Cycling Auckland to Thames

Okay... so finally catching up on my blog and need to start at the beginning... a very good place to start. A week ago (January 26th) I finally left the City of Sails to start my cycling journey! It was a beautiful start after a bit of a sad goodbye to Monique and Glen (Melbourne, Australia). I cycled down to the Britomart (train station) and purchased a ticket for Manurewa. My bike was so heavy, made me start contemplating what I could get rid of, but then again I think I need it all... or as Freddie Mercury would say - "I want it all..."



Anyway, I made a few mistakes right from the get go. I got on the wrong car of the train, apparently I was supposed to hop on a different train car - but what made me laugh was that only 3 people were on the train with me at any point in my trip... and the ticket taker had been worried that the people traffic with my bicycle would be a bit too much (sure...whatever).



After about an hour journey I made it to Manurewa - exited the train and then just headed out. I guess my sense of direction and map reading skills paid off as I managed to head to the correct road and start my journey toward the Pacific Coast and then the Seabird Coast.











Stopped for some pics and a sandwich after about 2 hours of cycling.

By the time I made it to Thames I felt as though I had cycled 200km - throughout the journey I almost bonked, almost ran out of water and was "hungry as"... don't worry this was the steep learning curve that I imagined I'd run into. The cycling has improved.

Best part about cycling - not really knowing where you are going? what the roads are like and what lies ahead...including where are you going to stay that night - truly amazing - so far things have worked out.