Palmerston North to Eketahuna

Tuesday March 20, 2018, 46 miles (74 km) - Total so far: 4,455 miles

(7,169 km)

The first part of today's ride involved taking the Pahiatua Track, which would usually be a very quiet road. However, due to the nearby closure of SH 3, there is a reasonable amount of traffic going along it. We didn't actually find it too bad (there's another alternative route too which may take more traffic), and it's a great climb. As we neared the top, we were overtaken by several sprightly things on road bikes. Once at the top, we stopped to admire the view and have a chat. Turns out they are a group on a supported trip - mostly American, with a couple of Canadians. Their guides were also very friendly and gave us their card, offering accommodation in Christchurch even minus bikes (they are warm showers hosts)!

The hill was followed by a great descent, after which it seemed to take an inordinately long time to get to Pahiatua. However, it can't have been that long as we encounter the cycling group once again, still having their lunch! They tried very hard to share their food with us but, alas, we'd just eaten our far inferior sandwiches. We chatted for a a little while longer, before heading to New World to borrow the free wifi....and also buy some fruit. We checked out the remainder of the route and were crestfallen to realise we still had 37km to go, and it was ALL UP HILL!!!!

Turns out, the uphill-ness was barely discernible so, with the help of a roaring tailwind, we made great progress. A friendly farmer pulled alongside on his quad bike and reassured us that even the actual hill right at the end wasn't too bad.....I am learning not to trust hill-judgement of people in motorised vehicles, but actually he was spot on!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1463522514
https://www.strava.com/activities/1463523346
(two parts due to a GPS malfunction!)

Eketahuna is a pleasant little place. Everyone seemed very friendly, and it's been through a period of self improvement - meaning excellent toilets, amongst other things! They're right on the Tour Aotearoa route so have seen a lot of cyclists recently. The campsite is a little gem - lovely people and great facilities for $7 each. It was a very quiet spot too - apart from some road noise as the town's right on SH2, but that didn't bother us.