Labour Day 2005 - Where did you ride?

[Zed]

Saw heaps of bikes on the roads today, any *real* biker would have been out there enjoying the mostly fabulous weather, right? So tell us about your ride today!

I pillioned my wife Gaynor on the back of my Bird for an enjoyable 350km, 5 hour excursion on some of my favourite roads north of Auckland. At 11am we headed over to Murawai Beach, then up SH16 thru Helensville (stopped to see friends but they weren't home), continuing up 16 to Wellsford followed 'at some distance' by an R1 & a black Ducati (600?). We promptly gased up and jumped on to SH1 (God forbid) for a short stint down to Warkworth, then hooked a left out to Leigh for a much deserved lunchbreak.

After lunch we headed back down 1 but turned around at Puhoi when I realised that the holiday traffic was fully congested and at a standstill.

So we headed back north and turned off at Warkworth Industrial Estate and on to Woodcocks Rd/West Coast Rd (great sealed roads!) all the way through to SH16 again where we joined more returning holiday traffic, at this point we got caught in a heavy downpour for about 10mins but we dried off soon enough. Once we got past Kaukopakopa and on to Peak Rd it was plain sailing home.

This was the 2nd time I've taken Gaynor on the bike and we both loved it, the Blackbird performed wonderfully! She even commented on how much she liked the acceleration and high speed every time I passed cars - which was most of the day!!

[zadok]

You guys got a holiday today? Sounds like a bit of fun there Matthew. I'm looking forward to taking the wife on the bike again. Just got to get over this pneumonia.

[Marmoot]

Labour Day 2005 - Where did you ride?

22.....mmmmiiinttt......(( ))

[onearmedbandit]

[Saturday] To work, home again. Quick ride into town, home again.
[Sunday] To work, home again. Friends over so no after hours ride.
[Monday] To work, home again (shortly). See if the wife is back from her adventure holiday, if not off for a blat around the hills.

[Zed]

22.....mmmmiiinttt......(( ))

Were you the Lone Rider?

[Zed]

Just got to get over this pneumonia.

Gell well soon Marty!

[_Gina_]

Have kids, so stifarms and I took turns running down 22. I went down to Ngaruawhahia and back again yesterday....trying to keep a nice consistent newbie speed (70km - 80km average) was really good fun, I seem to enjoy the run back much better. There was some patchy loose metal which I knew about thanks to stifarms having run through there on Saturday : ) but I was very impressed by the group of about 6 bikes which were heading back and had pulled over, they waved me down to let me know it was there.

We took the kids down to Waingaro Hot Springs today - via 22 of course
stifarms rode down and I rode back, he has shot off now to have another run bastard! I was just getting into the swing of things quite well....pretty sure I uped the average speed to 80km - 90km!

Heaps and heaps of bikes out though, stopped on Sunday just out of Waingaro at the Metal Dump, had a chit chat with a lady on a Suzi cruiser who was waiting for some friends, she and her hubby had ridden together, and I gather when he passed away she stopped riding, but is back on the road now! Was pleasing to hear.

But that's my weekend in a nutshell!!

[Riff Raff]

Bah humbug and all that. Was supposed to go riding with a few mates today. Wasn't feeling too well yesterday. Spent all day today in bed (alone). Feel like crap.

[_Gina_]

Were you the Lone Rider?

Haha

I too was Nigel No Friends! It's kinda funny riding alone, good in someways but you can't help feeling like Nigel all the same...

[Keystone19]

Managed to convince some nice young man to keep an eye on my wee one this afternoon for a couple of hours and farmed the older one out to a friend so snuck out and headed up 16 to Wellsford with Nhuan. Fantastic ride up. Saw that R1 and Ducati at the Caltex in Wellsford, had a bit of a snack and then headed home. Had a bit of fun with the traffic on the way back (gotta love the extra power of the 650) and then we hit the rain. Not just a few light showers, but heavy persistent rain for about 50km.

Good ride all in all though, shame about the rain at the end.

[mattt]

Rode to training course, sat exam , studied, rode home. Got paid a shitload for it

It was beautiful - monday morning, riding town to plane-station, not a fricken cage in sight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HDTboy]

Saturday: Whangarei, Wellsford, SH16, buggered round in Auckland for a few hours, SH22 (saw a blue VTR1000), Hamilton, then the main roads home

Sunday: Drank

Monday: Went to look at a new bike in Taupo (not buying it)

[NhuanH]

N waz here:

[NhuanH]

and here: [blinkin 10 characters!]

[Zed]

...headed up 16 to Wellsford with Nhuan. Fantastic ride up. Saw that R1 and Ducati at the Caltex in Wellsford, had a bit of a snack and then headed home. Had a bit of fun with the traffic on the way back (gotta love the extra power of the 650) and then we hit the rain. Not just a few light showers, but heavy persistent rain for about 50km.

Well I saw a bronze coloured bike like yours parked at the Kaipara Harbour lookout on SH16 about 10 mins before Wellsford, but there was a big burly bloke standing next to it so I figured it wasn't you!

You think the extra power of the 650 is lovely, just wait till you own a 1000cc+ bike! One thang at a time...

Btw, rain builds riding character!