Wow - just - wow! Sally and Andrew certainly looked after me with my birthday present weekend. Three days of mountain biking fun in the central North Island with the Timber Trail as the highlight.
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| Iced coffee at Sugar Plum Cafe north of Bulls |
I stayed the night on Thursday at Sally and Andrew's place so we could get up super early and get away. I think we left their place at about 5.30am on Friday. We figured we'd eat breakfast somewhere around Foxton and planned on checking out the cafe there where Andrew knows the owner. But Andrew's friend's cafe was closed (in fact, for sale) and the cafe options in Bulls were closed completely and we didn't fancy a kebab for breakfast.
We kept driving and finally stopped at the Sugar Plum Cafe north of Bulls. But it was shut as we pulled into their car park. We were looking at Taihape for brekkie when the cafe opened up. So we got a nice iced coffee and a good breakfast.
It took us a while to get to the Timber Trail, not too far from Taumarunui. We got to the car park and got kitted up. It was almost bang on 1pm when Andrew and I left Sally.
We were immediately into lovely bush and I was slightly anxious as I am not very experienced at trail riding. A few muddy puddles had me stepping off as I lost a bit of traction. But with some guidance from Andrew, I was starting to get a feel for the difference.
We popped out of the bush onto more open terrain and climbed up steadily to the top of the hill. No real views as it was a bit cloudy. I swear I saw the outline of Lake Taupo through the misty rain at one lookout.
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| First suspension bridge |
Once at the top of the hill, it was a much easier ride for the rest of the day. We also encountered some suspension bridges that were superbly engineered. Like a cobweb of bridge.
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| I'm the wee fluoro dot in the middle |
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| Happy cyclist |
Not far from Piro Piro campsite we headed off the trail towards our accommodation. Blackfern Lodge. Which was surprising as it was 7 kms away and had a hill in-between to negotiate. We entered a private property for the lodge and rode up a steep hill covered with pine. It meant the ground was soft with pine needles and the odd pine cone. Andrew called the pine cones "hand grenades" because they made your tyres do unexpected things if you rode over them.
But we got to the lodge at 6pm. 5 hours wasn't too bad for a newbie like me. Andrew cleaned the bikes and my bike has never been so well looked after. We walked to a gorgeous wee waterfall and then had dinner.
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| Dirty cyclist |
The lodge provided food and we just had to warm it all up. Beef hot pot. No cell phone reception so we were hoping Mike could find the place in the dark. He left work at 4pm to head up in the wee green car.
I was asleep in seconds after turning out my light. At 3am Andrew knocked on my door and Mike was in the car park! Woot! However, Mike was slightly grumpy having had an epic search for the place and ended up sleeping on the porch of the office of the lodge - which was about 1km back down the road. His snoring woke the husband of the owner up and Mike was directed to our rooms. Yay!
Mike slept in a little - he might have got around 5 hours sleep in the bed! We had brekkie and then loaded up and headed for the place Andrew and I left the trail yesterday. We were away riding by 11am.
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| Suspension bridge on the second day |
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| Before we got really dirty |
At the shelter we compared legs and how much dirt we had on them. And also scoffed those sardines. Mmmmm. The day was a bit more drizzly than yesterday. But the trail seemed to absorb the water quite well.
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| Lovely scenery |
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| Negotiating the trail |
Once we got up the main hill, the downhill on the other side was amazing. It was the timber trail proper for a good portion of it, and we could get a smooth rhythm up on the continuous downhill. You'd just keep an eye ahead and let the bike run (the boys were far better at that than me - I kept the brakes close) and avoid tree roots and branches and pick your line.
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| Dynamic effort from Mike |
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| Lovely bluffs |
The wet weather did mean we were really dirty by the time we got to the end of it. We past a Russian family (mum, dad, two children around 10 years old) not too much before the spiral. They were going well,, despite the conditions.
The last wee bit was great. We went downhill for kilometres - the best parts for me were the bits through wee cuttings. We also went across open areas used to turn the tram locomotives. We saw old camps for the loggers. There were old bits of trams scattered around from time to time. I did so much downhill that by the end of it I could keep up with Mike. keeping up with Andrew is another matter entirely.
The spiral was superb - it's a way for a train to get down a steep bit by coming down around itself - usually with a bridge/tunnel option. Andrew stayed high on the bridge and took photos of me and Mike coming out of the tunnel as we rode over the bridge over the creek. Once off the hill, we were skirting farmland until we got into Ongarue and met Sally. Andrew took the back road to Taumarunui (28km) but I chose to get warm in the car.
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| Really dirty cyclist |
Sally, Mike and I drove back to collect the wee green car and we drove back to collect Andrew in convoy. Then off to Ohakune to find our accommodation there. A chalet at Ossies. It was small but not too bad. I jumped in the shower because I was cold and dirty. We headed into town to get dinner. We ate at an Italian place. Osteria I think it was called. Quite good thanks! Just what we wanted.
Crashed into bed and read for a bit before a great sleep. Up late-ish and had breakfast at Mountain Rocks in town. Then Sally dropped us off at the Old Coach Road and we started our ride back to Ohakune from there.
I was expecting a rail trail - but it was actually a lot more varied than that. It had a lot of cobblestones still in place, which made for bumpy riding. It was also muddy and had loads of tree roots. We met a family out biking at the old viaduct. The girls (aged maybe 8 - 12) were fascinated when Andrew climbed past the No Entry sign onto the old viaduct. The mother made sure to point out this was not ideal behaviour.
After passing them a few minutes later, we climbed up out of a valley and along the top for a while, before a lovely downhill. It was only about 9 kms all up, but it took a wee while as the going was quite slow.
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| Old viaduct |
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| Another old viaduct |
We enjoyed the other old viaduct and walked up and down it. Andrew rode his bike back over the old sleepers on our return. We explored the old tunnel that the new line had sliced through. Back to the car park and around the roads back to Ohakune. We found Sally easily and stripped off and loaded up the bikes and headed home.
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| Iced coffee at Brown Sugar Cafe |
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| Tom foolery |
We stopped for a late lunch at the Brown Sugar Cafe and enjoyed the sunshine. Mike and I drove the whole way home with the roof down. I sang nearly the whole way.
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| Selfie on Paekakariki Road |
When we got home, wee Smudge was so happy to see us. Purring like a wee engine. I cooked tea and we ate that and fell into bed.
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| Dinner was chicken with ratatouille |
What an amazing weekend. Such a wonderful present. The memories will last a lifetime. Thank you, Sally and Andrew. Sally was happy to drive around for us and pick up dirty wet bike gear whenever we left a wee trail of it behind us anywhere. Lucky she likes driving and reading! Andrew was his usual cheerful self, riding behind me and giving me lots of good advice on how to switch to riding on the trail. So patient. And Mike was easily able to outpace me on most of the trail and absolutely loved it too. So it was a good team! Such a well organised trip. Sally should arrange holidays in her spare time! Went like clockwork.
Toby is due back tomorrow night. Yay. They celebrated Dad's birthday on Saturday together. Happy birthday Dad! Smudge will be happy to see him. And I can't wait either.
Have a fantastic week.
Love,
Angela
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