A day later than planed did I start from Rotorua for the 300km ride to Auckland. This one day delay which I used to update the website and play MONOPOLY together with Josua, Ryan and Gudrun meant that I’d have to go quite a bit faster.
And lucky I was! Pleasant tailwinds pushed me over the hills just behind Rotorua and through a big valley into the northern direction. I passed Matamata and had still an average of 26km/h. I could have turned right and would have gone to the Coromandel Peninsula, but I didn’t have the time.
So I continued to Kaiaua and pitched my tent next to the water on a few square metres of grass. The evening sunset coloured the approaching rainshowers in a warm red and to the other side of the Thames Bay I could see the Coromandel Peninsula in a surreal red color.
During the night the tide brought the water close to my tent – about 5 meters away. Quite a strange feeling to sleep so close to the waves!
After the tent had dried in the wonderful morning sun I started at 9am and got company after only 10km: A road cyclist, Peter, joined me and together we cycled all the way to Clevedon. In this small rural town I went to a market and bought some avocadoes, ginger cake and home-made white chocolate bonbons – yum!
The rest of the day consisted mostly of cycling through the suburbs of Auckland – pretty boring! Only a few rainshowers made the ride a bit exciting. And the northern waterfront near the harbour was also worth the ride … a lot of cyclists, tourists, pedestrians and a nice view on the yacht clubs, the big tankers and the Auckland city centre.
In the evening I arrived in Albany, 25km north of Auckland, and met Arnold and Marieke from Beijing to Paris (check the website of the project for the full diary which has recently been put online). I got a warm welcome, a lot of good food and a ride the next morning that I won’t forget that fast! At an average of almost 25km/h we raced more than 40km and Arnold and Marieke showed me how fit they are – I cycled at the end all the time! Impressive!
 
Arnold showed me his Packard old timer which he’s building up as a hobby and I could do a kayaking trip with Marieke’s kayak in the afternoon. I enjoyed the time with this inspiring and motivating cyclist couple a lot and hope I’ll be that fit when I’ll be in their age. Thank you a lot!
10.05.2008: 181.2km; 7:19h; 24.7km/h
11.05.2008: 105km; 17.3km/h; about 1300 altimetres
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