I was feeling quite settled today, the routine was becoming familiar.  Wash, refuel, recover, then do it all again. It’s just another 100km unicycle ride!

The first section took me out toward Kawakawa Bay. It was quite picturesque but the road camber was tricky to negotiate.  Like many NZ roads, it must have been designed by someone who hates unicyclists. On a bike, you can correct for road camber easily. On a unicycle, you’re fighting to go in a straight line. I’m normally fairly adept at riding camber, but saddle sores made it hard to adjust my body position. 

I has a mild panic a few days ago when I couldn’t straighten the fingers in my left hand. Arghh! I must have an ulnar nerve palsy. On close inspection, I had no numbness and had reasonable power even if I couldn’t straighten fully, so I self diagnosed tendinitis…today it started clicking and locking, consistent with swollen tendons/sheath/trigger finger. I changed my hand position to ease up on the A1 pulley.  Riding 10-12hrs a day does that!

After a nice climb out of Kawakawa Bay, I rode further along the very pretty coastline, before getting onto the Hauraki rail trail just after the Miranda Hot Springs.  It’s a fantastic trail…it you like riding on ball bearings. The freshly laid gravel is not compacted, so the ride consisted of picking the best line through slippery, grabby stones. 

I took the obligatory selfie with dairy cows (photo checkpoint 6) as I continued to Paeroa. I also met Bruce Vickerman, a unicyclist who lives out this way, as he came out to say hi!

The last 30km to Paeroa was much more compacted, and I went into spinny leg mode and had a blast, loving the gravel! This is how it should be. 

At Paeroa, home of the famous Lemon and Paeroa (L&P) drink, I did the tourist thing and took a photo next to thd giant L&P bottle. 

Finally arrived at my motel to find the office shut. Arghh! I forget to ring ahead to say I’d be late. With a lot of arm flapping and waving, I managed to attract the attention of the owners who let me in. Phew!