Gremlin's Tall Stories

Yes... imagine that. A long ride is required for work purposes. Ride there, do the work, come back. Awful. I struggled with this dilemma for an entire... mmm half second or so.

The only issue was that it was Wellington where the work needed doing. Haste was required, so I couldn't exactly say the East Cape was on the way to Wellington. A, the boss is a biker himself. B, he's well aware of all the riding I do, and the distances I clock up. So there was no way in hell he'd ...

Saturday 20th November is the third Saturday of the month, and accordingly, Botany Honda’s monthly ride. Pitching up at 1445, not a rider to be seen. A quick check with Richard and it appears it’s him and I. In that case, he can wait, so I head over to the gas station to get some gas.
Upon returning, there is now a big group of bikes waiting… excellent, the trick of leaving and them thinking it’s safe has worked. The plan would be perfect if I was leading them to their demise, but alas, that’s ...

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Saturday morning of the 13th of November rolls around. Up late as usual, I sort a few chores, once again not leaving at my planned time of about 10am. Midday and I’m finally cleaning visors and gearing up. 12.30pm and I’m fully fuelled and getting the hell out of Auckland.

The intention today is for approximately 1000km, starting with SH22 and going through New Plymouth, Wanganui and then the Paraparas north through Te Kuiti and back to SH1 at Ngaruwahia.

Exiting the ...

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And on to Part 2... only problem with doing all these trips is trying to remember everything to write up afterwards, and the time it takes. Still, better than trying to remember the details 6 months down the track without a blog.

John had kindly offered me a bed for Saturday evening, and since I had been up since Friday morning I figured it was a better idea to stay in Wellington overnight, then return home on Sunday. Once all the riders had checked in, and everything was tallied, ...

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Damn those Wellingtonian riders. While chatting at the end of the Grand Challenge, Wuzards-Eugene and XP@ had tried to talk me into doing the C1KC, or Capital 1000km Cruise. Organised by KoroJ, its a 1000km ride starting in Wellington and runs each year. Aimed at attracting more riders into longer distance riding, it's a ride I have never done before.

Of course, there was a small hitch. It started in Wellington at 0630 on a Saturday morning. I was in Auckland. Rather than take a day ...

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Well, its not really like I need an excuse, but its fun thinking up one nonetheless.

Last weekend was a more relaxed one, enjoying Russell with girlfriend playing pillion and Zapf in tow, also 2 up. This weekend just past was heading down to Taupo to assist with the marshalling of the Post Classic Racing. Did it last year for the first time, and this was the second time the Club had asked AMCC to provide officials and marshals. With the girlfriend being the Chief Flag Marshal, there ...

After the last couple of weekends of putting on at least 1600km a weekend, it was time for a break, see the girlfriend (who had been very understanding) and catch up on some odds and ends. Saturday was spent popping into Cycletreads for some items Toto had already sorted, then some stuff for a client, then spent the whole evening playing with a blackberry set up.

Sunday was forecast to be brilliant, and what better way to spend it than go for a ride (coz uh... we haven't done that ...

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With the Grand Challenge complete, Monday was a comparatively leisurely affair. Going to bed late the previous evening, missing the usual breakfast affair on Monday morning was an obvious choice. Afterall, with the nice bakery down the road, where's the motivation to get up early?

Up around 9am, packed up, and Toto and I were probably last to leave the holiday park just after 10am. We weren't even going very far, popping down the bakery probably 1km away, where we waited for Toto's ...