Saturday afternoon ride to summit

Rain and strong wind is predicted for Sunday. Therefore today I ride and tomorrow I work.

It is a lovely winters day with clear blue sky and no wind. At 2.30pm or thereabouts I headed off to the summit. There was no need to stop anywhere on the way. Traffic was a bit heavy up state highway 2 until Upper Hutt and once on the open road it thinned out.

I didn't stay long at the summit. There were about 15 bikes there and some very nice machines. A matching pair of red Ducati 1098s arrived from the East so had a good look at them.

On the way home I deviated up Whitemans Valley road. I won' t do that again; it isn't a nice road as too narrow on many corners and bumpy. I got home just after 5.10pm having ridden 135kms. The bike now has done 7338kms.

Foxton Beach ride with Ulysses

Today is Mother's Day. I thought I would mention that.

We met at the Plimmerton Weigh Station at 10.00am and were heading to Foxton at 10.15am. The traffic was medium, steady and close to the speed limit so we stayed in formation all the way to our first stop in Shannon. Shannon is a deviation from the direct route up the state highway. Remembering that it is the journey that is important not the destination. From Shannon we headed straight to Foxton along a road with no traffic; this was a nice brisk ride.

Lunch was at a cafe in Foxton Beach. A fast meal and plenty of good chat about events like the Southern Cross Rally which was held last month.

After lunch the group split with some heading back to Wellington down the main highway and I went with the long way home group. We headed back to Shannon and turned left for the Paihiatua Track. There was some slow traffic, including trucks, that made the trip to the Pahiautua Track slow. However, once on the track we had a good run, turning off before Pahiatua and going the back roads to Mangamaire, where we joined the state highway.

A fuel stop at Eketahuna and the group split again. I needed to get home by 3.30pm so with two others headed back down the state highway. The others went the back roads, which are real motorcycle roads.

Got home at 4.10pm having travelled 384kms.

Ulysses Ambulance Charity Run

I went on this ride and almost didn't get there on time. The bikes were heading off as I arrived and I joined at a very convenient roundabout.

Departs: 11 am, Park Road, Upper Hutt (Outside Maidstone Park).
Meet before for briefing etc.

Ride will be into town to the Ambulance Centre in Thorndon for a Sausage Sizzle.
Badges $10.
Sausage Sizzle, Tea & Coffee $1 each

Organised by the Wellington Ulysses Branch.

In the photo; that's me far left with the tank bag as a back pack. I am with Kiwi Bikers in this photo. The Ulysses group look older.

After the ride I joined six kiwibikers and we went out to Makara via Karori. Had a coffee and some food there and then headed back via the Makara to Johnsonville road.

Anzac Day Ride

I needed a ride to give me a break from the web site work I was doing. When a bug on the test server needed attending to that was a good reason to have the break.

The cruisy rider group were meeting at the Duck Pond at 2.00pm so I joined them. We did a run out to the Wainuimata coast road. A good run and I was home just after 4.00pm.

Hill top and Short Straw Cafe

A sunday ride with Kiwi Bikers. We met at Rimutex 11.30am and at 11.45 headed to the summit to meet up with the Wairarapa Kiwi Bikers. A 30 minute stop at the summit and then back down the hill with a diversion into Mayborn Plateau and Whitemans Valley to the Short Straw Cafe. The diversion is a 21km run of interesting and bumpy roads.

Photo of me turning into the road to cafe.

There were 20 at the cafe for lunch. We sat outside as the place was almost full and it was a nice autumn day. Got home at 2.45pm.

Solo Ride

A nice Saturday. Left home at 2.30pm and went to visit the Paekakariki Hill lookout. From the lookout I went down to State Highway 2 and back to Mana. This was a slow leg of the trip and I should have gone back the way I had come. I did a circuit around the inlet and that was also frustrating with slow cars and trucks. Back along the motorway home.

This was not an exciting ride but a pleasant outing.

Castlepoint with the Ulysses Club

Today I went on another Wellington Ulysses Club ride. We departed from the Brown Owl Shops in Upper Hutt at 10.00am with a planned final destination of Castlepoint.

The ride from start to Featherston was a free ride and we assembled in Featherston just before the turnoff to Martinborough. The leg from here to the other side of Martinborough was a group ride and from the turnoff to Gladstone and Masterton a free ride. This free section must have been fast as I stopped for a couple of minutes to adjust my balaclava and couldn't catch those in from of me other than a couple of big touring bikes. This is a nice section of road for bikes.

Masterton was a stop for fuel and and to regroup. The ride out to Castlepoint was a free ride and the lead group was too fast for me once I lost them after they past a couple of cars. We had lunch at Castlepoint and at 1.30pm I headed home via Masterton and SH2. I had a rest at Featherston and at the summit. It was a good day for a ride and a total distance of around 350kms.

SV1000S 6 month 6K service

I have been in Australia for the last two weeks and the bike has sat in the garage waiting to go in for its service when I returned. It was serviced on Wednesday within a couple of days of purchase 6 months ago and with 5996ks on the odo. Time and distance could not have been better coordinated.