here is a few ideas that I'm thinking about doing over the next 3-6 months

here is a few ideas that I'm thinking about doing over the next 3-6 months

1. Heading south on the bike going down the west coast of the South Island and heading back up the east coast heading for the few places that I have not been to yet on the bike :)

2. Trying to find some where to stay for a few months helping out in some part of nz maybe on some ones farm ?

3. Doing the Te Araroa trail- not sure if I will look at doing all of it or just part of it - it's a tramping trail that runs from the top of nz to the bottom (its around 3000 km long that takes around 3-6 months to walk it ) there is a few unknown things that will need to be work out before or when doing the trail like what gear to take, when and where to start?, how my dyspraxia and other disabilitys will change things on a big trip like this ( a big unknown for me but like most things in my life the only way to find out is to try and do it : ),where to do food and replacement gear drops?

Any how that's the 3 main things that I'm thinking that I might do over the next 3-6 month- no I'm not doing all 3 just will pick one of then to do: )

So what do people think about the 3 iders - let me know what you think and help me deside what's next for me to do : )


1 and 3 seem more likely at this point in time as I don't seem to be having much luck with 2. Finding some where to stay and help out at for a few months ( not being able to drive ant the other things I find harder to do then many people means that many people seem to just put me in the to hard basket .)

2012 Taupo bike ride

taupo 2012

well its time for my “little “bike ride (as some of my friends have been calling it : ) starting the day with an 12? km warm up ride into taupo - as I climb up the first of the many hills im thinking - its funny how things change over time as a few years ago the hill im riding would be what I would of called a hard hill to ride up but now its just an nice easy warm up on todays ride

the hill has not change its more that I under stand better how to hander hills and pacing on riding also my by changing my mind set towards hills from o no a big and hard hill to o good a hill to have some fun on as well as helping me get fitter on ( the more one ride’s the more one lean’s about riding (and about life as well : )

getting into town a few hours before the start of the ride - I like to have some time spare to work out any last min bugs that may come up when doing fun rides . after picking up my ride pack and having a chat to some of the other 8 lap riders (yep am not the only crazy one doing 8 laps of the lake - some of the people I know others are new faces to me ) its time for a talk by Keith and some photos before the riders head out side to the start line where the media are (hum I just hope none of the media want to ask me suff like why im riding a funny looking bike - I like to be behind the camera not in font of it : )

around 12:30 pm? its time to get on the bikes to go for an ride : ) riding up the first hill of the ride after crossing the waikato River I which the other riders pass then head out of site around the bend by the big bike knowing that I will be on my own for most of the ride as i do the ride at my pace- I my be a slow rider to most people on fun rides but I can ride all day (and most of the night when I want to ) being on my own may be harder riding then riding with other in a pace line but as I do most of my riding on my own im well used to it : )

having done 2 laps of the lake in training ( one in day light with the other one being a mix day/night ride ) I keep an eye on the bike comper and stop watch on the heart rate thing - more to help pace myseft over the hills to make sure im eating and drinking right (its more drinking then eating as my food on the ride is a mix of hammer p and gels for most of the ride). smiling as I do the only turn on the course that I may of got lost on (it one of the reasons why I did the laps of the lake in training - to fully under stand the course - where the harder hills are ,where the shops are, where I may get lost on the ride (going off the ride course - seem to happen a lot of longer rides as riders get more tired) suff like that :)

meeting up with my mum at a rest stop some where on the road (as its been a few weeks from doing the ride I cant remember which one as they tend to blend into each other on longer ride’s) I refuel my water bottlers before getting back on the road trying to keep the stops as short as I can (less time stopped = more time on the bike) stoping in turangi to send a txt to Keith to say where I was at what time (not sure if they got the txt thought) then its a nice ride beside the lake for most of the way back to taupo with only one long hill - a nice change after riding around 100 km of hills from taupo to turangi . riding up to the service station to check in at after a look at the ride map - first one I went to turn out to be the wrong one -its was the one just up the road that I had to cheek in at (just me getting things a bit mixed up (opp’s its a good thing I had the ride map with me : )

then its time to start the 2 lap - I ride into the night only stoping when I get to my mums car as my body says its time for an 1 hour sleep (i may not get sore legs on the bike but my body still needs sleep- as i was not sure when I would need sleep I did not have any planed sleep stops - the plan was just have a 1 hour sleep when i needer to (so I would not fall a sleep on the bike )
there rest of the nights ride went a long the lines of ride a few hours then sleep for an hour or 2 (depending on how things was going - sleep for me is some what odd as my mind needs it more then my body needs it ie I don't get tired in my body - it maybe just the way my dyspraxia is as my head has to work a lot more harder to get my body to do what I want it to (its just a fact of life i have to deal with each and ever day (some days are harder then others its a) why I don't try to plan to much out with my life at a time and b) one of the reasons why I don't have a job because I never know if I can do some thing un to I try(even if I have done it before - that one of the harder parts of dyspraxia for me to deal with )

at my 3 and last sleep stop for the night around 10 km from Kuratau ? I see the a txt to call Keith so I give then a call as say where I im and what the weather is like where I am- it looks like It will be a nice day with just a bit of mist in the air (from what I can tell from the sun rise anyway : ) the sun set was nice last night - might have some thing to do with a small e on mt tongriro ( I seem to remember seeing some thing on the a abolt it on the phone at one of the sleep stops around the lake) from the last sleep stop the road drops down a fun down hill where I get up to around 50+ km/h passing though pachs of mist on the way . as I worked my way over the 2 longer hills (and a few rolling hills) my eyes start to get a bit sore (I seem to remember think it was just the sun rise and the soreness world soon go away like it did on other rides when i riding into the bridge light of a sun rise (I don't have sun glass’s -will need to fix this when I can ) at turangi my eyes are still a bit sore as I send a txt to Keith to say where I am. on the ride next to the lake my eyes start getting sorer until I can just beley keep then open when riding the last 20 or so km into taupo - it feels a bit like theres some sand paper or gret stuck im my eyes causing me a lot of pain - not fun. after signing it at the service station and chatting to a few people about the eyes as well as going to the dr’s I make the hard choose to pull out of the ride a D.N.F (thats to say a did not finish ) - when one cant see well its unsafe to keep riding (at this point I could only see around 10-20% of what I see most of the time ) after letting the ride people know head back to where my gear is with my mun (an a horse event place 12 km out of taupo) and get some rest

from what I can tell I pick up some ash from the mt in my eyes when riding down the long hill in the mist after my last sleep break - just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time -around 1/2 latter i would of missed the ash in the mist as the mist brunt off and it would of been fine but that life

on friday my mum and I headed into taupo to look around the ride expo and get some food - at the ride expo I see some friends and have a chat to one of then about bike touring and long rides - back at the horse event place his worlds get me thinking so after a few txt’s I decide if my eyes are up to it I do a lap of the lake to see hoe things are doing it as part of the fun ride (knowing that if my eyes play up I will have to stop riding )

at the start line I see Keith ( one of the team who run the fun ride) and have a few words before its time to start (as there is 9,000 + rides on the fun ride the start is done in waves of 50-100? rider’s) it's a nice change to ride with others as I head up the hill not even pathing( I keep an eye on the heart rate thing on my handlebars to make sure i don't go over 175 bpm- my max heart rate is some where over 200 bmp from what I have seen in training : ) keeping an eye on my pace I let people pass knowing that as the ride gose on i will be passing many of then (because they went out to fast at the start so tend to slow down the 1/2 way point ) some times I do pass people on the hills (having low gears and knowing when and how to use then ) as I turn off the longer of the 2 course that the relay riders (and the more then one lap rids do ) some of the riders as we ride alon over the hill’s see that a) Im doing a full lap on my funny looking bike and as they read the ride number they see it’s not my first lap (when I get ask about it I say what happened and that im on my 3th lap of the lake for the week ) some of the riders don't seem to happy about getting passed by me (as I know where the hills are and with the low gears tend make of most of the hills I start passing people on racing bikes ( here is a little hint- get some lower gears on that racing bike for hilly rides like taupo as it tends to be better on your knees and lest work when climbing :) I just wish I knew that years ago as my knees as some what stuffed from pushing too big gears from when i first starter bike touring over 10 years ago )

other then stoping at the odd drink stop I keep riding noting that some of the riders should of lean how to ride safer on the road ( knowing that many of the riders around me may of never done much riding in a paceline I tend to like having more of a gap between me and other riders then most of the rider’s - just like riding in a city with lot’s of cars its best to keep an eye on what is happening at all times) on the way back to words taupo riding up the last long hill - h (its a hill that many riders don't like and I see some riders walk up it )as im chatting to a rider beside me (him pathing me not even working hard ) i see some friends from the bike shop I used when I was staying in palmerston north - one of the runs up the hill beside us saying some thing like I can run faster then you can ride - i said to the rider next to me (who is on a bike that around 1/2 the wight of mine (mines around 15 kg as its set up for touring with lights ing panner racks , his bike wight around 7-8 kg as its a road racing bike ) i would of case down the person from the bike shop who was teasing up by running up the hill but it might up set then some what - the rider looked at me and said “that would upset me if you did that “ so I said with a smill “ is that all you worried about “then I shot up the rest of the hill at a much faster speed (low gears and 20’ wheels make hills fun for me as my lowers gear is round 16 “ that to say I have very low gears (great for climbing with a full touring load) a few km down the road the rider chaches back up and asks me how I got up that that hill so well so I told him about my low gears and knowing how and when to used then and its was my 3 lap of the week so i know the hill well : ) after some more chatting about bikes I desist to speed up to see if I could do a fast lap (yep I can go fast when I want to : ) going down the road to the finsh line i felt my back about to lock up from all the jarring from the rught road so after i got to the finch line i found a spot to lay down and ending up having a short nap before prize giving before heading back to the horse even center i ended up riding a round 500 km on the ride

Will I be back next year? I just don't know at this point time as there are many maybes that I will need to work out over the next few months like just what I will be doing for the next 6-12 months

An up date what I have been up to over the last few weeks

Hi all -I'm still here

I had a busy few weeks lately -

I had an DNF at the Taupo fun ride dur to getting some ash in my eyes from the mt ( I will say more in a post about Taupo ride if I ever get around to it ) I did end up doing 3 laps - some where around 500 km over 2 1/2 days on the bike

just some of the places I been after the taupo ride are Taupo to rotorua by bike the a lift in a car to tauranga , spent 2 days at a friends place there before spending around 24 hours in Auckland flying each way for the Attitude awards where I was a finales ( and no I did not win - I'm to busy living my some what crazy life to worry about such things- at any right I only wish to show that just because some is disable that they still do sport and have a life ( over the years of living on the road I have found out ways to live the life that I choose to live : ) then about 48 hours in Hamilton then back to tauranga ( getting a lift by car each way by car ) before spending a few days tramping around lake waikaremoana in the te urewera national park ( a 2 day hitchack in then a 3 day 45 km tramp with full camping gear then a 2 day hitchchach out back to tauranga before heading to Taupo in a day on the bike (140 km) to help at in horse event for a week then a lift in a horse truck up to Hamilton where I just spent the last week standing at a friends place helping out where I can : ) and trying to work out what next to do with my life : )

I will be taking a break from helping out at horse events for the next 6-12 months- after spending the last 10? Years helping out it events I need a break from to shows as there is a few things and places that would like to do and see that have been on hold because of the time the show take also because of just how much Helping at the events take out of me.

I'm still working out just where I'm heading for next- maybe the South Island ? Theses still a few places there I have not been to yet : )

Maybe next year I will be starting the t trail what is an 3000? Km tramping trail the runs from one end of nz to the other taking around 6 month to walk it - that's if my legs and back ( and shoulder's ) hold up to the load of doing the trail- I was looking at starting the trail this year but would only have the time to do the north island because of the weather ( by the time I would got to the South Island the may of been snow on the trail )

As my lap top is on its last legs I have pick up an ipad on a Vodafone plan to replace it so it may be some time before I fully chach up on this blog ( that's to say I'm still getting the hand of doing things like typing on it : )

its the night before my taupo ride

Its the night before my " little" bike ride -my bags are packed and my bike is ready to go - am I ready to go? Well im as ready as I will ever be for a bike ride like this one - im calm and ready to have a fun ride on the bike over the next 4-5 days. ( for any one who dont know my " little" ride is around 1280 km doing 8 laps of lake taupo over the next 4-5 days ) now its time for me to try to get some sleep ( my last good sleep for the next 4-5 days as I do the bike ride)

a last post before the taupo ride

well this time next week I will be on lap one (or maybe lap 2 (of 8) of my bike ride a round lake taupo - most of the things on my to do list are done . the few things still on the to do list will be done next week in the days before the ride (as I dont have the money this week to get then this week as I had done the food for the ride this week ( I will be using a mix of things from hammer for around 95% of food and drink on the ride)

 Im looking at doing around 8-9 hour laps depending on the weather and how I feel as I head a round the lake getting sleep when I need it - my mum will be helping me on the ride meting me at a few places around the lake so I can refuel ,change gear if need be - (she will also be keeping an eye on me to make sure im ok as I do the ride when she can : ) many of the  things in my plans are notes on things not to do that I have leant from the other long rides that I have done before like last years 640 km lake taupo fun ride that I did in the wind and rain. I don't have a time goal for this event . why dont I have one - its because that 

a) I ride to finish the ride never to race I like to look at the places that I ride past on my rides around nz

b)there is so many things that I don't know like did I train right?t ( how do one train for an 1280 km bike ride any way? ) I dont do training like most people seem to as I live on the road full time getting around by bike  its some what hard to stick to most training plan’s - I did end up spending around 2 months off the bike this year that was not plan for but that’s life on the up side i have done around 6000 km+ this year on the bike (most years I seem to end up doing around 8-10,000 km on the bike : ) so im not to worried about it (well there’s no point worrying about things one can’t change is there : )

one of the big things I just don't know is if and how me being disabled will affix things for me on the ride as there is not much out info there on disable people (who have to deal with what I deal with each and ever day) doing events like this I have spent a lot of time on the intnet doing my home work on the best way to do events like this and trying things out ( im well used to having to find new ways of doing things when I cant do things the way most people can and having to bend the odd rule a long the way )

 I don't seem to get sore legs even after last years 640 km ride I had no pain or soreness in my legs most likely because of how my dyspraxia is - one might say there is an up side to me being disabled as I have all way’s been disabled its all I know(thats to say I don't think I have ever getting sore legs from over doing things ( I still some times do get cramp in the legs if I much up my food and drink on the bike thought) maybe dur to my 7? head injures there seems to be a lot I don't remember in my life . its just one more thing that I have to deal with each day that most people don't under stand 

My heath? has been up and down this year with some thing not right with my legs from about march on word this year- there have been times that I have not be able to get my legs to work right when walking (or some times not work at all like at eqidays where I kind of had to um relearn how to walk the next day ( not fun and some what pain full for me) - I did think very hard about pulling out of the taupo ride this year but what ever is going on with my legs don't seem to affect me when riding on the bike also the more riding I do the better my heath seem to get ( the less I ride the more my legs seem to play up) any how I will be keeping a close eye on how my legs are going ( my mum will also be keeping an eye on it) 

this will likely be one of the last post on the blog (if not the last) before the big ride next week- im not sure how people will be able to see how im doing on the ride -I don't have a gps tracker or any think like that (my phone will only be used if I need to send an txt a call some one thats to say I wont have it on to face book or suff like that ) 

one last thing - when I was up at equidays a news paper? did a nice story about me and the awards night that im heading up to auckland for the week after the bike ride- heres a link to that story

http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/7906864/Long-distance-cyclist-has-great-motivation

taupo to hamilton 145 km

taupo to hamilton 145 km

well after spending far longer in taupo then I planed for (i was going to only going to stay one night)- one of the things I have notice over the years  is the more I plan out things i find my plans need changing so I dont like to try to plan ahead to much when on the road its time to get back on the road - with out the trailer this time as it still needs fixing (tried getting it wealed - well that laster all of 5 mins so back to the drawing board ) A friend is looking after my mt bike and the bike trailer until i can work out a way to fix it- packing up the bike takes longer as I work out where to put suff I end up with the tent siting on top of the front panniers and the sleeping mat and boots on the rear panniers with the rack bag on top of the rack 

After saying good bye to the people at the place that I have been staying at for the last few weeks? I head up the road turning right at the end of the road riding past the dam then on the  main road (taupo- rotorua) until I get to the taupo bypass round about where I head up S.H.1- its been a few years from the last time I bike on this part of S.H.1 ( back when I used to live in Hamilton I use to ride this road a few times a year as I went from horse show to horse show- as I live on the road full time now I don't take this road much theres day as its not a road I like much - it's a busy road with many large trucks ) riding over some hills until I get to dam? where i take a 5 min rest before heading along the road riding over a bridge that will be replace when they finish the new one (see photos) - with all the road works i decide to ride just off the road on part of the new? road because theres no shoulder ( some of the trucks are hitting the road cones as they pass) with a nice tail wind and the road tending down hill it's a nice day to be out on the bike and the sun is out : ) riding though a few towns  stopping for a late lunch in tokoroa  and an ice cream in tirau before heading for my friends place near hamilton after riding 145 km i get to my friends place before dark- I was only planing to do around 60 - 80 km today but as it was such a nice day with a great tail wind I decided to just keep riding and see where I end it up when the sun set - its one of the things that I like about traveling on my own - I can decide how much or how little I ride each day depending on the weather , where I’m heading for and what I feel like doing on the day : )

in a few days time i will be heading off to equidays (a big horse event) to help out over a few days before heading back down to taupo for a few more horse events also to get ready for the taupo bike ride : )

                                                        new bridge & old bridge

                                             bike with gear on

                               it can be a tight fit some times

a lap of the lake

a lap of the lake

after having a look at the number of km i ride i desist that I need to get in some longer bike rides so as I’m still in taupo I might as well a lap of the lake- some people spend months training to do 1 ride around the lake when doing the fun ride as for me this years ride that im doing is some what longer then most peoples so I need to do longer training rides then most people end up doing when training : )

most of my riding over the last few months have been around the 40-80 km mark with a few around 100 km so todays ride should be fun at around 180 km - there is a few new peaces of gear that need to be tested on a longer ride as well

after packing a few things in the 2 small bag that sit on the bike (hander bar bag and a rack bag) I head up the first of the many hills to ride over - 12 km into the ride I get into taupo where I stop to get an new batter for my heart rate thing (the thing that sits on my hander bars to tell me what my heart rate is doing)  then after a look at the map ( so I don't end up going down any wrong roads - I don't get lost just some times the road that I end up on is not that road that I was planing to be on : ) 

riding up the hill I pass a big bike on the way out of town. working my way over some rolling hills spotting some of the places that I stopped for a nap on last years ride keeping an eye on the road signs until I see the side road that I need to take to keep riding around the lake. after getting on to S.H.32  finding my way is easy ( S.H 32 then on to S.H.41 at kuratu junction then a right turn at truangi on to S.H.1 to taupo) riding up one of the longer hills a car stops to ask about snow? ( I’m not sore what the people  was trying to ask -some thing about snow?) it's a windy day with strong head /side winds for most of the day just to add to the fun around 5 magpies fly low next to me ( I keep an eye on then in case they decide to try to hit me ) the odd misty rain shower pass’s over  giving my new jacket a good test (I have been looking for a wind and light shower poof jacket that I wont over heat in )

riding down the fun long down hill into tokaanu I take note of what the road is like (part of why im riding a lap of the lake 2 months out from the event is to cheek out what the road is like as well as part of doing some planing for the ride- as I cant drive to look on some thing on the road I need to ride out on the bike to do it ) stoping at turangi for some food ( I will have a differ diet on the ride so I wont need to stop to buy food along the way)I have one of my water bottlers on the hander bar to put some thing in it (electrolyte suff) only to have it fall off in the wind spilling the water out so its back to the service station to refill the bottle before getting back on the road. the ride from turangi to hatepe only has a few small hills (if you call then hills : ) at hatepe its time to ride up the HILL - its the last big hill for the day to ride over as one rides around the lake - each year that I done the ride with others I have see people walk they way up the hill as for me I just stay in my middle chain ring to easy climb up the hill ( a lot of climbing long hills over the years + low gears on the bike friday help to make it an easy climb for me ) 

 once past the down hill riding beside the Lake I see some white horses dancing on the lake (white tips on the small waves on the lake : ) getting into taupo I get some thing for tea then head up the last hill of the day just on dark - as im riding along i notice that my front lights that are power off the  hub in the new front wheel are now working ( when I give then a test before only one out of the 2 was working - some thing to have a play with some more? )

looks like I will need to get in some speed work training some where in the next 4 weeks or  so my Ave. speed will go to where I want it to be - its a little hard to tell where im at with training now because of the strong winds - as for pain I had a sore knee at one point for a bout 10 mins also a sore left shoulder off and on  (old injury from getting hit by a truck back in 2008 that plays up from time to time ) other that that I don't have any pain or parts that are sore as I type this - i would of gone out for a ride today but today is an rest day so i don't over do things on the bike (as I never get sore legs on the bike it can be hard for me not to over do things on the bike so I plan to have at lest one day of no riding each week : )

still in taupo

well I 'm still in taupo on the up side my bike friday is now all fixed - just need to work on the bike trailer now as well as getting my spear bike(the mt bike) to some where that I can store it when im not using it- thats to say 98% of the time : ) 

im looking at doing a lap of lake taupo some time this week when I can - well I'm in taupo so I might as well do a lap of the lake why Im here just for a bit of fun (also to try out a few things on a longer ride)

I'm not sure where i will be heading next on the bike as I have around 18 days before I need to be back in taupo for an horse event I will need to look at the maps to find some where to go between now and the horse show - maybe down to wellington going down the east coast then back up the west coast to taupo looking for some nice fun back roads to ride down some where along the way 

rotorua to taupo around 80 km

rotorua to taupo around 80 km 

after packing up I head into the city center to do a bit of shopping before heading out of town heading for taupo -as I’m leaving town I spot one of the new NZ cycle trails -it's a path footpath looking track running beside the road so I decide to take it for a change (also to get off the busy road for a bit as there is a lot of trucks and camper vans on the road) on the trail a street swapper? passers by giving a the trail a clean  there a few km latter I get a flat on the front wheel - as I'm change the tube I decide to swap the tire to one of the other tires that i have in the trailer as its looks like it's wearing out. the trail runs for a round 10 km until it gets to highlands loop rd (the road sign says “highlands loop road- no exit” - yep one of the many odd roads signs that I have past riding around nz) where the trail sees to stop for a bit before restarting down the road a bit - back on the trail I keep riding at one point it leaves the road and becomes gravel as it runs beside paddocks  after about a km of this I decide to have a look on the iphone to see where the trail ends up so after a look at the website I decide to back track to the road where I head along the road towards taupo stopping a few times to play with the trailer frame as its still dragging on the ground some times.

 riding down hill past rainbow Mt  a few km latter i head down settlers rd to take the back roads to taupo though reporoa and broadlands where the road flatting out . heading slowly into a strong head/side wind I keep riding until around 15-20 km out of taupo when I hear the trailer frame start dragging on the road all the time so I stop to have a look only to find that the tailer frame has large creaks in it where its been hitting the road some times so after a bit of an think as its going to be dark soon I give a friend a call and they come and take me to a horse place (its some where that I have spent time at before when helping at horse shows there)

the next day as im thinking what to do about the bike trailer I decide to have a look at the headset as it had came lose the day before only to find it needs replacing also I look at the front wheel to work out what the rubbing sound was - well I found what was making the sound - theres a small spit in the rim -the rims do ware down with a lot of use ( I think that this front rim has done some where around 25,000 km- its the 2 rim for the front wheel - im on the 4 rim on the back wheel) so as well as working out what to do about the trailer  I need to find a new head set (I did find one and its now on the bike : ) as well as getting a new front wheel made up ( getting made up by cyclepro bike shop in hamilton - its should be here some time this week if all goes to plan : ) so im stuck here in taupo until the parts i need get here

 about a week ago my mum brought down my mt bike so I would have a bike to ride until I can the Mtbike friday back on the road (the Mt bike is my spear bike(its spends most of its time at my mums place in te kuiti) that I got a month or so before I got the bike friday in the mail (the bike friday is hand made in the usa) the Mt bike only has done about 1500-2000 km over the same time I done some where around 35,000-40,000 km on the bike friday 

McLaren Falls Park to Rotorua 75 km

McLaren Falls Park to Rotorua 75 km a wet and windy day - it's raining as I pack up. the rain stops just as I start heading back to the main road there are doing a lot of road works on the road to the falls back up to the main road so a slow ride up the hill then it's a fun down hill for many of the km back to town (Tauranga) . after stoping for some subway I head into gate pa to met up with a friend for a few hours before doing a few other jobs in town then its time to get on the road to Rotorua  going the shorter but more hilly way - parts of the road have changed from the last time I was on it- it times I had to read the road signs to make sure I was still on the right road. crazy weather on todays ride strong winds and heavy showers also had very cold hale at times so not great weather to be riding in but if I only biked on days weather it might be a long time between rides : ) any way it gives me a good work out when riding in the wind and rain - its tends to help if you have good rain gear- im still working out a better wet weather set up when on the bike the road slowly climbs up to a high point then drops into a gorge with the road making a few sharp turns before climbing up the other side going though a few more tight bends . after the gorge the road pass’s by mostly farm land with the odd bit of bush going mostly down hill passing though a few small towns as it winds it’s way around the lake (lake rotorua) then its mets up with a busier road at a round about - for the last 4-6 km into town there is a walk/cycle path on one side of the road. after I get into town I head to the place that I tend to stay at when I end up in rotorua  (a nice place called Kiwi paka ) riding in the back way as there are road works so I get um a bit lost- well I knew where I was and where the place that I was heading for was I just was unsure which road I needer to go down to get there. after checking in I set up camp then went off for a shower and a swim in the hot pool to warm up as it was very cold riding on the bike at times today

Just an update on number of km done so far

Have done around 750 km on the bike from the time I was up at cape reinga until now ( around 15 days ago or so- with 3 days off the bike in that time) only 2000+ km still to go over the next 4-6 weeks : ) have done some where around 4700 km on the bike from the start of this year until today 

waihi to McLaren Falls Park park 80 km

waihi to McLaren Falls Park park 80 kma late start as I got lost in a good book then had to play trailer frame so it wont drag on the ground as much. most of the ride today had a nice tail wind as i ride down the coast/  over rolling hills passing though a few small towns and the odd larger one alone the way getting into tauranga around 4 pm I decide to head out to McLaren Falls Park to camp for 2 nights -15 km out of town towards hamilton up hill -I some how forgot the up hill part ) after putting on the bike lights I head to the park only to find out that the gate are closed at 5:30 pm dratt - not to worry as I unhook the trailer and take the bike though the gate then I take the trailer thought the gate  (see photo)then set up camp for the night.

just a note on the rest of my posts that i still need to type up

hi there I wil try to get the rest to my blog post when I can - my lap top is just about to go flat on me so  it will have to wait until next time I have some where to charge it up ok

some where to waihi 50 km

some where to waihi 50 km

after packing  camp I head down the rail trail towards paeroa. near hikutain the trail leaves the old rail line leading to some more head scratching as I try to navigate the trail - back on the rail bed I keep riding until I get to paeroa where I stop at the info center to find out more about the rail trail though the gorge to waiking? once im back on the trail (yep I got some what lost leaving town - the signs on the trail need more work( bigger and have more info on then ) its winds its way into the gorge across the river from the busy road as I ride along the trail I see around 10-20 people using it - a nice change from the far north cycleway where I saw no one on that trail) in the gorge the trail crosses over the river and busy road on a 2 level bridge (with the road under and the old rail line- now rail trail on top) before heading into a 1600m long rail tunnel (there are lights in the tunnel) before coming out under the busy road the  end of the tunnel then back across the river on a old rail bridge. I keep riding until I get to waikino where there is whats remans of the old gold battle that I stop at to have a good look around (see photos ) before I head over the river on one last old rail bridge to the end of the trail(for now) then im back to riding on the road riding until I get to the town of waihi where after a stop it the info center I head around the (4 km? )rim walk/bike trail the winds its way around the large open pit gold mine in the middle of town -at places along the trail there are info signs about the gold mine also a bike dump truck (see photo) the tires on the truck cost around $20.000 each (and you thought your car or bike tires cost a lot : ) as I ride along the trail part of the bike trailer drags on the grounds in places  wearing a hole in the trailer frame -opps. I decide to stay in a motor camp for a change (yep I do stay in places like motor came some times just not much : ) just as Im setting up the tent its starts to rain - heaver rain with strong winds .

some where to some where 55 km

some where to some where 55 km

leaving the pub I head down S.H.2 until I get to the turn off to thames (S.H.25)after a few rolling hill the land scape starts flatting out as the road runs across the plans. getting into thames about 10:30 am I do some washing then heading to the libley for an few hours to take a break from riding and charge up the laptop and phone after that I head to the start of the rail trail - its a little hard to find the start of the trail ( the signs need to be bigger and have more info)once on the trail Its easy going with a nice tail wind as I get to kopu the trail cross the busy road by going under an under pass- there is a bit of head scratching  as I rote find my way back on the trail - once I get back on the trail the trail pass’s over some bridges and though many cattle stops and the odd ant-motorbike gate (see photo)as its starts to get dark I start looking for some where to camp for the night. I find some where to sent up the tent head to bed for the night.