back in palmerston north

im back in palmerston north now-over the next week or 2 i will be posting the rest of my trip report as well as how things are going with the planing for the taupo ride

anzac park to Palmerston north

anzac park to Palmerston north 92 km

an early start as i would like to get to woodville before 4 pm. there is fog around as I set off on the last day of this trip. going over some hills before a down hill into the town of dannevirke where I take a break before riding to the town of woodville as I come into town I see that the road thought the m gorge is down to one lane (there is a lot of slips in the gorge) in part of the gorge.after getting thought the gorgeI head into the city of Palmerston north where I do a few jobs before riding out to tielcey park where I stay when I’m not on a trip some where

hasting to Anzac park

hasting to Anzac park 93 km

going back into hasting finding my way around the road works to get some food for the day before heading out of town going down SH 2  the road is mostly flat until the town of waipawa and waipukuran where the road start a slow climb  up to 400 m — about 2 km north of norsewood there is some where to camp that I know from past trips up this way so I go down a short side ride to a place called anzca park where set up camp for the night

In hasting with only 2-3 days left on to go on this tour

In Hastings tonight with only 2-3 more days of this tour to go I have done around 1728 km so far and have just around 156 km still to go on this trip then it's getting ready for the taupo fun ride and working out which horse shows I will go to this year

lake tutira to hasting

lake tutira to hasting 74 km

 after I nice sleep in i slowly pack up and head down the road with the road rolling over some small hill  before a  130 m down hill an 1.5 km then up the big and only hill of the day with a flat bit going though a hairpin bend called devil’s elbow  before climbing up some more before the  top of the hill then it’s a fun 15 km down with a few 35 km bends hitting around 60 km/h a long the strater bits of road and around 50 km/h around the 35 km/h bends (don't try this unless you know how your bike will handle at speed going around sharp bends - I have a lot of expers with riding my bike with a load on as I have done a lot of touring on it)at the coast the road is flat into Napier. I see that there is a walk way/cycle way a long the beach so I cross over the train track and rid along it into town ( i see that there are building some more off road walkway/cycle way in places) in Napier I spend some time in a internet cafe playing on the laptop before heading a long the cost pathway then back on SH 2 to hasting where I head out to a place that I some work at when I help with the horses shows for the night

wairoa to lake tutira

wairoa to lake tutira 80 km

As I am leave ing the camping ground I see that I have a flat tire  on the front so I stop to fix it ( a old patch had a spit in it so I put a patch over the old patch to fix the flat) I head to the supper market to stock up on food for the next 2 days. about 25 km out of town the big hills start   with a good up hill climb fower by a fun down hill to the mohaka gorge  passing under the mohaka viaduct as I climb out of the gorge  after some more hills I pass in to the next gorge hitting 60 km/h going down into it (who put the 35 km bend at the end of the down hill  I think I went around the bend a bit fast as i did at about 45-50 km/h)  the next gorge they have built a new bridge over it next to the rail bright ( and rip up the old road that I liked ( I like to old way better as it was nice to look around the gorge  as one rides thought it ) going over some rolling hills I get to lake  tutira  where there is a doc camp site where after taking some photos I set up camp for the night

some where to wairoa

some where to wairoa 77 km

after packing up i head down the road slowly heading up the first hill of the day.As I ride along I see a torch on the side of the road so I stop to have a look - it looks ok and still works so i put it in my bag (it can be fun what you find on the side of the road when riding along) after getting to the top of the big hill of the day i take a break before going down the hill-a mix of some up and down with a fun 11% down hill to morere where there is some hot pools where I get a ice cream. after morere the road  for the next 40 km mis mostly flat with a short but steep hill near the end to get into the town of wairoa  where there is a old light house on the main road after going to the info center I head to the camping ground for the night

some where to some where

some where to some where 70 km

after packing up I get back on the road going over rolling hills until i get to the coast. riding along the coast  passing though some small towns until i get into gisborne where I do a few jobs before stocking up on food and water  as I am leaving town I see a sing to a m so I stop I have a look around for a few hours before getting back on the road riding until near sun set  when i knock on some ones front door to ask then if they know any where I could put up my tent for the night and person said that I could camp on the front lawn so I set up my tent and played on my laptop for a few hours before going to sleep

tokomaru bay to some where

tokomaru bay to some where                          50km

after a late start (wanting to to my washing when ever one in town seems to want to use it to day) i head down to the shop where as I am paying the till’s working as some one is working on the power - suff happens - after about 10 - 15 mins its all done . out side I have a chat to some of the people who live in town before starting on a climb out of town. near the top of the hill i stop and have a chat to some road workers and fix up my  trailer flag  back on the road i ride over some rolling hills  to tolaga bay where there is an old wharf that is around 600 m long and was built to serviced to coastal shipping after getting some photos I head down the road until I find some where to camp down a side road for the night