Karapiro Cycle Trail

I promise not to keep writing 2 blogs a day but our plans changed this morning so I need to update!
Our first stop after leaving the golf club at Tirau was the local garage where they were ever so obliging in tightening up our alternator belt and pumping up our tyres which is an awkward process all for a very reasonable price. Then we changed our route again, deciding to head straight to Te Awamutu via Horahora Rd, which runs along the side of Lake Karapiro, in the hope that the weather would improve again as it did yesterday. We stopped for a coffee at the Little Waipa reserve and remarkably the sky cleared and the sun came out at the same time.

There were 2 other motorhomes parked at the reserve and the small world theme continues. I knew one of the couple's wives Jean, as she had been a patient of mine and the daughter of the other couple is a Physio working for Mel at the Mount! So we had a bit of a chat before setting off on the bike ride to Arapuni which I think was the group one that we were all going to do some time ago.

It was great, the first part followed the edge of the river and was reasonably flat but steeper parts emerged, some of which we had to dismount and walk, firstly because my roadie type tyres were slipping in low gear and secondly because my breath was slipping away also. But that was all fine and quite a bit easier on the way back so I think we did it the right way round.

Len was rapt as when we arrived at the Arapuni Bridge a guy, Mr Thompson, who had his 2 sons with him and who has family in Tauranga, was  just pulling in his 4th large rainbow trout using garden worms for bait. He is on an invalid's benefit and had been saving up for 2 years for another fishing licence ($160) - this is the first day of the season so he was very happy, as we were for him.
The ride took us about 2 hours in total and just as we got back to the bus the rain started again so we were pretty lucky. Hope all of you in Tga will do it now.
Tonight we are staying in Te Awamutu in the backyard of a fellow NZMCA member whose name we got out of the book. Only costs $7 for the night which includes power and water.