The second half of our summer cycle tour had me somewhat frazzled when I returned to the office in early January. Three weeks as acting dean passed by quietly enough, but slowly but surely my brain became overwhelmed by work we were doing - and work we aren't - and my mood began to shit itself.
Colleagues began to notice, and I was all but banished to the provinces once I'd helped deliver on a major deadline. While I'd had my eye on a meeting-less week in my diary, a destination didn't sure up until the last minute, and prep consisted of an online 3-night accommodation booking in Hāwera, photocopying an old AA map of southern Taranaki, and half an hour playing around with Strava's route builder to get the lay of the land, and to make a vague riding plan.
Day 1 - Lake Rotorangi and the Tangahoe Tunnel
Rather than get on the road early on the Friday morning, Mum came around first-thing for coffee, and it wasn't until we'd enjoyed conversation and company that I jumped in the car and started driving north. I enjoyed the new 110km/h speed limit on Transmission Gully, and played Tool on the stereo loud enough that I couldn't hear the incessant "please obey all traffic regulations" warnings - irritatingly based on old map data, and in an Australian accent no less.
By the time I'd passed through Whanganui, a pie and a cream horn from Viv's Kitchen in Sanson were making their way slowly to my legs, and I'd begun nervously glancing at the 28 degree temperature readings the car was providing - I do love riding in the heat, but I was also not relishing an absolute sweatfest.
The morning's slow start did enable me to check-in to my motel as soon as I'd reached Hāwera. I unpacked the car (which wouldn't move again until check-out, such was the perfect location of the motel), suited up, and then rolled out to pick up the sole route that I'd mapped before leaving home.
I'd noticed an intriguing section of the Patea River on the AA map, and the dead-end road to it demanded my attention once I'd seen on Strava that it passed through one of Taranaki's incredible tunnels. I'd mentioned this to my lovely boss, Jane, when I signed off on Thursday evening, and lo and behold, it seemed likely she and her husband had been there themselves. I had resisted the temptation to do any further research, and set off with a great sense of anticipation, looking forward to sending Jane a photo or two to see if we were indeed talking about the same place.
I did a dairy raid on the outskirts of town before settling into my work. After 10km, I reached my turnoff, and was slightly surprised to descend to a river. As I often say to Sarah when she's objecting about a hill: "it looked so flat on the map".
Before the road turned to gravel, an interesting element was seeing upside-down pine trees that had become simply too big given their precarious spot high above the river. There were more than I could easily photograph, but they were a fascinating distraction.
Alongside the river, the road gently climbed for a while, and I was intrigued to discover where the tunnel was. Once road tipped up, I could see the Patea River not far away on my GPS screen, and correctly surmised that it would be at the saddle as the road switched river valleys.
When it came into view, I was disappointed to see that it looked like a pretty standard one-lane tunnel (not unlike the bus tunnel in Wellington). Riding through, I had a head torch on, but also my sunglasses, so couldn't see much! There seemed to be a short unlined section, but I wasn't sure. At the far end, I found the lovely shape typical of the Taranaki tunnels, albeit sprayed with concrete.
Next point of fascination was the Pātea River - this stretch named Lake Rotorangi, sitting behind a dam accessed from roads near Pātea itself (legs permitting - they weren't - I thought I might head up to it on the way home to Wellington). Jane had mentioned that when she'd visited, the lake had been teeming with water-skiers, and I was glad to be doing this ride on a Friday afternoon - so far I hadn't seen a single vehicle.
The road undulated alongside the lake for a while, and towards the end, there was a loop road running each side of a narrow promontory. I went clockwise, passing a boat ramp, a great viewpoint over the lake, and then the Hāwera Waterski Club house.
It was a bit of a slog back up to the Tangahoe Tunnel, and I took a selfie to send to Jane before blasting down the hill, and enjoying some easy riding for a while.
With about 45km on the dial, I was back on tar seal and beginning a short grovel out of the valley. Once back at the "main" road, I turned right, riding briefly away from Hāwera, but affording me a different route back into town. Before getting there, I couldn't resist knocking off some very short dead-end roads, but a shower and dinner beckoned so I didn't piss around too much. I planned to be back the next day.
There seemed to be plenty of good dinner options within walking distance of my motel, and I settled on a plate of roast pork which hit the spot nicely. I'd packed a coffee machine from home, some beans, and most of my porridge ingredients, but needed milk and a few other things which I got from the conveniently located Pak'n'Save across the road from my motel.
A cup of tea and some biscuits were just the thing to round off a busy day.
Stats: 68km ridden, one very funky tunnel
Day 2 - Hāwera and Normanby and between
Taranaki Maunga had been shrouded in cloud all of the previous afternoon and evening, so I was delighted to see it out my kitchen window first thing in the morning. That was short-lived, and by the time I next glanced out the same window, it was hidden by cloud. Soon after, another cloud started dumping rain onto my local roads.
I was committed to riding down every street of Hāwera, in a continuation of my Karori Caper series of rides (now amounting to over 50 individual outings). I decided to set off in a wet-weather racing jersey, and figured if that proved a bad choice, I'd never be too far away from the motel and could duck back for a change. The clothing choice ended up being perfect, and although it didn't rain again, the air temperature was cool, and I would have been miserable in my other options (either too hot, or too cold).
I rolled out, and as the saying goes, "ride out the end of the driveway, and my first dead-end road is just around the corner"! I was fairly sure I would run out of road in Hāwera itself, so decided to venture well beyond the limits of the 50km/h zone, initially to the south.
These rides are mostly brute force, and a heavy reliance on technology (i.e. my GPS unit) to tell me where I've already been. Despite that, there tends to be at least some opportunity for spontaneity, generally when I spot a pedestrian (or cycle) path that allows me to avoid re-riding what would otherwise be a dead-end road. A path on the way out to Waihi Beach was a case in point, and I had a giggle at a sign at the far end which read "This is a working farm. Animals can smell bad and make funny sounds. Please do not be offended." It made me wonder whether actual complaints had motivated the council to install this, or whether it was just sharp wit.
I questioned my choices half an hour later as I battled a cold headwind out past the massive Fonterra complex and down a bunch of short rural cul-de-sacs.
The penultimate turnaround was at the end of a pretty funky stretch of road which ended at someone's farm gates. I met a guy coming out of one, and briefly explained why I was there ("I'm aiming to ride down every dead end in the country") - he was really friendly, so clearly didn't think I'd been hoping to ride through his farm!
I was glad to enjoy the tailwind back into town, but almost immediately found myself on another rural loop. The riding was nice enough, but I was craving a shop, and by the time I was back in the burbs, I made do with a dairy raid rather than seek out an award winning pie shop that Khulie had mentioned before I'd left home. Once back underway with something in my belly, I made my way past the water tower which from afar, was almost as prominent on the sky line as the Fonterra factory was.
More inskirts, then outskirts, head wind and doubt! But, my persistence was occasionally rewarded with beautiful sights that would so easily be missed on more standard rides. (You really do see everything in a place.)
As my energy levels and enthusiasm both faded, I nonetheless decided to head out as far north as Normanby. An amusing sight was a building whose owners possibly had regrets about letting the garden ornaments grow to overcome the grand facade, and whatever had been painted on it to explain the building's significance!
Back into Hāwera, an ice-cream stop gave just the kick I needed to finish the job, and I was soon getting stuck into some post ride snacks while my two riding outfits were having a quick spin in the motel's laundry.
Once I'd hung my washing around my room, I headed out and settled on procuring a pizza from a shop on the main drag. Pizza-of-the-day was ordered and devoured back at the motel. I figured the short walk and delay was worth doing, not least to save the roof of my mouth from scalding!
I slept well...
Stats: 173km ridden, 23 dead ends south of South Road (SH 3/45) alone!
Day 3 - Taranaki Maunga views and Rotokare
One option I'd considered for my Sunday ride was picking off rural roads west of Hāwera, but decided I needed to do something a bit more traditional. It was probably just as well I hadn't scaled up my paper AA map in the photocopy I'd made, because Strava seemed to think there was a route slightly north of Friday's Lake Rotorangi ride which would enable me to loop back past Lake Rotokare (little did I know how awesome that would turn out to be).
Old habits die hard, so I picked off a few dead-ends on my way out of town, and was delighted to note the maunga was making cameo appearances from time to time. I was fascinated to note how inconsistent its size seemed to be - I don't know whether it is a subtle combination of elevation and distance as the crow flies, or if things like air conditions matter too.
After following Friday's route for a while, I came to a fork in the road, and decided to ride to the end of the Makino Valley Road. This added 18km and about an hour to the ride, but was well worth the effort at this stage of the day at least! A mix of seal and gravel, the shape of the road was fun - rollercoaster-esque in parts - and I enjoyed it.
After maybe 4km of gentle climbing, the road tipped up, and after a little over 10 minutes, I came to a farm gate, and knew it was time to turn around. The stern climb became a fast descent, and then it was vaguely downhill until the sealed climb out of the valley.
Near the top, I stopped briefly to admire a lone nīkau palm and Taranaki Maunga off in the distance, before continuing back to the intersection and beginning my next unridden road.
There, were three notable signs that caught my attention: a handmade one giving directions to someone's wedding reception, a Gravel Road sign which became redundant a few metres later, and also a No Exit sign, which I wasn't expecting to see, and worried me slightly. The route I had mapped definitely did not require me to return to this point! I was hoping that state would prevail!
The road took me down into yet another valley, and once alongside a river, began gently climbing. Every so often I'd be reassured the wedding reception was still ahead, and soon passed through it. There were people in the process of either setting up, or packing up, and a few acknowledged me as I confidently rode ahead, like a man who didn't think the road was about to end!
Soon, I came to a gate which was closed but not padlocked, so I made my way through and kept going. Then came another gate (again not locked), but beyond this one the road conditions deteriorated dramatically, and were no longer suitable for a carefully driven Toyota Corolla. Luckily, I'd left mine back at the motel, so kept going on my fat-tyred road bike. I was a little bit nervous about my right to be there, but figured if I left gates as I found them, that might be OK.
As if to punish me, I had to carefully negotiate some cows resting on and beside the "road", before taking a tactical walk up parts of a steep bit of track up to a saddle.
There, I found a sign for the Rotorangi Gutbuster event, which I later discovered had been held the previous day. I enjoyed following in the tyre prints of at least a couple of dozen competitors. The state of the road improved at each of the next few gates I came to, and before long I was on a plateau immediately above the Pātea River - which unfortunately I wasn't able to see from the road.
A sealed climb took me away from the river and up onto a ridge alongside a stunning ponga forest. After a few minutes riding, I was surprised to get an email ping as Jane was making her customary Sunday afternoon preparations for a return to the office, and had left a comment in a document that had triggered an automated notification to me as one of the document owners. I really did feel like I was in the middle of nowhere, and quickly sent her back a photo of my current glorious surroundings! I guess this was all happening via Starlink.
The road dropped down into another valley, and became sealed. I came to a couple of intersections, but given how I was feeling, I was disinclined to visit any more dead-ends. I'd been hauling a couple of leftover slices of pizza, and demolished those instead, before hauling myself up another decent climb. Just before the top of that, I stopped to take a photo of where I'd come from, and was amazed to see the unmistakable profile of Mount Ruapehu off in the distance (and a gravel road I'd ignored in the foreground).
If I'd paid more attention prior to setting off, I would have known I'd done this climb before, on the third day of the 2011 Tāwhio o Whanganui, with Simon, Dave Sharpe, Marcel and Geoff. My write up then notes that as today, Taranaki was in view, but Ruapehu had not been visible or had gone unnoticed.
The next milestone was the turn off to Lake Rotokare. Fortunately, this was one dead-end I was still willing to take. Soon, I discovered I'd stumbled upon a reserve in the same spirit as Zealandia - a fenced wildlife sanctuary. Interestingly, this is open 24/7, presumably so people can visit to (try to) see the kiwi living inside the fence, and it is free to access. After initially making hard work of the double gate system, I found my way inside, and rolled down a road to the lake itself.
En route, I saw a few robins, and heard the unmistakable call of tīeke, which I knew to have been absent from the NZ mainland for about a century until some were relocated into Zealandia in 2002 (perhaps then still the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary). These days, there are hundreds in both locations, and I'm sure other similar facilities around the country.
I was hoping to find someone selling coffee and cake, but found only a few groups having picnics by the lake, a shelter with some information panels, and a toilet block. Near the toilet there was a track which led off around the lake. There were no "no bikes" signs, so I proceeded with caution, riding not much more quickly than jogging pace, both to ensure I caused no trouble, but also to give me more of a chance to admire the surroundings.
I was amazed how many tīeke I both heard and saw, not to mention quite a few robins. The people I met were friendly enough as well.
The full 4km loop took me about 40 minutes, giving credence to my pace estimate! It had been very lovely, but I was glad to be back where I knew I was welcome (to the extent that cyclists are ever welcome on NZ roads...).
At this point, if I'd had a big red button on my handlebars ["TELEPORT ME BACK TO THE START"], I'd have pressed it. I still had a little bit of food with me, and while I was tired, I wasn't at risk of conking out completely. I was running low on water though, which again was more mildly stressful than a problem.
As I wasn't in dire straits, I didn't consult my map to realise how close I was to Eltham, which most definitely would have had coffee and cake and everything else a tired cyclist might want (apart from one of those aforementioned buttons). So, I stuck to my plan, which saw me taking a quiet sealed road vaguely in the direction of Hāwera, and then another turnoff onto a minor road where I did have some traffic issues!
Finally, both the milk depot and the water tower came into view, and I knew I was getting close to home. The final novelty came in the form of a gravel road "not safe for normal use", which turned out to be a very nice (and safe) ride indeed, but did require some effort on the other side of a deep gorge.
I did a little bit of ducking and diving on my way home for some extra previously unridden road, but was quite happy when I was finally able to raid the fridge at a service station in Hāwera for a cold drink.
After a wash, I struck out on foot and had a very nice curry at an Indian restaurant only a few minutes' away from the motel. After a long internal debate, I decided to forgo dessert there, and instead made do with a cup of tea and biscuits back in my room.
Before heading to sleep, I decided to drive to Whanganui in the morning for the final ride of the trip. With about 350km under my belt, it was time to start the warm down!
Stats: 108km ridden, 2000vm climbed, 3 dead ends (but no more)
Final day - homeward bound
After my porridge and coffee routine, I gathered my gear up and loaded it into the car. I was able to admire the maunga out of my kitchen window for the third morning in a row, and then it was time to say goodbye to Taranaki for the moment.
A little over an hour later I was parking in Upokongaro, about 10km up-river from Whanganui. I had three dead-ends in mind. First, I had some quick morning tea at a cafe there, before getting suited up, and on my bike.
That lasted all of 30 seconds when I stopped outside the now deconsecrated St Mary's Church, built by my namesake's namesake in the 1870s. (John Randal, the grandfather of John Hylton Randal, the grandfather of yours truly...) I was fortunate that two "Friends of St Mary's" were on their way out of the building, and when I introduced myself, they invited me inside and told me a little more about the place.
After thanking them for their hospitality, I got underway proper, and after a few minutes on the main road towards Raetihi, turned left, climbed a small hill, and then dropped down the other side to a road atop the riverbank.
After about 10km, some of which was unsealed, I found myself at a closed gate beyond which the "road" continued in a reasonable state. However, given this area was part of a private MTB park named "That Place", I decided against continuing, and couldn't be bothered trying to find someone to ask about access.
The ride back to Upokongaro was pretty quick, and before I had a chance to second-guess myself, I started up the Makirikiri Valley Road. There was a good tailwind blowing, which nicely took the edge off the fact that I was going up-valley. After about 10km the road got steep, and near the top, the climb turned to gravel. It continued for a wee while before terminating at a farm entrance, where I stopped for a snack. A very large bull in attendance either wanted me to piss off, or was asking for some of my easter bun...
It was a very nice climb away from the road-end, and a relatively quick ride back to the highway, despite the headwind.
An underpass to the relatively new cycling and walking bridge over the river had been closed by tree fall, but someone had set up temporary access off the road, which I took. I had just enough in me for another short piece of road.
Contrary to Strava's map, on the other side of the river I was immediately able to get off the cycle path, and from there onto Waireka Road. That turned to gravel soon after, and just as it was looking like I was at the end, I bumped into a farmer and started chatting with him. He insisted the road carried on for a little while longer, "up to the gates". These were both open, but my GPS seemed to suggest this is where the road ended, so I gladly turned around, and was soon back at the car.
After getting out of my riding gear, I had a slice of bacon and egg pie at the cafe, and then began the drive back to Wellington, tired but happy.
Stats: 62km ridden, 3 loose ends™
* * *
The short trip away was a much needed break from the travails of work, and it was good of my bosses - both at work and at home - to encourage me to head away.
It was the first significant block of riding I'd done on my own for a while, and I was reminded how the physical effects of riding alone differ from touring pace with Sarah!! NZ can dish up some really hard riding country - a combination of gradient, surface, elements, and also isolation (and in particular, the absence of places to stop for a feed). That all said, I'm feeling good on the bike, and my Open ran really well, and I was glad to finish rides tired but not shattered.
I had a lovely stay in Hāwera, and while I didn't do quite as much colouring-in as I'd hoped, I came back to town with topped up mental energy, and was much less in a funk than I had been.
Sarah and I have drawn a few useful conclusions on what the next few months might look like, in order to get my brain back on track among other things.
In a fortnight, we set off on a long-since-booked Easter getaway to northern Viet Nam. Once I've got a bike-bag storage plan in place, I'll be able to relax about that a bit more! In the last 24 hours, I've committed to a Paparoa and Heaphy getaway with Jonathan Douglas and some friends in early May. Kaitlyn is back in Wellington in early June for a couple of weeks, and either side of seeing her, we hope to spend some more time away - taking advantage of an unplanned but in many ways welcome change in Sarah's employment status. She might try to get to Mongolia to see family, which would fit in nicely with some cycle touring in Japan with me on her way there. And, having ridden every street in the bottom of the north, perhaps a couple of weeks in the "winterless north" (of the North) might be fun. Time will tell, but the message is clear - I need to spend more time doing this while my body can.
