Personal entry

Since August I’ve been dithering over whether to do the TT2000 on the last weekend of February, the Southern Cross on the 2nd week of March, or both. I was leaning towards doing the SX, but in the end, due to the time factor (4 days for the TT as opposed to 8 or 9 for the SX) and the route for the TT including lots of new roads for me, I made my decision this week. I then ordered a Garmin Zumo 660 GPS, booked my ferry crossings, booked Friday & Sunday accommodations and liased with Jantar over the ...

By Jingo, that one went quick! In fact, the year has disappeared so quickly I only managed to squeeze in 22,250Kms….but there were some good’uns.

The TT2000 jumps to mind and not only for 2010 rides, as this years event would have to rate on my all time top 5 rides list. Steve and I only opted to do Bronze (2340Kms over 2 days), which took any pressure off us with regard to achieving targets, so we were able to enjoy a relaxed ride, (sometimes at a frenetic pace) over roads that provided ...

Christmas this year, as it turned out, was a time to ride…and what a great way to finish the year!

The Maori Tennis tournament is held in Hamilton between Christmas and New Year and last year I didn’t go because I needed to paint the house, but this year I needed to do my duty and support Ann by taking her to this event….not because I love Tennis, but, it is in the Waikato.

After a cruisy Christmas morning, we took the opportunity to visit her parents in Moumahaki, ...

This weekend I once again enjoyed one of my favorite annual rides, the Musclar Dystrophy (MDA) Run. The ride entails taking presents to children suffering with MD, from Wellington to Napier on Friday, across to Waitara on Saturday and back to Wellington on Sunday and there are several factors that contribute towards creating an epic adventure each year…
1. Firstly, we have Santa…or at least the world’s best facsimile…Red Fred! He eats, sleeps, Ho Ho’s and Hugs out his part, doling out ...

I finally had an opportunity to clean the bike last weekend and was shocked to see that when I had the bags off, the left side of the rear tyre was smooth. The tyre only had 9,500 Kms on it and I had ordered a new one a couple of weeks earlier, but with a three week lead time and the expectation that I would get this weekend’s ride in, then change it on the 102,000Km service for the MDA ride next week…..Fat chance! But fortunately the shipment arrived and I was able to pre-empt the service, so come ...

I had a bit of a concern this week when I noticed the ST had developed a slight oil seep on the front of the engine, but a few hours and dollars for the experts at Boyles revealed a minor leak from one of the rocker covers and had the problem cleared up so I could assist on today’s Poker Run.

The forecast hadn’t been great but turned out OK on the day, apart from potential gusty conditions on the hill…but then, what’s new?

Ken had organised the ride and was to ride ...

With this year being the fourth C1KC, planning for the event is a bit easier as, after organising a new route, most of the stuff just needs to be regurgitated and tweeked, but that doesn’t stop us making plenty of mistakes though….which we do try to learn from.

After deciding that a foray into the East was in order, the route fell into place, notices were placed on forums and emails sent to subscribed riders who had previously registered or completed the run and then it was back to ...

Today was a cruisy social ride to lunch at the Station Hotel in Hunterville via Apiti. The weather was supposed to be good on the west coast and we thought we might have a good turnout but in the end, only 8 riders departed for Shannon and 5 completed the ride.

We weren’t expected to arrive until 1300 so we planned half a dozen route options varying between, 155Kms for the direct route up SH1 to 260Kms for the Apiti Loop and exit via Ohingaiti. This meant that we could vary the ride ...