gijoe1313's Blogs

Well, my most valued and esteemed reader, this marking of chronological units has resulted in yours truly, abandoning his most valued and trusted mechanical steed! The run up to New Year resulted in my family all departing to northern climes, through the hills, dales, valleys, undulations and other thoroughfares to ensconce in the lap of Omapere.

My brother had rented a lovely bach by the sea from where we could recline and recluse and generally be in the holiday spirit. Feel my frustration as we drove through lovely biking country where sweepers, tight twisties, soaring hills and breath-taking downhill sections. All cheekily thumbing its collective nose at me for not being on my bike. It is a sacrifice I made to ensure my dear mater and pater did not have to worry about driving chores. Suffice to say, seeing the other lucky riders doing their thing could only evince a wistful sigh from my forlorn situation.

Yes, I do exaggerate. But, as we all know, biking is always a most preferable mode of touring our fair land! So I shall skip over the celebrations of the New Year, marked with pyrotechnics filling the night sky at the appointed hour, I shall skip over the sheer delight as I effusively gathered in kaimoana from the local pier, little salty treats barbequed for breakfast once the scaling and gutting and filleting had been done, I shall not tarry on the joys of walking a Samoyed around and having to stop everytime people on the same side of the road for them to coo and pat the lovable white ball of fluff, nor shall I comment on the sojourns to places like Rawene or Kaikohe and other such northern places.

Instead, today I shall comment how I managed to come back to my true love and onto my bike. I needed a smidgen of an excuse to ride and managed to convince myself I needed a new jacket to replace my long suffering red camouflaged ninja pajama one! A friend accompanied me on my quick jaunt out to the north shore to visit Cycletreads, fine purveyor of protective motorcycling arraignments and round objects of mobility. Alas, nothing suitable withstanding and a traipse through the inner city revealed that all of the reputable motorcycling establishments had closed up for the holidays. Probably to go riding. The bastards.

To appease my wounded soul, I meandered my merry way to Whitford and of course, the delightful designation of Maraetai, meeting place by the sea. Many were the vacationers enjoying the dappled waters, warmed by the gracious rays of Ra, all at rest or play and creating a picturesque snap shot of life in NZ. The slow driving did not erk a jot in our travels, content we were to watch the passing pageant of people partaking of a perfect day. Small details here and there caught our attention, a child with a ball, a nubile maiden nibbling an iced treat, people charring hunks of animal protein on lighted receptacles and other such hum drum minutiae of life.

I do so enjoy riding. I hope you have all enjoyed your travels and experiences on our contrivances of exploration and the new year finds you doing so safely and soundly, with all the worldly experience that is beneficial to your body and soul dear reader!

Now, I do think there are some roads I have not been down in a little while and I am sure I need to revisit them again to ensure that it remains effervescently in my riding repertoire!

Your humble and most appreciative servant,
gijoe1313