Mark J Thomson

A 200km loop taking in some great countryside in the Waikato. Rolling along the Waikato River, up the Waipa River, back across to Cambridge, climbing beyond Cambridge with a great descent past Te Miro. Then on to Morrinsville before the final sprint home. Really fine ride with 5 of us completing it.

Part 4, Raetihi to Auckland, One sleep Event day 7, 274km, Raetihi to Ngahape Road One more sleep, 2 more rides. This is the business end now. Get as far north today as reasonable then strike for home the day after. That will give me a finish etime of 7 days and change. Not too shabby. In the previous days, Jo Sharpe had cable issues and had to return to Wellington for a bike repair, she was in front of me, she arrived in Raetihi a couple of hours after and is currently in a motel down the road. Oh it’s cold this morning, I’m in full winter kit and the mercury says 2 degrees. I’m going to climb 350 over the next 34km to the highest settlement in New Zealand – Waimarino. It is going to be bitter there. The sky is clear and sharp, the moon still up. I head off n a quiet road to Tohunga Junction and the start of the traffic from the SH1 diversion. I expect to get there about 05:30 and so will only catch the tail end of the heavier traffic. It is certainly busier than when I went the other way, but that was a Saturday night when the road had just closed, this is now mid-week with the road about to open. Did I say it’s cold? Fortunately, yesterday’s sun and the heater in the motel last night, all my kit, especially my gloves, are dry. There is definitely higher traffic on the road but they are courteous and don’t pass close. I’m concerned about the Makakote viaduct loop, that has no shoulder and is narrow, but I get through fine, climbing out a truck comes past, but he’s like me, going slow. The other side of the loop an expansive view of the mountains becomes available. Oh my, I love sunrises, I have seen many, and this is one of the best I’ve ever experienced, the clear sky and mountains look amazing, did I mention it’s cold. Waimarino comes into view. I stop at the service station, inhale a sausage roll, pie and a coffee, I warm up for about 30 minutes then head out again. Many will know of the Raurimu spiral – an engineering marvel, and the road through there is steep, and from Waimarino going north it’s downhill. Oh yes. I rocket down the slope, backing off the speed with the traffic, confusing a truck driver, if I had though t about it I would have kept a higher speed than he could, but I wasn’t sure of any potholes, wrecking a wheel at 70km with a truck behind id a sure recipe for ending many things. I slowed and pulled over enough for him to safely pass and carried on down. Safe and sound down, and a left turn off the main road onto one of the highlight roads of the trip. Kawautahi Road leads to Hikumutu road, this is on the Tour Aotearoa (TA) Route, and I see many of the TA riders heading south. I have a short uphill on some loose gravel, I stop and take off my winter layers, and put up with cooler conditions for a bit, but the day is warming up. The short climb leads to a long gravel downhill, the gravel is in good condition so is easy to ride. After the gravel, the road gently slopes down the contours to the Wanganui River, the one I was riding up yesterday. I ride past a horse farm, and then on my left I see one of the last things I expected… a tall ostrich standing by the fence giving me the eyeball. Apparently, it’s a known thing, but what a great surprise. I rode into a large town I wasn’t expecting, my distance on my sheet for Taumaranui was out by 10km, a nice surprise but it means further to Ohura, although not really, I had the Ohura number right. Heading out of Taumaranui is on the other side of the Wanganui River and is the start of the Forgotten Highway. I will ride the section I left out last year when I rode Kopiko. It’s pleasant enough but the spectacular bit was the section I rode. It’s similar in nature to yesterday with it’s bluffs and drops… not my favourite. Turning off to Ohura most of the climbing done for a while I enjoy the valley ride. Ohura is a ghost town, the only action in town has now shut down. There is a toilet with potable water but really that’s it… oh and a fire station. I eat lunch there, check my check point and ride on. I want to be past Otorohanga tonight and I know what’s in store for me. Riding out of Ohura is more valley riding, going over a one lane bridge a car decided they could squeeze past as well – fortunately the idiot wasn’t going fast and there was no issue. There awas an apple tree with windfalls around it so I checked them out, picking up a couple of OK apples, warm though. I had a definite initial goal in mind. Get to Te Kuiti before the New World supermarket closed. I had to re stock for the overnight. I was now approaching the part of the ride with re stock options. I still had some slid riding to SH32, but then it was a fast downhill slope to Te Kuiti. A quick section on SH4 to the road to Ongarue, through the tiny ghost town, up the valley towards Waimiha, through the 3 house settlement of Waimiha (4 hours later when Joanna comes through, she will get a Police escort as there is a domestic violence incident occurring), past the road int the middle of the Timber Trail, up the 4km climb and drop into the next river catchment. Down this descent there is a section of poorly marked road works, very rough at a higher then wanted speed, one more climb and descent over a ridge and yet another section of seal with a large hole… glad I’m not doing this at night, as I managed to haul my pace back to 30km/hr and still mutter about the rough road, my off road skills being called into play, over the rail line and it’s done! SH30 here I am! I work to keep the pace about 20km/hr, I need to maintain an average of a little over 18km/hr, sand there ae a couple of small hills. The gentle downhill incline helps with that and I roll into Te Kuiti about 19:15. Straight to the New World and get food for tonight and the next day. As I rolled through town I checked the food options. No Turkish place, but Pizza Hutt might be the answer. On the way back I fill up all my water containers. My bottle had a big crack, but it would hold waterer pretty well, even so I didn’t bother using it. A super supreme large pizza went down a treat. Quite tasty. I can relax the pace a little now. I will get through Otorohanga and the next checkpoint, then I’m aiming to get about 20km out of town and find a good place to sleep. Leaving Te Kuiti is the steepest climb in the trip. I know it’s coming, ride to the base of it, get off the bike, call home and chat with my Wife as I make my way up, then we continue chatting until the cell connection is lost. Was good to say high and it gave me a great lift for the last section of the night. As we were chatting, I commented that riding the flat Waikato at night, you can see the glow of the towns across the Waikato basin. This comment was inspired by what I though was a town glow to the east, turns out it was the no longer quite full moon, rising in all her glory. The roads are very quiet, I got passed by one large tractor on Old Te Kuiti Road. Into Otorohanga, a stop for the checkpoint, and on towards Te Awamutu. Out on Main North Road a dog leg onto Phillips Road leads to the first of what are 3 sides of a rectangle in the course across the farmland. Generally flat or slightly rolling. Good country for distance, but boring riding. On Ngapape Road, about 3km from Happy Valley Road, I spotted a flax bush on a slightly raised earth mound alongside a house and decided that would do for the night. The grass was mown, and I could get out of sight of the road. I quietly set up, there was no indication form the house occupants they were aware of me so that worked very well. Off road and safe, the last sleep. Event day 8, 244km, Ngahape Road to Auckland 04:00 alarm goes off, this is it, the last ride. Nothing had come passed overnight that I heard. It had been a cooler night with a heavy dew wetting the outside of my cover, but I didn’t care! Packed up and on the road about 04:40 heading for Te Awamutu and breakfast. I rode about 100m and realised I hadn’t done a proper leaving check, so I quickly doubled back and checked nothing was left behind. That done, I found what would have been a slightly better site about 3km away, under some trees giving better protection from the dew…such is life. Along Wharepunga Road to Te Kawai Road and onto Pukuru Road that leads around the back of Mount Kakepuku. This road is quite busy with commuter traffic coming into Te Awamutu, but the view with the sun rising behind the mountain is second only to the sunrise the morning before. I now have a sunrise and sunset photo of the mountain from this side. They are both great shots. My memory had a climb through a small village then another section into Te Awamutu, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in Te Awamutu instead of the small village at a little before 07:00. Ronnies Café on the corner was my goal, I go there to find it closed and the business apparently gone, not even tables inside, so another more upmarket café did the trick. I got a pie and a coffee, used the toilet to sort out water and other toilet stuff before a quick breakfast and on I go through Patarangi and on to Hamilton. The first section is a little busy but once I’m off Patarangi Road, the other back roads are not bad. It’s a flat approach to Collins Road in Hamilton, joining the rail network and making my way through the back of Frankton to Whtiora, onto Victoria Street and the local streets I grew up on. Along Beerescourt Road, I was met by Ross Wren again (who met us near Cambridge the first day). It was great chatting with Ross, and we rolled quickly though to the Point where the Waipa and the Waikato Rivers meet. Water top up, it’s getting warm. I leave Ngaruawahia with a couple of climbs around the back of the Hakarimata Ranges. First climb done, I drop down to Rotowaro Road, not feeling quite right, so I stop and enjoy a lunch of wraps with avocado, ham and brie, an orange to wash it down. I feel better and realise it’s probably the heat. I’m lacking any decent power on the climbs. I’ll be stopping at Huntly for something cold. At the top of the climb after Glen Afton, I stopped and had a chat with a couple of bike tourists heading the other way. They were making their way back to Nelson with a great looking pari of Surly Karate Monkey bikes. They had toured South America. Cool adventure. Downhill from Glen Afton, a couple of rollers and onto the flat of Huntly. I stop at a dairy that had a biggest cold drink selection I have ever seen in my life, and not one bottle of soda water… I wasted too much time looking, it was very frustrating, but I got a slushy and that did the trick. The next section is flat and fast. Down on the aero bars I concentrate on making distance without burning matches, I still have some work to do. It’s looking realistic that I will finish before 20:00 hours and dark, but I need to take care, it’s not the sprint section yet. Approaching the end of the flat section, I see someone ahead, an unmistakeable dot watcher. It turned out to be Kelvin Eden, the first finisher of the ride. He completed his ride at about 18:00 hours the day before. I knew his plan and he’d stuck to it well using accommodation the whole way. We had a quick chat that he videoed and put up on the feed for everyone to see. A left turn, a slight headwind keeping the temperatures down, then onto Chruchill Road west and the final gravel. I had received conflicting reports. Ross Wren said it was fine, Kelvin said it was savage washboard... Oh I wish I had my 45’s as I bumped and bounced my way cross 3km of washboards… That sucked. I follow the river for a few more kilometre before I climb out of the valley and over the ridge of Pukemiro, it’s a nice climb and the descent back into the river valley is about 5km long. Nice indeed. I’ve considered if it is worth stopping for food un Tuakau- the last checkpoint but decide I have enough and there are stop options pretty much all the way back into Auckland as I will be riding through suburbia. Water at the checkpoint and on, now I’m into the final 100km to home. Leaving Tuakau I find the road has been re chipped, it’s slow going over the chip, but it is swept so not too bad. There is a section of this road I avoided by taking the route around Jericho Road. The climb on Jericho Road is steep and unrelenting and also unswept of chip. I get off and walk… too much effort wrestling the bike up the climb. The fun thing is through the next dip and it’s fast downhill all the way to Drury and the start of Auckland. Any inclines I can roll in big gears, so I set up for a fast ride. Another dot watcher, it’s my friend Jarod, I was really happy to see him, he’d sent plenty of encouragement my way and has the distance palmares to know what I’m up to. A quick chat, back up to speed, Drury here I come. Garmin screen onto the map as I begin to wind through the slightly trick suburb route to the bike lane, then I know the route without reference! I was glad I had it on as I had taken a funky approach I hadn’t used before…rookie mistake. It wasn’t too bad, but going through a park a small fluffy dog took exception to me and the owner had little to no control over the dog. I got off the bike and put it between me and the dog, as she chased it around trying to get it under control. I don’t have time for this, I ride off when the dog is far enough away. The start of Great South Road, I know I have about 30 minutes of busy Road. It’s not a bad route and the rush hour is over. There were no issues, and I arrived at the last harbour crossing in good time. One Tree Hill is directly in front of me as I go up the last hill, through the township of Onehunga the hill gets steeper and steeper as it approaches the volcano. Riding into the park is a relief not only for the slacking of grade, but it is car free and the second last section. I cross the busy Greenlane West and enter what is the Champs Elysee for this ride, the flat, fast, smooth asphalt of Cornwall Park. Then I’m there, Moira, Talia, Kelvin and Jeff are there to great me, official time 7 days, 14 hours, 23 minutes, second finisher. I’m very happy with the result. Joanna finished later that night (early in the morning) with her own adventure of another broken cable and a rescued kitten, Geoff finished at 09:30 the next morning. John finished out of the time limit at 0:45 hours the next morning.

Part 3, Wellington to Raetihi, 2 days, Two sleeps Event day 5, part 2, 248km, Beehive to Palmerston North 06:45, Jack has headed off to his warm office, I’m back on my office heading north, tail wind, still lots of rain but it eases off through the morning. OK, new goal. Through the Wairarapa and into the Manawatu, aiming for the township of Rongotea. Part 1 is get out of the Hutt Valley, part 2 is over the Rimutuka trail, part 3 is to Pahiatua and finally over the Tararuas into the Manuwatu and onto Rongotea. The section of expressway leading to the Hutt Valley is faster, slightly downhill, tail wind and better surface, as well as less traffic. Past Petone, onto the better cycle infrastructure, then onto the bike lane alongside the Hutt River. Doing the planning there are about 3 trails marked, so I had to guess which was the right one. Doing it again I would take to one closest to the river, and tell people use the concrete one! I got through without much issue, once going off course, this was a case of the road moving a bit further away from the actual lane I was riding. The first climb of the day was up into the start of the Rimutuka trail, we took a different route into the trail to avid the busy section of SH2 we had descended the night before. I recognised the dairy Geoff and I stopped at and headed up Maymorn Road. Incline Road (the actual rail bit of the trail) is uphill but a grade for a train, so not hard, it’s about 12km to the summit. I stop for a quick break. ON the way up I saw the bike packer with the Benny’s hat from yesterday. As I crested the summit, I noted a peculiar bike coming the other way, and realised it was John Keifer. We stopped and said Hi. He was boxing on and going to get into Wellington that day. I plugged my phone into the charging port for the descent, might as well get some free power form the dynamo – and the moisture alarm went off. Oh boy, I knew this would be a problem. I put the phone in a bag, put it in my back pocket under my rain jacket, aiming to keep it warm and dry it out. I messaged everyone I was switching my phone off except for checkpoints or emergencies. No story or music in my ears today then! Turns out it was the cable that was the main issue. Fortunately, I had a spare that I could use. Quickly down the 7km descent, a left turn and a fast run into Featherston. A stop for a pie and a coffee and rearrange all my gear. I headed out quickly onto the next checkpoint at Greytown. Riding into Greytown took us through Humphries Street, and past the historic cottage at 32 Humphries Street. This is the cottage of my great grandparents on my mothers die, it was cool to get a photo! A little riding on SH 2, then out around Carterton and back into Masterton. Leaving Masterton, it is a little after 16:00, there is 100km to Pahiatua and the climb into the Manawatu. I would like to do it in the daylight, but I think I’ll just miss it. Looking at the elevation profile, it is a gentle 50km up, and a gentle 50km down. That is exactly what happens. I can keep a good pace up the gentle incline as it follows the rail grade, over the occasional small bluff, then from the 50km point, it heads down and my pace heads up. I notice my shifter won’t change into the smallest cog at the back, yet the able is not slack. This suggests a broken cable, with part of it jamming the mechanism. That’s ok, it really isn’t affecting me, I can fix it at Pahiatua. I went to climb a small bluff and found the gears would also not stay in the 2 largest cogs, OK, that is annoying but still not a show stopper. I’m now within 7km of Pahiatua and I have a longer hill to go up… 4th smallest cog is it, I’m going to have to muscle this climb. That sucks. I decide I’m going to walk, then give myself a stern talking too, ”you know how to roll these, get on with it” – so over I go… phew, that wasn’t so bad, a fast downhill to find another, taller one…oh this sucks… but at the top I roll into town, and down to the turn and aa service station. It’s about 19:30 – I made great time, I still have daylight so after eating some food, I sort out the cable. It’s a little tricky with the way it’s frayed, not allowing the mechanism to fully retract, but I get the cable end out, the new ne in and tuned well enough. While I’m doing that a message comes in from Tim offering a bed for the night. At first, I decline, then slap myself and accept… warm shower beats distance tonight. Out of Pahiatua, over the river, over a short climb and descent into another valley, across the valley and into the climb over the Apiti hills, the giant windmill sentinels beckoning me on, their eerie red lights showing in the distance. As a bonus, the full moon is visible, with a full lunar eclipse about to start. I can just see the edge changing colour as I ascend. The climb is only a couple of kilometres long but it’s steep and in the dark I have little context for where I am and what’s coming up next. I used my battery light to fill in the gaps the dynamo light misses, very useful at both slower speeds and higher descent speeds. Past Aokautere and the supermarket, I see an animal dart across the road, no idea what it was, but it darted back again. Weird. At the Manawatu River, I turn onto what is some great looking bike infrastructure, to an overbridge that leads to the back of the Esplanade. Tim is waiting on the bridge. He guides me to his house, and has everything ready, a hot cup of tea, a pump (tires are doing very well!) and a bed for the night. I have a shower and fall into bed just on midnight. Event day 6, 213km, Palmeston North to Raetihi 04:00, another day at the office. I managed to get everything charged, I tried the phone with a different cable, and it worked, I’ll spend the day drying the primary cable out today. Let’s see how far I get today. I’d like to make it through the busy road section to at least Waimarino, lets see. I work my way back to the course, along familiar roads out of Palmerston North, I missed one turn by 50m or so, once out of the city, I’m heading to Rongotea and Bulls, aiming to get breakfast in Bulls. The roads are straight and dark, no traffic. I get through Rongotea and work my way up to SH1. I became a little disoriented as Auckland was shown to the right… but, no, I’m joining SH1 and Auckland will be to the left… I got out my phone and checked, everything agreed that I was on track, and I was at the intersection, yet I was supposed to go straight ahead. It took a while for me to see the intersection was slightly off set. OK, that made better sense. I had already worked out that this was where I crossed SH1 south of Sanson, rather than where I joined it. OK, navigation confusion over, I pass to the southwest of Ohakea, onto Tangimoana Road and the nightmare that is the bridge on SH1 over the Rangitikei River. It is so narrow pedestrians need to go face to face to pass, there are little passing revetments and the one runner I met as I passed got into one of those for me, much appreciated. 07:00 at bulls, the service station is open but no cafes? What’s with that. A quick pie and on to Marton for breakfast then. Marton was close, only another 15km. I filled up with water at the toilets, found a good café, got eggs benedict and a coffee with breakfast while I completed some admin. Next stage is towards Whanganui, then up the river valley towards the volcanic plateau and Raetihi. I’d been warned there is a lot of climbing around bluffs up the valley. Before that though, the traverse to Whanganui itself. From Bulls there is a steady upward climb to 260m, then down to 50m, a couple of bumps, then a climb up to a plateau with a gentle descent to the start of the road up the Wanganui River. After an initial climb into the catchment, the bluffs up the river climb from 20 to 70 m then back down, rinse, repat, till the big one, a 7km climb with 350m elevation, and a tidy little 2km climb to end the day. All this climbing brings great views up and down the valley. It is remote, but there are small settlements all the way up the river, Pipiriki being the most well-known. There is another Turikina Valley Road, along here I come across a small heard of cattle being moved. Bikes spook cattle so I stop and wait for them to pass. A quick stop for lunch at Okoia then onto the river valley for the afternoon. The wind was minimal at best, generally a tail wind up the valley, and the temperature while not hot, felt airless and warm, a contrast to the last couple of days where my jacket and gloves didn’t come off. The sky is clear and really, it’s a great day for riding. The progress is slow, it’s the elevation gain. Slowly but surely, I make my way up the valley, over the climbs, onto the long one, watching the distance clock down, the elevation clock up. A brief descent and into the last 10km, and the last climb. Reaching the top and coming around the corner I am treated to a magnificent view of Mount Ruapehu, complete with fresh snow. That is not overly surprising. I found out upon my return that the Desert Road (SH!) had been closed with snow fall. I got into Raetihi about 19:30, found some food options, stocked up for the next day and had a bite to eat. Then I found some cheap accommodation. Oh my, it was cheap but it had a clean bed, and a shower, I was smelling like a rose, in bed and asleep by 21:30.

Stage 2, Turangi to Wellington, 3 days, 2 sleeps Event day 2, part 2, 88.6km, Turangi to Ohakune This section of the ride is time critical. Normally SH47 is a tourist route, but between 19:00 hours to 06:00 hours the next morning, the main north/south route is closed through the Desert Road, so SH 47 will be taking all the north/south traffic. We designed the route to avoid that, but this is out of our control. You really need to be off the road at Waimarino no later that 19:30, or Ohakune at 20:00 hours to avoid the traffic. Leaving Turangi after stocking up on food at about 15:00 hours, I rode the flat section to the start of SH 47, and 2 long climbs, before a rolling downhill into Waimarino. As I started into the first climb, I spotted Geoff ahead, and like a couple of racing snails we progressed up the hill, then the next, before racing down the other side in a flurry of speed, on a great road surface. It was good to chat with him, we rode for about an hour before he stopped, he only needed to make Waimarino for the day. Geoff had passed me while I was in Turangi. I had alternative camp sites on my mind if I needed to stop but I was confident I would make Waimarino, so continued on my way. A cold rain shower moved in, and I wisely stopped to put my jacket on. The temperature plummeted form 25 Celsius to 15 Celsius in about 3 minutes. From Waimarino, the road profile was downhill to Ohakune, the next exit option. The time was just after 18:00 so I was happy I could get to Ohakune by 19:00 hours. I set off, the road was pretty quiet with only one truck passing me the entire section, and when it did, I was in a rest area taking pictures of rail viaducts! There is a section of road that is a downhill with a hairpin bend at the bottom, then a short climb out, there is no shoulder, the edge is an armco, it is narrow, confined and the road surface is atrocious. I got through with no other vehicles much to my relief. Climbing out of the hairpin you get expansive views of the Matakote Viaduct, a train bridge serving the North Island main trunk line. The mountains are hiding under a cap of rain cloud, and I get another heavy shower as I approach Ohakune. I make the township by 19:00, perfect timing, and get a motel room at the Snowman Lodge. I have food with me, so a bit of backwards and forwards, I find the place, et into t room and an awesome hot shower. Oh so nice. Event day 3, 284km, Ohakune to Pori Road A little sleep in this morning, not waking till 05:00, I want to all ow the truck traffic to clear the last section of SH 49 before I ride along it. Out into a cool grey morning, back roads to Rangatua, then SH 49 to Tangiwai, then right into the Turikina Valley Road, the first of the gravel sections. This is close to 50km of gravel according to the map, in reality, it was only 30 or so, but the first part was sandy, and uncompacted, very slow, especially n the thinner tires than you’d normally run for these surfaces. I could see tire marks from Jo and another from Geoff (who was a little ahead of me), the marks showing where they each in turn had wrestled with the surface, the better tracks for follow and the occasional oopsie. I think I saw where Jo came off as well. It settled down into some better gravel, but where recent landslides had been repaired, the gravel was recent, thick and a bit sharp, John punctured a tire on this section. I managed OK, with only one genuine get down, I started drifting down to the inside of a corner, realised I couldn’t turn out so started to slow down before I hit the really thick gravel at the bottom, I mostly did ok, unclipped my left foot, but toppled to the right… such is life, I was only 100m from the end of the gravel. The landscape is changing form the volcanic plateau to a rolling hillside, before giving way to steep sided valleys of the Rangitaiki. The views are amazing, lots of poplars growing alongside the road, many blown over in recent storms – I have firewood envy. I see a waterfall formed in weird shapes by the underlying rock strata, the rock is sedimentary, and twisted into fantastic shapes. I’m back on the seal, YAY! As I approach a farm, a flock of sheep are herded out, being moved about 200m down the road. It’s a pleasant reprieve watching the farmers do their work. I left the Turakina Valley Road at Hunterville, stopped for food restock, a coffee and lunch. Geoff called out to me there, but I missed it. I had a break in Hunterville for about 30 minutes, then pressed on with the next section including a short ride on SH1. A pleasant ride on a back road to SH1, and up and over a bluff to Ohangaiti. I stopped and took a shot of the Makohine viaduct on the way. Back of SH1 at Ohangaiti, across the Rangitaiki Rover on a great looking suspension bridge, and into a solid climb up the side of the cliff. That kept me honest. The route followed the ridge through to Kimbolton. I spotted a vehicle I recognised, Phillip Hendry, one of the KR committee was out looking for us, we stopped and had a chat, it was great to meet up face to face. These encounters made the day fun, and although brief, lifted the spirits well. There were plenty of wild blackberries growing along the road, I stopped and ate a few handfuls, plump, juicy and just right! Arriving in Kimbolton, I stopped to take a photo of some sculptures, and some big pictures of some New Zealand birds, as I turned to leave, I saw Geoff over at the café, so I went over and got a coffee, filling up my water at the same time. Geoff was heading to Woodville, I was going to stop at Ashurst for some food, then climb over into the Wairarapa later. We rode to Ashurst From Kimbolton to the next village of Cheltenham the road is distinctly downhill, we kept a solid pace through the town and on into Ashurst. On the way we were met by the final member of the KR committee, Tim O’Brian. He had goodies as well as a kind word. He took some spectacular photo’s as well. Geoff and I parted at Ashurst, Tim got some shots of him going over the hill, I had an egg burger then headed over the hill as well. It was pleasantly warm and the climbing easy, I climbed past the giant blades of one of the many wind turbine fields in the area. A fast descent into Woodville, and a stop at a service station for toilet and water, then on into the night. On the back quiet roads, the sun setting, a nearly full moon was rising, my goal was Masterton, on I went, buoyed up with a phone call to my family as I progressed over quiet country roads and champagne gravel. Coming up was the first of 2 climbs in quick succession, and I noticed spots of rain. They got heavier quickly so I stopped and put on my rain jacket. Good decision. I got over the first climb and then noted the climb had stopped, hmmm… Garmin must be having a monet. I went along a flat section, heading for Pori Road, then the next climb started… and went on through a settlement, Garmin seemed to be showing me the way to go… up and up and up I went. It was now very wet and cold so I started to look for suitable plces to pull over an dsleep. Not many options. After about 40 minutes or so I decided to check where I was on the course, see how far before I might expect something. Maprogress up, where is my course line… I zoom out, and out, to find I’m well off the course. I see messages from Moira “You are off the course, is that deliberate?” Um, well, ah, no… so I turn around and start heading back. Bonus – it’s all downhill… not a bonus, it’s straight into the wind, and as I’m not pedalling I get cold quickly. I had ridden 14km off course, a round trip of 28km, about 1 ½ hours wasted. I arrived at the turn off I should have taken and there was a low bus shelter… that’s it, I’m staying here for the night. In the rain and dark, the Garmin in mid climb, I had missed the alerts for the turn and it had cost me. Learning – if the Garmin is acting up, check the course. I found out the next day Geoff missed the turn as well. Tricky little thing. I got set up in the shelter, the floor was dry enough, and off to sleep. As I was setting up, a car turned up for about 5 minutes, they could see where I was but on one approached me. Event day 4, 235.4km, Pori Road to Petone Given the rain, I slept OK, up at 4 and packing to go before 5am. A drip had started from the roof straight int my left shoe – that was unpleasant, however both feet wee soon very wet so the point was moot. Just as I rode away, another car turned up. Most odd. No idea who they were and really didn’t care. Masterton for breakfast. The upshot of the off route the night before was interesting. There were no real places for shelter for the next 3 hours of riding, but if I had taken the correct turn when I reached it, I wouldn’t have stopped. Weather this morning is cold, a southerly pushing through keeping the temperatures mostly below 10 degrees, with brief forays into the low teens. Yuck, c’mon, it’s summer. Arriving in Masterton, I get water at a toilet, head for a café, a quick omelette with coffee and back out heading towards Martinborough. I knew form Jo the winds was strong, but apart being unpleasant it didn’t really affect me on the ride. I met another bike packer with a hat from Benny’s Bike shop as I left Masterton, we played touring tag for a little and ended up in Martinborough about the same time. My goal today is now finishing this leg and starting back out of Wellington. Stocked up for the overnight, I have a loop around the bottom of Lake Wairarapa, then over the Rimutuka rail trail, before descending into Upper Hutt, Petone and on into Wellington. Bruce from the Committee was awaiting me at the start of the rail trail, and as we talked, Geoff rolled in, so we were able to cross the Rimutuka range together. A short technical (for a touring bike on road tires) section, the trail turns into easy gravel, and a long limb up to the summit, a suspension bridge and about 4 tunnels, followed by a gradual descent the other side to a swift and furious downhill onto the road of SH2, then turning off into the suburbs for a quieter route down to the Hutt river. We stopped at a Dairy on Plateau Road, where Geoff got some food then we rode to his accommodation before I headed into the dark and rain. Getting colder, and wet, the dark turned up early. As I worked through the suburb I was looking out for accommodation, but there was nothing obvious. I passed a retreat called Silverstream, that might be an option, but I’m looking for a motel with a Vacancy sign! After 29km I turned off and stopped at a service station for some food. They had one pie, a Jesters pie that was a Cheeseburger pie. It was hot, but really it was 2 slices of bologna with a cheese and pickle sauce. Not a world changer but warm and helped my head and my thinking. I checked for accommodation but there’re was nothing where I was, there was some behind, but if I went the same distance ahead, I had more options. It was now about 21:00 hours, and I didn’t want to book, only to find I couldn’t get into my room. I go tonto the river trail off the road, a better option, and began looking at copse of trees, a couple of suitable one, then I found one that looked like it would work. I could get the bike out of sight, and me in a relative dry area. The rain was horizontal! I set up at about 22:00 hours, messaged Moira that I was safe and dry and slept through the night. Event day 5, part 1, 17km, Petone to the Beehive 04:00, not a bad night, weather hasn’t changed. Up, packed and riding by 05:45. There are repairs happening to the bike trail so a bit of ad-hoc navigation around some fences gets me to Petone, one small confusing section lead me up a bridge, realising my error I dropped back down to fin a great bike lane into Petone. I stopped at a service station for a pie and coffee than got to ride on what must be one of the poorest excuses for a bike lane in the country. The road from Upper Hutti into Wellington is the only access for all vehicle, so they have a rumble strip, a meter of paint and a “bike lane” – It is a wide shoulder masquerading as bike infrastructure. Could be worse but in the dark, wet earl morning commuter traffic it is loud, intimidating and scary. Head down, I push on. An e-bike rode past me on the way into the city, and as I come to a set of lights, I thought I saw him waiting, I wanted to ask where the return lane was… it wasn’t him, instead, it was Taril Angel Jack Stanton, my friend form Wellington who I have toured with before. He works within viewing distance of the end checkpoint and came down ready to ride with me into the city. He’s been ready the night before, I really appreciated the effort the put in to make sure I was able to negotiate unfamiliar terrain. He’s also great to chat too. We rode under w walk pass for a quick chat, he pulled out a thermos of coffee and a couple of sausages… oh yes! 06:30, we rode back out into the weather to stop the course and take the obligatory photo’s! Oh it was miserable, I could see Jack shivering, and I had to head north again. On on…!

Stage one, Auckland to Turangi – 2 days, one sleep Event day 1, 289km, Auckland to Arapuni 7 Riders representing 3 nations, New Zealand, Canada and Hong Kong, all ready to go, at the John Logan Campbell Statues at the entrance to Cornwall Park. 05:00 on a clear, pleasantly cool morning. Benny Devcich from Benny’s Bike shop (a great supporter of these rides) is coming with us for the first few km as a bonus. We ride out on the start of the inaugural Auckland Wellington Auckland Randonneur ride, presented by the Kiwi Randonneurs. 2 000km to go. It’s an easy ride through the sleepy streets, no one awake yet. The intent is to get out of most of the city before the morning commuter traffic makes the roads misery for two wheels. We summit Mt Eden, the first check point, then down to the city and along the pre-dawn waterfront. Colour appears in the sky as we ride the Tamaki Estuary and through the road works at Pakuranga, making our way through the suburbs to avoid nasty roads. The route takes us around the headland past Beachlands, Maraetai and onto Clevedon before heading to the coast and the first coffee stop at Kaiaua. Within the first 80km we pass from a volcanic city scape, into rolling bush country and the coast of the Firth of Thames. Arriving at Kaiaua we hit the first issue, no electricity the little township is closed… no coffee for me. I am riding on my own now, so head off the Waitakaruru for coffee. Coffee done, I also found there are now 600ml bottles of soda water available in many places… win. My goal is through Te Aroha and onto Cambridge for an early dinner, then ride to Whakamaru via Tokoroa. A quick water and ice block stop in Te Aroha (temperature is mid 30 degrees, wind is nothing) I head across the plains to Cambridge. As I come out of the end of Chepmel Road I see another rider ahead of me, and I see Geoff Harris on Scotsman Valley Road. He eluded me till he stopped for the checkpoint selfie coming into Cambridge. Onto Pukemoremore Road I look up to see a familiar profile, on a different bike, Ross Wren, a KR rider based in Hamilton has come out to ride some laps with us. It’s great to see Ross. We encounter one of the few idiots on the course along here. We are riding 2 abreast on a quiet back country road, and a car aggressively passes, blasting his horn, then stops at the bottom of the hill, window down, he says something as I come past but I completely ignore him, he then proceeds to pass us again, swerving sharply in front of us. I can only guess what his issue was but I’m not going to engage his stupid game today. He was waiting at the intersection for something as well but didn’t engage either of us. Onto Cambridge, catching up with Geoff, he offers me a room where he is staying, but It’s too early for me to stop so I roll on. Turkish for diner at Cambridge, shouting Hi to Joanna Sharpe as she rolls out of town. I had a chat to Moira and she spoke some sense. It’s really hot, you’ve got a good distance for the day, bed early is a good idea. I have to agree with her, I’m cooked and the climbing is starting after Cambridge. I re set my goal on Arapuni as a place to assess progress. I got the ride to Arapuni done in daylight, and decided I’d call it for the day here, 287km done. I had 360km planned, but I know I need to do a minimum of 260km to finish in the time limit. I head into the township, about 2km off course, find a good place to kip. There is a public toilet I can clean up in and a reserve well away from the road and prying eyes. Using the toilet, there was a funny event, I locked the door with the push button, only to realise there was a mechanical lock that needed to be used after someone tried to enter, I was in my naked glory except my shoes… oooops, didn’t mean to traumatise anyone… The bivvy site was dry and quiet, I got into bed by about 21:30 and slept well. Event day 2, part 1 153km, Arapuni to Turangi 04:00 wake up, pack up and back on the road by 04:45. Whakamaru for Breakfast. I had a cold omelette (it’s edible…) with me as well ass some cooked sausages, they went down OK. Off to Tokoroa in the dark… again. We are following the revised Tour Aotearoa (TA) route due to a road closure, same distance, less climbing! WIN! I pass Tokoroa in the dark and approach Whakamaru as the sun comes up, dropping down all the way from Tokoroa. A stop at the 4 Square, some bad coffee and a pie. Meh, it was warm. I had a chat with some TA riders then headed the other direction to them. The route is about 20km back roads, the SH 32 to Turangi. It’s quiet until SH32, then the traffic picks up. Sadly one of our riders had a near miss on this section, a driver passing other cars recklessly, only getting back to his correct side of the road within metres of Peter, he decided this was too much and pulled out at Turangi. Our rider from Hong Kong had also pulled out at Cambridge. He was revering from an injury and felt he really wasn’t ready for this ride. A smart decision. Both had the opportunity to enjoy some of New Zealand from another view than a bike seat. The terrain is now steep climbs and descents, it keeps you thinking. The riders were met along this road by Bruce Morrison, one of the KR committee members. Cold drinks, rider refreshments and a welcome chat. Onto the last part of the climbs and the final descent onto the flat approach past Tokaanu into Turangi, the last checkpoint and the end of the route. A quick stop and save the route, start the new route, find coffee and food then onto the next stage.

Very early... up at 2.30, riding by 3.30 for a 05:00 start to the Auckland Wellington Auckland 2000km Randonneur ride. I went the route I thought would be better, the original one I tried took in a lot of lights... this was easily 10 minutes, or more, longer...meh, such is life.

In the world of Randonneuring, you can qualify as a Super Randonneur. Compete a 200, 300, 400 and 600km ride in a season. This will be the last ride I need to complete for the set. It’s a new 400km route, tested by Jo Sharpe earlier in the season, she has reported it’s a good ride. The weather is for wind and showers, and we are starting at 05:00 because we have a long way to go. There are 3 of us riding today, Gavin has already finished his Super Randonneur (in a month) in India. Chatting about his experience there it’s a very different place to ride. frequent paces to stop and get supplies. In New Zealand, we are very remote with isolated resupply options. Off we go, the lanes are quiet and the wind isn’t affecting us much. In fact, it will be pretty much a tail wind for the first half of the ride… hmmm, not the way to plan it. I stopped soon after the start and put on my rain jacket, there it remained for the rest of the day. The sky was lightening as we left the city, I made a green light and Gavin and Mike missed it, I was on my own for the rest of the ride. A couple of wrong turns through the industrial areas (not helpful Garmin – but to be fair, it’s a new area under development) were quickly recovered and off to Ararimu Road. This is an easy climb and a nice road. The traffic is non-existent and quiet, and so it remained all the way to the first checkpoint at the Stray Dog Café – a favourite stop. A quick stop, about 10 minutes, and back out. Mike and Gavin were about 10 minutes behind. The next checkpoint is Matamata, I had a quick toilet break in Te Aroha, but otherwise got on with doing distance, the average speed clicking up to as high as 25.5km/hr. The showers were far between, but when they turned up they were heavy, drenching, and cold. It changed when I started heading back north. Matamata for lunch, a pie, and I got some sparkling water. I drunk the first bottle and saved the other for dinner at Te Aroha. When I opened it I forgot to do so slowly, hmmmm, that spray went further than I expected. Starting the ride back to Te Aroha I got a real taste of the wind. It’s going to be my constant “companion” until at least Kaiaua, about 100km away. Te Aroha about 3pm, dinner time at my favourite Turkish. Saz delivered again, kebab and coffee, and very fizzy water. The wind would often be broken up by hedges along the roadside, this was great, but I knew the next section there were no hedges. There were a lot of downed trees from the recent heavy weather, as well as detritus from the flooding. Ooooh, I had firewood envy, I had to take care of the sticks on the road. There were a few sections of road, where I made my way back west before heading north again, where I am riding directly into the wind. It’s slow, plug away, enjoy the book and music in your ear… Because I had a god feed at Te Aroha, I was ok until Kaiaua, and hoped the dairy was open, but no joy. I stopped for a toilet break on the way up the coast and kept on. I wanted to get through the narrow climbs before dark. The section of the Seabird Coast from Kaiaua until Clevedon is my biggest concern. This road is narrow, with no shoulder. It’s often very quiet however in the evenings boat traffic can be busy, the cars are fine, the boat trailers take shortcuts. I got passed by one car between Kaiaua and the Kawakawa Bay – the last checkpoint before the end. I got through the biggest descent just on official dark, and got to Kawakawa Bay just on nine pm. My next goal is the service station at Hill Road. A quick stop at Clevedon, and to check out a service station (no, closed…) I head off towards Manurewa. I’m back onto lighted roads, working my way through the roadworks at Porchester Road, and up onto Hill Road to a service station where I got a much-desired slushy! It went down very well. Not far now, about 2 hours ride. The city streets are quiet enough and it’s easy riding to the bike lane. As I was riding on the first section, the wind and shadows started playing games with my tired eyes. I don’t do well after 20 hours with no sleep and riding hard all day makes it worse. I was sure there were people on the track ahead, but not, then there were cats on the road, but no… time for this to be over and me asleep! 4 more crossings, about 5 minutes apart each, then to the end. 12:30 in the morning, all done. Super Randonneur achieved… now home to bed. 😊 I got a message when I woke up, Gavin and Mike had finished at 06:20, mechanicals and a hard all nighter.

4 signed up, 3 started, 05:00 at Phyllis Reserve in MT Albert… and yes, it was early. Not sure about the weather, expecting it to get worse in the afternoon, but to start the skies are clear and the wind is down, off we go. We wind our way through the bike lane and make our way through to the city, riding into the sunrise along the waterfront. This route is part of the Auckland Wellington Auckland route and I’m trialing where we go. Generally the route makes sense. Overall, I need to make some minor tweaks but it works. Takanini and we join familiar roads, and head out through Ardmore and over the first climb of the day. Jones Road, a sting in the tail. First checkpoint is the ever-popular Stray Dog Café, great water, great coffee, then into the second climb of the day. Expansive views back up the Hauraki Gulf. WE planned to stop for lunch at Te Kauwhata, riding out through the Maramarua Forest. Quiet roads, and still fine and calm. Flat roads out to Te Kauwhata, to Huntly, Ngaruawahia, Te Kowhai, Whatwhata and through the road towards Pirongia, then a turn off takes us onto rolling hills, as we make up distance zig zagging around to Te Awamutu, water stop and onto dinner. One of the highlights is the champagne gravel leading to Cambridge, this time it busy with 5 cars passing us on the way! Cambridge and dinner time. Stopping at the Turkish takeaway we enjoyed a great dinner, the day had been fine, light breeze, really hot on the climbs, but to the north we could see the weather changing. I’d got messages from my Wife in Auckland telling me of thunderstorms and heavy rain… there was memories of a DNF I had three years previous with similar conditions; except this time I expected it to pass over. Out of Cambridge and through to Scotsman Valley Road, this is the easy side, and in the fading light it was a pretty climb. About 1/3 of the way through the rain started. We stopped and put on our jackets, and received a call that Gavin was pulling out, leaving John and I. The rain wasn’t heavy, but it was enough to make it hard to see through the glasses, fortunately there was only one fast descent, so looking over the top of the glasses worked OK. There was still daylight available as we entered Chepmel Road, riding past an ex-work mates house, proudly flying the RNZAF ensign. We were riding well, and the wind had stayed away, the rain was steady but light. Our lights made easy work of the dark, especially when we could ride side by side on the quiet roads. Into Matamata by 22:00 hours, and John off to his motel, me a little further on to a community hall I know of. There is a lean too behind the building and this time of night no one is around. I got to the lean too and it was exactly as I remembered. The floor is pretty dirty with dried cow dung and dirt, but it’s dry and quiet. Just as I got under cover the heavy rain started. Really glad I’m not sleeping outside. In bed by 23:00, alarm set for 04:00. Sleep time. My sleep was a little average, but better than nothing, I got up just before my alarm, packed up with the plan to meet John outside about 04:45. I put some air in my rear tire, then managed to lose all the air out of the front, unseating the valve. With the faffing, John had messaged me saying he was heading away from the intersection. I let him know I was just coming and off we rode. The sky was overcast and a light rain still falling, but with about 30 minutes we could see colour in the sky. Some long straight roads into Matamata and the rain had stopped. I put my rain jacket away, organised breakfast, got some water and cleaned my glasses from the night before, the weather was fine for the rest of the ride, well at least where we were. In the town of Paeroa, not far from where we were riding a tornado had been sighted, and as we rode north, we could see dark, dark clouds ahead the whole time. Checkpoint at Te Arhoa, water and toilet at Ngatea, with a small off route bit, back onto the route and Kaiaua for lunch at the Pink Café, complete with good coffee and a well-deserved ice cream. We are down to 90 km left, 4 climbs to Clevedon, one climb after that. The road to Clevedon has a few vehicles on it, but only one large trailer, the drivers are considerate and patient. About 10km out of Clevedon we see a shirtless guy doing dumb stuff in the middle of the traffic, not sure if he’s drunk or high, we don’t hang around to find out. When we stop in Clevedon, we see a Police car with sirens heading out that way, hopefully not to a fatality. Riding past Ardmore aerodrome, we see the back side of the storm we have been following, impressive ring of black clouds and obvious showers. As we get to Great South Road there is evidence of recent very heavy rain. We follow the tail of the storm all the way back into Mt Albert. The track through the city was noticeably slower with the traffic lights, but once we reached the bike lane it became easier. Once last climb, a savage 17% pitch up the Hillsborough Road, then 6km to the finish. Just on 18:00 hours, a good ride with pleasant company.

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.

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!