Day 17 - new friends 😀 in Apiti

 Last night I met Freddie from Canmore….nice but so strong and fast that we won’t be cycling together.  I also met two couples from Scotland and Annabelle from London yesterday.  One of the guys is riding the tandem on his own, while pulling a trailer!  His wife isn’t comfortable on the gravel, so has purchased an e-bike to finish the tour.  We cycled together today, and are in the same place tonight….tenting in the backyard of the tavern.  Very nice company.  

Today was another great day….just 11km of gravel which helped to make it a great day!  Lots of great views, and the hills were manageable 😀.  Love seeing the yards with all the flowers.  The topography remains quite hilly, and looks of sheep grazing here, very few cattle, while farther north it was the opposite.  A warm sunny day….and just awesome 😎 

Tomorrow will be slightly longer day….longer as I’m going to try to stay on pavement the entire day instead of a long day on gravel.  I think all the others are going to do the same.  Edging closer and closer to Wellington every day!!!!  I’m thinking 5 days before I’m on the ferry to the South Island.  

I have made so many friends, and we catch up every few days.  Except for Elizabeth….we check in daily.  She is only one day behind me….so strong, she cycled the three days that I skipped on the bus and I’d only one day behind.  Amazing.  The people of New Zealand really are the best, and it’s the people that make the country.❤️❤️❤️  I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me up ahead!!!  

Day 16 - Hunterville

 Today was a great day!!!!  I’m realizing that I’m not a mountain biker!!!  Today was all on paved roads….smaller quiet roads and I really enjoyed looking around at the scenery, but also the farms including the farm houses and flowers and trees.  Also, because I was on a paved road, I managed to ride up all 7 hills today….some was at 10-12% grade!  Yippeee! Over 700m up for the day and I did it!!   The next few days will be mostly on pavement as well with just a small amount of gravel until I reach Wellington and the ferry to the South Island.  

This morning I was ready to go just after 7am.  Today’s photo checkpoint is the Durie hill elevator.  Set into the hill is a 213m tunnel with a 66m elevator that allows foot passengers and bikes to get up to the top of the hill for only $2.  It opened in 1919 and it is part of the public transportation system in Whanganui.  

The route for today includes going up to the top of Durie hill, and down the backside to get where we are going.  The other option is a long detour on very busy highways.  So the departure of 0700 was timed so that I could make a stop at the four square - local grocery store for some chocolate milk and a meat pie before getting to the elevator which opened at 0730….or so we thought!  That’s the time it opens during the week…but today is Saturday….so they open at 0930!  I was with the boys for breakfast…but none of us wanted to wait that long for the elevator ….so we cycled up the hill!  Yesterday I tried to get up the hill….and pushed my bike less than 1/4 way up the hill before I turned around.  This morning…, I cycled all the way up 😀😀😀

A bit of rain today kept it nice and cool, and the next few days will be cooler as well.  It is the start of fall here, with the weather cooling off, and on the South Island it will be even cooler….and the sun is setting earlier every day.  Sunset right now is 7:45.  

Last night we all stayed in an old convent…the price was right at only $50NZ for a small room.  Shared bathroom, and it is a bit run down, but the price was right and it was close to restaurants and the start of Durie hill.  The bathroom was interesting, the lid to the toilet would shut if you didn’t hold it up….so a bit tricky when I have some urgency - to unbutton and hold the lid up while trying to sit down!!!!  And then it requires to hold the lid up with your back while sitting there!!!!  😂😂😂

Tonight I’m tenting behind a hotel.  All the rooms are full, but there’s a small patch of grass, with access to the toilet and shower.  So all is good.  I’ve just finished a late lunch at 4:30, dinner in a few hours as I’m still hungry….and then early to bed as it will be dark.  

Thanks for following….and all the texts!  I’m doing well ❤️❤️❤️❤️

Day 15 - Whanganui

I got up this morning…packed up my bike and headed off.  First was a quick stop at the beach, the to get to photo check point #11, the Durie Hill elevator lookout.  

For those who are keeping track, I missed photo checkpoint #10 - bridge to nowhere!  Which is exactly as it sounds…the bridge was built to connect a settlement given to servicemen when they returned from WW1 which is now abandoned.  

So I only got part way up the hill when I decided to turn around.  The hill was much too steep.  When I got back down, three guys from the tour showed up!!!!  I first chatted with them on the boat getting us to Auckland about a week ago, then again at Cambridge.  Today they showed up just when I needed a friend….they were off for breakfast and invited me along.  😊😊😊

After breakfast we all headed off to the bike shop for a bit of a tune up.  I asked about a granny gear….something to help me ride up the massive hills here.  Well the two mechanics discussed for some time….and they seem to have come up with a solution for me 😊😊😊.  They did mention that they didn’t know how I managed to get up the hills that I did…so that made me feel better!!!  So breakfast with friends, and better gearing for my bike!  It’s been a fantastic day.  Well….the new gearing didn’t work for my bike….so it will stay the way it is.  Good news is that the size, steepness and frequency of the hills will be less the further south I  go.   

And there’s still dinner to look forward to.  I’m still feeling hungry from not enough food the past few days….so eating more today, and drinking lots of water too.  Tomorrow I’ll head off early.  It’s been a fantastic day!!!

Day 14 - a bit of cycling, a bit of bus riding

 I’ve been looking ahead to the next few days of riding, I’ve been trying hard to catch up to the small group one day ahead of me, but they keep moving too!!!!  The next few days are going to be some challenging gravel riding and my skill level just doesn’t match what is required, especially a loaded bike.  

So I’ve made the decision to skip ahead a few days.  There are a few shuttle companies that will bring both me and my bike, but they only travel with a full vehicle.  As I was sending out texts and emails, I realized that either the bus or train would get me to where I want to go.  Whanganui, along the coast.  

If you look closely at my track today…it looks like I was riding around in circles!!!!  I left my bike in the tourist info centre where I booked my bus ticket while I went out for a bite to eat….who knows….maybe the women working there did ride it around inside their shop 😂😂😂

The next few days have more small towns, with shops, restaurants and campgrounds.  The last few days have been a bit of a struggle getting enough food….i was almost out of food yesterday….just a bit of cheese and cookies for dinner last night after a 12 hour effort, and this morning until I cycled the 30km to Taumarunui.  

I’m looking forward to less isolation, and more small towns to ride through, and hopefully less technical gravel roads 😊

Day 13 - Timber Trail…all of it😀

 I’m excited….today we tackle the Timber Trail.  It’s going to be a long day so an early start is essential.  The sun isn’t up much before 7am, so a 6am alarm clock was set.  

The start is less than 1km from the campground…we follow the sign and immediately we are in the forest…lush and dark - on a winding trail for the first 3km until the climbing starts.  The route gains 400m over 6.5km…which looks daunting looking at the elevation chart, but in reality it wasn’t too bad.  The trail is mostly in good condition, but the rains from last month have done some damage.  

This is what I read about the Timber Trail.  It’s a premier 85km 2-3day backcountry mountain biking trail.  It features 35 stunning suspension bridges and historic logging tramways.  It’s ideal for e-bikes and is often ridden over 2 days with a stay in the middle at either the Timber Lodge $$$ or camp Epic $$ - glamping…or at the campground.  

The total elevation gain for today was about 1000m, 83km long….all on trail with a loaded bicycle.  Anyone who stays at the lodge can have a shuttle carry their bags up, but at a cost of $250 per person, double occupancy this wasn’t in my budget!  

The steep downhills had a lots of washouts, so I was hard on the brakes as my loaded bike is fast going downhill.  The day was long….just over 12 hours of elapsed time.  My Garmin only credited me 8 hours, but that doesn’t include the time that I pushed my bike uphill, or walking it down the really steep hills.  

Photo checkpoint #9.  Ongarue Spirals

The Ongarue tram system is one of the least modified bush tram systems.  Up until the late 1940’s, such tramlines were the main method of transporting timber out of logging sites.  The Ongarue Spiral is an engineering marvel.  The tunnel, hand hewn through pumice and ignimbrite rock, completes a fantastic circle that provided a cunning solution to developing a gradient shallow enough for teams loaded with felled trees.  

Such a stunning trail…. I really wished that my bike wasn’t loaded, and that I had practiced some mountain biking before coming!  For all my mountain biking friends….if you find yourself on the north island, riding this trail is a must!!!  A real jewel.  

Day 12 - start of Timber trail

 What a great but challenging day!  Up at 0600 for a 7am departure.  Where we stayed there was a bike room, a huge sitting room and an amazing kitchen….fully stocked.  So much easier to have an early start when there isn’t a wet tent to dry out before packing it away!  

We were right by the lake…so beautiful.  The first 10km were on a mountain bike trail right by the river….i had to walk a lot of it because I’m so heavily loaded.  

Then there was about 15 km of pavement….then more trail that was really rough.  Once again pushed my bike a lot through this section.  Thankfully it was al nice day…and the trees provided a lot of nice shade.  

Photo checkpoint #8 Centre of the north island

The geographical centre of the north island was first located in 1961 by John Wheeler, a land surveyor from Taupō.  A cairn marks the spot.  He created a roughly one meter long map of the North Island on some rigid cardboard, accounting for the curvature of the earth.  The point where it perfectly balanced on a pin was defined to be the geographic centre.  

After this was another 10 km of gravel road.  Three people were helicoptered from this area two days ago…so I was being extra careful.  Eventually I made it to the campground where Elizabeth and I rented bunks inside for another early start tomorrow morning.  We need to make it roughly 100km to where there is both lodging and food.  

Day 11 - Mangakino

Eleven days already, and it feels like I’m making some progress towards the South Island, still a long way to go.  

This morning we headed off around 0830, after a long chat with other at the same lodge….they are amazed at what we are doing….maybe they know something I don’t know. 😀😀😀

Today was another great day, the clouds prevented it from getting too hot.  The entire day was on the road, but most of them were quiet which is really nice.  The day started off cycling by farms….note cattle, a few lambs and so much pasture.  Very lush and green.  

About half way I came to a dam, similar to the one at Arapuni where we stayed last night. On Lake Maraetai which is where we are staying tonight, there are 5 hydroelectric dams.  

The small town of Mangakino has everything we need, a store, two restaurants and a comfortable place to sleep.  We took our time and still made the hotel with plenty of time.  

The day was gorgeous - the weather was perfect and the views incredible.  While we were at the store, we noticed about 12 children, out on their bikes…having fun.  Laughing and playing together….so nice to see 😀

Tomorrow’s track is more remote….there are 8 or so riders in town all aiming for the same place so hopefully we will all watch out for each other.   Yesterday a few people were choppered off the track ….ill have to be careful in that area tomorrow.  We had a good dinner, and we have enough food with us for the next few days.  More than enough actually…I’ll have to figure out how to carry it all.   The SPOT tracker should work, but I’m not sure about the GPS.