Bike Jan '18 Day 1

With the Christmas part of the break dealt with and the new year in the bag it was time for my annual bike epic. The plan was to cross over to the East via Lake Waikeremoana, up to Gisborne then back over the Kaimais via Thompson’s track home. It was an ambitious plan of around 900 km, mostly on tar seal but a good amount of gravel and even some mountain biking. The full trip was not realised due to eating issues and an accident, but I’ll get to all that later.

Sun 7th - Mangakino to Murupara

There are a couple of bike routes from home to Mangakino, both of which I’ve done. The road is a bit exposed especially from Waipapa dam, the alternative is via the more interesting part of the Waikato River Trail. I opted out of both options, so I could pick up more unridden parts further on. Day 1 was excellent biking weather, overcast, cool without rain eventuating. I was riding my cyclocross bike as I would be on formed roads most of the time, it’s lighter & quicker and my MTB is really uncomfortable after a few hours in the saddle. I’m now known at Mangakino’s lake side bus café, where I started, having come through here a few times, I think my mountain unicycle is hard to forget and one eventful trip I slept on the deck in torrential rain to avoid the flooding. Waving Glenys goodbye for the next week saw me riding along the formed river trails, pleasant riding along Lake Maerati to Whakamaru dam, then along Lake Whakamaru toward Atiamuru, I got onto the road for a while to get some good distance done and I had ridden this section previously. Lots of pines and forest converted to dairy. State highway 1 came into view and my sore bum told me it was lunch time. Being the first day I had cold cheese toasties; tasty, energy rich and can be stuffed in a pocket. The next 5km were to be the busiest on my trip so it was good to turn off to Ohakuri dam. The lake above the dam is fairly long and I have kayaked down it before. There are hot pools and other thermal activity at Orekei Korako. Here ended the easiest part of the day, I was also into new territory as I hit gravel roads and many hills. My muscles were starting to tighten so a good stretch was in order as was another toastie and water. A shower of rain passed by to keep the dust down as I grunted up short sharp hills, over ridges and back down to the lake and tar seal. Waikete Hot Pools was my planned first camp site but I hadn’t done 80km and there was plenty of day left. I couldn’t find my way in to get a coffee so it was on to Waiotapu on the Rotorua to Taupo highway. I had forgotten how steep this hill out of Waikete was, I needed to stop to suck in oxygen in the guise of letting a camper van past. Waiotapu pub hadn’t changed since I drank here in the mid ‘80s. No coffee but chips & ginger beer provided some carbs for the next 35km. I don’t think I would be welcomed here on a Friday wearing the cycle pants I was in. I knew the next section would be tedious as there is straight roads and a gradual climb onto the Kaiangaroa plateau.

It’s on these sections that you start to notice things. The first is to do with my body; discomfort or pain as some call it. It seems to cycle through, “man my butt is sore”, then it’s the old knee injury followed by the hands, the calf then toes then back to the butt. I need something to distract me. Have you ever noticed how much rubbish is on our road sides? Maccers wrappers give way to Woodstock cans and V bottles smashed just off the white line where I should be riding. Wrecked tires, odd shoes, more glass, the discarded detritus of a lazy people. I’ll be glad to get off this section of road. Memories come back as I pass the turn off to Kaiangaroa Forest village where I spent the first 18 months of my marriage. It was a cold hole in winter but a great place to start my post study, work life many years ago. It was a quick ride down to Murupara though cool. The camp ground was once a single mans camp by the look of it, something I had been familiar with. Cheap and clean with hot showers, where I washed my kit.

Locking my bike in my room I walked the half km into the town centre to get a feed. What a depressing place with 3 burnt out shops. Steel bars & graffiti abound speak of a town left behind first by forestry restructuring then by Rogernomics. When I worked down here, we employed over 100 wage workers to complete various forestry operations. While the wage crews did a job for twice the cost of contractors, it kept lots of people gainfully employed. The office is now closed & relocated into Rotorua, the jobs done by large contract gangs from outside, if at all. Unemployment is the winner with all the associated negatives, some obvious in my quick walk around town. Back to my spartan room with my sports induced reflux keeping the discomfort theme going. It is hard to get the required calories ingested when I feel like this though the fish burger helped.

Published 6 Jul 2018

Peter Bichan

I like riding bikes.