Plains and Trail Angels - Tour Aotearoa

Day 5

 We woke at 5:30am, packed, and had a breakfast of porridge and sweetened condensed milk cooked in a kettle.

Kettle Porridge by Kay Haasma

We were riding at about 6:30am, while the others were still getting packed. The ride started with some gentle climbs before dropping down and down to sea level.

At one point I saw a hawk on the side of the road -- it must have had a broken wing as it couldn't fly.

After Miranda, we stopped for food at a local store, and went back three times to buy more -- we were hungry.

We rode along a busy main road into a headwind to Kopu and the start of the Hauraki Rail Trail.

 The trail itself was quite boring, and Greg said it was making him sleepy, but we chugged along at about 20 kph on the gravel, taking advantage of the tail wind and only slowing for the countless cattle stops.

It had gotten hot, so when we reached Paeroa I had a milkshake and put some salt in it (weird, but delicious and great for avoiding cramps), a small bottle of L&P (just because) and a small chicken roll. Second lunch. I was still thirsty, so I bought a second salty milkshake.

Greg's water bottle had something growing in it. He tried washing it with hot water but that made no difference. He also needed a new light as he'd left his big headlamp at Mt Eden Cycles in Auckland, so we searched on google for an open bike shop. There was nothing until Matamata, and the web site said that shop was closed, so we were kind of stuck.

We continued along the Rail Trail, still making a good pace. At one point someone had left bottles of water and some biscuits on the side of the trail -- a trail angel. I took some water as I was getting low again, and a yummy biscuit. Much appreciated.

A few km further on, someone had taped up a sign saying the Matamata bike shop was staying open until 5. What luck! We figured we had time to make it, so pushed on.

We didn't stop in Te Aroha, but followed the course around the edge of town and onto the open road again. We then picked up the pace even more, still taking advantage of the tail wind. By this stage we had ridden about 120 km, and I was getting a bit tired, so I wasn't bothering following the cue sheets on every turn. Of course, that was the moment I missed a corner and we went off-course. We double-checked with my phone and had to back-track. I then got confused reading the cue sheets and miscalculated the distance to Matamata. When we should have been nearly there, we passed a sign saying it was still 16 km away. Oops!

Fortunately we had been riding so quickly that we could still get to the bike shop on time, even though the wind had dropped and we were riding a bit slower. We were both pretty tired by this stage, having ridden about 135 km.

We were both getting low on water, but we pushed on and stopped at the Firth museum where there was a tap. I immediately drank half a bottle before refilling it. I was thirsty!

It was only a short ride to Matamata itself, where we stopped briefly at the iSITE for the compulsory photo stop before dashing off to the bike shop. Greg managed to get the gear he needed, and I managed to buy a bottle of chain lube small enough to fit in my bike bag, as well as some electrolytes to put into my water -- I've been drinking an unbelievable amount.

We enjoyed dinner at Fez,  a middle-eastern cafe ( big servings with lots of fresh veggies...perfect) before getting another milkshake from across the road. We looked at the weather report...heavy rain overnight...and decided to see if we could stay in a motel overnight so we wouldn't be riding with a wet tent tomorrow. Unfortunately everything was booked out, so we looked at nearby campgrounds instead.

There were two: a big one 8 km back along the course, and a tiny one 3 km off the route and 11 km further along the course. We chose the latter one, which turned out to be a great choice.

It started to rain as we rode into the hills southwest of Matamata. The road climbed and climbed...just what our legs didn't want. Finally we reached the campsite, where the owner let us sleep in his garage. Fantastic -- no wet gear to carry in the morning.  Brock's place, Buckland Road, about 2km from the Hobbiton Movie Set.

 We had only climbed about 700 metres, but had covered more than 170 km. A big day, but a great one. There were power points, a shower, and some cushioned chairs to sit in. Heaven!

After my shower and talking with Ruth, I sat in the comfy chair and ate a bunch more food...despite the enormous dinner and all the food (and milkshakes) I'd eaten during the day, I was still hungry.

Tomorrow we head into the Waikato River Trail. It's supposed to be a bit damp. We're also meeting Ruth and the children in Arapuni. I'm really looking forward to that. For now, though, all I want is a good night's sleep lying on a gravel floor out of the rain...