A long day through our hometown of Auckland meant we needed to get away early. Easier said than done. Recovery scores processed, laughed at and ignored, we downed our Supreme instant coffees and pressed start on the route.
A cold and wet morning was a reality check – Mother Nature won’t always play nice. As we moved through the day, the gravel roads became familiar, a blessing and a curse. Having ridden them before, we could estimate where we were and how long it would take before we got to lunch, Auckland, and then our accommodation for the night in Miranda.
With joints inflamed and the body exhausted from two hard days, we stopped at home, dropped things we no longer wanted to carry and collected the extras we would need for the next week or so. With the time approaching 4pm and another 110km to go, it was clear that it was going to be a late night.
As became apparent throughout the TA, there’s truth in the saying that whether you’re having a good time or bad time, it won’t last. The mood was in constant motion, and dealing with that presented one of the biggest challenges. Arriving sore and tired in Auckland, it bottomed out. The familiarity of home is hard to leave behind. Another expression also proved its merit, being food improves mood. Amazing what a proper lunch can do for morale.
We finished ours and pushed off toward Miranda. Learning the pub, and our only dinner option, was closing at the same time we were due to arrive had us riding hard. With the light fading and 10 hours of riding under our belts, food once again became the ultimate motivator. We arrived, ate, drank and reflected on the epic nature of the day – what a feeling after hours in your head questioning whether you’d get there.
