Thursday, February 26, 2015

Tararu to Waihi via Rails to Trails Path

Today I rode from Tararu to Waihi NZ. Most of the ride was on the Hauraki Rails to Trails bike path. The trail is crushed shell and gravel but it is packed fairly hard so it was a fairly easy mostly flat ride.

The first part of the ride was through dairy farms and such in a big flat valley following the Thames river. The last part of it was more interesting for me going through the Karangahake Gorge along a faster flowing river. The gorge was a big gold mining area so there were gold mines to visit and trains to ride that used to carry the ore. I did not do those things because I have done them many times in the past. The people I talked to that did them all liked it though.

I am in a Holiday park again tonight. The guy next to me has spent 4 months riding around the country so we have had a good talk with the maps out about where to go and where to avoid. He was a young Londoner and we enjoyed our evening. He goes home in a few days.

There was lots of talk about riding here in New Zealand. There is a ton of animosity between vehicle drivers and bike riders. The accident rate reflects this with the third most dangerous roads for biking in the world. The roads are narrow but a lot of bikes and cars both do not share very well. I just hope I don’t pay for this stupidity by getting hit.

It is already 8pm and I have not made a plan for tomorrow yet. I may just stay here or I may head down to the coast. Who knows??? not me.

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