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