Social ride with gravel option

Ulysses organised a ride to Gladstone for lunch with two options for a ride. The road option involved Martinborough, the back road to Gladstone, water towers loop and back to the pub at Gladstone. The other option was the Admiral Range road.

Obviously the Speedtriple wasn't suitable to the gravel options. Plently of riders turned up with their other bike, the trail riding type.

We left Brown Owl at 10.00am, regrouped at Featherston and then again at Martinborough. The Martinborough stop was to allow the trail bikes to be refuelled. Photos are at Martinborough. After the water towers loop four of us went up the Admiral Range road until the seal stopped and we then waited for the gravel riders to turn up. We didn't have to wait long.

We we arrived at the Gladstone Pub it was too busy so Alan and I headed to Carterton for lunch. We stopped at the summit on the way home to watch the traffic. I got home at 3.30pm.

It was a good days riding, the weather was good although a bit too cold first thing. The ride as 285kms and the bike has now done 9547kms.

RAT Meet

Last night I went to the RAT meeting at the Sandbar in Mana.

Five for the meet with a total of three bikes. It was very cold and especially so on the trip home.

The turnout to Triumph events seems to be consistently low. If this was a HD meet there would be at least 10 times as many. Is this something to do with the Triumph statement, "go your own way"?

Mt Bruce for lunch

Today it was a Ulysses ride with lunch planned for Mount Bruce. Departure time was 9.30am from Brown Owl.

The weather forecast for today was for no rain in Wellington or the Wairarapa - so I felt confident in leaving the pack with wet weather gear behind. This confidence in the weather forecast was a mistake.

The route was planned by John and Steve and included the back way to Pahiatua and then back to Mount Bruce for lunch. We weren't far north of Masterton when it started to rain and then it just got heavier. By the time we got to Pahiatua (a fuel stop) I was wet and cold. At home was a complete set of new wet weather overs and gloves. Somewhere along the way we lost 5 of the pack but found 2 at Mount Bruce, one got lost (Guy) and the other took a short cut. It was a good pace but the pack spread out at times - this was the reason for losing some of them.

After lunch I went straight home and the rain cleared nearing Masterton. At around Greytown I was warming up a bit and drying out. I had a good run over the hill - not too much traffic and the road was clean and dry. Got home after 3.00pm.

The photo, taken by Steve, is of me arriving at Brown Owl.

Stats from MC computer: 358.5kms, 4.35hrs, 5.1L/100km, 77kph ave, xxxkph max.

Cold day and nice ride to Paraparaumu

A nice clear and cold day after sleet and snow yesterday.

Alan and I did a short ride up SH1 via the Paikakariki Hill and then back the same way. Lunch at Paikak (that is a busy spot on a nice day) and then back over the hill. A red unmarked HP car was hunting speedsters on the lower area of the hill.

Not much more to say; the Speedtriple is a very enjoyable bike to ride, it sounds great, handles well, and that motor - beautiful.

Stats from MC computer: 105.9kms, 5.1L/100km, 61kph ave, 1xxkph max. Odo 8782.