Through the Southern North Island

I clicked and creaked my way out to Upper Hutt with the first stop being Central City Bike Shop. The mechanic checked the front cranks and confirmed that the bottom bracket probably needed replacing. The next morning when I collected the bike he showed me the old bracket and it was worn out. The bike is great now, silent and no pesky vibrations through the pedals for me to be concerned about when cycling in remote areas. However, the rider has his moments of creaking and clicking – no repair shops for him!

Over the weekend we pedalled past 6,000km without even noticing. There were no road-side markers, just a bit of weariness in the legs. That weariness was not really related to that milestone but to the tougher rides of the last week. Long days on the flat or, on undulating hills, with only one set of legs pushing the big bike along, it can get a bit wearying. However, after a nights sleep the legs are always good to go the next morning.

During the week the weather threw a couple of good soakings our way. Although showers had only been forecast, on two of the days, a shower seemed to follow the bike for a long time, like hours! Without any doubt, these have been the heaviest bursts of rain of the entire journey.

We also experienced another unpleasant brush with cows. This time it was an irrigation arm that was spraying liquid poo onto a paddock. Unfortunately, we were biking along a rare, but dreaded, section of State Highway 1. The road wasn’t too bad as there was a good shoulder but it was busy. I could see the irrigator ahead, situated close to the road and I could also detect from the smell and colour of the spray that it was not water. Well on a busy road you cannot ride wide to avoid the spray so, you take a very deep breath, crank up the power level and gearing, and pedal like crazy. Not the most pleasant experience, brought back memories of Mt Nicholas Station. A good long shower is also a highly recommended tactic.

The route that I took through to Palmerston North was not part of the Tour Aotearoa. That route is on the other side of the ranges, we followed that when we rode south. As I didn’t want to cover the same ground I rode the remote Akatarawa road to Waikanae and then along the new cycle path that runs parallel to the new expressway to Ōtaki. It rained most of the way. That was a blessing in disguise as it had encouraged day trippers and wannabe rally drivers to give the Akatarawa Road a miss. There was barely room for a bike and car to safely pass one another let alone meeting any speeding oncoming traffic.

The ride on to Palmerston North involved a couple of shortish stints along very busy sections of State Highway 1. I knew the traffic volumes would be high because you can check them online. I also knew that there was a good shoulder because, again, you can check them on Google StreetView. But the unseen challenges were bridges both across rivers and railway lines. There is no shoulder on these. The tactic is pretty much the same as for dealing with liquid cow poo but instead of taking a deep breath you wait for a break in the traffic and then pedal like your life depends on it. The other issue I discovered is the ‘cheese-cutter’ wire dividers down the middle of the highway. They have turning bays at set intervals but not where I wanted to turn off the highway onto a quieter route. You live and learn. There is no pleasure in riding along noisy, smelly busy roads and fortunately these are few and far between.

I was able to get my next ride to Kimbolton off to a great start when I visited Therese’s (from Bald Angels) sister and nephew at their businesses in Palmerston North. They offered me a coffee and a cheese roll (apparently they are also a Palmy thing) and gave me a bike care pack to keep me going, I was pleased that the RA was not with me as I would probably still be in Palmerston North trying to find her in Furniture Fair. It was the type of place that she would get lost in for hours.

But not being a shop browser I was soon in the Pohangina Valley north of Ashhurst and again on deserted rural roads for the next 140km.

It is predominantly farming country but it is easy on the eye, lots of trees, something that was missing in many rural areas of the South Island. But also lots of magpies. Swooping season is long gone but I did strike one annoying bird who was obviously in training for next season or just having a bit of fun with an old cyclist.

It is a steady climb of 640m from Palmerston North up to the high point on the road at the base of the Ruahine Ranges. The legs were feeling it. At least with short and steep climbs you get it over and done with relatively quickly (there are no fast ascents of hills). These slow but steady climbs just mean that you have to continually pedal, for hours, with little if any respite until the eventual fast and furious run down the other side.

It was at the end of the long downhill that I pedalled into Rangiwahia. I saw someone biking towards me and she pulled over to my side of the road. “Do need anything, water, apple juice, a coffee?” I was in no hurry so I took up the offer of a coffee and had an appetiser of home made apple juice. Both were great. I spend about an hour talking to Bridget and Jim who operate a charitable trust called Rangiwahia Environmental Arts Centre. They had driven out to New Zealand, overland in their truck, and once in Rangiwahia one of their activities was creating giant puppets. Their property included an old butter factory that used to produce Quail brand of butter but now served as their workshop and storage shed. When I told them about Bob, they were keen to introduce him to Wahine O Te Ao. The unexpected stop was the highlight of our day.

It was more hills on the ride from Vinegar Hill through to Whanganui. Along the way I spotted the biggest flock of feral Peacocks that I have ever seen. I also passed the first other crazy couple touring on a tandem. They were zipping along at a much quicker pace than I was managing. But, BREAKING NEWS……… The RA is returning for the last stretch along the West Coast of Northland and across to Kerikeri. For those of you in Kerikeri, please give her lots of positive encouragement. Thank you.

A bit of time to get my head back into reconfiguring the setup back to 2 riders (we have a little experience with that). In the meantime, tomorrow the ride moves into the central North Island as I follow the Whanganui River north to Pipiriki.

Images from a rural heartland bicycle ride

We want to thank everyone who has donated during this section of the ride. It was a big boost after activity had been very sparse in the South Island. It does really help to keep us going on those tougher days to know that we are actually achieving something other than wearing out our ageing bodies faster than hoped. Still we are getting to enjoy our diverse country at something not much faster than snails pace – let’s call it Mails pace. The vulnerable kids that we hope our efforts and your generous support will help don’t have the luxury of seeing much at all. Let try and help them to see a better future. All donations go directly to The Bald Angels and are tax deductible.

https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/the-angel-tandem-two-70and-year-olds-riding-7500km