Our East Cape biking adventure was a ton of fun. We were quite surprised by the physical challenge. The Lonely Planet cycling book Eli gave us for Christmas described this ride as fairly flat and moderately difficult. I would say the hills were respectable West County or VT/NH bumps, and the wind coming up from the south was the strongest wind we have ever biked in. Toward the end of day two I found myself in my middle ring and large cluster on the back (27) pedaling hard to keep moving while riding downhill. The payoff was some of the most spectacular scenery we have ever seen and wonderful people along the way. We were biking through the most rural area of NZ, a region populated predominantly by Mauri people living on small holdings raising kiwi, sheep and cattle and harvesting wood for timber and pulp. Sadly the great majority of the logs are being trucked to Gisborne where they are loaded on ships bound for China.
The first day we rode in beautiful sunshine and no wind. We travelled 75K and settled for the night at a very nice B&B right on the Pacific with a direct view of White Island, New Zealand's largest active volcano. We set out the next morning for Hicks Bay and met the aforementioned south wind as we neared the point of the cape. The final 15K was an effort, but we were rewarded to arrive at the Hicks Bay Hotel and Tavern where a shower, a bed, good food and ale were all available. The proprietor, John Campbell, asked where we were from and shared that he had spent some time in Boston. Turns out he ran the Boston Marathon in 2:11 at the age of 42. That set a masters record which still holds twenty years later. He holds a twelfth place finish in the Olympics as well. Truly an amazing guy and a lot of fun to talk to. The next morning we headed off for Takamoro Bay, a 95K ride with several nasty bumps early in the ride and a wind that never let up. Fortunately the last nine K are downhill and a pub is at the bottom of the hill. We found a very nice place to stay and met a couple form Tanzania who we joined for supper at the aforementioned pub. Thursday morning was overcast and we indulged ourselves and ate a leisurely breakfast and waited around for the sun to come out. We biked 35K in the afternoon and stopped for the night in Tolega Bay at the local inn where we again had supper company. This time it was a physician and his wife from Auckland. He was traveling the East cape giving CE talks to docs and nurses on gout and diabetes which seem to be very common in the Mauri, They had Internet access and were able to tell us that Elizabeth Warren had won. NZ TV Covered the presidential race and we had found out that result when we finished our ride Wednesday (Tuesday evening in MA).
We woke up Friday AM to sunshine and NO wind. he ride into Gisbone, 55K was a breeze. On he way we stopped at the site where Whale Rider was filmed. It is actually a site where several dozen whales were beached and there is a memorial plaque to honor the whales and those who tried to help. We arrived in Gisbone early in the afternoon and walked the town enjoying wine tasting and just being tourists. We had mixed feelings about finishing the ride. We were both relievEd to have finished safely with no mechanical or other issues, but a little sad that this portion of the trip was over. We figure we saw well over 5000 sheep, spectacular coastline and landscapes and met a number of very enjoyable people. Saturday morning we boarded a bus for Opotiki where we were reunited with our luggage and prepared to meet Mark and Pat for phase two of our trip. We join them in Rotorua where we will stay for four days before heading suth.
