Castle Point

Today was another interesting outing with a few of the Manawatu lot - after some discussion on Facebook and consulting of the weather forecasts, today was picked for a day trip to Castlepoint.

Our meeting point was in Pahiatua as we had riders coming from Danniverke and Waikane as well as Palmy and Ashhurst.  I left home on damp roads and soon caught up with a big mob of bikes heading over a wet Pahiatua Track.  The road was reasonably damp and these guys were taking it pretty easy.  They ended up turning off and heading towards Mangamire while I continued on to Pahiatua to meet up with the rest of the troops.

Fueled up I parked up next to a couple of dodgy Triumph riders (although one of these had the sense to bring his Kawasaki today) and waited for the rest of the guys to show up.  All the while we were parked up the skies were grey and the clouds slightly leaky so we still were not quite sure what we were heading into as we started to head South.

Turning at Eketahuna to cross over to Alfredton and Route 52 we still had the odd damp road but things were looking like they were changing for the better.  The ride down 52 was absolutely fabulous - the roads in good condition and not too many damp corners to worry about.  The autumnal colours, falling leaves and green fields (that recent rain in action) also made for a pretty scene.

After a regroup at the Masterton-Castlepoint turn-off we were soon on the road to Castlepoint.  Once again we had a really nice run through to Castlepoint and it was nice to see a few old nasty road works fixed up and long gone.

At the beach we quickly grabbed a bite to eat from the shop and took it back across the road so we could enjoy our surroundings as we ate and shot the breeze.

While chatting we made an interesting discovery - we were missing someone!  Nick and the mighty GSX250 had not pulled up with us!  Luckily thanks to modern technology (a phone) we were able to track him down - he had spotted a group of bikes (the same group I'd followed over the track) at a pub just out of Castlepoint and thought that that was where we were.  So he got to make some new friends and probably got a better lunch than us and we were able hook back up with him on the way back out.

The ride back out to Masterton ended up being very similar to the ride in - fantastic!  Apparently we had to stop in Masterton as some people hadn't thought to carry enough fuel...

In Masterton we were surprised to see Nick turn up and no Meanie - oh, oh!  Once again a phone made the discovery - the Red Connie had picked up a puncture and Meanie's first attempt at fixing had not held.  Everyone quickly mounted up and raced off to offer assistance.  Another plug in the tyre and some air from my little compressor and we were off again - for a while.

Pic credit: Al

Unfortunately the hole in the tyre was quite big the tyre plugs were just not doing the business.  We ended up stopping a further 3 times with success finally coming when we managed to push 2 plugs through the hole and eventually get Meanie home safe and sound.  Not the best end to the day's ride but everyone got home safely and had a ball!  What a great way to enjoy a perfect Autumn day!

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A few more pics here.