Day 12 So many things - & Miranda to Matamata - 117km!

This will be our longest ride by far today - and looking at the sky, very likely the wetest. It is not raining now (07:30 - fortunately for the tent dwellers) but it feels like rain and for forecast is says it will rain most of the day. However we have paid for accommodation in Matamata and we are stubborn. At least we will have a tail wind again :-)

Sau Keng's sense of direction is not the best. I take a last photo of the campground while she rides ahead... Leaving the campground our gate, awkward for Sau Keng, and a farm driveway. Where is she? Past the gate the track continues south down the road and also across the road, towards the sea - which will go back to the track's start at Kaiaua. No sign of Sau Keng. I return to the campground and she is sheepishly coming back up the farm driveway. I hold the gate open then have to stop her again as she heads across the road for the path to Kaiaua :-) (anecdote by permission)

Gray morning near Miranda

My bike is silent, no more clicking sounds. It was really bugging me - Very happy! The rain starts at about 8, before we get to SH2. Soon after Sau Keng is slowing, saying something is wrong, but speeds up again and keeps going. We pause at cafe at Waitakaruru and she explains: The trike is registering high speeds - 30km/hr, 50, even 80 at times and the pedal triggered assistance is not working. The hand throttle is working though, allowing her to continue. I hypothesize the problem is with the speed sensor. It is reporting too high and the controller has a cutoff - only giving assistance up to 25km/hr. We are fortunate the hand control is still available. My hypothesis is reassuring - to a degree - so we push on and will reevaluate at Kopu, about 20km on.

We are riding this section on SH2. Until recently this section of the track was closed because of cyclone Gabriele storm damage. Now it is open - but with a warning that the track is 'bumpy in places' and is being worked on. It is also several kilometers longer than the SH2 route. We will take the road.

SH2 mostly has a wide shoulder and it's not busy now - riding is fine and Kopu arrives in due course.

We stop and shelter in a Lockwood show home entrance veranda. Spacious and they don't open until 12 and we both like Lockwood. I attempt to dry & waterproof the sensor - but as expected when I spin the wheel the speed shown immediately jumps to 30km/hr - no good. Duh! Just move the magnet that triggers the sensor. Dead easy and now the sensor says the trike is not moving and the controller is happy to help :-) Sau Keng says it's a bit too keen to help - but that she can handle it. We celebrate with a snack and set off again.

Hm looks like we picked the wrong direction, the path is gone. We ask at the nearby cafe and are pointed back to the river 'Turn left under the bridge'. Soon we are far from the roads and cannot hear traffic. The rain has eased and riding is actually very pleasant, we are gliding along in a misty bubble of verdant farmland.

Heavy rain welcomes us to Paeroa. It's 1pm and we are about half way to Matamata, this is a good time to stop for lunch. I do the buying - and probably get one or two things too many but we are both hungry. There are a couple of other riders here, the 'proper' Tour Aotearoa ride started about few days ago and many of the riders have caught up with us already. Through the window I see the front light on my bike is on. That is not good as I just turned it off. Water must have got into it (exactly the same happened with my previous light - same make - and killed it - I won't buy Blackburn again)

Riding again, now with Te Araroa as our target. The rain eases... Stops... It has been stopped for a while now so I pack my raincoat and will dry off soon, these clothes are very light. Sau Keng will take a bit longer as her clothes are thicker. It looks like the rain might be finished for the day :-)

This trail is not 'exciting' and does not have obviously dramatic scenery - but we are really enjoying it for the peaceful rural feel. Also, I think there is drama in the scenery. To our left are the Kaimai ranges, which start at the top of the Coromandel peninsula, we have been riding past them all day since Kopu and still they stretch to the horizon in front of us. Awesome. Despite the nearby mountain range our ride has been almost perfectly flat - all the way from Miranda. I find this enormous flat expanse awesome too - and Sau Keng has just asked 'How did this all come to be so flat? - so she is feeling the same. (this used to be the Waikato river valley before an earthquake diverted its course is the answer I have heard)

There is a cow on the trail, Sau Keng likes cows and this one lets her get quite close, unusual, then I see she is lame - very cautiously placing her right front foot.

We take a photo, then as we ride past I see one of the rear tyres on the trike is flat :-( How long has it been like that? Sau Keng does not remember the feel of the trike changing. I don't think it has been long, I have been following and would have noticed. Unpack the trike - it's so good the rain has stopped - this would not be fun in rain and the gear might get wet. I find hole easily enough, but nothing to explain why there is a hole.

Put the spare tube in, pump up and am about to repack - but see the frame that holds the basket is broken! - Actually I should have found this earlier as I noticed the basket

Broken frame. break is diagonal white line at lower left

rocking a little the last day or two. Maybe we can get this welded... The shape of the pieces are convenient - I can tie them securely - this does a very good job, there is no movement at all :-) I think it may be good for the rest of the trip :-)

We are repacking when I notice Sau Keng's flag - or rather stick. The flag is gone - I guess she rode under something that flipped it off.

Two uniwheel riders go past, I saw them in Miranda. They are doing the tour and tell us they can do more than 100km on a charge - much more than I expected. They also invite us to go to their You Tube channels and I see one of the riders has a camera mounted on the chin of his helmet - maybe we will feature on their vlog. The farmer arrives on his bike, he does not seem too concerned about the cow and drives it - slowly - up the lane. We are riding again - still a long way to go to get to Matamata.

Te Aroha, under the mountain of love ("Aroha" - to love, feel pity, feel concern for, feel compassion, empathise) We stop, but just for a couple of photos, we are keen to get the day's riding over now and Matamata is still 35km away. Sau Keng picks up the pace, the batteries are doing very well on this flat track, she has plenty of power in reserve.

More breakages! But these are trivial and do not threaten our journey. The flag stick is cracked at the socket it slips into - she will have to stop riding under low branches. (Easy fix, remove the broken bit, and now we have a good stick 2cm shorter) The other breakage is a bracket I made for my rear light. I felt from the start it might not be strong enough. It's okay, since we reorganized and left my pack in Auckland I can attach the light to the seat post.

Finally signs for Matamata appear and then the town itself. 7pm, we unload then hop on the bikes again and head to town for dinner. Sau Keng chose the Osteria Italian restaurant and it is very nice.

Heading home, Sau Keng gets on her trike, rides a couple of meters, stops. "Flat tyre" It's the front tyre this time. I ride home, patch the tube we took off earlier and return. Sau Keng minds the trike, chats with the waitress, has a desert.

Matamata at night

Finally we are home. There is lots of washing for tomorrow and I need to do something about my shoes . My shoes are smelly too - vinegar and baking soda was fix last time - but then they smelled of vinegar. We will stay in Matamata tomorrow, moving to Paul Higgin's family bach which Paul has kindly offered to us. It will be nice to have a rest and the forecast is for rain again too.

Looking forward to bed!