Trudy and I had planned to loosely ride together but she wasn't feeling that well so told me to go ahead. I ended up riding with Quin, Brendhan and Rob. Due to logging there was a road detour that missed out a big chunk of the Waikato River trail. I said I'd wait for Trudy at Mangakino, but once of got there I was keen to push on. Trudy did arrive before I left so I was able to let her know my plans before carrying on.
Brendhan leaving Mangakino
For the rest of the day I rode with Brendhan and Quin, and then Rob for the later part. It was a tough afternoon with relentless climbs on forestry roads. It was quite gloomy, although that might have just been my mood as I was feeling my bike was over-geared on the rougher surfaces. Quin found some gun cartridges that someone had dropped on the road. It seemed like a place where a character out of Deliverance could be lurking waiting to shoot an unfortunate cyclist or two.
Quin and Brendhan
The centre of the North Island finally arrived. As someone who works with maps and spatial data I guess it had some significance for me, but I can’t say I’d recommend it as a place to visit. The final descent to the start of the Timber Trail was welcome relief a we’d done some 2000m of climbing today. The logging roads were covered with slippery mud so I rode with some caution.
The campsite at the start of the Timber Trail was made special by the sound of the kaka in the surrounding native bush.
The final climb of the day, Pureora Forest.
