Opotiki (46km, 803km total) - Each day I bike I get more and more excited to lay around in California and do nothing. The countryside here is more than beautiful. It’s magical. But it is also unforgiving. There are hills everywhere we go, and when there are no hills there’s a hard wind, always sure to blow right in our faces. Even today, which was literally all downhill, I felt like I was riding underwater because of how strong the wind was. Don’t get me wrong, I’m having an amazing time, but biking everywhere is hard! I’m weary of roads and hills and wind and cars that pass too close.

That being said, today was an easier day. We started off with another swim before hitting the road. We didn’t go too far and made it to Opotiki by 2:30, despite a later start. We’ve checked into a nice hostel filled with Germans in the city center. There’s not much to see here in Opotiki. We barely missed the big rodeo by a couple hours and everything in town is closed for the holidays. Dinner was takeaways from a nearby fish & chips shop, good but nothing too special. I had a fish burger, a curry roll, side salad, and 2 pineapple fritters for dessert. Shad had two 1/4 burgers and a Paua fritter. It’s been a nice relaxing evening and I’ve finally gotten a chance to catch up with some writing.

The trip from here on out should be easy going - I’m glad.