Intro
The Geyserland Gravel Grind is a three day self-supported bike-packing event starting and ending in Rotorua, but looping out to the coast at Matata and back around to the south and west of Rotorua. The event is was organised by Erik Westra on Facebook as a chance for bike-packers to ride together and experience some nice rural roads in the central North Island. My friend Amanda and I both plan to ride the Tour Aotearoa in 2018, and this event seemed like ideal training to build towards the TA so we travelled to Rotorua to give it a go.
Day 1: Rotorua to Matata
Distance: 92 km
Moving Average: 14.1 km/h
Ascent: 1623m
Descent: 1914m
The day began with some essential faffing of bikes and gear. This was the first ever overnight trip I've done with my newish bike and I had no idea how anything was going to work out. As a last minute thought I added a third bottle cage under the downtube to hold a bottle containing my tools. This freed up some much needed room, but I wasn't confident that the bottle wouldn't fall out. Amanda also had a bit of faffing to do, but she was much better prepared than me and had done a dry run of packing her bike in the week prior.
We rode to the start at the Rotorua Government Gardens where eventually about 80 other cyclists gathered. At 8am we were off. The predetermined course started by going through the Whakarewarewa mountain bike park. I stopped to take the photo below and ended up loosing sight of everyone. In my haste to catch up with the bunch I missed the turn off to the main road leading down to Tikitapu/Blue Lake. This made me pretty much the last person to arrive at the coffee caravan by the lake where everyone had stopped for a drink and carrot cake.
Whakarewarewa mountain bike trails
After what turned out to be the best carrot cake of the trip (and there was plenty more cake to come) I continued on with three others I had just met; Amy, Jan and Kerry. We passed Lake Okareka and soon were at the start of the Western Okataina Walkway. The keyword here is WALKWAY. Hmmm, how's this going to go on a fully rigid, drop bar bike with relatively narrow tyres? The answer was soon apparent: not...that...well. However, there's safety in numbers and much of the uphill 5 to 10km wasn't ridable for most. The soft volcanic soils are easily eroded and there were metre deep ruts in many places interspersed by mud holes. Eventually I caught up to Amanda who had stopped for a rest. She lent me some cord to keep my front bag sagging down onto the front wheel. Closer inspection showed I’d rubbed a hole through the dry bag where it had touched the wheel. I had my Exped air mattress wrapped around the tent inside the bag, and to my horror I could see that the mattress might also been holed. Close inspection showed it was ok. I could literally sleep easy tonight.
I also discoverd that my phone wasn't charging from my USB converter that ran off my dynamo hub. It turned out the converter had died, which wasn't surprising as it cost $20 from Ali Express and was of questionable quality. The result was my phone was flat for the remainder of the trip.
Amy and Amanda on the Western Okataina Walkway.
At the nominal summit of the Western Okataina Walkway.
Things sped up once I got to the descent which delivered me on to a lovely sealed road out to Lake Rotoiti. I was feeling a bit out of sorts but the nice scenery, a good downhill section and then a tail wind made me feel much better by the time I arrived at the Emery Store across the road from the Lake. A can of soft drink and an ice cream also helped. This with some other food I had carried with me comprised lunch. I thought about getting some carrot cake here too, but didn't want to overdo it.
Emery Store, Lake Rotoiti
My bike. Thanks to Amanda's string the green bag on the front is now well clear of the wheel. I was worried the red bottle containing my tools would fall out on the rougher tracks, but it remained resolutely in place for the whole three days.
The remainder of the day’s ride was over a mix of sealed and gravel back roads that were much more to my liking. It was pleasant riding and the weather was perfect. My legs were pretty much cooked though and it was a big relief to arrive in Matata at about 4:30. I stopped at the dairy with “The best pies in the bay”, and acquired once such pie (ignoring the carrot cake which was also on offer). I’m happy to report it’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed a pie so much; no doubt partly due to my pressing need for some pie calories. The campground was just a stone’s throw away and I’d soon pitched the fly. After fish and chips for dinner it was time to crawl into my sleeping bag, listen to the general election results coming in via Radio NZ, and then get some sleep.
Mmmm, pies good.
Matata campsite.
Matata beach at sunset.
Day 2: Matata to Waikite Valley Thermal Pools
Distance: 113 km
Moving Average: 16.9 km/h
Ascent: 1582m
Descent: 1204m
I didn't sleep that well. The gap around the bottom of my tent fly created a strong draft of cold air during the night and my light sleeping bag wasn't warm enough. Nonetheless I was very grateful for the good weather and having a dry bed under such flimsy cover. I felt ok but opted for the shorter option today as yesterday’s 90kms were the longest I had ridden in one day for many years. The ‘shorter’ option was still over 100km and that would be enough for me. Amanda set off before me to do the longer option, so I was surprised to see her 15mins down the road, obviously having changed her mind to do the short route. Her neck had started to give trouble so she turned around after a couple of kms of the longer route.
The morning was a very enjoyable ride. It was cool and clear and the roads had no traffic.
Mid-morning I stopped at Te Teko. The dairy here provided a natural meeting spot for us cyclists and a ready source of carrot cake, although I chose to refuel on deep fried chicken and chocolate milk. Despite the grouping of cyclists I was on my own as I left town. Going up one of the hills on the way to Matahina Forest I got an adrenaline rush as a ute going the other way almost went off the road. The driver was going too fast, and probably distracted by me, drifted wide on a corner and almost went into a deep ditch. He recovered just in time, spraying the road and me with dirt and stone chips. That was as exciting as things got for the rest of the day. I struggled through the forest roads which were a relentless series of rolling hills into a relentless head wind. There was quite a bit of rubbish at the sides of the roads, and occasional dismembered bits of deer that obviously people had shot and butchered. The heavy overcast and desolate clearfell didn’t do much for my mood, but it was good to meet some of the other cyclists; although I was always a bit too slow or fast to stay with anyone for very long.
It was a relief to finally make it out of the forest and back into farming country. I was lucky to not miss a turn off as was day dreaming and only by chance checked my GPS 20 metres before a key turn. It provided a reason to stop and take the obligitory photo of a gravel road sign.
Finally, out of the woods.
Rolling farmland.
Rerewhakaaitu again provided a natural regrouping spot. There are no shops in Rerewhakaaitu, but the school had a water tap and a nice grassy area to stretch out in the sun and have a late lunch. I rode with a loose group along a stretch on SH38. I was drafting someone going at a fair clip on a full sus bike, but then realising I didn’t have the energy to take my turn at the front, I dropped back. We then did a section of the Te Ara Ahi Cycle Trail. It was quite slippery with ups and downs and I was too stuffed to enjoy it. To make matters less enjoyable I followed my GPS rather than the route notes and did an extra section of mtb track. By the time I got to Waiotapu I was pretty shattered. A potato top pie and chocolate milk restored my energy levels enough to do the last section to the campground at the hot springs a few km up the road. It was a slog of a climb followed by a crazy fast descent to the springs. By the time I got to the springs I was so tired I thought the numbers written on my entry wristband denoted the area where I was meant to camp. I thought it was a pretty rubbish spot for the tent so went back to the office and asked. The numbers were the date. Drrrr.
A soak in the hot pool, dinner and some carrot cake with whipped cream soon restored some normality.
Waikite Valley Thermal Pools.
Day 3: Waikite Valley Thermal Pools to Rotorua
Distance: 79 km
Moving Average: 17.5 km/h
Ascent: 1132m
Descent: 1171m
For breakfast I had the remainder of the carrot cake I couldn’t finish last night as well as a One Square Meal musli bar and a cup of tea. Amanda and I were both of the opinion that today’s scheduled 130km route back to Rotorua was too much after two days of tiring riding.
It was another enjoyable morning through lovely but cow shit smelling farmland with waterways of dubious quality (water quality was an election issue for good reason). Vehicles were rare on these back roads and we had the company of three or four others to cycle with. At one point a topdressing plane was flying low near the road and provided a free aerobatics display.
Mid-morning my rear tyre was running a bit flat so I stopped to put some air in it. My old pump turned out to be almost useless, so I borrowed Amanda’s. Another lesson learnt; don’t carry stuff that doesn’t work!
The final leg back into town on SH30 was not good for riding a bike. The road had a lot of big trucks and places with not much verge. It was a matter of getting it over and done with and being aware when a truck was coming up behind so you could get well out of the way. I have to say in a couple of instances the truck drivers were very courteous and slowed up for me to make sure I was well clear. The final run into Rotorua was quick with a nice tail wind and descent. We finished at the Whakarewarewa mountain bike park and had some lunch at the café there before riding back into town.
Grinding some gravel.
Windsock and cow.
A fence.
What I Learnt
The Bad
I need a decent tent.
I need a decent pump.
I need a decent dynamo/USB converter.
The week following the ride I was exhausted. How am I going to survive Tour Aotearoa?
The Good
The WTB Riddler 45C tyres were good. I’m glad I had them instead of thinner/faster 40C tyres.
The low 38x46 gear was low enough. I thought I’d would need something easier but didn’t.
The steel Niner RLT frame proved to be comfy.