Tues Jan 31 (Ohiwa to Kaweru, 65km):

This was expected to be an easy day: easier terrain and relatively short.  But it was also the first day when we'd actually have to read the map because we'd actually have to make some turns, not just follow the highway!

However, we were off to a bad start because the rental bike lock seized up so we had to get Todd, the Ohiwa Family Holiday Park staffer, to cut the lock off Jenni and Terri's rental bikes.

Then, just outside the gates, my wheels (bicycle) just stopped turning!  The whole rear derailleur was twisted so much, it was caught in the spokes of my wheel.  Todd, a handsome, avid mountain biker himself, came to my rescue.  He took my bike into the work shed where he bent the rear dropout and derailleur guard back into shape, tweaked the barrel adjuster. So 20 minutes later, I was on my way to catch up with the others (except for Martel who would, as normal, give us a head-start, before slowly driving out to check up on us).  Hurray for Todd, my new hero!  (Remember that my bike had fallen over a couple of times during the first few days, so I suspect the rear dropout probably got bent early on and got progressively worse until it that sickening moment when my derailleur got caught up in my spokes.)

For the first 20-30 km, I babied my bike and stopped at the top of every hill to confirm that the rear derailleur was still in alignment.  But Todd had done a good job and it ran as smoothly as could be expected.  We'd be in Rotorua in a couple of days and I'd have time to take it to a bike shop.

Eric, Robert and Carole had waited for me at the first checkpoint and Eric wanted us to stay together just in case my bike had any other problems.  Carole's front tire had developed a worrying bulge, so she was riding slowly and cautiously as well.  She decided to wait until lunch to change it since we were already behind the others.  So we four limped on to the lunch spot, but the other women weren't there.  Eric scoured the streets of Whakatane for them but to no avail.

But as we were lunching, who should sail up but Fran, Jenni and Terri: they'd been stopping at a potter's studio and we'd missed seeing their bikes.

After lunch, Eric, Fran and I decided to continue on whilst the rest attended an art exhibition in Whakatane.

On the way to Kawerau, we finally hit a stretch of flat, straight pavement along Hwy 30, quite a shock over the last few days of riding.  We also rode past the Tasman Pulp and Paper Mill, another shock with its smoke stacks and chemical smells.

We three arrived first to the Tarawera River Lodge.  The lodge is located on a quiet, residential street and had only 6 units.  We had three fully-contained units (with unlimited internet!) and our gracious hosts were Aroha and Murry who gave us a warm welcome.