Saturday 14 March – our first day
62km from Gisborne to Tologa Bay, total elevation gain 520m
The first day of our long awaited tour! We purposely timed our ride to start on a Saturday to try to avoid logging trucks – a strategy which proved successful as we were only passed by one truck – sans logs.
The weather forecast was not looking great, so we were delighted to wake up to a beautiful sunny day. We left the motel at around 9am, and stopped at Pak ‘n Save to buy some cheesy rolls – breakfast eaten in the car park.
The first part of our ride was stunning, alongside the beach.
Gisborne Harbour 
Young Nick – boy on Cooks ship who first saw land. Why is he pointing out to sea?
The traffic was quite heavy just out of Gisborne, but it got better. The first part of the ride was alongside the beaches, later swinging inland.
Jenny was the first to experience a mechanical breakdown, with a bulging tyre tube under the new tyre on her back wheel. We changed the tube and had no problems with it for the rest of the trip.
The ride included two big hill climbs and lovely downhill runs, including one into Tologa Bay.
Up a steep hill, and 
down the other side
We arrived in Tologa Bay at around 2pm. The town consists of one main street – a pub and 3 small supermarkets. It was really hot, so we stopped at the pub for a beer. We got to practice our German with the German bartender, who also let us bring our bikes into the “biergarten” around the back. No craft beer here – we had to toast a successful ride with DB Draft – but it was properly cold.
We spread our custom around the 3 supermarkets – finding steak in one, also cheese, tomato, Vogals bread, biscuits and more beer.
Our accommodation was in the Tologa Bay Holiday park, which is alongside the historic Tologa Bay Wharf. It dates back to the 1920’s and is the second longest wharf in New Zealand at 600m long. We went to have a look at it after our steak dinner.
In all, a successful day!