Met a Swedish guy - Leonard - and we cycled from Thames to Auckland via the coast road. It was great because this is the first person I've met that went the same speed as i. He said he usually goes much slower, but he kept up fine. The coast road was super. It was just the right temp, no wind and very pretty. Very flat too. As we got inland, there were some hills but not too bad. The closer to Auckland we got, the hillier it got. It [eventually] got hard.

Arriving here was like coming home. I so need a break. The Jensen's [the host family that picked me up from the airport when I arrived] were home - I was SOOO happy) and housed me and fed me. It felt so good, what nice people.

Training Diary Comments: Hot. 8:10.