15/01/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 12 - Covering the distance

 

Distance cycled: 144km from Pukenui to Paihia, North island, New Zealand.
Average speed: 17.2km/h
Moving Time: 8h26m
Elevation Ascended: 1894m
Total Distance on Current trip: 836km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 7,571km
Money spent: $42

It was tough. Really tough today. But a hell of a lot of mileage considering the terrain was pretty intense.
Many people I met today were all so surprised that I was out in the, so called, blistering heat of the sun but in all honesty it was pleasant and near perfect conditions to return back to Paihia to see Marlieke.
I had left to cycle to the northern most tip of the country for four days and was happy to see her again. I had planned to have her meet me at a nearby waterfall for some 'us' time but in no way was she keen to come; mind you however she didn't know I was planning anything of an occasion.
Finally, all sweaty, horrible and delirious I arrived at the backpackers where she was staying, I ate, booked in for the evening and after a couple of drinks with Afro tried to sleep in the single of a bottom bunk with Marlieke.
I honestly prefer camping out in my tent, but I think you all know this.
Currently my legs are aching having cycled  over 450km from Paihia to the north cap and back to Paihia in just 4 days - this will cut off a significant chunk of my goal

.

14/01/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 11 - I really didn't learn from yesterday, Really, Beached as Bro.

 

Distance cycled: 86km from Cape Reinga to Pukenui, North island, New Zealand.
Average speed: 13.8km/h
Moving Time: 6h21m
Elevation Ascended: 1404m
Total Distance on Current trip: 692km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 7,715km
Money spent: $15

3 hours of sleep, that's all I got! Certainly not enough after cycling as far as I did yesterday with another big day today.
But getting up early to see the sunset was totally worthwhile.
It was a long and arduous day, one of those where I constantly looked at my odometer hoping to cover much further than what was shown. It was tough with hard climbs and knowing that I would be just on the same road as I was yesterday.
Because of this I thought that I would take a different route, a route that took me to the sand dunes region of the north and continuing this road I would be taken back to 90 mile beach where I could hopefully cover a greater distance faster.
Boy was I wrong, the head wind was trying to blow me backwards and like yesterday there was nothing to enjoy about it and like yesterday I needed up giving up on the beach in search for the main highway.
It was just a shitty day, I ended up loosing a shoe on a bumpy logging road (one from within my bags) so I turned around having to cycle 2km back to find it.
I ran out of water and eventually got some at a local farmers place that tasted like rusty metal but because I was so thirsty I had to drink it.
And even though I was up at 5am and finished cycling at 8pm  I did less than 100km.
The end of the day picked me up as I met a plethora of wonderful people who were fun and happy to help me out.
I managed to get a whole bowl of chips from some out of towners who offered it to me because the supermarket had just closed, I met a Danish guy who just began his bicycle trip and needed some advice on everything bicycle touring related, some lovely peeps at a fish and chip joint who gave me some extra sides with my burger and a ground of Swedish girls who raced me to the avocado stand on the side of the road, they were road tripping around NZ for 2 weeks.
Oh, and most importantly, earlier in the day I met a lovely Aussie/Swiss couple traveling around the country with their 3yo in a trailer, I had breakfast with them and they had some stories to tell, a very happy and fit family.

Some selfies before I leave

The Swiss/Aussie couple with their 3yo Molly

Checking out the Sand dunes

The mistake of cycling on 90 mile beach again

Some Swedish girls I met at the end of the day.

13/01/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 10 - Beached As Bro!

Distance cycled:  143km from Taipa to Cape Reinga, Northern most point of New Zealand. 
Average speed: 17.6km/h
Moving Time: 8h07m
Elevation Ascended: 2184m
Total Distance on Current trip: 606km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 7,801km
Money spent: $22

Today was a new experience for me because today I got to cycle on the beach, 90 mile beach as it is known and is in fact 55 miles (90km).
I entered the beach front through the sand dunes knowing that I could be at risk of the tide rolling in and I would be stuck on the soft sand unable to peddle any further. But for the experience of cycling on sand had me sold, I just had to do it.
Disappointingly the novelty wore off quickly, the view became repetitive and the build up of sand in my bicycles components were creating unpleasant crunching noises. I did however have the wind (somewhat) on my back but the benefit of this soon became useless when the sand quickly absorbed the small but fast paced tidal wave making my wheel sink and abruptly halting my motion.
After pitching my tent for some shelter from the sun I took an hour nap before realizing there was a sandy exit from the beach, it was a mission and a half to lift my bike over the sand dunes and eventually finding a logging road that took me back to the main highway but this was better than waiting for the tide to go down.
There are very few places to find a bite to eat along this skinny stretch of the North so when I found this one small place I gouged on junk food and ice-cream but I was lucky to meet an Israeli couple who offered to carry my belongings to the end of the northern road. Adi and Lilac shoved my bags into the back of their car and set off, I suppose I put a lot of trust in them in the hopes that they would return my things but my gut feeling was good about these two.
The next 40 km to the cape were fast paced but because I didn't have my bags planting me to the road I experienced a crazy amount of speed wobbles especially on the downhill descents when the sever cross wind would push me into the other oncoming lane.
It was a damn frightening experience and even slowing down made the speed wobbles worse. The only way around the issue and not loose control and crash off the road was to cycle faster, not good when the road surface is unbelievably bumpy.
Still, I made it with perfect timing to see the sunset and I arrived just as the Israeli couple came having pitched their tent at a camping site.
I did not want to stay at a camping spot because the road down there was steep and loose, besides I wanted to take many photos of the area at night - a worthwhile activity. So, I brought my bike down to the iconic lighthouse and pitched my tent beside it, it was terribly windy and I was afraid my tent would soon collapse and so I packed it away and slept freestyle.
Apparently this area is sacred to the natives and the consumption of food is forbidden and I am sure camping is prohibited also but as it was pitch black with only the stars out (there were many)  it was safer for me to stay put.

A staircase made from a Kauri Tree

Cycling… and err, resting on 90- mile beach

On the way to Cape Reinga

Dawn to Night

12/01/2015 - Cycle Touring New Zealand - Day 9 - Solo-ing it up

 

Distance cycled: 95.6km from Paihia to Taipa, North island, New Zealand.
Average speed: 18km/h
Moving Time: 5h18m
Elevation Ascended: 1420m
Total Distance on Current trip: 463km
Distance until I have cycled the circumference of Earth: 7,944km
Money spent: $22

It's nice to be able to cover more ground because I have now less than a year to finish my goal of cycling the circumference of Earth and as such Marlieke agreed for me to leave for a couple of days and cycle to the north cape of New Zealand alone and back to Paihia to meet her. As Marlieke is still in her early stages of getting used to cycle touring her muscles were sore and needed adequate rest and without her I am able to cover more than 100km per day.
It is a 440km round trip and should take me 3 and a half days to return to Paihia.
I came just under this 100km mark today because I met a whole bunch of nice people. At first I needed to refill my water bottles and this nice family I asked in their backyard in the town of Mangonui offered my watermelon and a pleasant sit down, I ended up chatting with them for quite some time as they were warm, intrigued and happy to laugh. They lived at a stones throw away from an incredible beach having moved from Auckland two years prior. After having my fill of watermelon I hopped back on my bike to continue along the coast.
Soon after I met some younger people who were looking for a place to move to - it seems like people want to move away from Auckland and into the country, I can't blame them as this coastline is gorgeous.
These people were fun and easy going and as part of a photography project I was included as the first participant to write about myself and have my photo taken.

As the sun was going down I found a place to camp on the grass beside a beach, someone had removed the no camping sign so I suppose it fair game. There were others camping on the grass too so I don't have anything to worry about.

 

Wow! a seagull

Paihia Beach

Doug and Family