Manaia, NZ
(This town has the same name as Bruce's boat:))
My day started out with a lecture from a cop about the helmet law. She pulled me over with lights and siren! Busted!! "You can take it off down the road, but I'll be in the clear as long as you leave my area with it on. "
Five minutes later it was removed. It gives me such a head and neck ache. Hurts thinking about it. Oh well. She's just doing her job. People in NZ have so much fear. Afraid of the narrow roads and bad drivers. Not an issue for me. Afraid of the dangerous men making it unsafe to camp. My only issue is with cops and councilmen. They're the only ones that bother me at night.
Today I cycled over the toughest hill yet in NZ. OMG! My legs are still pooped. It took me nearly 3 hours to climb a couple of miles. So freakin' steep! Pedal. Rest. Pedal. Rest. Pedal. Rest. Up and up and up. Then this evening as I was looking for a place to camp, I get another climb for about an hour when I was already spent. Poor legs. They work so hard. But I still say its easier to climb hills on Blaze because I don't have to unclip or put my feet down. Sometimes I just rest for less than a minute. Heart recovers pretty fast. Then I push on. All the waves and beeps help to:))
So tonight I was concerned about where I was going to camp. This coast seems less hassled. There are no signs about No Freedom Camping like I saw on the other side. But I still want to sleep in peace. And I said I need to get over my shyness about asking people if I can sleep in their yard. So that's what I did tonight. I saw this truck pull into this house with lots of yard space and Bob, a Maori man, said Yes! So I'm nestled in the yard near the black piglets running free and dogs in cages and an old blue pickup truck. But it's a mowed yard and I'm not "camped illegally". This is the only way around the issue. So I guess it will force me to get over my shyness!
And today's faces are of Christine, a shop clerk who sold me a cute windbreaker, and her daughter, Sunny.
Busted BagLady
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