What a wonderful weekend - obviously it was super long as I took Monday off before Waitangi Day to get the really long weekend. Yay for annual leave days.
I caught up with Andrew after work and we walked together to the train station. We bumped into Ed and June unexpectedly and chatted to them about our respective weekends. And then we bumped into Mike - but that was orchestrated so I had a chance to say goodbye before I was off. We caught the train to Sally and Andrew's place, just beating Sally there by 20 minutes. Fortunately that was enough time to get the bikes all packed up and we only had a few minutes to wait before Sally was also ready.
The wee Corolla was hooning over the hill by 6.45pm or so. I might not have checked very closely on the time so if it shows Andrew was driving at excessive speeds, that is my miscalculation. Andrew drove and Sally navigated so I had the backseat to myself. We got to the Motor Lodge in Masterton just after 8pm and met Janne and Aidan in the restaurant there.
We had a very pleasant dinner with them - including an unusual interpretation of a key lime pie for dessert. Mmmm. It was good to hear what Janne and Aidan have been up to - lots of lawn bowls for Janne and she is being very successful. I was in bed pretty fast after tea ended though. We had to get up at 6am to try and get away by 7am, hence the relatively early night.
After a fairly good sleep, I got up and used the shower in the unit. The drain must have been partially blocked as by the time I finished, the water in the wet shower had backed up to close to the door. Sigh. The bathmat was pretty wet - and lucky I had suspected as much and lifted my bike gear off the floor beforehand. Otherwise it might have been a damp start to my day.
I decided to try Tailwind for the first time in an effort to get nutrition right for the Taupo race later this year. I filled a water bottle with the green tea one - it actually tasted good.
I few wee tweaks to the gear and by 7:05am Andrew and I were setting out. We rode all of 2.5 km before we found a bakery and stopped to get some brekkie. Mmmm. It also rained lightly as we pulled into the bakery. But after scoffing a cheesy bread basket thing, we stepped back outside and the rain had stopped.
We started the ride in earnest - slightly overcast but with dry roads despite the wee sprinkle of rain. We headed down to road towards Castlepoint, but headed off from there fairly quickly, aiming for Alfredton, about 50 km away. Basically Route 52. The ride was rolling hills and we made good time. At Alfredton we stopped for a quick breather and Andrew adjusted my gear changes.
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| My blue line vaguely follows our route - maybe |
After that, the gears seemed a bit slicker on the changes - choice! We headed towards Pongaroa and enjoyed a can of V (for me) and a ginger beer (for Andrew) while waiting to see if Sally would appear. She didn't. So after about a 30 minute stop and a chat to some locals we headed off. The road got a bit more hilly from here. Although a blackberry patch provided a good diversion. About 20 odd kms down the road we reached the junction where we headed right towards Wimbledon and the road headed left to Weber. It had a huge grassy triangle in the middle and we decided it looked a good place for lunch.
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| On the grassy knoll |
After sitting there for 20 minutes or so - enough time for me to polish off my cheese bread roll I made at 6.30am that morning - another cyclist approached from the road we were contemplating. She was touring and stacked with panniers and a dry bag on the back. We said hello and she asked if she could join us.
Her name was ... ummm... Maybe it was Themke. At least, that is my interpretation of what she introduced herself as. After asking once more what she said, and listening to her say it again to Andrew, I didn't think it polite to ask yet again. Or ask for a spelling. Anyway, we chatted for ages to her, on this grassy traffic island. She was one month into a 3 month cycle trip around NZ - by herself. I gained brownie points by correctly identifying her as Dutch.
After a bit, Sally also turned up. The traffic island grassy knoll provided a birds eye view of approaching traffic. Sally had all sorts of goodies with her and I grabbed a custard square and shared some with Themke. Drinks. Rolls. Mmmmm.
I reckon we must have sat on that traffic island for the best part of 1.5 hours. Themke headed off to Pongaroa and we sorted out our lives and got back on the road. The next stop was Wimbledon for a look at the promised famous centre court. Right.
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| Andrew serving on centre court at Wimbledon |
From the traffic island, the road seemed to just go up. And up. For quite some time. In fact, this next section had quite a few steep sections. And it was getting pretty warm by this stage - I had finally given my jacket to Sally and was now in my cycle top.
Wimbledon was great - they had a warm outdoor pool and an overgrown tennis court. And not a lot else. Met a couple in a campervan that had paid their 50c for a swim. Sally met us here again and we reapplied sunscreen and chatted about the road ahead. Next stop was the place with the longest name - and that was only 5 km from our final destination for the day. Met Sally again - and she mentioned a big hill before getting into Porangahau. Yikes. Fortunately it wasn't too steep - unlike earlier hills.
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| Longest place name - only 5 km at this point |
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| A segment of our ride - I got second fastest All-Time for the women. Oossshh. |
We got into the wee town around 5pm - I think it was close to 9 hours after we started. A big day. But at a leisurely pace. 161 km and a new personal record for me for distance in one day. I probably drank most of my Camelbak (2 L) of water, and most of my drink bottle of Tailwind. I think the Tailwind did well. But around Taupo I won't get met by Sally to eat custard squares. Hahah.
We stayed at the Duke of Edinburgh pub in two units side by side. The woman had to come back and lux as the cleaners hadn't turned up. Andrew dealt to the wee mouse trapped in the bathtub in Sally and Andrew's unit. The mouse looked to have been there a wee while and was probably relieved to be thrown out the window into the bushes behind.
After I had a bath and caught up with social media (my Strava told me that I got second fastest woman of all time over the interminable hill before Wimbledon - woot!) we felt decent enough for dinner at the pub. After a huge plate of yummy mushroom fettuccine, we jumped in the car and explored the beach. It was probably a good 4 km away and we were glad we weren't walking as was suggested at one point. The sea had quite a surf and the views were stunning.
I slept the sleep of the dead that night. Nice. We had a sleep in for Sunday morning with the aim of getting away by 8am. And we weren't far off that. Probably 8.10 by the time we left. And the weather was glorious. I wore a light fluoro jacket and a short sleeve cycle top under that. More Tailwind - the lemon one. Which wasn't quite as tasty as the green tea one - but still not bad. I must buy more green tea sachets to train with this year.
The ride was shorter this day - just over 100kms. By the time we were done, it was 106km. A short burst to Waipukurau and a cafe stop with Sally there was in the plan. I was in my happy place with rolling hills, gorgeous farmland views and a wonderful cycling partner to keep me going and chat about all sorts of things. We actually rode past a childhood holiday place that Andrew remembered. Glenn Innes. He explored it from the outside - but only as far as the driveway. Got into Waipukurau and eventually found Sally at the Century Cafe on the main street. Had a lamington and an iced coffee - and I might have had a can of V too. Hardly the food of a cycling athlete.
Hahahah.
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| Approximate route on day 2 |
From Waipukurau we had 7km on SH2 before heading off towards the coast from Waipawa. We followed a river valley and it got hot - but nowhere as steep as anything the day before. I was keen to sit in the shade a few times though. We stopped at a pub just before a steep climb out for a quick breather. We watched a Dad ride up on his older Ducati and his son climb off before they wandered into the pub. I think motorcyclists would love this road. This was a narrow, windy road - but a great ride. I probably should have had more water through the hotter part of the day. But it wasn't too bad. Ate a roll at the top of a hill about 15km from Hastings. Drank a bit of water. Sally found us and supplied fruit from some fruit stall she found in Hastings.
Unfortunately later that day we read that one of the motorcyclists collided with a truck on the road we were on and died. It was a bit after we had finished and I am unsure what direction they were riding in. But it is sobering to think one of the people that might have passed us enjoying themselves could have been involved.
The last wee bit of riding was trying to avoid more urban areas - and it worked well. We passed quiet roads with orchards laden with apples and stone fruit. Eventually got onto a main road and we were delighted to find a good cycle path. Headed up to the Top10 and found Sally and our lovely unit.
We had a two bedroom place that was well appointed with a nice deck. The cost was $130 per night and I would totally stay there again. Toby would love it - Splash Planet is right next door.
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| Iced coffee at Waipukurau |
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| Pub shade |
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| Don't tell Mum I got a tattoo |
Just over 6 hours of riding time - with a few stops thrown in. 106km. Hot work but not overly steep. I didn't drink quite as much - but I did get drinks outside of what was on my bike. I wasn't sore although my seat had made things slightly tender and I was constantly jiggling around on my bike during this second day. My muscles certainly weren't sore. As I type I can't tell I rode 350km in the past few days - so that is good. My left hand was tender under the thumb pad and my left shoulder muscle was sore (same as I get around Taupo).
I showered at the unit and we headed off to Pippi's for dinner via a brewery - Brave. Andrew tried a beer and then we headed for tea. At Pippi's, we shared a great platter - simple but tasty. Aged hard cheese. Black olives. Bread. Then I ate possibly the nicest gnocchi I have ever had - in a rich tomato sauce. Very good.
Back for a sleep and a lie in the next morning. Up to explore some wineries by bicycle - we did 46km tootling around. My road bike was ok on the limestone paths - a few ruts every now and then caused a bit of juddering, but it was absolutely fine. We tried one winery but it was closed. Popped into Te Awa and had a great late brunch there. Wine tasting and yummy platters.
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| On the wine trails |
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| Top of the world! |
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| Gorgeous view - and the hills also look ok |
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| This is why it is hard to navigate - all roads lead to wineries |
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| Another gorgeous view - and how about that coast too? |
Rode back to Top10 and watched the Superbowl on TV in air conditioned comfort. Saw the Eagles sneak through against the Patriots. Good game - had to spend a bit of time googling the rules though. Hahah.
Headed up Te Mata Peak before dinner and had spectacular views from there across the entire Hawkes Bay. It really is a lovely part of New Zealand. There were mountain bike trails that looked scary to me all over the peak. With huge drop offs above cliffs. I would need nerves of steel to tackle any of those.
We popped down to sea level to take a closer look and I enjoyed taking photos of my feet with a wonderful background. Then back into Havelock North for dinner a Mamacitas - and Sally and Andrew kindly went for vegetarian options. They were good. As we finished, some rain started. But by the time we left after paying, it had stopped.
Back to bed for me. But I didn't sleep super well. Maybe I need to ride 100km to get a good night sleep now? :-)
Up Tuesday morning to pack and we headed to Clive to see the Waitangi Day celebrations kick off there. We were early so we grabbed a coffee from the local bakery - Sally wished she hadn't. Got back to the park and watched the greetings and then speeches. And finally a whole bunch of people got in a huge waka. They were re-enacting the hikoi and walking somewhere close-ish to commemorate the historic things that had happened there.
We wandered to Abbey Road brewery and I checked out a cute West Highland terrier while Andrew tried to find an obscure beer for his mate. He may have succeeded - there can't be too many beers called "Milkshake". The mind boggles. We headed back to the winery from the day before to pick up the wine from Sally's Te Awa tastings. Then off to the coast again for brunch at Clearview winery. Very pleasant. The day was warming up nicely and we sat in an open area - but under a skylight style roof. The scones and cream were scrumptious. Then off home. After such a great weekend, it was sad to think it was all over, barring the drive back.
We popped into the Clareville bakery on the way home and enjoyed an iced coffee and a pick-me-up slice, but I was outside our house by 5pm after a fantastic long weekend away. There is a mountain of washing to do though.
Brilliant company. Looked after by Sally and Andrew so well. Enjoyed the riding. Great weather.
Thank you everyone.
Love,
Angela
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