February 11: 27 into 26 no more!

Late start and hot already by our 11 am departure. First flat at 5 miles. One of E's tubes cut by the New Zealand brand tire liners. Bummer. Somehow, didn't bring along any 26" spares, all 27". Duh, who organized?? Try to patch the cut tube. Patch no hold. Stuff in a 27" tube, try to inflate and carry on best we can. Join Rte. 25 at Waitakaruru (as you can tell, the Maori were fond of long place names!) and are immediately inundated with Friday afternoon traffic, heading from Auckland to the rugged Coromandel Peninsula, which is where we are going, only a lot slower. With no breakfast this morning (again, who's organizing this parade??) we stagger into Pipiroa for lunch. Finally the turn north to Thames (aha, a monosyllabic English name!) just in time for flat #2. Seems the tire liner cut another tube. Who's the dimwit who left the liner in after the first flat?? Man is it muggy! What do we do? Fool me thrice and I'm a real dimbo. Out came the liner and in went another 27" tube into Ellen's 26" tire. Limp into Thames and we clean out the Paki Paki bike store of 26" tubes. 3 miles later the day ends at a fun seaside cabin at the Sunset Motel with a "takeaway"dinner of fish and chips, canned beans and diet coke. And they had a ginger pussycat named Miss Ollie.

Prrrrr S.  The sunset was spectacular, as advertised, casting its final oranges and yellows over hundreds of oyster-catchers, white-faced herons, pied shags and two Americans, just happy to be here.