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There was a good turnout this morning, of circa 15 bikes – they were still joining in at the back after the front had pulled out, and that was four minutes late by R1100S time. I stayed on the main drag (apart from the obligatory detour through Orewa to avoid the toll) up to Whangarei, figuring that the road crews would concentrate on cleaning up the damage from the cyclone there first. It certainly looked like a good call: Tomarata Road, which was my intended route when I planned the run months ago, was a sea of wet, red, clay where it branched off SH1, and apart from looking durned dangerous, I washed my bike yesterday. Yes, Matilda, Bwucie does sometimes clean it.We stopped at Kaiwaka for coffee, and I had to take my selfish seat cover off the pillion and pop it in Team Foley's topbox for most of the day when I was "adopted" by somebody else's wife, while he pussy-footed back to (thanks, Rincewind, I loved this) Psychotreads at Takapuna because of this:
I won't name or shame the perpetrator, that would be unfair, but I will say that Mrs Red Baron seemed to enjoy herself on the back of the eleven-hundy-ess. (Oops!)From Whangarei out to Parua Bay there were mondo slips on the roadside, and one culvert that had all but disappeared into the harbour, so I left my spirit of adventure in my back pocket and took it carefully. The Parua Bay Tavern staff once again provided food in quick time, and we moved all their furniture in the back garden to create a fair attempt at New Zealand's longest barbecue table. Some of those on the far end were getting on a bit of a lean, and close to falling into the harbour, but in the end we all got fed and watered safely.After lunch Trevor and Robyn headed back to Ruakaka on the Klingon Multistrada to visit their olds, and the rest followed me over the Mt Tiger Road. I am told there is great scenery through there, but when you are riding lead, with a pillion, after a recent tropical cyclone, you don't see a lot of it. I did spy a couple of left handers where a slip had started from the road edge, so that when the bike was on the apex of the corner the wheels were on good tarseal, and the helmet was out over fresh air. Interesting stuff. At the end of Mt Tiger Road the Toe-Draggers and Iron-Butt brigade followed Tony O' further north for a longer ride, which caused a bit of confusion: my bad, times two. Insufficient briefing after lunch, and I could, probably should, have regathered at the end of Mt Tiger before turning. I have given myself a slap on the wrist.We did, however, get ourselves sorted out, topped up fuel in Whangarei, and took in the Waipu-Mangawhai-Wellsford loop to meet up with the tyre man and Enzo, complete with new rubber. From Wellsford the group progressively thinned out. Philip headed straight home, Peter and Richard C stopped for coffee, proposing to then go via Warkworth and Woodcocks Rd, the rest of us headed via 16 to Helensville for ice cream, where we met up with UncaMoose and AGD, who had been pick-a-nicking at Wenderholm. Paul L trundled off to get fuel after the ice cream stop, we headed over Old North Rd and got to the Taupaki junction just in time to see him shoot across the intersection in front of us. Rob peeled for the North Shore: bet he still had a big grin on. The RIC hat clearly today (once again) stood for Really Injoy Cruisin'. YoungJim and Richard G cruised by us on the North Western, and the hard core wound up at Schloss Red Baron for coffee and cookies.Once again, my lawns have not been mowed. Do you care? I don't.Post count: 128Post count: 60Post count: 2134Some of Wendy's pictures from yesterday: I'm going to have to go out to Pukekohe and hold a tutorial on using Photobucket for Team Foley.Potty stop at Whangarei i-site. In centre field you can see Neko, the Monsta jockey looking at Klingon Trevor's Multistrada and asking the polite equivalent of, "WTF kinda Duke that?"
Before Mr Shifter's visit to Parua Bay....
....and after.
Does my bro-un-law Trev look happy with his new Duke?
Outside the Tavern we spotted this: the artwork says it all.
After match conference at Helensville:
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