KiwiPhoenix

Having completed the ride on Wednesday night I felt more confident about getting out and about on the bike. Done a few trips round town, visiting people for coffee whilst I had the chance. So with the weekend looming I got to thinking about a proper ride on my wee bike. On Sat morning looked out the window and saw some pretty crap weather so maybe it would be a good idea to stay in but my partner had other ideas. We needed to get some shopping so it was a great excuse to get some practice in with the wet weather. So hopped on the bike, him and DD in the car and headed to Countdown on Riccarton Rd, then after picking up the shopping decided since I was well that we would head to Northlands Mall for lunch. After lunch, a quick trip home to unload the car then saw the weather was clearing so dropped a txt message to FJRider to see if he fancied a short ride!

So meeting at my place we decided to head out to Kaiapoi via the back roads (since I'm a learner ) gave me some practice in getting the feel of the bike at higher speeds. Felt pretty comfortable at a certain speed to stuck to that. On the way back we came back through Brighton then onto Moorhouse Ave, Blenhiem Rd, Avonhead Rd back to my place. So then I decided that since I felt more confident it was time to do a longer ride.......

Todays ride, if you have seen the thread starting at the Peg in Belfast through Kaiapoi (again using the back roads) onto Rangiora, onto Oxford and through the Waimak to the Old West Coast Rd. As it turned out it was only FJRider and myself so we went at a steady pace, took a couple of hours to do this route, so by the time we got to McLeans Island, I was looking to do more!!!! So we decided to go to Waipara, again using the back roads and then a short blat on the motorway through the Weka Pass to Culverden. All in all we done about 333km today!

As for how the bike handled, she done brilliantly. Kept a steady pace (not going to post the speed, since I'm a learner) managed to pass 3 cars/trucks and even received a few waves from some Harley riders!! There were times that I was leading and others I was following. The Weka Pass, I have to say is a fantastic road! I think this is going to be my favourite road!!! Some nice winding roads and of course some lovely straight roads with spectacular views. I do have to say though there is a huge difference in doing a certain speed on the motorway and doing the same speed on a back road. All in all, I really had a blast today!! Thanks to FJRider for the company!

Although, how many points to I get for dropping the bike this morning??