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KoroJ's Blog

Bridge Cafe

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Damn, two months between rides is tough going. I got a bit of a surprise when I filled this morning to see that the last fill was on 14 June and even if I hadn't been working 7 days a week since that last ride, I doubt I would have been out much as the weather has been such crap. I don't mind riding in the rain but what gets me is the focus required to find a line through the tar slicks. Our roads really are in crappy condition.

I was supposed to work today but last night I thought, “Bugger it!”, work can wait and I was going to take the day off to go on a Wgtn Uly ride. It wasn't much being just up to the Bridge Cafe, at Ballance (by the Manawatu Gorge), but at least it wouldn't be too onerous if the weather did get a bit nasty.

I got away from home before 0900 and went into town to get on the motorway because I still had 3 bars on the fuel gauge and I wanted to make sure I could put at least $40 in the tank in order to get the AA discount at BP Mana. I also went for a wee scoot around the Pauatahunui inlet before filling, but I didn't need to as it took $41.50 which thanks to a couple of fills in the car to earn some extra credits, only cost me $37.

I arrived at the Plimmerton Weigh station at about 0940, chatted and farted around with the phone to try and get the Sena sorted. Last night I had tried to upgrade the firmware, but my unit wouldn't hook up to the notebook, so I did Ann's one and used that today, but it didn't have any connections in it. I didn't manage to get it set up though so hit the road with just music going.

The ride up SH1 was pretty uneventful, except for scraping a boot as I went around the outside through the roundabout at Otaihanga, then receiving a phone call from Ann up around Tokomaru. That was the first time I'd managed to answer a phone call and I managed to give her half the recipe for pumpkin soup before it cut out.

The roads were a mix of wet and dry but got wetter as we approched the Track, then wet and gritty as we turned north. We got to the cafe just before midday and I just had a bowl latte and scone. Food was OK but the guys that got big breakfasts had their plates loaded with fungus.

The group of 11 split down to 7 for the return through the Wai'rapa and three of those needed fuel at Woodville....sheesh, I was only 2 bars off full! (not even down to ¾ of a tank). More uneventful riding on wetter roads and although the sky to the south looked particularly dark and menacing, it didn't amount to much in the end. The ride over the hill was pretty tame as I'm never prepared to push the limits there, especially when it's wet.

I finally got home at about 1540, having done 362km for the day. It was ok for a bit of a blowout and I guess it was a nice soft start for all the conditioning that is needed for the NI1600, coming up on 11 October. Lynn will be back to work at the end of this month so I'm expecting September to be a big riding month.
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Comments

  1. Gremlin's Avatar
    I'd suggest you save up the discounts and use them for the full 50L in cars, more savings in your pocket than claiming on 25L or something...