Mrs weekendwarrior

As the title reads I did manage to survive a whole weekend on the bike! Hubby & me went away sat arvo down to friends in Hamilton (the longest voyage that I have taken so far!) Keeping off the main drag, we left pakuranga & headed towards whitford (boy traffic round auckland is crap at the time of day on a saturday). Then we headed out through Hunua then onto Mercer where we stopped for a late lunch. So far I had only nearlly died four times which isn't too bad cause ive done worse! The problem is that due to my long hours at work & then sporting commitments with the kids I hardly ever get out on my bike... so when i do, everytime is the like the first time & it takes me ages to familirize myself again with the bike... for example I only remembered that I have a foot brake when I arrived in Mercer! I was wondering why my breaking wasn't as smooth as normal! Then the other reason is that when we normally go on holiday Hubby is driving us all in the car so I can just gaze out at the scenery & enjoy the view. So on saturday when i was cruising the back road to Mercer I temporarliy forgot that I'm meant to be totally focused & I temporarily gazed at someone's lovely hedge off to my left & nearly lost it on an upcoming corner! The second near death experience is because I havn't come to terms with the fact that giant trucks will be sharing the road with me. I saw a large oncoming truck that was feeding it so I knew that a hurricane would blow out of his rear once he passed. Fear sunk in & for some reason I've taken the stance where I brake, close my eyes & hope for the best! Not exactly a well thought out plan as when I opened my eyes I could see that I was heading directly for a power pole.... whoops! Next once we arrived in Mercer I thought i knew where I was going so indicated to the right & then quickly realised that It was the motorway off ramp & that cars where zooming up it at an angry pace right towards me! Then lastly it was just a stupid mistake of leaving the old indicator on so I do understand why I recieved a middle finger....
So then leaving mercer re-hydrated & with food in my belly I felt much more focused. No more dramas on the way to hamilton apart from Hubby not trusting the GPS & deciding that he knows best, so we ended up crossing the river a few times & doing a full circle but eventually made it to friends who were very impressed with our bikes & who knows maybe we even convinced them to join the world of two wheels. So after a few beers & a great B.B.Q we hit the sack.
After my first sleep-in in years (yay no kids) I contemplated the journey back north. I decided to make a deal with myself that I will focus 100% on the journey & improve my riding technique..... well I don't know if it was something that was in my tea that morning or if i'm just starting to get better with experince but I felt like I have finally got it! For the first time ever I felt at one with my bike. I actually leaned with my bike into corners & relaxed my body more as opposed to the stiff dead corpse I usually am on the bike! My breaking was smoother, it didn't bother me that trucks were approaching & I actually enjoyed every minute of the ride home & had a massive smile on my face the whole time! (normally I'm too scared to enjoy it!) We discovered roads & a tunnel I never knew existed, climbed hills that had amazing views over the waikato river & I actually managed to get the bike over 100 so hubby didn't get too bored waiting for me! I felt so alive & exhilirated! I even managed to wave at oncoming bikers, where in the past they must have taken me for a snob as I was too scared to take my hand off my handlebar!
So now I have just to organise some more babysitters!! Next trip will be out tour around coromandel! Can't wait!