Day 4 - Auckland and the Hūnuas

I stayed Tuesday night in Helensville with Dale and Wayne who spoiled me with their hospitality - Thanks! A big thanks also to Georgina for arranging this.
First up was a 2 to 3 hour ride into Auckland, along the moderately busy back roads. After an initial climb, the country was then a series of rolling hills.

A welcome to Auckland 

A good part of the day was spent navigating my way through Auckland on a mixture of excellent cycle ways and generally quieter back streets. It was good to see Clinton who found me on the street.
Lunch was at the Auckland airport shopping centre, and I had no thoughts about getting a quick flight home.

I thought of Uncle Alan during the day, who used to do a lot of cycling in the region.

My speed picked up once out of Auckland and I reached Clevendon mid-afternoon.

I then climbed steeply into the Hūnuas.  The climb out was even steeper at a constant 13 degrees climbing up 300m.

A big day for me with 160km and 2,150m of climbing.






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