I ordered an Avon Storm for the rear this week, to be fitted on Wednesday for the MDA (Muscular Dystrophy) Ride on Friday. I had to go to Palmy on Thursday for a brokers meeting / 2 day seminar. I left about 1130 and cruised up SH1, sitting on around 110kph. No dramas, weather was OK so just a pleasant ride. We finished early on Friday so I opted to come back over the Pahiatua Track and Rimutakas. I took easy, enjoying the ride which was only about half an hour longer but way better than having to sit on SH1. It also gave me the opportunity for a brief visit to Mum. Saturday was a magnificent day for a ride but I had planned to do some more work around the house so that was that, then we had our staff Christmas outing which was at one of the best venues in Wellington, The Skyline.....just a pity it is poorly run. We arrived and had a good start with drinks and Antipasto but when we went for the meal, we were informed that there was no Rib Eye Steak and only 4 Fish-of-the-Day meals available. That was fine but when I was served my Lamb Rump, it was rather rare and the vegetables were cold. I don't mind a rare steak but like my lamb well cooked and tender, so sent it back. Next they ran out of one of the wines we were drinking and then one of the desserts.......but the view was great!! Sunday dawned another fantastic day for the scheduled ride to Ngawi, so I was up at 0800 and hit the road for the Brown Owl shops just after 0900, stopping at Rimutaka to check the tyres. It was about 14º and I had already taken the liner out of my jacket before leaving, but also needed to swap my jeans for shorts as we were in for great weather. I had decided that today I would try and get a decent photo of the riders taking a bend on the hill for the Ulysses Branch Calendar. We ended up with 18 riders and I arranged for Ken to lead the ride with me as TEC, but after a quick briefing just before 1000, I left a few minutes early to get a position on the 'Hill' for the photos. There was a bit of traffic due to the Martinborough Wine & Food Fest' but it wasn't too bad and I was soon following the last man into our regrouping point in Featherston before tackling the Western Side of Lake Wairarapa. This was my first time to Ngawi and shortly after turning off the Lake Ferry road we were feasting on grand views across Cook Strait to the South Island, before dropping down a gully to ride along the beach. I imagine it gets pretty bleak along this remote piece of Coast, but today it was magic and we were soon passing the tractor park and stopping at the local pie-cart for a feed where I got a real McCoy, yummy, juicy, Hawaian Burger, complete with a big slab of beetroot....Awesome!! I took a few pix and the riders were soon starting to head back to Wellington via various routes and since I had pootled out at the back of the group, I decided to head back by myself so I could lift the pace a bit and travel at my own rate. On the way home, the temp peaked at 23º and I had a pleasant run over the hill, getting back at about 1500 hrs, with 295Km done for the day and ready to enjoy a bar-b-que with friends.
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Old Blog?
These blogs were posted on the KiwiBiker forum but I decided it was time for a change. Archives
January 2017
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