In May 2023 my friend Rob enquired as to whether I would interested in doing the the Timber Trail in November with a group of his friends and family. It is a two day cycle ride from Pureora to Ongarue in the central North Island and a ride I had been contemplating for sometime but had never got around to doing it. I said yes and paid for accommodation at a glamping place called Camp Epic which is at the halfway point of the ride.
A few years ago the trail had been recommended by another friend of mine who said that I would probably need a mountain bike to do it. I was not sure at the time but filed it away in my mind.
Planning for a November ride meant that I did not really think about until I returned from our trip to Canada.
Initially I had thought I would do the ride on a hired mountain bike but having acquired a arrhythmic heart it seemed that I would be unlikely to climb the hills in the ride. So I began inquiring about e-bikes. They are so expensive to hire but needs must and I found a company that had bikes at reasonably short notice.
Rob and I drove up the night before the ride in his truck. He was doing the ride on bike with the assistance of electricity. I have to say I was a little envious as I would have liked to be able to do that as well.
The weather forecasts were a bit bleak with rain and hail predicted for at least one of the days.
One can do the ride in either direction but most do it in the northeast to southwest direction as there is a little less climbing in that direction. That was the direction we decided upon.
We stayed in a sixties built motel that was clean and comfortable. I am sure that with the opening of the trail the businesses must have got a boost from those doing the trail.
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