Eketahuna to Masterton

Eketahuna to Masterton 43 km
After a days delay I'm finely leaving eketahuna after spending the last week staying in eketahuna

Slowly Packing up my camp as my phones charge up I have a think above what to wear on the days ride - the weather forecast looks to be mix of over cast with a few showers around lunch time and some sun so I go for a pink top (hi-vise on the at times S.H. 2 main road) and bike shorts - been a while since I last rode in just bike shorts (with out leg warmers) so summer is slowly coming : ) - since I be heading in to a large town today I cover the bike shorts with a skirt (also adds more color : )

Onice my phones are fully charged and my trike is fully packed it's time to get on the road : )  I use some cord and a handel (with clips on the cord) to first pull the trike across the muddy ground then up the steep hill of the eketahuna Campground (a short but steep climb)

Starting Strava on my phone I start the days riding - making a short stop at the shop for some food for the days riding before Finley leaving town around 10:30 am  I take things easy to start with since I been off the bike for the last week

In many places the shoulder on the road goes from wide enough to ride in to just about no shoulder with no warning -in many places there's a rumble strip what at times makes for a bumpy ride - most of the time the  traffic gives enough room when passing me

The road rolls a bit as it climbs towards Mt Bruce. About 8-10 km from eketahuna is the one lane ANZAC Bridge- build in 1922  (there is a more modern 2 lane bridge that carries the main road next to the older bridge
 (Anzac - The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps(ANZAC) also Anzac day in nz and Australia for remembering  "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served")

so I stop there for a bit as a passing shower um passed by taking a few photos of the bridge  before leaving the bridge (there is a rest area off the road near the bridge)  - just as I'm starting back riding a friend of mine from eketahuna (Denyse - D? for short) drives up for a bit of a chat and to have a good look at the trike -she just happens to be passing by and saw my flags on the trike and trailer : ) she gets some fun photos of me on the trike (I get a few photos of her sitting on the trike : )   - thanks for chat and photos Denise : ) before it's time for both of us to get back on the road

A few km latter I first pass the Mt Bruce wildlife center (for breeding of rare birds as well as a pest free  protected forest area on S.H.2 ) - i have stopped there on a past visit and the weather is not great so I  only make a short stop out side for some food from my bags before  riding until I get to the summit of Mt Bruce - a quick stop for some photos..

As I'm leaving the summit I hit the derailleur on a rised bit of road - ending up with a badly bent derailed hanger and it's now raining as the traffic speeds pass - the repair of slowly bending the hanger straight takes a bit of time (the trike has a steel frame and derailleur hanger so with care one can bend the hanger - this is why most bikes have replacement derailleur hangers (one can't straighten a aluminum hanger)
At one point a man in a van offers to help as he has some tools in the van - since I'm using a small to mid size  adjustable spanner/ crescent wrench to carefully bend the hanger straight (after removing the derailleur) a I ask if they have a larger one (what would make things easier) but they don't so they soon leave - a few minutes later the derailleur is back on and after a quick test of the gears it's back on the road getting some good speed on the down hill - the road after Mt Bruce is a nice mix of down hill and flatter bits though farmland - the distance signs between eketahuna to Masterton seem to be off

Riding with the odd stop for photos until I get to the wee red barn (a farm shop in a red barn) where I stop for a bit and have a ice cream  : )

before doing the last 5? km into the town of Masterton - lots of traffic including bad driving (a few near misses from the poor driving) riding around the big round about I see the big new art piece in town -a ten metre high sculpture, suspended five metres above the ground on the round about gimmick not sure what to make of it - art is offen in the eye of the beholder  : ) 

Riding down the main street of town I stop in at a bike shop to look at a few things - including bike chains - after many km including lots of touring its around time to replace the chain on the trike - the trike takes 2x 8 speed chains and its getting to be a bit of a pain finding good 8 speed chains at times   the it's next door for some lunch at a bakey before heading for a friends place - they some people who have been following my travels and I met them in person when they came to eketahuna for a visit a few days ago and they invited me to stay the night

on a side note the camp ground in Masterton seems to have a 2 person min charge so it's $33 a night for a tent site - many camp grounds in nz have a 2 person min charge yet I have never gotten a good answer/reson for being charged for 2 people when there is just me on the bike when I have asked why the 2 person charge

Getting to my friends place - as I was waiting to it's safe to be going round the big round about a creepy man kept looking at me and acting in a odd way - not sure about that person (or if they was um all there so to speak?) so I went as fast as I safety could away from them - best not to hang around - about a km latter  I get on the road that my friends live on and start looking at letterbox numbers so I can find where my friends place is - I few minutes later I get there and say hi  and spend the rest of the day chatting with them before heading off to sleep for the night : )





















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