I did not really feel like it this morning to be entirely honest. I woke up at 8am and felt like I hadn’t really slept more than 3 hours despite having had more like 7 hours. Everything hurt when I got up but strangely not the ankle for some reason despite it seizing up last night.
I had a quick breakfast and finally set off just before 10am which was later than I wanted. I said goodbye to Jeannie and Mark and they took a few “Actions Shots” as they drove alongside me for the first mile or so. Finally they headed home to Auckland 120 miles away and I headed off on my own again. It had been great to have some company for the day yesterday especially people to cycle with as I have spent 3 weeks with no one to speak to during the daytime which is nice at first but a little tedious after a while.
The first 5 miles or so were uphill today and felt like a bit of a struggle until I found a rhythm and then It was back to normal and in no time I was flying along and finally stopped for a quick coffee after 25 miles and lunch around 10 miles further along in a town called Kawakawa, so good they named it twice. Kawakawa is actually famous for its public toilets “The Hunertwasser Toilets” which are rather fancy and tiled with elaborate mosaics. There is also a railway track running through the main street which I did not expect so I was rudely interrupted by a noisy, smoky steam engine passing within 10 feet of me as I was sipping my latte and scoffing my BLT. I met a few cool people at the local café one of which was into his bikes. He asked me about mine and I proudly informed him about the fact that I had not had a puncture in over 5000 miles since the second week after I bought it.
After Kawakawa it was a flattish run for a while and then uphill for a decent clime to around 950 feet. I had only been on the bike around an hour after lunch where God punished me for bragging about the Puncture situation. It wasn’t long before I had one in my rear tyre and spent 45 minutes fixing it. I’m not used to fixing them you see having not had one for two years and my miniature pump is crap. It was however the first puncture of the trip and probably well overdue so I couldn’t really complain.
I carried on and over the hills and as I reached a particularly nasty mountain range called the Mungamukas I got another bloody puncture half way up. I was not a happy man especially as it was in the rear again making it a right pain in the backside to fix. You have to remove the panniers, unscrew the pannier rack and mess about with the gears. It takes a while and I only had one more spare inner tube. I was now going to be arriving in Kaitaia in the dark as I had a way to go and was behind schedule already due to starting late and the previous puncture. ( and maybe a long lunch ) After finding a safe pull in where I could fix it I was stood there contemplating kicking the hell out of the stupid bike when I saw a Yute ( open backed van ) approaching. I stuck out my thumb on the off chance and he pulled straight over. I have to admit that I hitched the last 12 miles so now have to go back and ride it tomorrow on my day off. What a pain.
Anyway, I made it to the farm and it is just how I remembered it from 11 years ago. This is where my brother in law Nigel was brought up and where he and my sister Cathy and nephew William are emigrating to next month. I have been made to feel straight at home by Coleen, Gavin and Bron and have been dragged one way and the other by the girls, Micaela and Odyssey aged 7 and 5 who have entertained me with their gymnastic display. ( It was pretty damn impressive too )
I now have a rest day……or at least I used to have a rest day tomorrow. ( now I have part of today’s route to do again ) and Tuesday I cycle the final 78 miles to Cape Reinga to the finish line. Can’t wait !!
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