Top of the North: Hit the windward mark and pop the chute

After the second band of showers passed through Omapere yesterday, the skies parted and the day turned fine. The first part of the ride was along the lovely Hokianga Harbour and then across the bay on the ferry at Rawene.

The crumpled landscape had more rolling hills but nothing unpleasant. After three full days of riding, on the fourth day I started to feel stronger and more confident that I'll be able to make Russell tonight and on to Whangarei tomorrow evening.

Yesterday's ride was 90 km in 5 hours and 19 minutes. Slow, easy paced.

The toughest challenge for the first days has been getting enough food throughout the day and feasting well enough in the evening to keep up with calorie output. Most days I'm averaging 5,000 calories per day just in cycling output, meaning that I should be getting in about 7,000 calories to stay even. I think that by the time I finish this ride, I'll be down a kilo or two, which won't be bad. It is just keeping up the energy levels during the day and not bonking.

So, I'm off now on Monday morning to head north for a few kms to the most northerly point on my trip and then turning to ride to the southeast with the wind at my back. With a low pressure system stalled in the Tasman Sea, the winds are picking up today from the northwest and may reach 35-40 knots. Time to make the final stretch to the north and then put up the big spinnaker and sail downwind to Pahia or Russell for tonight.