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Day 4 – Whangamata to Tauranga – 139km
Today marked our earliest wake-up yet. By 6am we were rolling down to the local Whangamata Blackies Café to fuel up on breakfast, and after a few days of instant coffee, we were finally treated to a proper barista-made drop. While the riding was set to be tough, the weather was admittedly perfect- 16 degrees with no wind at 7am.
After a group photo with an idyllic coastal backdrop, we headed out of town and tackled our first climb of the day - Whiritoa Hill a 4.3 km climb at 6%. After three tough days in the saddle, the fatigue was setting in, and most of us treated this climb as a warm-up. Cycling is one of those rare sports where you can seemingly ride yourself into fitness, and it showed today with everyone cresting the climb not far apart.
The scenery was stunning and our spirits were somewhat high. We battled up, over, and along to our first rest stop at Bowen town, a peninsula at the 50 km mark, where our support team had set up a much-needed nutrition stand. It never ceases to impress me how good these guys are at what they do for us and the Foundation.
We refueled and set off on our longest uninterrupted stretch so far - 68 km to our lunch stop. A steady headwind made the ride even tougher as we passed through narrow country roads lined with farmland that reminded me of England, except for the avocado and kiwi fruit trees everywhere.
The nature-spotting was short-lived though as we approached the two final climbs of the day. The first, Wainui Road Climb, was a 5 km climb at 5%, followed closely by another 4 km climb at 4%, with sections reaching up to 12% - ouch! The legs were burning, but we kept pushing, ever mindful of the important causes we were riding for.
After lunch, we had a short but undulating ride into Tauranga to wrap up the day. No major mishaps—everyone made it—but the fatigue is real. Time to refuel, recover, and rest up for what’s next.
