end of the ride. The pace is a little slower but steady. We are both listening to music and riding together. We pass through the edge of a shower, and stop at Ngatea as our last checkpoint and put on our jackets. Night falls as we leave Ngatea, and we are riding by lights. The wind is there, and in our faces, but not strong, more an annoyance. The rain comes to nothing but my filthy glasses make it quite surreal watching through them. Dry road for the last 5km, across the rough newly paved road, and finish. A solid days riding with excellent company! I have 3 more rides to complete for the Super Randonneur (200, 300, 400, 600km rides in a season), the next is in a couple of weeks. Time for home and bed!
12:50
304km
23.7km/h
630m
640m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
October 30, 2025
The last day. We are both tired, there is a lot of climbing in this route. We got well sorted last night so the pack up and preparation for riding is quick, easily on the road by 06:45. The aggressive fridge partially froze my omelette, that was gross, but I guess I could have used the microwave… We are planning an arrival time of 14:00 hours so we don’t need to push hard. We work in 25km blocks with a break each 25 and that will include coffee in the middle. The sky is overcast, mackerel clouds, but we are riding out of it. The wind is calm but slightly ion the nose. The traffic is quiet till about 08:00 when the school runs start, all quiet again by 09:00. No log trucks today and only a couple of rock trucks. We think we worked out where they were doing the repair work yesterday but couldn’t be sure. White Island makes an appearance on the horizon, no, that’s not cloud, that’s steam rising from the fumaroles. The bikes are pretty light today, and the rolling hills are easy especially without the heavy winds we’ve had previously. Over the rivers we go, Raukokore, Kereu, by-passing Te Kaha (and seeing newly planted macadamia trees), Haparapara and into Omaio for coffee, well made this time… 😊 Back onto the road, only one large climb left, we cross the mighty Motu and head for the sky, seeing the cutting further up the hill. The view over the summit is awesome, the coast stretching before us, curving around to Mt Maunganui in the hazy distance. The coast under the sun looks glorious. Much nicer than the generally grey views of the past couple of days. Over the Hawai river, past the rock wall construction (so much easier downhill) and on to Tirohanga. We chose to keep to the road and almost instantly regretted it with 2 idiot passing manoeuvres by drivers within seconds of us riding past the turn off… we decide to take the next one onto the Dunes trail. The access to the track was barred by a bizarre gate, the entrance was clearly marked and we managed to man handle the bikes through, but there is no traffic on the Dunes trail… much nicer. Back over the cool bridge, and into town, café time. I get a pork belly pie (a little sweet to the taste but not bad) and a coffee. We relocate to a park we found on the way in and settle in for the wait. Our rides aren’t far away. We sort out our gear and Jacks ride arrives. Margaret is in her camper, and makes a tasty cup of tea, then Moira arrives at about 16:30. Well timed all in all. Jack and Margaret will stay in Opotiki, Moira and I are heading to Rotorua for the night then home the next day. Kopiko done! Gear list (major items) Koppi – a Fairlight Faran 3.0, steel frame Reynolds 725, running 2x12 GRX, 46-30 chain rings, 11-36 12 speed cassette. 45mm tires, tubes, son Delux dynamo, Hope rims, Restrap top tube and seat backs, custom mini panniers (baguette bags), rack bag and frame bag by Back of Beyond. Tent – Macpac Sololight Sleeping bag and mat – Sea to summit voyager and Klymit static vee, Sea to Summit inflatable pillow Cooking – small fry pan, stainless steel billy, titanium mug and spork, gas burner separate from the gas cylinder, 400gm gas cylinder, Opinell 8 knife, Sawyer micro squeeze water filter with a 2l bag for filtering water. Clothing – Redwhite bibs, long sleeve shirts, Lake shoes, Oakley helmet and glasses. Shorts, longsleeve merino for sleeping, woollen beanie, lightweight Macpac down jacket, Tinelli touring rain jacket. I also carried but didn’t use winter gloves, lightweight merino gloves, poly pro leggings, gillet and swimming togs. Food – Eggs, bacon, sausages, cheese, salami, dried apricots, olives, chocolate, apples and oranges.
05:58
107km
17.9km/h
1,330m
1,330m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
October 29, 2025
Up, fed, teeth cleaned, poop done and on the road by 06:00 – look at us go! The goal today is the cape and return, about 140km round trip. We are carrying food and water, no other gear. I loaded the wrong course onto the Garmin, so for the ride to the cape, it is complaining the whole way and trying to get us to turn around. Annoyingly, it doesn’t register the climbs, so Jacks memory (which is pretty good for this purpose) will suffice for our guide. There are 5 climbs and descents, most of it inland of the coast. The sky is a light overcast, and the wind, though lighter than yesterday, is up as early as we are. We chat easily as we ride, wave to the road workers, say hi to some locals hunting pig and see a reasonable size doe. Descending into Hicks Bay, we passed some large wooden boxes, I caught a flash of red as we passed, I mentioned it to Jack, saying I thought they were apple boxes with apples in them. The longest climb of the day was above Hicks Bay. At the crest of the climb, we came across a road crew resurfacing the road. We had no trouble getting through the stop/go system. The road was flat into Te Araroa. We passed an airstrip and a company selling honey and tee tree oil, with a café, but not open yet, so we carry on into the town. We’d passed a tee tree oil farm earlier in the day, the tops of the trees trimmed low for access and to encourage the young tips to grow for the oil. We found a coffee cart when we enter Te Araroa. We stopped there for a good coffee and a chat with the locals. It’ s20km to the cape, the road is mostly sealed with a couple of section left unsealed as they are prone to slips. We were passed by 2 cars on the way out there. Approaching one headland, a couple of horses outside the fence spooked on our approach. One went over the fence, the other ran alongside the road. Eventually one of the cars that passed us came by, I was able to sneak past the horse alongside the car, then I turned around, the horse headed back the other way, Jack had got himself further off the road so the horse was OK going past him, we were now both on the correct side of the horse and could carry on. The cape itself remains hidden until you round the last headland. There is an island out a bit form the cape, that gives a hint of what is tom come. We stopped on a bluff south of the cape, that gave a good view of the lighthouse. You can’t get up to the lighthouse itself, so we were happy with the view we had. We’d done it, 5 ½ days. We took plenty of photo’s, selfies, Rocky and Miss Ari. B got their tourist shots, then we sat and enjoyed lunch, watching seals surf onto the beach, wild horse come down to say hi, and looking at ancient pohutukawa trees. We headed back, introducing Rocky and Miss Ari. B to lupins, found a 4 square and got pies, ice cream and tomato sauce. The pies (Ruatoria pies) were great and we enjoyed them in a local park. After lunch we went to see Te Waha o Rerekohu, the mouth of Rerekohu - Te Waha o Rerekohu the mouth of Rerekohu is thought to be the largest pōhutukawa tree in New Zealand. At least 600 years old, it had a branch span of more than 37 metres when measured in 1950. It’s truly a stunning tree. We rode back to the honey place, it was closed, so carried on back towards Waihau Bay, about 50km into the wind. Because I had the wrong course loaded onto the Garmin, which was at least now heading the correct direction, the distance estimations were out. The wind made it hard to talk, so we just knuckled down and got it done. The climbs were pretty and the descents fun, through the roadworks wasn’t an issue and the descent into Hicks Bay was one of the best I’d ever done, the road curves and super elevation was superb moving from one bend into the next, smooth, flowy and fun. Riding without gear was a great choice. Climbing up past the apple boxes, I stopped for a better look. Indeed, I had seen right, there were apples in there, they were above a pig farm, so I expect the discarded apples go into the box for pig food. They looked fine, I selected a couple, they were firm, one a little dented, both dusty, so I put them in my feed bags and washed them off at camp, they were mighty fine. I have now entered a new area in bike touring, collecting roadside apples! We count the climbs back to the camp, getting in tired, ready for a shower and food. I eat at least 8 sausages I cooked the day before, plus cheese, coffee, olives, chocolate, tea, and a couple of ibuprofen for my achilles. We went back to the beach to try and get phone signal, no joy tonight, the night before Jack managed to get a message out, and I had limited text but couldn’t phone out. Never mind. Tomorrow is the return to Opotiki.
07:36
144km
18.9km/h
1,610m
1,600m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
October 28, 2025
Navigation today is pretty easy, if we turn off the main road we’ve gone the wrong way! Up and packed, moving our gear to the hallway, and in the kitchen early to beat the hoards. We finished our breakfast, cleaned up, I left my kit together to dry, when I come back someone has grabbed my frypan and are cooking their oats in it. Fortunately it was just finished… hmmm. A quick stop in townfor some Ibuprofen for my achilles, they aren’t bad, but they are maign themselves heard. Leaving town on the Dunes trail, we go over a great bridge, through the first of multiple anti motorbike bloackades… these really break up the flow of the trails, and it is sad it’s needed. At least Koppi fits under them this time. We pop out onto the road at Tirohanga, about 6km down the trail. Past Opape where we had planned to satay and into the first climb of the day. The wind is pushing us up the coast, and the scenery is very similar to the Coromandel coast on the firth side. You climb over a headland and drop back down to the coast. The day is mostly rolling, no real flat. We are aiming for Te Kaha at 66km for our first break. The second climb has a “mandatory sprint” with a 30km one lane zone past some roadworks… hmmm, won’t be doing that uphill on a loaded bike with grumbling achilles… but there are no issues. The rivers in the area are stony and braided, I think my favourite type of river. The valleys get close really quickly, the braided rivers are not wide at all. The largest is the Motu, very fine indeed. We find a coffee store at Omaio, about 55km in, that will do. We get coffee, I get some bubbly water and a sausage roll as well. Hmm, must have been yesterday sausage roll, it’s hard as, more like a sausage stick, but down it goes. The coffee is flavoursome but I had to ask the lady to stop with the water she was adding, filling the cup all the way up… when I return I know how to ask her to make it for me. The company was good, and it was great having a chat with her. Facial tattoos are very common here. I find them quite jarring, feeling out of context, in the city, but here it feels normal. We got passed by 2 empty logging trucks going our way, and about 3 full ones returning. We also got passed by large trucks with big rocks, suitable for rock armouring in rivers. We didn’t see their destination today, but we’ll keep an eye open. After Te Kaha we only saw rock trucks. We had another place name to struggle with. We crossed the Haparapara river, but only got a glimpse of the sign so had trouble getting all the vowels right. Once past Te Kaha the traffic was very light. In all our traverse of the country, we got one angry toot, it happened as we were riding along a quiet section, a driver in a prius seemed to object to us being on the road… so logging trucks, vans, cars, 6 days of riding, no issues, and a single prius driver has difficulty getting past us…? My take is they weren’t paying attention and got surprised. *sigh* The wind has built up again, gusting to 50km/h, we noticed on a couple of the hills although the grade didn’t reduce, we were able to go up a couple of gears as the wind speed increased. A quick toilet stop and we found local horses to take photo’s of. Lots of horses in the area, and obviously well utilised. Also a number of disused buildings, and a beautiful (and well photographed) church at Raukokore. It is Christ Church, an Anglican church built in 1895 by Duncan Stirling, it is a simple Gothic-style church and is a significant site for the local Whanau-a-Apanui. We dropped into Waihau Bay, and rode to the far end where the camp ground is located. Paying for 2 nights, we set up under the puriri trees, and got savaged by sandflies. The ground was soft form the previous rains and our close location to the bush was the source of them. Longs when not on the bike, sandals and socks! Once set up, we cooked the next few days food, had a HOT shower, lots of food and tea. A good effective “rest” day.
05:59
109km
18.2km/h
1,380m
1,360m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
October 27, 2025
The route is mostly downhill, with 2 climbs before we drop down a 12km descent from the plateau to the plans though Edgecomb, then a final climb from Whakatane to Ohope followed by about 40km of gentle rolling coastal riding to end the day out. Add to that a tail wind and we have got a good afternoons ride ahead of us, about 130km. I’ve done the Rotorua to Ohope route twice before, fast and fun. Leaving Rotorua we ride a mix of the poorly marked bike lane and the road. Traffic is a little busy out to the airport, then reduces once we turn off onto SH30 to Whakatane. There is a reasonable shoulder for much of the road. We do a couple of photo stops, then a longer break at Rotoma for lunch (and playground photo’s with Rocky and Miss Ari.B). It begins to spit as we start the final climb, jackets on, then the long descent. Jackets off at the bottom, and we set off across the plains, time trialling our way to Whakatane. Mt Edgecomb appears on our right, while a little further north Mt Maunganui can be seen in detail. The Komoot route told us to head off SH 30. The highway had a good shoulder and we were making good progress so we stayed on the highway, saving about 3km. As we went through Whakatane about 4pm, a young lad on a mountain bike asked where we had come from and where we were heading. I suggested we stop and have a chat. It turned out it was Jack Kaaretai-Barrett, probably the best known rider in Whakatane at the moment. In August 2025 he rode from Whakatane to Wellington to ask the Prime Minister to retain the Maori Wards in the country. I forgot to get a photo, I was glad we met him, and that he called out to say Hi. One last climb, and this is a solid one. Last time I did it I had a broken rear gear cable, that sucked. We dropped into Ohope and found a Steak Take away shop selling ice creams. We had a great chat with the owner and took photos, then headed around the top of the harbour towards Opotiki. There was an oyster shack we went past, a salt flat with Spoonbills feeding, and at the top of the harbour is a natural spring with a collection tank where you can top up your water bottles. After our ride, Jack is going to meet a local walnut grower, we rode past his farm on the way to SH2. SH2 had a section of road works, rough gravel for cars but we hardly noticed as we blitzed through. The final leg into Opotiki was a mix of road, beach front track, wriggly and fun, and bike lane beside the road. At one stage there was a 100km/h sign fallen across the bike track… no trouble riding over it… “First time I’ve gone over 100” quipped Jack. Jack knew the way to the campground, so we went and signed in, timing it well as the last heavy (and cold) shower fell for the day. We headed out out to the4 square, but they didn’t have what we wanted so went a little further to the New World. I was wearing my vest and had no issues, but Jack with his small water bladder backpack got asked to leave because he had a backpack. Young staff member being too literal and not thinking. We got Turkish takeaways for dinner, eating it back at the camp. This turned out great as the kitchen was in heavy use for the rest of the evening. We had a chat with a couple of the other campers but both of us were pretty tired. We set or tents up in the shelter of the trees, showered, had a cup of tea and were in bed soon after. I noticed both my achilles tendons were sore. I’ll have to watch that. I take some ibuprofen As we now have a new time table, our plan is to ride a little over 100km tomorrow to Waihau Bay, pay for 2 nights at the campsite, leave the gear there and ride the day after to the cape and back with no load, then return to Opotiki on the Friday for pick up. But now, sleep!
06:11
134km
21.6km/h
1,000m
1,280m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
October 27, 2025
Quick and easy this morning. Up at 04:45, the sleep was good. I sleep with an eye mask so wasn’t affected by the motion sensor light that came on every time Jack rolled over… but it kept him awake, so he went to unplug it. The thing was poorly secured and fell down with a crash… at least it’s off now… we’ll fix it in the morning. The sleep was good, dry and warm. My phone is still complaining about water in the charge point, so I put it in 2 plastic bags and leave it in my chest pocket. Rocky and Miss Ari B. are dry and warm! We packed up, things drier than when we started, fixed the light, and moved to the kitchen area. Breakfast done and on the road by 07:30 – relaxed start. It’s cold and overcast, but not raining. We have one very heavy shower on our way into Rotorua, and you can see the angry clouds all around. Rotorua seems to have 2 settings in terms of rain. Off an deluge! It’s still windy as we take the back route into Rotorua, avoiding SH5 and the bike trails. We come out on the concrete bike lane that leads to Rotorua. I rode through here last year so know where to go and get to a great café. Through past the visitor centre at Whakarewarewa, onto the main road and make our way to the Artisan Café in Tutanekai Street. We find a seat in the sun… yes, the sun, get some food and coffee. I check my phone and the warning about the charge port is gone, sure enough, it works well, and we have cell service. I put together the bail out route on Komoot, we have a second coffee as another heavy rain shower hits, then off to get a suitable bag for Rocky and Miss Ari B. to keep them dry, and we will head out of town. The change in route will put us 2 days ahead of schedule, so we can re assess our approach on our way into Opotiki.
01:49
29.9km
16.4km/h
340m
410m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
October 26, 2025
Up and sorted on time this morning. Today is about timing, We’ve given ourselves 5 hours to get oput and down to Whakamaru, the first 20km is climbing, the second is descent and we are out of the Timber Trail. Jack is going to take a diversion to the Centre of the North Island and out the TA track, I’ll take to SH32 for the express route to Whakamaru. The climbing is stepper through t his part of the trail with plenty of hike a bike. It’s relentless, overcast, high single digits temperature. There are really no views as we climb into the damp cloud, all in all it’s a forgettable ride, sad to say, I’ve not seen the Timber trail at it’s best. The climbing is in stages over the first 24km (not 20…) from 450m ASL to 971m ASL. Coming around one corner, a huge tree fell, probably the week before, great chunks of wood have been cut out to clear the path, I have firewood envy, but way to far to get the wood out. The final section of climbing to the summit is well formed making it easier. We stop for photos, but don’t hang around, the temperature is damp and cold, jackets on for the descent. It takes us about an hour form the summit to the end of the trail, we are well ahead of time, finishing in about 3 ¾ hours. We’ve split path now and I head down a gravel road to the asphalt, hitting a larger pothole after a bridge and being very happy to have large tires! I’d seen sunlight leaving the tree cover but it was short lived, it’s raining on the road. I got in touch with Moira, she was in Tokoroa, so about 45 minutes away, I estimate maybe an hour to Whakamaru. I raced downhill in the showers and got a text checking where I was. I rang back and told them to use the tracker, but I was on SH32 towards Bennydale, they were on Mitchell Road, I was about 1km from that turn off, and soon I saw them driving towards me. I directed them to a farm driveway. Bibs… oh yes, like riding on a cloud, and 2 packets of cooked sausages… happiness personified am I. Talia tells me about her running purchases, and we agree to meet back in Whakamaru. They drive, I ride. Lunch time, re supply (I just need to refill my fruit stocks now), pie, coffee, ice cream, yum! I enjoy a catch up with them, then the head to Mangakino for hot chips and off home. I’m expecting Jack between 14:00 and 15:00, and Moi heads off about 13:30, so I get my diary out and catch up on progress. A couple of cars pull up and discharge their passengers. An older woman opens a cigarette package and disgards the wrapper on the ground, about 2m from a bin, and sits upwind from me smoking. One of the kids with them has a melt down, too long in the car, was told no, maybe coming off a sugar rush, all the horror of long wet road trips. Jack arrives in the middle of this scene at about 14:30, wet, cold, hungry and a bit shaken by what was a tough and somewhat epic trip. He’ got turned around with his GPS, the signal under the canopy where he was is poor, and I remember the area from earlier in the year, I was so glad I didn’t go. He quickly grabs some food and we head off into the rain and wind at 15:00. Passing the Whakamaru dam, the spillway was discharging and looking spectacular. We couldn’t get photo’s too wet. Riding along Ongaroto Road was very new, but the landmarks were familiar, having driven through the area for all my life. The road follow alongside the hydro lake and there are steep volcanic hills raising either side, with a prominent peak (Pukeahua) to our right covered in pines. We’d heard the first rider in the westerly heading group was approaching but we didn’t see him, he was probably on the trails, we had stuck to the road out of preference. The traffic was quiet, but one van coming the other way was putting out a huge amount of spray, we got a solid drenching… actually, that’s quite warm… As we approached SH1, Jack spotted the cycle accessway that would take us under the highway and through the township of Atiamurii. It is well kept houses, built by the Ministry of works in the 1950’s, exactly the same style and layout we were familiar with from the RNZAF. From Atiamuri we began the first of 3 solid climbs. The wind was whipping the trees around as we crested the summits, the hardest climb was above the Ohakuri dam, straight and steep. We dropped back into the river valley, crossing the Waikato river for the last time at Whirinaki Road, we stopped to check it out, Jack was cold and tired and wanted to push on. I agreed. He’d not had the break I had enjoyed at Whakamaru, and I had been able to get plenty of food. We’d spoken about getting a cabin at Waikitie, I was more than happy with that suggestion, especially as the heavy weather was here for the night. This section of the ride was getting grim, not just unpleasant like the Timber Trail had been, rather the cold and tired is setting up for a dangerous situation. At last we arrived at Waikite Springs at about 19:15, horror of horrors, they don’t have cabins. Jack is cold, tired, in need of food fast, he is shaking as he puts the EFTPOS card into the machine, I tell him to go get food while I sort out the rest of the admin. We find showers… ok, no, we find ONE shower and ONE toilet… there are a total of three showers, two in the pool changing rooms. Hmmmm, the rate we paid is the highest for any campsite, but you are really paying for the pool access, sadly the natural spring pools are closed and drained for the day, so we can’t use them. It’s not really set up to cater for cycle tourists… 3 stars, but it did have a very warm drying room… We get though showers and into warm dry clothes, get some food in us and I go set up my tent. Meanwhile, Jack has found a shelter he will sleep in… checking it out, I put my tent down and spread it out in the shelter and come join him. My phone has got water in the charge port so isn’t charging, I didn’t even think about it as we rode through the rain. That is concerning. Rocky and Miss Ari B. got a little damp, so I sleep with my down jacket on, Rocky and Miss Ari B. snuggled in my pocket, phone in another pocket. Our plan for tomorrow is taking us into the remotest section of the ride, there is heavy weather in the area, and our safety equipment is compromised. We don’t have a rest day and our time is limited. A change in plan is needed.
09:02
131km
14.5km/h
1,940m
2,180m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
October 25, 2025
Unbelievable, I slept through my alarm. Turns out the setting wasn’t “every day”. I fixed that straight away. Anyway, I was 20 minutes later than I intended… remember, you are touring, don’t get time stressed… I was glad I’d prepped the night before, we were on the road by 7. Toilet issues as we left, it wouldn’t flush… oh nasty… we managed to flush water form a bowl down the bowl. It’s a misty morning, and cool, 9 degrees, then dropping as low as 5.5 degrees. My practical comfort limit for temperature is 6 degrees, I reason I don’t need my winter gloves as it will be warm in 30 minutes or so, and I’ve got some climbing. It works well enough. Our one goal for the morning is get to Michele’s food cart in Ohura. We go through 2 tunnels this morning, and there is a historic write up about each. The history of the Forgotten highway is well documented. 2 tunnels today. We descend into the Tangarakau Gorge from the Tahora saddle, the trees are incredibly dense, this is untouched forest, an ancient thing and in the moody overcast very much like something out of Jurassic Park. Climbing out of the gorge it starts to rain but stops by the time we get to the top. We can hear a loud engine coming up behind us, a farm ute with a noisy muffler getting a work out on the steep grades. The descent was a damp road but the rain had stopped. It was warm and scattered clouds now, riding up farm valleys with steep sides, as we worked our way through the lower parts of the King Country and the limestone areas. The farm land is very green, but lacking in stock. Maybe they have the stock out of site, but it looks to me there hasn’t been any on the land for a wee while. We arrive at Ohura, sending a text to Michele she turns up and we get coffee and nachos, Jack has a tortilla, Rocky and Miss Ari B play in the camellia petals. The next goal is Ongarue. We turn off the forgotten highway, onto some good gravel roads and easy grades. We get to the double level truss bridge crossing the Ongarue River, and I get hold of Moira. My shorts just aren’t working, my butt is developing welts, this won’t go well for me if I don’t get it sorted out. We arrange to meet tomorrow and Whakamaru. The back road to Ongarue is 12km of good gravel and a section of tarmac leading to Bennetts Reserve. Shelter, non-potable water, we stop for food and get out the water filters to top off all our supplies. Last stage of the day, 38km on the Timber trail to Piro Piro camp site. We leave Ongarue at 15:30. The week before the trail was closed due to weather damage, so we are a little apprehensive for what is to come. It started OK, but it was an uphill ride pretty much all the way to the camp. There was a gentle downhill slope for about 10km so not all climbing. The track conditions were average to poor. I was very please with how the bike handled, I’m definitely under biked on this section of the ride, but I know I can do the majority of it. If I’m walking it’s typically because the deep runnels, or large gravel, are preventing me from riding. Actually, on the runnels and common poor surface, it wasn’t bike riding, it was a wrestling match with no tapping out. We got to one of the highlights on the trail, the Ongarue Spiral, it was closed, and I went to investigate, turning on my light and my dynamo, I came to the end of the tunnel and saw the slip, then as I rode into it I found it was liquid mud, I stopped plenty fast, putting my foot into the unresisting surface, covering my shoes and legs to the mid calf. Up the alternate route we go. I stopped at a track side puddle to wash the worst of the mud off. Soon after we passed a guy with gear on a mountain bike, he was a bit humorous but muttered “torture, torture” – a little weird, but I had to agree with him. Soon after that was passed a girl on more of a road touring bike, maybe 35mm tires, but way thinner than ours, she asked if it got better, but we didn’t know what she’d ridden through so couldn’t comment. Turns out the answer was yes, it got better for her. Big chunky rock, deep runnels in the track, clay surfaces and steep descents. The last descent was too steep, I got my front wheel stuck in a runnel and did a slow speed dismount over the handlebars. Even walking down, the slope was tricky and treacherous. We passed camp Epic, the water supply culvert and arrived and Piro Piro, got set up just on dark. There were other campers riding around on 2 stroke farm bikes and off road bikes, as well as quads… really? Just no, not a pleasant noise. I went to the culvert, now a nasty approach down a slippery set of steps with re-bar sticking out ready to impale the unwary. I almost lost my water filter in the rushing culvert – think about it lad, that could be a showstopper. Turns out Jacks filter wasn’t working, he didn’t filter the water and picked up giardia, he thinks it was likely here. Off to bed now. It’s a cold night, so beanie on!
09:24
149km
15.8km/h
2,160m
1,850m
Mark J Thomson went cycling.
October 24, 2025
05:00, up time, a warm night, sticky without a shower… ewww! The pack up was easy, sorting everything to the right place, breakfast and coffee done. On the road by 07:00, we’re touring, no night riding for us! I’d trialed a method of transporting eggs, put 2 eggs in a zip lock bag, put the bags in my billy. It had kind of worked, I need to take care the zip lock is done up correctly. Egg white through the billy… I’ll put the bags into a larger zip lock as well. That worked a little better, it has potential but needs work. Jack found out he had also forgot his adapter for charging his phone, so there will be a quick shopping break in new Plymouth, we know where we need to go and we’re stopping for coffee anyway. Mt Taranaki is playing coy and hiding behind a layer of cloud, the mountain isn’t seen for the rest of the day – good thing we got photo’s yesterday. The sunshine through the gaps is pretty, crepuscular rays. It’s overcast and about 13 degrees when we start, not a bad temperature for riding. The profile of the country is all oriented on the mountain, we head steadily uphill, heading to the saddle at Pukeiti, there is a solid climb to keep us honest, 3.5km at 7%. We stopped for a photo of a roadside bluebell with Rocky and Miss Ari B. then up to the summit where a huge display of rhododendrons awaited us. The area is kind of sub-alpine but with the humidity of a coastal area, very unique. The gardens are very pretty and I’m looking forward to coming back for a visit. What followed is one of the longest downhills I’ve ever ridden, Carrington Road is about 14km long all the way into New Plymouth. A couple of stops for parts left behind and we head to Petite Paris, a café on our route, where we have a great coffee and a crisp croissant. Topped up the water, saw some eels in the local stream, tourists shots at the big, tall wind spire and back out along the bike path, ogle an angular Lamborghini as it rumbles past. The wind blowing spray across our path. The wind turned to what would be the major direction for our trip, behind us. We’d planned our trip direction with this in mind, the predominant winds are west to east in New Zealand. The coast gave way to light industry, farm industry then farmland as we headed inland to Lepperton. The country was rolling, and later in the day there would be three saddles to go over, dropping to valleys, before we reached Whangamomona, about 2000m climbing for the day. The road was quiet, and it was rare to see a car. The first climb took us into the catchment of the Waitara River still flowing silt laden from the recent rains, across an old wooden bridge, then the second climb, Junction Road, was gravel and very scenic, but steep. We passed a gas power generation area, if you didn’t know what you were looking at you’d miss it. Along Otara Road we encountered our first tunnel. Very narrow, carved straight through the rock. Arriving at the Puheko Reserve, we stopped for lunch, Rocky and Miss Ari. B finding a playground to explore. Fed, photo’s and played up, we set off Ohura Road had one more climb for us as we approached Whangamomona. We saw flocks of wild goats, then as we descended to the rail line again, we saw the golf carts modified for running on the rails. Then the signed we’d been waiting for – Welcome to the Republic of Whangamomona. Jack had been practicing the name and had it nailed by our arrival. Riding past the iconic pub, we headed to the campground. Camp set up, showered and meal prep done for the next day. I cooked up my 2 packs of sausages. I put them in zip lock bags, too hot, the melted through and left fat on the inside of my mini panniers… hmmm, that explained the strong sausage smell in the tent. It was a cold night, I was on the edge of too cold, but not cold enough to do anything about it, I’ll make sure I know where my beanie is for the next nights.
07:57
144km
18.1km/h
2,190m
2,030m
Great ride