Palmerston North to Eketahuna

Many of the extra people at the hostel last night turned out to be Massey extramural students up for a few days on site. it was interesting to listen-in on their conversation over breakfast especially as one or two were considering going teaching after their current studies are complete.

The ride up to Ashhurst is a nice, gentle rise, barely noticeable. I stopped there for a look at the wind farm - there's a special wind farm lookout. They look rather alien slowly turning round and round. I remembered driving through Egypt at night past massive wind farms on the Red Sea coast with War of the Worlds blaring out. The burn off from the oil refineries adds to the whole spectacle.



I'd been warned about the narrowness of the Manawatu Gorge and on entering it I tried to follow the walkway. It only lasted about 300m and then descended a huge flight of stairs below a bridge. I'd have to ride. Amazingly it was incredibly easy. A long string of winding corners but it's so narrow that the vehicles have to slow down for you. It was actually more enjoyable than on the open road either side of the gorge.



In Mangatainoka I headed to the Tui Brewery. It's famous in New Zealand and is apparently staffed only by incredibly hot women - if you believe their TV commercials - Yeah right! There I met Annie, Jeff, Luke and Paul form the Dannevirke Multisport club. They were out for a ride and lunch with Paul Mack and invited me to join them at the nearby Lavender Farm - "It's much cheaper" said Jeff, winking knowingly.

We talked bikes and riding all through lunch. Annie wants to do the Ironman one day. I wish her the best. She'll love it and it'll be one of the best things she ever does. I still rate it as my single best achievement.

Paul Mack is cycling 42 countries in eight years the Blanket Earth Project to "help as many people as possible and to try and bring a message of love, hope, change and kindness to the World." We cycled part if the afternoon together and decided to both stay at the campsite in Eketahuna.

Paul is an amazing man and to hear parts of his story and read some of his press cuttings was a real privilege. I rustled us up a "5-star" soup for dinner and we sat and chatted and tried to drink Ranfurly beer - it's not the nicest, even after two or three! At one point we joked that all we needed was for a couple of girls to arrive and not long after two Dutch girls pulled in for the night. hey set up their tent and went to bed leaving Paul and I to wonder about folk nowadays.

myPod for the day? No idea, but a quote from Paul... "Resentment is like a stray dog. If you keep feeding it, it comes back for more."