Day 4 - Miranda to Matamata

With a long ride planned for the day we agreed to start at about 7 am so we were up at 6.00am.

The ride for the day was reasonably flat with a climb of a little over 200 metres.

The weather was reasonably hot again with temperatures in the high 20’s and it was quite humid!

We rode for about 20 kms before having breakfast at a roadside cafe called Bugger! The breakfast was great and we were fueled up for the day.

Initially the ride was on a rather busy highway with lots of traffic but shortly after breakfast we were on the Hauraki rail trail for the rest of the ride to Matamata. The surface was very good to ride on and the countryside was primarily dairy farming but as we got to Matamata the farming was primarily that of horse studs…. Very impressive properties!

The only issue for us was the heat and the fact that there were very few trees! The heat was oppressive which involved us making many stops for drinks and the let the heat in our bodies dissipate.

For me the heat was ok but later in the day it made me very tired and I looked forward to reaching our destination!

We made several stops in towns and cafes along the way which were a welcome relief!

The 111 km ride to over 11 hours and my bum is rather sore as a result… hopefully it will recover for the rides ahead.

The pub we are staying at tonight is an old world pub but very comfortable for the 3 of us.

The pictures today are

The ride route

Breakfast at the Bugger cafe

Crossing the Waihou river

Waiting for cows to cross the trail after milking

Me at Paeroa where we had lunch and 2 bottles of the local brew… non alcoholic!

This lovely house on the way in to Matamata