Thompson's Track

Saturday’s forecast is good for biking and Glenys has a meeting in Katikati in the BOP at a reasonable hour. The stars are lining up apart from my fitness that has slowly deteriorated from Easter. The fortnightly rides are not really enough!

Thompson’s Track is the goal, or to be precise ride the track to Old Te Aroha Rd via the paper road over the Kaimai range then hit the tarmac to ride 56km home.

Weapon of choice is my cross bike which I’ve been using on my indoor trainer so it’s off with the slick & on with the worn slightly knobbly 700x35 tire. My MTB would be far better for the 16km track but terrible for the 56km later on.

Glenys drops me toward the end of the tar seal road which saves a lot of climbing, there is a lot of lifestyle blocks in since I last rode here 20+years ago.

A car park signals the start of the track and the clay/mud theme begins. This is a popular route for the local 4x4 fraternity and hunter access to the tops. The ruts are deep & filled with water with often a small track around the edge, despite this I have had to wade so have wet feet for the rest of the day. I’m doing a fair amount of walking due to the rough track, at this stage my MTB would be a far better tool.

After 40 minutes I meet a hunter returning from taking his rifle for a walk. We chat & exchange pleasantries. He is a regular up here & gets the occasional deer. He reckons it is about a 2 hour walk to the top, which proves correct. Normally a bike would be quicker…if one rode it! There are big gulleys to get around but the gradient is pleasant, just the mud holes are pretty close together.

The Kaimai range has been extensively logged last century but is now regenerating well. I’ve been in the northern end often over the years and have seen DOC trying to keep on top of goat numbers but other pest control seems less evident. One of the biggest pests I have encountered up here is ignorant humans. There has been no shortage of vandalism to huts & bush. Over the turn of the millennium a tramping club hut was burnt to the ground by some low life. This hut was accessed from the Eastern side of the range & we sometimes ran into people quite capable of this mindless behaviour. One trip we discovered all the tables & forms burnt and stab holes in the water tank. It must have been cold as they had attempted to light a fire on the bunks. Why?

As I neared the top cloud appeared and a breeze sprang up dropping the temperature. I’ve been here before, once 20+ years ago to check the area out for more MTB adventures then a couple of years back when a mate & I were geocaching from the other side. The track starts to improve and is downhill so my speed increases. Soon I hit recent logging roads, these are fast but soon runout. This is where I start to meet people. First of all a couple on horses out for a day ride, then 2 hunters out overnight & heading to a deer stalkers hut further south. We have chats, swapping intel then head on our ways.

The rock is slippery especially as this seems to be a 4WD playground. I soon meet the first group whose lead vehicle is in a 1.5m deep trench half filled with runny mud which they are trying to climb out of to no avail. I don’t stay to watch but do have to clean my brakes off so the rear wheel can turn. There must be a high clay content by the way it sticks. I encounter the next group powering up the track near the bottom, we swap intel briefly & head on.

And then I’m out of the mud! Real gravel and a creek to wash the bike & clear the brakes & replace the pads. My cross bike is getting old and only has V brakes that I fitted, I would love discs!

The 16km took me 2 ½ hours so not fast at all. Next time I’ll definitely take use my MTB.

The next stage to home I have mostly done before. 56km of tarseal, not much to say really except it was a bit slow with a 22km/hr average and no shops to refuel at!