TA Day 12 - Pipiriki to Whanganui

 46.6 miles, 3150’ climbing

Lodging: Siena Motor Lodge

Bike Shop: Vélo Ronny’s

The clouds lifted overnight, revealing the Milky Way and the Southern Cross and a bunch of unfamiliar stars. It cooled down to the lowest temperatures we’ve had so far, but it was above freezing.

We had been told that the kitchen at the campground would offer breakfast at 8, but by 8:30 they still weren’t open, so we had a granola bar and headed out. Our road was narrow asphalt with only a few cars, winding up and down over hills as we followed the Whanganui River. It was pretty and pedaling was relatively easy with a slight headwind, a nice change after two rainy days.

We stopped for coffee and cheese toasties at the Matahiwi cafe, a side spot in the road. Oddly there was a wooden replica of a steamer ship in front of the cafe that had been featured in a movie years ago. It was a good place to stop.

Our ride continued similarly until we turned and crossed the river on a bike path bridge and pedaled into Whanganui. Our ride was a few miles shorter than expected, and we checked into the retro Siena Motor Lodge. 

We made a detour to Vélo Ronny’s bike shop where we both got new chains, and our shifting became much smoother. The crew at the shop was great: friendly, offered us cokes while we waited, chatted about the TA which they had ridden, had the Mapprogress screen up on their computer showing this year’s rider locations. It was just one of those great bike shops.