Being the holidays it was a smaller group that met up in Palmy and the group only got smaller as the day progressed with the odd rider being called away, disappearing off on their own adventures or not seeing the cornerman...
We started off with a squirt over the track and the added in the Mangamire section before ending up out on SH2 for the ride down to Eketahuna and the turn-off too Mauriceville. But after a couple of km of SH2 I had had enough and took us left onto Hamua Rongomai Road which then took us onto Mangaone Valley Road and down into the back of Eketahuna. These are pretty good back roads so suited the Back Road Riders pretty well.
It seems like I'm riding through Mauriceville every other week at the moment but it is a nice little ride and keeps you off the main road. Riding through here on Sunday we did have to deal with a mob of sheep on the road and the biggest hare that I've ever seen but otherwise it was just a nice little cruise through Mauriceville and then on into Masterton.
In Masterton we stopped for gas and said goodbye to Robin, Russell and Ngaire and it was only five of us who carried on out to Castlepoint. The ride out was pretty good and it was quite nice when a gentle breeze arrived to cool us down on a pretty hot day. At the beach we parked up for the compulsory photos and a bit of a natter.
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| The prettiest bike in the Wairarapa |
After making sure that the lighthouse hadn't fallen into the sea we retraced our steps back to Tinui where we stopped at the pub for lunch (burgers the size of manhole covers - eat your heart out Neil) and a cool drink.
Following lunch we headed back towards Masterton but turned North to take Route 52 up to Alfredton and then crossed over to Mangaone Valley Road again for the ride back into Pahiatua. This was another good ride although there was a bit of hot tar around to cause the odd unplanned squiggle. In Pahiatua it was time to stop again for a drink and a bit of a ride debrief.
The icing on the cake to finish the ride was one last squirt back across the track and then a pootle back into town. BRRBT ride #1 for the year all done and dusted!
I am always impressed at the way you can get groups out for rides.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the pictures.
We've got quite a big email list now - only a small percentage came along this time. If everyone on the list showed up we'd be scaring the poor townsfolk as we tore up the countryside...
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