Doc camp site to taumarunui 76 km

Doc camp site to taumarunui 76 km

After packing up camp I chat with a few people before heading back on to the timber trail - with the trail being a mix of single track and gravel roads. A few km into the trail it's starts climbing on mostly single track up to a very large bridge (one of 7 such bridges on the trail)  as im spending a bit of time taking photos 2 other riders pass - the riders are for Wellington (i think?)  as the two other women are riding around the same speed as me we end up riding more or less together to the end of the trail stopping every so often for a break. From the end of the old bush  tramline at the  terminus  the trail tends down hill. With it being very bumpy in places. At one point I feel (and hear) my front brake cable break - the trail is not to steep so I keep riding until it's time for a lunch stop where I get out my spare inner brake cable and swap it over waping the extra cable a round a  loop a few times before taping it to the front rack. At the lunch stop (camp 11) there is a hut and the remains of a turntable (to help turn the geger? Around)  and a few other bits and pieces from the old bush tramline. Then it's back on the trail for more down hill riding passing over the last big bridge (where as you look down to the river you the see some remains of the old tramline bridge)  riding though more cuttings (from the tramline days) we get to the ongarue spiral where the tramline (and the timber trail) goes round a loop crossing over a bridge (over a cutting) before heading into a cutting and a short but very dark tunnel (so bring a light : ) before heading out though the same cutting that the trail pass over with the bridge  - the spiral was built so the logging trains could make the grade of the climb up the valley . From the spiral the trail heads down the valley at places heading though pine trees then farm land before the carpark about 2km from ongarue where the other 2 women that I had been riding with are getting picked up by one of the shuttles that run people to each end of the trail so after saying good bye to the people I had been riding with for part of the day it's time to start some road riding to taumarunui (about 30? Km away on back roads next to the river - there's a few km of tarseal road then it's gravel (with bad washboard in places - more bumps to ride over) as i pass next to & under a few rail bridges it looks like there is a lot of work being done to fix /rebuild parts of the rail line from te kuiti to taumarunui (part of the main trunk rail from auckland to wellington)  about 10 km?  From taumarunui there is a fork in the road with one road crossing the river on a double decker bridge (rail on top with single Lane road deck under on 2 leavel)  the rail part of the bridge is not in use any more as the that rail line is no longer used for trains - there is a place that runs tours on goft cart like things that run on the rails (rail carts?)   the other road keeps heading towards taumarunui so I take that road into town. In town I stop for a bit of food before heading out to the camp ground a few km out of town next to a river  (on the south end of town) where I set up camp for the night