Four Points

...and finally the write-up: https://banditrider.weebly.com/2018-four-points.html

And I think that can be the last post of the year...Happy New Year everyone!

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Four Points write-up

Finally finished my Four Points write-up.  As usual for my bigger rides you can find it on my website.  Linkee: http://banditrider.weebly.com/2016-four-points.html

Day Eight

Day Seven

Day Six

Cheap Chinese bicycle camera mount...



Day Five

Day Four

Day Three

Day Two

Day One

Somewhere...

 

Nine days on the Connie

I think she deserves a wash and an oil change...

Four Points Slideshow

Back home after a great 5 days on the Connie.  A proper write-up is to come but in the meantime here are the pics:

Four Points Day Three

Day three started with waking up to the sound of rain on the roof which wasn’t exactly what we were after but there was nothing for it but to get out of bed and onto the road again.

Leaving Pahia we came across a fallen tree that the firies were trying to get off the road and three cows who must have floated out of their paddock and onto the road.  Luckily we avoided these obstacles and even finally rode out of the rain just South of Kawakawa.

Our first stop was just out of Whangarei where we fuelled up and discussed breakfast.  The plan was to ride onto Auckland and hunt down a café.  In the end though, we carried on down the motorway before turning off and taking some back roads through to Clevedon where we ended up having brunch instead of breakfast.

Next up was the nice ride to Miranda and instead of riding the Coromandel Loop we made for Paeroa and Waihi where it was time for more fuel.  Leaving Waihi the roads got a lot busier so we just cruised into Tauranga and around Welcome Bay.

Just North of Matata we were most excited to catch up with the rain again but unfortunately we didn’t carry on in it too much as we were soon at Whakatane where we are parked up again for the night.

Next up tomorrow is the mighty East Cape...

Four Points update

From the wet North...

Today is our second day on the road as we take on the Manawatu Ulysses Four Points again.  Yesterday we picked up our first card in Rahoutu after being blown around on our way up the Naki.  From there we made our slow (traffic) up to Te Kuiti and weather stayed pretty good apart from a few little spits here and there.

 

North of Pirongia we had some excitement when the same map in 2 different GPS units sent me one way and Mark another.  We eventually hooked up again before heading through to Glen Murray and it was through here that we started getting the odd shower and stopped to change our visors.

The worst bit of the ride was when we hit Auckland during rush hour.  The GPS units again split us up and we both spent a lot of time getting lost, hot and angry.  We did eventually reach our final destination of Helensville around 6:30 and went in search of a motel and food.

This morning we had a great ride on mostly dry roads to Wellsford where we stopped for a nice cooked breakfast.  While we were inhaling bacon the rain caught up with us and as I write this in Pahia it is parked up with us at our motel.

Regardless of the weather we still had a good ride through to Dargaville and up through the Waipoua Forest to Rawene where we road straight onto the ferry for the short crossing.  Then it was more wet twisties through to Ahipara and Kaitaia where we got fuel and decided to skip going right out to the Cape.  Instead we just rode to Houhora and picked up our second card, turned around and made a dash for the Bay of Islands.

Checking the weather forecast for tomorrow and hoping for better in the morning...

Another souvenir from the trip...

Four Points Wrap-up

Well I'm just back home after the Four Points prize giving function and I've also finished my write-up, you can see it here.

Two years until the next one...

A weekend's riding

I got home from my assault on the Four Points on Sunday afternoon having ridden about 2,400kms since leaving home on Friday morning.  The event still isn't over as I have to get my last card at the after-match function this coming weekend - then we'll know if my poker hand is any good (so far, so bad).

I'm working on a write-up for my website and will hopefully finish that off in the weekend or early next week but thought that I'd just do a very quick summary here:

Day One
- Wet until SH50 then a pretty good day as I toured around East Cape finally stopping in Katikati for the night.

View 2012 Four Points Map 3 in a larger map

Day Two
- A big day in near perfect conditions.
- Another trip on the Rawene ferry and some fuel problems in Kaitaia.
- Did a big day to make day three shorter due to bad weather forecast.

View 2012 Four Points Map 4 in a larger map

Someone else with good taste on the Ferry

Day Three
- Left Ngaruawahia in the rain - heavy at times.
- Met Brian in New Plymouth for the last leg.
- Rain stopped at Rahotu but was replaced by plenty of wind.

View 2012 Four Points Map 5 in a larger map

Well, that's enough for now, except to say that I had a blast and enjoyed the time away and I'll keep working on the final write-up...

Lake Ferry

Well after a very wild Saturday and Saturday night, Sunday tried to start off the same way but the sting was out of the storm - the sting maybe, but not the rain and wind...Never mind, there were three others that were also keen to get started on the Four Points and make for the Southern point at Lake Ferry.

I met up with Meanie, Monie and Yod at a local gas station and we left town in light rain to first tackle the Pahiatua Track and Mangamire.  The road was pretty wet in places and the rain heavyish at times but by the time we got to SH2 we were out of the worst of it and there was even the odd dry bit of road.

The next section of the ride was just a quiet ride down to Masterton, Carterton and Greytown before we turned off towards Lake Ferry.  The ride from here on had us punching into a reasonably gusty head wind and there was the odd shower to help keep the slippery bits slippery.

Arriving in Lake Ferry the rain had stopped but the wind was well and truly still with us and we parked our bikes pretty carefully so that they'd still be right side up when we got back to them.  Then it was into the warm of the pub for a hot lunch and to get our first card.

Such a lovely day

Parking out of the wind...

After lunch it was time to make our way home and we decided to make for Martinborough and then depending on the weather either to the short route to Masterton and home or go the more scenic route via Longbush, Gladstone and Wainuioru.  The ride up to Martinborough was pretty quick with a good tail-wind and not too much rain.

In Martinborough I had a bit of a look at the skies and reckoned it looked ok (if not better) to take the scenic route and so off we went.  We did get a few very light showers and the roads were quite wet in places but it was a great ride and the weather appeared to be getting better the further up the road we went.

Once out onto the Castle Point road we carried on into Masterton to top up the tanks and to decide on the route home.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying the better weather so we decided that Route 52 to Alfredton and then back into the Pahiatua was the go.

The first bit of Route 52 was pretty damp and there was even the odd branch on the road but once we got out of the slower twisty stuff the roads dried off and we had a great run up to Alfredton.  Mangaone Valley Road was more of the same although we did come across some cows being moved for their afternoon milking and they'd made an absolute mess of the road - a bit of caution was needed to navigate the mess and all the bikes ended up bringing some samples home...

A bath is imminent!

After a brief pause at Pahiatua we hit the track, got briefly sprinkled on and that was pretty much it for the first (well first successful) leg of the Four Points.  The other guys are heading off a day before me so I'll be constantly nipping at their heels - perhaps I'll bump into them somewhere but otherwise it'll just be me and the Connie and the open road!  Oh yeah!

What's it going to look like after another 2,500km?

View Larger Map

Wind

Yeah, I don't think it was quite this bad out there...