Dargaville to Paparoa

Day 4

Mon. 01 Mar. 2010

Dist: 55 km.

Av. Spd: 20 km/hr.

NRG: 802 Cal.

Ride Time: 2 hrs 46 min

This is the day it’s supposed to get easier! I’ve split the Dargaville to Wellsford leg into two easy days to rest a bit after the fast and furious start. So breakfast at Blah, Blah, Blah wasn’t until 9 and I didn’t get on the road until 11 - very cruisy start. Breakfast rating: not bad… probably a 7. The road out of Dargaville is straight and flat, luckily the wind was from the side so I was able to truck along at 25ks for the first hour to Ruawai without too much effort.

The road makes 90 degree turn to the east at Ruawai, and yep, that was straight into the wind. Had lunch at a nice café in Ruawai but I won’t mention the name because the service was so bad. I did manage a power nap at the table though and it seemed to perk me up after I’d been feeling as flat as the terrain all morning. Five km south of Ruawai the uppish bits start and it was quite rolly polly all the way to the camp ground Paparoa.

I got to the camp at three and just lounged around all afternoon trying to rest everything. I did treat my riding gear to a wash with actual soap though - Ok, it was dishwashing liquid - same stuff, just different smell huh?

Nothing special about today, it was just a case of moving on at an easy pace without using too much energy and getting plenty of rest. The calorie count is interesting; only 1/3 of the calories of the previous day and yet the average speed was well higher!

Rawene to Dargaville

Day 3

Sun. 28 Feb. 2010

Dist: 117 km.

Av. Spd: 18km/hr.

NRG: 2322 Cal.

Ride Time: 6 hrs 30 min

Another biiig day! But another perfect day for cycling. We left Rawene at 7.30 after just a light snack, heading for Opononi. It was only 20 km so the plan was to eat somewhere nice in Opononi or Omapere. We found the perfect café overlooking the Hokianga but despite being open the chef hadn’t arrived and wasn’t going to be there until 9.30 - we were way too hungry to wait so decided the other option of an ‘all you can eat buffet at the Copthorne’ for $22 was just too tempting. It lived up to its billing (it’s going to be a hard breakfast to beat in the great NZ breakfast survey - 8.5) and the setting was just magnificent. It was very hard to drag ourselves away, especially knowing that the next leg included the big uppy bit out of Omapere which has quite a reputation!

At the top of said uppy bit we stopped to take in the superb view and got talking to an English lady (who thought we were nuts) who’d taken our photo as we ascended, she kindly offered to email it to me. Nice person!

The good thing about the big up was the awesome down on the other side - we set a new top speed record (don’t read this Mum) of 77.8 km/hr - sweet!

What we hadn’t planned for was the really big uppy bit into the Waipuoa Forest - it’s a beast - we climbed for 45 minutes in the small chain ring! At the summit we pulled off the highway for a rest and lunch of gingernuts and hot cross buns, then rode about 500m around the corner and discovered the Tane Mahuta rest area with the caravan that sells hot food and cold drinks - doh!

As you can tell by the slow average speed and the high calorie count the rest of the day was pretty testing and it sure felt good to see the ‘Welcome to Dargaville’ signs.

So after a wonderful Indian meal at Shiraz, Tim and Sharon have departed back to the real world and I’ll be on my own for a few days until I meet up with my cousin Stewart in Wellsford and Almo a bit further down the line.

The legs are good, and the spirits are high but another part of my anatomy sure knows it’s done 3 x 100km days!

Waipapakauri to Rawene

Day 2

Sat. 27 Feb. 2010

Dist: 100.5 km.

Av Spd: 20 km/hr

NRG: 1766 Cal.

Ride Time: 5 hrs 01 min

Big day - Bacon and eggs at the camp ground… 6 out of 10. Left Waipapakauri at 9.30 and sped in to Kaitaia. Being on bitumen felt fantastic and the bikes just cruised along. It was a perfect day for cycling today.

Kaitaia was a coffee destination for Tim and we stocked up on food for the day. Sharon and the boys headed back south after morning tea and Tim and I pedalled off toward Rawene.

The Twin Coast Discovery Highway is a great road to bike with very little traffic, classic grass-roots New Zealand scenery and people and a good mix of hills and flats. We got to Kohukoho just in time to grab an icy cold beer at the café on the water before the ferry ride across to Rawene. On the ferry an old maori woman came and said Kia Ora to us and was very curious about what we were up to. She was really friendly but finished the conversation with “watch out those Ngapuhi don’t eat ya aye - nah I think they’re OK these days”.

Grabbed a cabin in Rawene and had a nice meal on the deck of the Hokianga Hotel.

All’s going well and the bikes are humming and we’re ahead of schedule doing 100km days. Feeling good despite the long distances.

Cape Reinga to Waipapakauri

Day 1

Fri. 26 Feb. 2010

Dist: 98.5 km.

Av. Spd: 17.9km/hr.

NRG: 1336 Cal.

Ride Time: 5 hrs 28 min

Shari, the boys and I left Awanui for the Cape at 9am. The road is sealed all the way now apart from about 2km of roadworks just before Te Paki so it’s an easy drive. The Cape has undergone a major redevelopment recently with new amenities, a stylish entrance and very good interpretation.

We met Tim and Sharon in the car park, loaded our bikes up and pushed them down to the lighthouse for the mandatory photo shoot. After contemplating the challenge briefly we pushed back to the car park, made final adjustments then started rolling south. It felt fantastic to be finally taking that first step towards the ultimate destination.

Just 18km down the undulating road at the Te Paki turnoff we met up with Shari and the boys again before heading west to the beach. After a brief food stop and a play in the sand dunes we ventured down Te Paki stream into a howling head wind and eventually on to 90 Mile Beach. Reid rode his bike for part of this section but the sand was pretty soft, the wind pretty strong and his legs are pretty short. Te Paki stream is a beautiful drive/walk/run/ride.

The wind on 90 Mile Beach was exactly as forecast - 20 knots, in your face -so putting pride aside, we decided to be resourceful and set up a wind block with the Bighorn. It worked a treat and we were able to roll along at a steady 20 to 25 ks without too much effort tucked in about half a metre behind the bumper. Shari did exceptionally well to persevere with two kids driving at that sped for 5 hours. The boys were fascinated when we came across a sea lion basking on the beach but that was probably the only feature in km after km of sand, surf and wind.

Things were going so well we decided to make a break for Waipapakauri so it ended up being a much bigger day than expected at 98km! The legs felt OK and we ate and drank well and took plenty of breaks so while glad to find the Top 10 campground at the end we were in good spirits.

Great day though.

Departure Day

It's a beautiful morning for a bike ride! We're leaving Awanui at 8.30 heading north up the highway and should be at the Cape about 10. Everything's organised, the bike's ready, the mind is ready and the legs feel good. I haven't exercised since the weekend so I'm feeling a bit wound up and ready to unleash - must keep reminding myself "it's not a race Mark".

Arrived at Awanui

Today's been a big day of driving. We left Stillwater at 8am and had breakfast at Oliver's in Orewa. On a scale of 1 to 10, the poached eggs would just make a 5. I think I'll be critiquing quite a few breakfasts at cafes the length of the county over the next 5 weeks.

We got to Awanui around 3.30. It feels very tropical up here in the far north and I'm really looking forward to getting started on the ride tomorrow. Anticipation has been building as I see more and more signs pointing to Cape Reinga. Tim is due to arrive later tonight and we'll start the big push to the tip about 8am tomorrow. It feels a bit like an Everest assault - except it's 25 deg and the Cape is really just the beginning of course.

Practice Run

Rode to whangamata on Saturday to test out my gear and bike fully loaded. Came back via waihi beach and tested new road tyres on the sand , all good. Ended up doing 93 km. Felt a bit jaded but still looking forward to getting started on thursday.

6 more sleeps...

6 more sleeps and we're are almost ready to go. All the accommodation is arranged and bookings for the ferry and flight home are all made. The Rainbow Rage has been entered and most people who are accompanying me along the way are sorted.

I packed all my gear on the bike tonight and was pleasantly surprised to find it all fitted easily with space to spare. The panniers weigh in at only 5kg each so the bike feels nice and balanced. The road tyres on the MTB have made a significant difference, especially when it's fully laden.

Thanks to Neil at Waihi Sports and Cycles for help setting up the bike and making sure it's roadworthy and safe.

Tomorrow I'll take everything for a long, easy test run, including trying the road tyres on Waihi Beach to simulate the leg down 90 Mile Beach next week.

Looking forward to getting going now...

Route and Itinerary Updated

There have been some alterations to the route over the last few days. We've decided to remove the Hauraki Gulf sailing leg due to a lack of time to get Southern Mist ready and the extra logistics involved in getting her to and from the Gulf. It would have made this leg quite weather dependent too so now we'll be able to keep moving regardless of the conditions.

The new maps have been posted along with the revised itinerary.

Only 10 days to go now and just a few more things to book and a few things to collect and we'll be all organised. Hopefully all of that will be taken care of this week and I'll be able to relax all of next week and enjoy the build-up.

Mark

North Island Route

This is the final North Island Route; 1300 km over 16 days plus the Whanganui River.