A update on my upcoming lake Taupo ride

Hi everyone - here's a more full  updated to do with my Lake taupo bike ride latter this year  - for anyone wondering how my riding /training is going for the bike ride

The Facebook page for my taupo ride is at

 https://m.facebook.com/Damianas-taupo-ride-971478602966642/

So please Like it and share it to your friends

I'm now about 25? North of Timaru tonight on my round nz bike ride - The Number of Km done on my bike (on my bike Friday) so far on this (training /bike tour) trip that I'm on now is now up to 1800 km(from te kuiti and just about all of the time with a full touring load on the bike ) - i still have a lot of Km to ride before I start my Lake taupo ride : )  - the starting day of my (40 laps in 40 days) taupo ride is now about 119 days away - in that time (between now and the start of my taupo ride) I  still have around 4500 km to ride in training /touring (the training is mostly on this tour but will keep up the riding after I get back to raglan /te kuiti on this trip ) as well as having to do  a lot of other things that are on my to do list before I start riding around lake taupo - on a side note the number of Km that I have done on my bike(s) (between  my Mt bike and bike Friday) so far this year is around 5800 km  : )

Fundraising for heart kids

I will be fundraising for heart kids as I do my big taupo ride  (where I will be doing 40 laps of the lake in 40 days on my bike as its the 40th year of the cycle challenge this year - here's a bit more about that(the fund-raising side of things (from the fund-raising page that I have just set up - I have created this page because I want to make a difference. I'm inspired by the work of Heart Kids NZ and wanted to support them by raising money as part of my participation in Cycle for Heart Kids 2016. Please help me help them by giving whatever you can using the 'Give Now' button. The more people that know about Heart Kids NZ, the greater their impact, so please also spread the word by sharing my page with your friends and family. Thank you in advance for your generosity, it means a lot!

The link to the fund-raising page is at https://cycleforheartkids2016.everydayhero.com/nz/damiana-s-taupo-bike-ride

  the other bit of news on my riding - thanks to the great people at spot nz -http://www.spotnz.com and (Facebook) https://m.facebook.com/Hirespotnz/ you can now track where I am on the road as I tour around nz  - they will also be doing the gps spot tracking for me on my taupo ride  latter this year   - here is the link to the tracking website for me on my round nz tour -  http://damiana.trackme.bike

here's some more notes from the road - enjoy : )

Hi all - here's some more notes from the road  -   enjoy : )

Doc camp site to some where

After packing up camp I head  the 10 km back in to picton where I spend a bit of time looking around town before stocking up on some food and starting the climb out of picton - a fun little warm up of a hill : )  after  that bit of a hill it's mostly flat?  For much of the rest of the day  getting in to b where there is a off road cycle Lane next to the road that leads onto a footpath across the bridge (the bridge has not much space for bikes on the road part of the bridge so it's safer to use the footpath when crossing it) I stop at the info center for info on some places to camp for the night before heading to a bike shop to pick up a few things including a replacement trailer tire  then had a bit of other things to deal with before doing some shopping for the next few days  and heading out town on SH1  - did try at one place  (that said they had camping) for a tent site but all they had was space for motor homes :  (   so I keep on riding - as I'm riding on SH1 towards the big hill (and it's getting darker) I pass a road called redwood pass?  About a km or two down the road pass the road to redwood pass I remember where I saw that name (of the road)  - redwood pass is part of the old (up to 1930s) route  south  -  a bit of Google latter I see its still in use (with signs saying no though way for long trucks)  I even see some notes from other bike touring riders who have done the road -  the road is a mix of tarseal and gravel that winds it's way up hill towards the pass (198 m or so)  at some point in time it's time to put to turn my bike lights on and keep on riding until I find a safe place to set up my tent for the night - I do find a place just off the road - it's on a bit of a lean but it do for the rest of the night : )

Some where to  cyclists hosting place

A bit of a early start to the days riding as I keep riding down hill until I'm back near sea level then it's along some more back roads until I get back on SH1 - having done the gravel parts of the road with out dropping the bike in the gravel just before I get on SH1 as I'm riding down a tarseal road I stop to check the map - as I'm getting under way I touch the edge of the road with the bike wheels - it's deep but lose gravel - I don't unclip fast enough and the bike tips over - I do a bit of a hapkido break fall to protect my hands and wrists from injury as I hit the road - it might be a slow speed fall but the fall can still cause injury - after a check for injuries (all ok though I might be a black and blue in a few places latter) I get back on the bike and ride off down on SH1 south - a few km latter I get to a place where there is a old 1902? Road/rail bridge  (the rail on the top deck (which is still being in use) and a one Lane road bridge on the lower deck (the road deck was pulled up when a new 2 Lane bridge was built a few years ago near the old Bridge -  after getting some photos it's time to get back on the road  I head up the hill getting in to the small town where I spend some time at the info center Including finding out if the cycle hosting place is still open as the old bike on a old watertank  is missing? (that is the marker for the bike hosted that I have stayed at before when riding this route) yes it's still open - as I find out latter some one had stolen the old bike off the watertank  then it's time for the next bit of riding over rolling hills ending with a fun down hill then it's down a gravel road for a bit to the bike touring accommodation where I spend the rest of the day doing my washing and a few other jobs before spending time reading before heading to bed for the night in my tent (there is a bunk room as well at the place (the place has been /is used by farm workers at times? As well as for touring cyclists (Maybe?)

Ferry to picton doc camp ground 12? By bike

Note - I'm Playing chach up on my trip notes  -  I'm only a week behind on this ride - and yes typing up my notes from the tour aotearoa ride is on my  to do list - so you just have to wait  on that (sorry I'm not very fast or good at typing  (and the speech to typing things don't seem to  like my way of speaking)

Ferry to picton doc camp ground  12? By bike

At some point in the early morning it's was this to load on the ferry - so out the door of the ferry place with the bike and on to the ferry - after tieing the bike down and putting the park brake on (a strap on the handle bars that holds the front brake leaver on so the bike don't roll away  or move when I don't want it to) I head up the sets  of steps  to the upper (public) decks  - at one point passing by a barrier  between two sets of steps  (one set is for public access - the other set of steps must be crew access to other parts of the ship)  - the barrier looks like some thing from the tietank movie (where it was used to separate between  1th and 2th class (or was that 3th class? ) any way after getting up on deck I start looking around for a ok place to try to get some sleep as its now around 2:30 - 3am   - just after find a place one of the crew comes up to me with a clip board  ( hum I wonder what's up now? I tend to worry when some one I don't know comes up to me with a clip board as it offer means a change in plans) as it turns out I'm offed the use of a cabin for free for the  crossing - so a unexpected but happy surprise (and a big thanks to blue bridge for letting me have use of the 2 person cabin)  - after saying yes (and thank you) and putting some info down on a piece of paper I'm giving the key card to the cabin - I'm not sure what to expect when I get to my cabin - well it's a bit like a small room at a motel or some thing (I think I only have stayed in a motel room  about 4-5  times that I can remember)  there's a bed agest the far wall with a swing down 2th bed near it - I spot a door what at first think is a carbit but is a bathroom with a good size shower  - after some thought I decide use the shower -  well it's the first time I had to deal with getting a bit sea sick in a shower with the shower moving  around as the ship moves though the water Kat lest on this trip I get to keep my dinner : )  unlike one of the last trips across...

After the good shower it's time to get some sleep for a few hours (after putting my phone on charge (there's a power pug it the cabin)  I do get some sleep - not sure how much - well it's more then I useley get on the ferry : ) then its time to head back to the main public part of the ship and hand the key card in before a  it of a wait as we get into picton then it's time to unload from the ferry

   welcome to the south Island : )   its just after sunrise as I head down town for a bit of a look around killing time  before heading to the library  for a few hours (where my lack of sleep desides to chach up on me - yep I fall asleep  in the library as I do some reading on my tablet - well that's a new one for me : )   then its time for a bit of shopping before I head the 10 km on the road to port underwood (there's a doc camp ground 10 km from town on this road - $6 a night per person for a tent site)

After setting up camp I get in a bit of reading before heading off to sleep for the night

Rest day at doc camp ground

I deside to have a lazy day - was going to go for a walk but decide  just to stay in the tent and  chach up on reading  (and my lack of sleep : )