Big Day Out, Manawahe Road etc.

[Anonymous]

#3456

Bit tardy with this report, busy suffering: what I thought was just cold weather on Sunday afternoon is my regrown-after-being-removed-as-a-kid tonsils giving me grief.  Quite entertaining at work when you start hallucinating while 7 and a half metres above the concrete on an order picker.  At which stage I called the dustoff chopper and took myself home, so, while on a sickie, here is the ripping yarn from the weekend.Briefing before the ride, "Listen carefully, there will be a test at lunchtime."On what was a glorious morning we headed for Browny's at Aongatete for smoko, and to meet up with Arne from Tauranga.  A great biker friendly venue, right down to side-stand "feet" spread around on the lawn for you to use.  The place has a sad history, having risen from the ashes of another operator's financial demise, but the staff are friendly, the site is very easy to access from the main drag, and it's just in the right place for smoko.Arne volunteered to lead us from there, through Tauranga and out to Paengaroa to the Funky Lizard, where Neko wanted to have lunch.  History relates that Neko went home from Aongatete to fetch her cat from the vets, but as we were there, and had lost momentum while we fuelled up across the road, and some were going to head home via SH33 from there, I abandoned Aunty's at Matata and we had lunch at the Funky Lizard.Our BOP "native guide", Arne.Rarely seen photo of Otto Phocus on the eleven-hundy-ess: he's normally the other side of the viewfinder.Arne's girlfriend from Brownys.Jason, Ninja bodyguard, being staunch and protective in front of CampbellOn the road again....Queer shaped traffic lights in the BOP.Funky Lizard.Arne says grace.Otto Phocus for the day, Steven (of course that's why the photos are distorted, everyone knows about Asian eyes - eat your heart out, Paul Henry.)The fisheye lens takes a great shot of Jason.And a disorienting one of the Hunua service station on the breakaway group's way home.From the Funky Lizard Arne lead us through some brilliant riding to Hamurana.  Old Coach Road was new to all of us, and I decided to try and mark as many corners as I could to save Teams Foley and Red Baron from having to stop with pillions on, so the eleven-hundy got the bit between its teeth more than is usual 😀  Then a regulation paced cruise down the coast to Matata and more glorious twisties via Manawahe Road to Lake Rotoma.Arne stopped at Hamurana for his ice cream, while he held an internal debate whether to head home via Pyes Pa or via one of his several metal options.  The Red Baron revealed his secondary employment, which apparently involves close inspection of lakeside fences for the local District Council.Photo by Arne, misuse of same by me. 👿The rest of us headed for Tirau and honey ice creams, then back to Bombay for an after-match function (which I skipped, as the tonsils were rapidly getting the better of me.)Very big thanks to Arne for leading, and to Steven and Arne for photos.

[Anonymous]

#14272

looks like you guys had a good time and the weather was certainly with you,I sustained a back injury while my 20 something brain lifted a 47 Kilo boiler on to the bench  on Friay afternoon using my 50 something body, so I'm afraid by the time Saturday night came around I was walking like the hunchback in a horror movie and shoveling down the Voltarin.Great write up Bwucie,that fence inspector gets around,I've seen him many times on my travels,he does walls too !!!!

[Arne Rohde]

#14273

Arne's girlfriend from Brownys.

Oops. How am I going to explain that to all the others. They each thought they were the only ones.

Arne says grace.

Actually I was looking for Te Whaiti on the map. Unfortunately it was the wrong map, which explains why I couldn't find it.

Very big thanks to Arne for leading, and to Steven and Arne for photos.

It was fun, except for losing a few riders along the way. And good to put a few faces to some of the (nick)names that keep cropping up in Auckland ride reports.

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