I was up early for an enormous breakfast at The Trout Hotel where I was staying…they certainly know how to feed hungry unicyclists!

There was a little bit of road riding to Pelorus. I’m very glad I swapped the orange Macpac bag cover for a fluoro yellow reflective Oxford cover when I was in Wellington. Paired with my Knog cobbler backlight, it certainly felt safer on the road.

After Pelorus bridge the TA took us up the Maungatapu track. On our course notes, it’s one big pointy hill which takes us from near sea level to 740m. The climb that fills many TA riders with dread. 

The first part was pleasant 4WD gravel, but then it went straight UP for the final 12km. Most riders push a good portion of this, which is an advantage for unicyclists.
I got to the top at the Maungatapu Saddle before the other TA riders, took the control point photo, then swapped to longer 125mm cranks for the ride down. It was as rocky and loose going down as on the way up, so required a lot of effort again. I am not riding with a brake, but this is one downhill where it would be useful. 

It wasn’t until the lower portion of the track at the Maitai Valley that it became smoother. I swapped back to short 100mm cranks to get my speed up. At that point I was joined by a former TA rider, Margot, and then a local unicyclist, Steve, who rode with me into Nelson. 
After a pie and chocolate milk stop (*chocolate milk is an amazing energy drink- something I discovered on TA), Margot guided me to Richmond, where I met another unicyclist, Julian, and wife Yvonne, who rode with me to Brightwater. It was great having company most of my way through Nelson/Richmond!

I completed my ride in Wakefield, an 81km day. Shower, dinner, wash clothes, charge lights/phone, blog then bed. It’s a big day tomorrow- I will be aiming to get to Murchison (128km).

I didn’t get much sleep last night trying to figure out my South Island plan, so slept in slightly. I had a hurried coffee and said goodbye to Anna and the kids. 

I live in the Northern suburbs, so it is a 13km time trial to get to the Bluebridge ferry checkin at 7.15am, which I made in the nick of time. It turned out there was no need to rush- the ferry was delayed almost an hour. 

There were a lot of riders from the second and third start waves getting on the ferry today, so it was a big procession of bikes into the vehicle bays. 
I got my checkpoint photo (Cook Strait crossing), then settled in for the 3hr trip. 

Once into Picton I headed straight to the bakery for a quick pie and custard buns before hitting the road.  What a road! It’s many years since I last rode Queen Charlotte Drive…a very picturesque and fun ride, with rolling terrain and sweeping turns over the sounds. 

My unicycle, complete with new bearings, new tyre worked flawlessly. Better still, the extended handlebar relieved much butt hurt and arm/hand strain. I could ride this setup all day!

After stocking up in Havelock I rode a bit further to a place called Canvastown, which seems to consist of one pub/hotel with half the locals enjoying a night out.  It’s a pretty cute place, and they serve an amazing burger and chips…just what I need before the big climb tomorrow.

Today was my first proper rest day. It was tempting to keep going, but there was a bit of work to do.
As in work- I caught up with paperwork from my day job. My colleagues are under a huge amount of pressure due to Covid, and we are down staff due to the virus.  They are doing an outstanding job covering me while I’m on this crazy pursuit, for which I am eternally grateful.

Anna has managed to keep the houseplants alive, as well as being amazing support while solo-parenting/ kid wrangling without me.  Mum came over and gave me a massage with some smelly Chinese medicine.  Feels good. 

The unicycle finally got the maintenance it needed. I dropped by Johnsonville Cycles, where Ben looked at my crunchy bearings and shook his head. Not going to get you another 1500km mate!  Luckily I had a spare set of bearings which we managed to reset into the axle.   I also changed the handlebar setup (my cut-down racebar was too short for long distance comfort, so I swapped it over to a regular KH T-bar.  The bottle cage which was held on by cable ties are now secured with hose clamps.  Finally, I got a new fluoro yellow Oxford raincover for better visibility. The Macpac cover really doesn’t show up at night, despite being orange.

All set for the ferry tomorrow!

I was feeling good about today- the legs were at 80%, but it was still almost 150km to get home to Wellington. I thought I might need to stop at Upper Hutt and stay the night there.
The rolling Wairarapa roads are some of my favourites- I’d done many rides when I worked in Masterton.  On the unicycle, I was cruising well, about 18km/hr, which would see me all the way home if I kept it up.

The TA route took us on backroads with little traffic, so it made for a very enjoyable ride. As I approached Martinborough, an ex-TA rider, Matt, rode with me on his recumbent bike. My family were having a picnic at the Martinborough square, so I had a quick lunch with them before setting off to see if I could make it all the way home.

As I rounded Featherston, my friend Kelly and her daughter Juliet were out with the entire South Featherston Primary cheering me from the side of the road!  I was feeling decidedly sluggish at that point- it was getting rather hot, so that was just the boost I needed. I sped off with renewed vigour to tackle the Remutaka Rail Trail.

The rail trail is a track I have ridden many times over the years, I consider it part of my home trails. I made short work of the climb to take my control point photo at the summit tunnel, then had a blast shredding the gravel all the way down the rail trail. This was the most fun I’ve had on tour- it’s a very fast, sweeping gravel trail.

By the time I got to the Te Marua dairy, it was 5.30pm. Enough to ride home, even if it gets dark. The Hutt River Trail is also familiar, but the Upper Hutt section is new to me. It took longer than expected- Upper Hutt is long! I finally hit the Lower Hutt portion of the river trail, and started pedaling as fast as I could.
It was getting dark by the time I arrived at the Petone foreshore, but it wasn’t much further to make it back to Wellington!  The only problem with living in the Northern suburbs is that it’s up a very big hill. I had one final grind up the gorge and then further climbing up to my house. It was a wonderful sight to finally see the Grenada Village sign!

I arrived home just before 10pm. It had been another long day, but well worth it. Hot shower, comfy bed, home with my family after 2 weeks riding from the top of the country to the bottom of the North Island. Bliss!

Today’s ride started with a nice climb over the Pahiatua track. The body was feeling better, and sore bits less sore, but the legs were still lacking in power. The climb was worthwhile, with fantastic views of the Manawatu and an up close view of the wind turbines at the Tararua Wind Farm.

What goes up, must come down. There was a cool sweeping descent which put a big smile on my face. Even more so when I came across another TA supporter, Helen, who was waiting at the bottom with a drink and hot cross bun. Yum! Just what I needed. 
The ride today along rolling country roads were among my favorites so far. I passed through Pahiatua, then stopped at Eketahuna for lunch and to take the checkpoint 13 photo of a giant kiwi statue.   

Onward to Masterton…it was getting pretty hot but the rolling terrain suited me. I was cruising comfortably at 16-18km/hr until I reached Masterton. 

I had spent a lot of time working in Masterton Hospital as a house officer, so it’s a town I know well…it was almost like riding home.  Anna and the kids were staying at the holiday park so I also get to spend another night with them. 

Everything hurts today! I had pushed a little too hard yesterday. After a big breakfast at Bridget and Jim’s, my family saw me off for a ‘shorter’ ride. 

The muscles were stiff, my arms were hurting, my hand couldn’t get in a comfortable position, my bum was sore and my feet hurt. It was going to be a long recovery day, so I kept the pace fairly gentle. 
There were a few yummy apple trees on the side of the road, so I had several apple stops. 

Anna was meeting me for lunch at the river by totara reserve. It was a lovely spot to have a picnic. I stayed almost an hour watching my kids play.

Some local riders came out to meet and ride with me as I arrived into Palmerston North. It was great having company from Richard and Neil.  As I approached my destination, my son Gryffin was out there waving the Adventure Unicyclist flag!  It was pretty cool riding the last km or so with Anna and Anthea on the buggy, and Gryffin on his balance bike!

I was well rested and well fed after the  night at Matahiwi cabins. Host Marlene and her daughter Shantel saw me off as I rode out along Whanganui River Road. 

It was a beautiful ride as the sun rose The gently rolling road follows the Whanganui river for another 40km or so.  One of my favourite riding experiences so far.  My legs were feeling good and I was spinning comfortably at 18-20km/hr.
I finally reached the highway and turned toward Whanganui. After crossing a bridge it was onto cycle path all the way into Whanganui. A local rider, Paul, came out to say hi and rode with me into town, then the Whanganui Chronicle caught me for a quick interview as I scoffed down my lunch. 

The photo checkpoint for today is the Durie Hill lookout, accessed via a tunnel and an elevator. Unfortunately both were shut so I had to lug my unicycle up a huge flight of stairs to get to the hilltop, with sweeping views of Whanganui and the river. 

It was a long ride today- I was heading for Hunterville (114km), but my legs were feeling good. My wife Anna, 3yr old Gryffin and 8m old Anthea were staying with our friends Bridget and Jim in Rangiwahia, the next town on the Tour. It was a further 41.8km, and they were going to meet me tomorrow.  I was missing them terribly, so figured that I could do the extra distance and get there tonight.

 It’s just a marathon between me and my family, which a top unicyclist on a standard unicycle can knock off in 1hr40. Add a bit extra for the 500m climb and the 11km gravel road, and I thought I could do it in 3hrs. 

I arrived in Hunterville at 4.30. Still 3hrs daylight….so decided to push on. Suddenly the legs which felt great at 80km didn’t feel so good at 114km. Anyway, I’d made up my mind. 

The road just kept getting harder, until I hit the gravel section. It was a slow, painful grind but I’m getting to my wife and kids even if I have to grind gravel all night! There were some big climbs but I finally made it to Bridget and Jim’s. It had been a 14hr day. The body was feeling pretty broken, but I made it!

They fed me an enormous mountain of curry and rice- that hit the spot! 

The next 40km section is apparently pretty tough, so I left at 6.30 hoping to make it to the 1.30 jetboat transfer to Pipiriki. 

The farm track eventually turned into singletrack- the sort you walk rather than ride.  At least a unicycle is easier to maneuver than a fully laden touring bike, which would not be fun!  I passed some TA riders having a hard time on the narrow Kaiwhakauka track. 

It was a steady climb for 16km up to Mangapurua trig, then a big downhill to Mangapurua landing, where we would catch the jetboat. 

One photo stop at the Bridge to Nowhere to collect along the way, and then we were whisked 30km downriver on the jetboat. I rode a further 24km to finish in Matahiwi, which has a great cafe and cabins. 

Today was rest day of sorts. After two very difficult rides, I thought I’d do just 65km today, and aim for the jet boat transfer tomorrow. 
It doesn’t sound like there will be many shops for the next two days, so I stocked up and made some calorie bombs. Basically it’s an English muffin with huge dollop of peanut butter and jam (heaped tablespoon) so there is more filling than there is bread.  

My legs were stiff from yesterday’s 14hr ride, so I tried a light spin to free up the muscles. Today was basically one big climb, then one big downhill, mostly on gravel roads. I met another TA rider travelling in the opposite direction (Bluff to Cape Reinga). Otherwise it was a fairly uneventful ride- there were few cars on these backroads.

I finished the ride at Blue Duck Cafe which has a lodge/cabins. It’s the first day since Poutu landing where I have finished riding before 5pm, and I get to blob out on the couch!

The Timber Trail is a 85km ride through the Pureora forest, which is one of the last remnants of original native forests which were milled by early settlers. Much of the trail is on the original tramline used to move timber, until it was stopped by a conservation protest. 

It’s a nice single track, but starts with a big climb up to 1000m. I figured that once I get to the top, it would be  an easy ride. Wrong! 

In most circumstances, it would be. The track is grade 2-3. However, fully laden with a pack, food/water, and a good collection of saddle sores and legs that had done 800km, it was not the easy cross country ride I imagined. I burned a huge amount of energy going up and then descending the first hill. Everytime you hit a bump on a unicycle, you have to unweight and correct your balance, which burns a lot fuel. A bit like a jet- you can cruise quite efficiently, but as soon as you accelerate/decelerate or correct your position, you’re burning extra. I had an enormous breakfast and packed a huge amount of food, but after I got through the big climb/descdnt, I was making mental calculations on how much to burn. What worked this morning for a 10hr ride  was not going to work for 12-14hrs, and my average speed kept dropping.

Luckily, I passed two mountainbikers from Tauranga who gave me some energy gel/jubes, and the two bike packers also from Tauranga, who gave me some energy bars. Thank you Tom, Megan and the other couple.  I burned every bit of fuel to get home! 

I’ve figured out why I keep miscalculating. I am packing twice as much as I would normally eat, but am probably eating three times as much. What looks like an enormous amount of food doesn’t look so flash at the end of the day. 

Riding the country is not just tough on the body, its hard on equipment. My unicycle started making various noises…which had me worried. What if my bearings blew apart on the middle of nowhere? Or the seat/wheel explodes into shards of carbon fibre? 

There were various squeaks- the clicking from Day 1  turned out to be the plastic guard on my shoe hitting the crank. No problem. There was a clink which worried me all day but turned out to be my tools rattling in the bag. A few creaks from the cranks (generally ok), and a high pitched squeak (which could be my bearings)
I had been messaging my friend David Stockton (unicycle guru who built the strongest 36″ wheel in the world). The plan would be to get the bearings greased in the next big town, and hopefully replaced when I get to Wellington. 

Anyway, both rider and unicycle made it through the timber trail, then another 24km into the next town (Taumaranui). I was running on fumes by then, as had been out riding for 14hrs.