Hello again loyal followers and friends,

The last stretch Ville and I rode in New Zealand can be summed up best by Hunter S. Thompson, "Wow! What a Ride!" We'd been looking forward to the last stretch, knowing it would be more remote than the last, and it did not disappoint. Once leaving Mangakino (where manager, Emma, gave us a ride to get food because we looked too haggard to make it in the rain) we continued southwest on the Link road on our way to the trailhead of the Pureora-Ongarue Timber Trail. Just outside town we came to a sketchy, chain-link walking bridge that we had to remove panniers and drag the bikes over (should have been our first sign of what was to come) and as we climbed deep into the rainforest on a narrow, steep goat trail, the rain fell steadily, soaking us through. By the time we reached the trailhead, we sprung for a cabin that reeked of mildew, housed a swarm of mosquitos, but offered a hot shower. I'd have paid a million bucks for that hot shower. We pitched our tent inside, sheltered from the downpour and began the Timber Trail the next morning.

The Pureora-Ongarue Timber Trail is a fifty-mile stretch of hiking/biking trail that climbs and descends through the Pureora Rainforest Park. The well-maintained trail crosses multiple suspension bridges (not for the faint of heart) and has a camping/hotel option mid-way through. The wilds and birdsong that accompanied us through the forest was amazing! The rain showers that turned most of the trial to mud with deep, brown puddles was character-building. We stayed at the campground, where we met Ross and Don, a father-son duo braving the rain for the weekend and had a great time sharing bad jokes and great stories. Thanks for sharing your whisky boys. :)

Howdy Ho Good People!

Time for a rest and another update. For those of you that don't know yet, Ville and I are riding from Cape Reinga to Bluff (top to bottom with a lot of zig-zagging in between) of New Zealand. For those of you that are caught up, we left off in Opononi a couple weeks ago. A lot has happened...

After we dodged a lighting storm, we ventured out heading south, climbing, climbing and climbing through the Waipoua Kauri Forest (home to Tane Mahuta, the largest living Kauri tree and Te Matua Ngahere, the oldest living Kauri tree). It was an incredible experience to see these trees and the ride through the forest was amazing!

The next large town we passed through was Dargaville, where we decided to take a three-day-long alternate route east around the Wairoa River Inlet to get some extra riding in (as opposed to taking the ferry across it). Our route took us mostly on farm roads with a few long stretches of death-defying highways in between. There have been no flat spots, we are either steeply climbing or on gravely, steep descents. We passed lots of cows and sheep, grazing on green hillsides. What was the favorite stop? A field of Shetland ponies and their foals. SO cute! Each day it rains, everything from showers to downpours. Kiwis, the nicest, friendliest people! When behind the wheel, some of the most dangerous drivers we have yet encountered in the world. They give new meaning to Too Fast, Too Furious, that's for sure!

On our first night out of Dargaville, we camped on Rob's farm, a handyman and auto mechanic who has a collection of 60 old Chevy cars. We passed Kaipara Butchery and bought the best snack ever at a roadside stand: homemade sourdough bread with mixed berry jam. Thank you Trish and your sister for the goodies! Our second night we passed Gillian in a field brushing her horse and camped next to her barn. John, her husband, and Gillian were nice enough to let us use their shower! Thank you Rob, John and Gillian for your hospitality. On our third night, we limped into Auckland in a complete soaking downpour, rode straight through the Santa Parade right before it started (waving at fans lined the road) and checked into a hotel to shower, wash clothes and catch up on my last round of Book edits!

After five days in Auckland, we were itching to get back in the saddles. It took almost an entire day to get out of Auckland suburbs, we passed some rugby matches, parks and a small mountain bike park along the way. We passed Ardmore Airport where small planes were doing acrobatics (we found out later the next day was a big air show), were turned away at the RV campground, and began a serious climb along a militarized zone when we were in need of camping. Disheartened and exhausted, we pulled over at the top of the climb to ask a man doing yard work if he knew where we might camp. Shane went to ask his sister, Paula, who invited us to camp down in her field. Then she offered us a shed in her backyard, then her boat to sleep in, and finally her spare bedroom. Paula and her husband, Harry, lived on the top of the hill, in a beautiful house, with views of the Sky Tower in downtown Auckland and the Firth of Thames Bay in the distance. It was spectacular and we couldn't believe our luck. An act of kindness that came when we least expected it. Thank you Harry,Paula and Shane for your kindness.

Harry suggested we get a ride up to Tapapakanga Regional Park, up to the north point of the Hunua Ranges Regional Park where he promised the road and views would be far better than the route we would have taken. Of course we agreed, loaded the bikes on his bike rack the next morning and got dropped off at Tapapakanga Regional Park at the campground (near Orere) on the beach. Harry and Paula were right, the route south along the eastern coastline was our favorite stretch so far! The traffic was light, the views amazing and we spent most of the day on the Hauraki Rail Trail (a fantastic REAL bike route along the coast and through farmland). We stopped for ice cream at The Country Store where we met Jack and Grace, two of the sweetest kids working at the shop. Thank you both! Jack, save your money for a touring bike, it will take you further than a quad. :)

Unfortunately, ten miles of the Hauraki Rail Trail were closed without notice, pushing us onto a busy highway without a shoulder, but we made it to Kopu (Thank you Red Door for dinner). From there we continued south along the rail trail, stopping in Te Aroha (where we enjoyed a soak in the mineral pool) a lunch at The Merchant in Matamata (thank you Simon for the t-shirts) and camped at the Little Waipa Reserve. We had the best three miles of riverfront bike trail before we learned at breakfast at the Rhubarb Cafe that the next twenty miles would be another detour through farmland. Of course it would be. It was beginning to be a pattern in New Zealand, bike routes/paths closed without a detour. Thank you staff at Rhubarb Cafe for the directions and tasty pick-me-up that made the detour better!

We jumped back on the bike route at Waipapa Dam and had an epic twelve-mile ride along the Waikato River in thick rainforest, unreal steep switchback climbs and descents into Mangakino. Which is where we now sit, resting our sore legs and butts for a day. Next, we plan to head through the Pureora Forest Park, a fantastic fifty-three-mile timber trail through a rainforest. Fingers crossed it is open!! Until next time, keep on keepin' on ya'll...

P.S. BOOK UPDATE COMING SOON...(Leave your email to be sure not to miss it!)

​Hello Friends!
 
My Grandpa once said, “the grass doesn’t grow under your feet” and he knew us all too well. This last couple of months was proof of that. We crammed in so many things my head is still spinning.

In mid-September, Ville FINALLY received his U.S. Citizenship! It took ten years of paperwork, fees, fingerprints, rentna scans, questioning, appearing, more paperwork, getting flagged, searched, more fees, more paperwork, a test most U.S. Citizens would fail, meeting criteria, another test, more paperwork and then an oath ceremony, but he did it. Just in time for us to leave for our next adventure.

Mid-October we rode the train from Portland, Oregon to Tustin, California in Orange County to visit my Aunt Lori and Uncle Steve. My Uncle is a cancer survivor and avid cyclist, and we ride the number of miles for his age on his birthday each year together. This year he turned seventy-six. My Aunt Lori joined the party for two additional rides. We also had a visit with my cousin Shannon, her husband, Kirk, their kiddos, my cousin Sara, Chip, his wife Nicole and their kiddos. It was great to spend some time with family!

When we returned, we spent a week in Bend volunteering at Mountain View High School (my old school) to speak with the Freshmen Foundations Classes. After recently losing a student and coming out of multiple years of lockdowns, the moral was low, so it felt more important now than ever to share our story. A few students signed our bike bags to come along on the adventure. Thank you MVHS for having us, we hope our message resonates and inspires you to live your passion.

Speaking of living your passion, it was time for Ville and I to get back to ours, traveling. We packed up, sold things, cleaned, said our goodbyes and moved into a storage unit. At the same time, we packed up our bikes and gear and flew to Auckland, New Zealand, with a plan to ride from the top to the bottom of the country. It's time to get back in the saddle!

We spent a couple days in Auckland (north island) before taking a bus up to Pukenui in the north part  of the island, where our friends, Warren and Glenys live. We met them while traveling home from Ushuaia after completing our long bike ride from Alaska in 2018. They welcomed us into their beach house for a night and then showed us around the area for a few days. Ville, now a "Kiwi Bloke" made a new friend, Shorty, a pudgy, old paint horse he considered trading his bike for. In the end, Shorty preferred the barn to life on the road so Ville is still on his bike.

Before we left, we spent a day at Pukenui School where we did two presentations for the elementary and middle school kids. We had a great time and the kids were a fantastic audience. We added more names to our bags and were ready to set off. Warren and Glenys gave us a ride up to Cape Reinga, we took pictures at the Lighthouse, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea and set off!

From Cape Reinga, we rode south and west to the beach. There we rode fifty-miles on the 90 Mile Beach to Ahipara. While we were riding we passed hikers (hiking the Te Araroa Trail), cars and even spotted a wild horse missing his herd. He was walking away from us, then hearing us, turned and ran towards us thinking we were his herd, stopped, then ran when he realized we were not. We named him Black Beauty. We camped at Ahipara Holiday Park and continued inland, climbing and descending steep hills on out-of-shape legs and butts, but with spectacular views! When it's not raining. After all, it is spring.

We spent a night at The Tree House in Kohukohu and took the ferry to Rawene crossing Hokianga Bay. From there, we rode lots more ups and downs to Opononi where we now sit in a motel, waiting out a thunderstorm before we continue towards Dargaville. While here, we took a tour to the Waipoua Kauri Forest with a Mauri guide named Billy Boy and it was a really emotional experience to see the two largest Kauri trees in the world, in the 2% of rainforest that remains in New Zealand.

Tomorrow we plan to keep trucking. We'll do our best to keep you updated, however, the WiFi has been spotty at best, so bear with us. You can follow us on all the socials: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok. We would love to hear from you, comment, email us or give us a call on WhatsApp. Thanks for your continued love and support! Until next time, keep on keeping' on ya'll...