Getting to the start is seemingly one of the harder challenges of this tour, requiring several different modes of transport and investigating tide times to understand when to start your adventure.
My trip up to Cape Reinga was made that little bit more complicated when my bike was refused on the bus.
There wasn’t much I could do, as the bus company is the only one with buses heading north, so I tried again on the second bus of the day, tipped the driver nicely and faired much better.
I’d missed my connection so looked for an alternatively plan and settled on staying in a b&b just outside Kerikeri. Kathryn and Gerard who run the place really made up for the whole bus thing and their home was stunning. It’s a lakeside house tucked away just off route 10 where they grow their own produce, raise their own animals and live a very idillic life. Dinner was bloody amazing and it was great to have a proper sit down dinner, my first in 3 months.
In the morning I decided to sack off my bus ticket and ride the 90km north to Kataia, partly to see how my legs were gonna feel on a long ride and partly to put my bike through its paces.
The results are somewhat mixed. On the positive side, my legs feel good and today’s ride was fairly straightforward, averaging just under 20km/h. On the not so positive side, I lost my pump and either I did not get given the one Allen key I need or I lost it.
Riding 90km without a pump felt somewhat risky but luckily I didn’t get a puncture and I have now found what appears to be a toy pump to inflate my tyres.
The Allen key situ is also resolved – finally finding a set, after many unsuccessful attempts, in a fish and tackle shop. The slightly bigger concern is that a spoke has gone (broken not just loose) and I don’t really know what the consequences of that are other than a wobbly wheel.
I figure that you have lots of spokes for a good reason, and given my wheel has 32 of them and my ride should take me 30 days, at this rate I should at least have 2 still going strong by the time I reach Bluff.
Despite all these teething problems today was a great day, with lots of rolling countryside, beautiful scenery and a cheeky little lunch swim in Doubtless bay.
One last thought… Tomorrow’s route takes me 100km due south, riding on sand with the lovely kicker of a 14 knot headwind all the way. Should be interesting.
Bish on a Bike 