Days 1-4

Hi Folks, Riding the Tour Aotearoa in support of Arthritis NZ I am back on-line and spent the night home in Auckland after arriving on the ferry from Poutu, across the Kaipara, to Helensville then a ride into the city. Stuart Roscoe and my wife met me at Westgate and fed and watered me then Stuart and I rode into Mount Eden summit, took a photo of the checkpoint and then pressed on to Manukau City to the new railway station which was difficult to locate as there is not even any signage on the building. We used our Gold Cards for a free ride home, (Thanks Winston) and got home around 6.30 pm. (I did 77 kms.)

At Mt Eden with Stuart

Thanks to Stuart for going back up Mt Eden to get my backpack when I realised I didn't have it at the bottom of the hill. Got to bed at midnight after my support crew; son, son in law, daughters and wife spent time fixing the gears on my bike, which are shot, in the dark, feeding and watering me, giving instructions on hygiene and nutrition and teaching me how to use Facebook. Dylan also wrote down how to use his brand new Garmin Phoenix 7 watch which now gives me heart beat (I taper off when it hits over 130 bpm) tells me how far I have travelled, speed, where I am etc. Amazing technology but lots of buttons and windows. After all the attention I felt like Lance Armstrong minus the drugs. I have had an epic four days. I left Cape Reinga at 9. am with another 70 odd riders and saw about ten of them again. I staggered into Ahipara at 6.00 pm after battling a Easterly wind which kept my speed down to 6-8 kmph which would rise to 18 on the odd occasion when the breeze relented. I carried 5 litres of water but guzzled all that and the watering station had gone home before I got to it. Fish and chips in Ahipara and 2 lites of milk and I carried on to the settlement of Herekino where I had booked in a Horse Adventure place. We had dropped some gear there on the way north so I knew there was a pub just down the road. I got there exhausted at 8.30 pm - 119 kilometres after starting, my longest day on a bike ever. I sat down on a stone wall next to the road next to some locals right outside the bar and was very grateful for the free beer from a carton they were drinking outside when they found out what I had just done. It transpired they were outside because they weren't allowed in the bar because they weren't vaccinated. Another pint inside then I had to walk the bike up the hill in the dark for a kilometre-it took me a while to find as I couldn't remember where it was. The accommodation had a lovely soft bed and I was asleep in minutes after having a shower in the toilet block which was a long drop and no lights. There was another serious cyclist and his wife there from Wellington. She had driven him up and was going home alone. He had finished around 3.pm. He got in the front pack and they shared the lead and hammered along the beach like professionals. Some people have no sense of humour though and didn't take kindly to my question that that was cheating wasn't it?" I was under the hammer to get to the Poutu Ferry for the only booking I could get at 0700 on Tuesday (yesterday) so got back in the saddle and away at 8.00 am and staggered into Top 10 Kauri Coast Holiday Park at 9 pm. Low point was missing the Rawene Ferry by minutes after hammering the last 4 kms and losing my chain a couple of times, (I already said the bikke was old) so having to wait another hour, and an hour of hard rain from Tane Mahuta through the forest and out into the open. Highjlights were a beer in the pub at Opononi where I charged my phones as Herekino had no sockets and was on solar power and finally arriving after an epic day. I had to walk up most of the hills as my thighs were shot. My biggest ever ride 130 kms. Day Three - to Poutu. Off at 8 and arrived at Poutu after stopping at Joi and Murray's 8 kms past Dargaville where I wolfed down about 6 sandwiches, something else which I have totally forgotten what it was and 3 litres of water. There were lots of hills after this but I felt better and thought maybe I could make the 5.00 pm, boat so hammered it;uphill walking uphill at 5 kmph and coasting downhill at up to 58 kmph. I love the down-hills. I made the ferry but shouldn't have bothered. This is a charter boat specially laid on for the tour and hard to get on. There were dozens waiting. Check out the photo. It looked like a refugee ship. I took some photos then whipped up to the community hall for a $1.0 shower and washed my clothes at the same time. (Water shortage) then a freeze dried meal and into bed. 100kms.

Boarding the night before... The boat was full and took over an hour to load

Boarding the boat from Pouto Point to Helensville 0700 at dawn

Day 5. I am taking the train to Manukau City soon and then cycling to Miranda on Thames Coast. Thank-you to those who have donated. www.justgiving.com/fundraising/john-arnold13 You can follow my progress on the tracking site at https://touraotearoa2022.maprogress.com?bib=dj&m=mh Apparently the tracking can be a bit addictive-why is he stopped, going so slow not finished yet. Please pass this on. This is a worthy cause. There are wonderful people riding for all sorts of charities-one guy even on a unicycle.