Distance: 109.57 km
Ride time: 4:58:45
Average: 22.13 km/h
Total: 19904 km
I do much of my route planning “on the go”. There are several ways to go from Wellington to Auckland. I had kind of decided to head towards the East Cape, but today I saw a sign for Palmerston and rather spontaneously decided to go that way. This route will be a bit shorter and I will not be in a rush to catch my flight back to Australia in 9 days.
The day started flat but soon the landscape turned into rolling hills and then real climbs. Flat stretches never last for long in New Zealand. Luckily my shape is good at the moment, and I do enjoy the climbs.
In Palmerston I stopped at the New World supermarket – my favourite place to shop because they dump the prices a few hours before closing time. I walked away with Pizza slices, lasagna and cookies, all for a few dollars.
If I had known I would be in Palmerston for the night I think I could have found a place to stay through friends of friends – the only downside of being spontaneous with the route planning. On the other hand, I enjoy sleeping in my tent, especially on a night like tonight where I found a perfect spot next to a river a few kilometers out of town.
