The other day I was looking at stuff for this year’s NI1600/800 and realized it’s only a month before cutoff for entries, and that lead on to realising we are only two months out and I still haven’t done any prep, whereas normally I’d start doing a couple of rides in July, so I thought I better get off my arse and do something.
Apart from being a bit preoccupied with other things, I suppose I’ve been a bit slack as I’m just thinking of doing the 800 on the weekend this year and that shouldn’t need much butt hardening, but then again, it’s also about getting in the groove so one feels comfortable and the ride goes smoothly. So after being put off by the weather forecast and dithering around a bit, in the end, I decided yesterday that I would be riding today!! …albeit in a pretty relaxed manner. As usual, I normally start the programme with a simple SH ride in order to start with acclimatising, or hardening the butt and SH2 looked like it would be drier with the weather coming in from the west. So a scoot to Woodville and back was all I was looking at. I needed to have a gym session first, so got there by 0725 and did an hour of cardio before going home to prep the bike. ie check fuel and pump the tyres, make sure I had charged power packs, Sena and phone, and get the gear on. By the time I was ready, it was 1000 and I thought I should but the wet pants on, …in the hope I wouldn’t need them …and told myself I was a bloody dreamer!! I put them on anyway, but not the jacket and hit the road ….which was generally wet even though it wasn’t raining. The hill was pretty clagged in, but I still didn’t put the wet jacket on and when I got to Featherston I need to stop to put that and the Rain-Offs on. That wasted three minutes and I had to pass all the same cars again. The weather through the Wai’rapa was reasonable through to Masterton, but worsened as I approached Mt Bruce …and then it pissed down, so I considered diverting via Mauriceville to head east, but I continued through Eketahuna and a bit before Pahiatua, the roads were dry ….and then it started to rain again!! It ended up taking two hours to get to Woodville and I just headed straight back with plans to fuel up in Pahiatua or Eketahuna (since I’d started with only half a tank), but I was still on two bars at both places so continued to Masterton. I was also figuring I would like to do 400km and I was going to be a bit short, so I decided to throw in Wainuioru and the Water Towers ….and that road was dry, but from Middle Road to home was wet again, so I enjoyed a bit of a burst before settling back to a sedate and careful finish. It was quite a good day as I haven’t been out for a couple of months now and the butt seemed to cope OK, but I don’t enjoy the wet roads and experienced quite a few very minor twitches, even though I considered I was riding carefully. Riding the Hill was rather tedious as very few vehicles made room and only one used a slow-bay, so that combined with the wet roads made for a very casual pace. I did 409Km for the day and I suppose I need to figure out a plan for conditioning and prepping for the event …and if I am to do the 1600 or 800 on the day.
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August 2021
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