Into the Hornet's Nest - Tour Aotearoa

Day 6
I didn't sleep well, with the after-effects of the long ride and the smell of oil in the garage and the rain on the roof. I eventually woke at about 7:30. The rain had stopped, and since we had arranged to meet Ruth and the children in Arapuni we decided to skip cooking breakfast.

We made good time in humid conditions, at first on the road and then on the wide gravel path of the Waikato River Trail. We reached Arapuni about 20 minutes late, but Ruth and the children were waiting for us. It was wonderful to see them again, though it was far too brief and I had to eat and drink the whole time.

After breakfast, and hugs goodbye, we headed off, and made good progress along the river trail. Just before Jones Landing, though, I had an accident. I was having a bit of trouble getting around all those tight switchbacks with the heavy bike and big wheels. At one point I entered a tight corner at an awkward angle and didn't quite make it. I put my foot down but then my foot slipped, and I gently slid into the bush on the side of the track...right into a wasp nest!

As soon as I realised what was happening I jumped up and ran, but unfortunately my bike was still on top of the nest surrounded by hundreds of angry wasps. I had to do something, so I grabbed my front wheel and dragged it away, getting stung several more times in the process. Now my bike was free but one of my drink bottles had fallen out and was lying under a swarm of wasps. I grabbed a stick and eventually managed to retrieve it, with only a few more stings.

Ouch...I walked out to Jones Landing a few hundred metres away, still a bit dazed and getting sorer by the moment. I couldn't tell how many times I'd been stung...I could count 11 times at first, on both hands and arms, and both legs. It HURT.

I continued riding, feeling basically okay but unbelievably sore. We had about ten km to go on the road, which was ok, but when we reached the singletrack again I realised that I wasn't riding very well...I felt a bit woozy and was having trouble keeping the bike under control. It felt like how I would feel near the end of a very long ride, too tired to ride well...but I wasn't tired, just feeling funny.

I took it extra carefully for the next 30 km along the river trail, through Jim Barnett Reserve, up the road to the top of the hill, and then down the zig-zags to the river. Riding along the river was kind of tough, not just because of the heat and the endless hills (there was plenty of both), but because I wasn't able to ride well. I just felt "weird", and very sore.

The pain eventually eased a bit, and I discovered another half dozen stings I'd been too sore to notice earlier. It was an effort to stay positive, so I just concentrated on the ride.

We met John Edlin and Kevin Searle, and rode to the swing bridge where they stopped for lunch while Greg and I pushed on. After lots more climbing we reached the stairs and descended to Waipapa. Greg's rear tyre had gone down, but he pumped it up and it was fine again. That was a relief, as he's running tubeless tyres.

After Waipapa, the track got even steeper. We filtered water out of the Waikato River, ate more food, and pressed on.

I was still feeling a bit weird, but at least I could continue riding. I must admit that I walked a few of the steeper hills, but got there in the end.

We reached the end of the trail at about 6 pm, having ridden only about 80 km but climbing 1,500 metres.

At the end of the trail was a man offering free chain clean and lube! Our bikes really needed the TLC.

In Mangakino, I rushed off to the store to get some Stingose or antihistamine cream, but the man behind the counter said "we're not allowed to sell that sort of thing". Damn...I've taken painkillers and one of the riders gave me an anti-inflammatory, but I'm not sure how much sleep I'll get as I'm still quite sore.

I had takeaways for dinner at the lakefront cafe, along with three (!) milkshakes, and then we camped at the lakefront. I discovered that my hand was quite swollen, and I couldn't bend my right ankle properly because it had swelled up. I had multiple stings on my hand, wrist, legs and ankle, so I've got no idea how often I'd been stung -- I'd say it was at least 20-25 times.

No wonder I can't sleep...

80km today, with 1500m