PegLeg

Rising early on Sunday Morning it was on with the TV to watch Germany Play off with Uruguay for 3rd and 4th in the Soccer World Cup…. which has been a pleasant warm up for the real deal next years Rugby World Cup…

After a coffee or 2 I was loading the K-Drive removable bags and ensuring all the helmet coms and cellphones were all charged, we would be riding all the way back down country to Hamilton today.

All coffeed up and loosing interest in the soccer game I took the 2 packed saddlebags down and clip them on the Harley, As the last bike in the night before, I backed the wee Harley around the lockable courtyard that the Rusty Anchor provides and set it up pointing it out the gate ready to go.

I checked the oil level and the tyre pressures, I have done around 10,000 kms on these dunlop tyres, they are ok but for New Zealand riding conditions the are a little dodgie in the rain, but they are still trucking along, only half worn, so they are wearing reasonably well.

The morning has broken fine and clear, with only whispery long streaks of cloud in the sky…. this along with the very mild 12 degrees C (54F) means there is a rain front moving in…. we should stay ahead of it…. but it is something to be aware of.

I went through and sorted out paying for the room and met the guys back up stairs, JJ and Dave were comparing the luggage capacity specs of their bikes, I resisted the urge to give them a hard time about how anything with an airbag, air-conditioning and electronic cruise control can't really be a motorcycle…. but testament to my high character I let it go….

I then marveled at JJ and Lo as they moved into packing their bike mode, both knowing what tasks they are responsible for and ensuring they are completed with fastidious attention to detail and the precision of a well oiled machine that can only come from decades of time together and tens of thousands of miles on motorcycles.

Back out on the road, I was already regretting my decision to put on an extra layer of clothing, insulation against the cold morning chill that had never eventuated. The warmer temperatures of the Far north in New Zealand quite a contrast to the frozen frosty starts I am use to in the winter around the Waikato.

Following the Inland Rural Road from Tokerau Bay back to where it joins SH10, we are all taking it easy, looking for the tyres to warm up and slipping back into riding mode… the main thing on my mind at the moment is breakfast…. himmmmm a 2+2+2+2…. 2 hash browns, 2 sausages, 2 bits of toast with 2 runny poached eggs…. yum, just the thing to fuel me back down the country.

Turning right onto Sh10 JJ and Lo are in the front on their Voyager, then Dave and Kirsty on their Goldwing…. and then Margaret and I on the Softail Standard.

I have ridden this road just last year with Dave and Kirsty as part of a top of the North Island to the Bottom of the South Island ride, so the roads had a semi familiar feel, we were heading for Kerikeri for brunch before heading down to Wellsford for a late lunch…

As we work our way down around the easy corners and long sections of straight road I reflect on how blessed we are in New Zealand to be able to ride all year round, and this being one of the 1st road trips Marggy had joined me on, it was all the more sweeter

As we worked our way around the top of the east coast, I get to experience all the small bays and inlets that one after the other make for an astonishing view, each one seemingly trying to out do the next on its level of splendor… and each responsible for generating the small communities that are peppered all the way around the coast line.

Just outside Te Whau, JJ pulls the Voyager over … we are faced with a decision, turn left and take Kapiro Road and have an uncertain adventure around roads we had never ridden, or turning right, stay on SH10, Kerikeri and breakfast being just 5 minutes down the road….

Well of course we opt for the adventure, these rides are about getting out in the wind and experiencing a sense of freedom seldom experience by riders who never get out off the main motorways and expressways and experience the back country rural roads… but I digress

With the thought of a nice coffee and accompanied by the deep baritone grumbling of my rumbling stomach (Hey I'm a growing boy) we take Kapiro Road back out toward the sea, which after a while comes to an abrupt hault, splitting into 2 or 3 roads that are not much more than farm tracks….

turning right into Landing Road we work our way up into the hills over looking the Pickmere Channel, we pull the bikes over and take in the view that is before us, no one really saying anything, it wasn't necessary, and words would have been inappropriate… It is a beautiful part of the country and I can understand why people come out to such isolated areas to build there holiday homes and lifestyle blocks.

Breathing in deeply it was like the air was charged with a sense of the place, like an essence of its history was carried in the wind and in breathing it we were some how changed, energized or healed maybe…. or maybe the locals were just smoking pot… but as I have said I feel such a connection to the Far North of New Zealand it will not be long I am sure till I return.

As if they could hear my growling stomach the guys started their bikes and we were off again, following Landings Road back down into the valley and turning right into Waipapa Road then left into KeriKeri, over a pretty flash cause way and on into Kerikeri for breakie.

Man I couldn't believe how big Kerikeri was I was expecting a wee 1 horse town with a general store with some petrol pumps out the front… but this was a full on town, with malls, antique shops, all the fast food outlets and where the hell did all the traffic come from???

Driving through the town we stopped at the ‪Santeez Cafe‬‎ this was awesome, they were busy but it was a pleasant relax place and the staff were friendly and helpful.

This was a welcome brake off the bike I was cooking with all my gear on, so while we were served coffee and tea I went and stripped off a layer or 2 and whipped out my contacts, my eyes still finding them uncomfortable from the riding the day before. (and maybe a sign I was a little dehydrated)

The conversation around the table jumped around a bit, everything from friendship to pillion comfort to weight loss. As the food started to arrive we were discussing riding style, and road trip etiquette.

Because I am usually riding 2 hours or so to meet up with others around the country before we even start a ride some where, I get easily frustrated with riding groups who stop what seems like every 5 minutes for a break…. to me this is just burning daylight … and if we are not staying on the road somewhere, could see me getting home pretty late at night.

This was a pretty universal gripe around the table, I was saying as Marggy and I still had to get down country to Hamilton if the others were up for it, we wanted maybe just one more stop before hitting Auckland…. so the days riding plan was modified and we would ride straight through to Warkworth and the bridge house for a late lunch. this would be around 200kms (120miles) straight down SH1, so after brunch we gassed the bikes up, and set sail for Warkworth.

I had put on my Rain-Off over gloves as the rain had caught us up over brunch, the trip was pretty uneventful, heading down SH1, its like Police city, pursuit cars parked every couple of KMS, strange speed restrictions in the high risk accident areas. This saw the traffic flow condensing Dave and JJ weaving their way effortlessly through the building traffic.