DAY 6
We left the camp at Te Aroha last. It’s become a habit. Usually we are very punctual and like to get going early but the relaxed and casual nature of Tour Aotearoa in general hasreally gotten the better of us. (hahahahahaha, such comedians - ed.)
We trucked on through to Matamata and arrived a good half hour before we intended so made good use of our advantage and ordered some coffee. Our good fortunes continued and out of the blue Eric’s sister appeared and provided a great deal of provisions which we immediately set upon (Thanks Rae!) After packing up the remnant we moved on - a bit of back road riding and highway cruising until we reached the Waikato River trails.
And then it rained. Not little gentle spotty rain. Proper rain. The trails became streams in their own right and we tested the rain gear. What success!
We saw bridges and dams and power stations and dams and bush and bridges and also dams. It was an awesome day.
In the end we rode some decent mountain bike trail and got to experience how good the short wheelbase of the Raleighs was on switchback corners:
'Switchback symphony no. 4'
After some hard technical climbs and descents, we arrived in Mangakino just in time for the supermarket, and, you'll be pleased to know, a few delicious burgers.
Vital stats:
Total Elevation gain: 1133 m
Distance: 124 km
Time spent on bikes: 6 hours 50 minutes
Max speed: 74.9 kph
Water: not enough
Hey lads. I'm late to the party but loving the blog. Top speed of 74.9km per hour?! I'm not sure a Raleigh 20 is supposed to go that quick?