Don't leave home until you've seen the country

That’s what the adverts used to say back in the early eighties and as we had never been to the South Island we thought a  new adventure was in order.

We based ourselves in wanaka as its a central hub for a vast array of riding possibilities .the scenery is breathtaking and only confirms what people say about this region. Wide open spaces, ever changing landscapes and something new around every bend.

gisborne training camp

Went to gisborne so that Diane's mum could met the newest addition to the family and have a 5th generation photo done,

 I used the opportunity for a training camp.


Day one I rode from Hamilton to te puke. (132km)
http://app.strava.com/activities/54541730 I left Hamilton in thick fog and 2 degrees showing on the garmin! The good thing about fog is that it equals no wind so made good time to the base of the kaimais when the fog cleared.
The sun came out as I started the big climb of the day which made things much more pleasant.
Rolled into Te Puke to meet Diane and Annie and devoured a bread roll and a custard pie!

Day 2 dawned calm,cool and foggy!

http://app.strava.com/activities/54541711  (112 KM) Went on a loop of the poverty bay flats with a few detours to take in some hills. The hills here are longer but not as steep as at home so it made a nice change to get into a good rhythm. The climb up into Waimata valley led into a great section of rolling short climbs.

The sun came out and highlighted the great display that mother nature puts on at this time of year
Sure makes riding enjoyable.

DAY 3 
Tiniroto (104km)

http://app.strava.com/activities/54541699

A ride to tiniroto was on the plan today, A 10k climb to the top of Gentle Annie led into some of the best riding in this area. Hardly a flat bit of road but no traffic!

Another 4 hours out on the bike and starting to feel really strong,only 6 weeks till I head to france so am pleased with my efforts. Just ticked over 4500km since febuary so gotta be pleased with that.

2 FLAT TYRES!

Left home at 6.30am in 6 degrees just as the dark was changing to light, As the sun popped up I was on bluff road.

This shot was looking back to Matarangi. the promise of a nice day to come. this road is gravel and in good condition, I ride this road often as I rarely meet other road users.

I climbed to the top of Kuaotunu hill then turned and headed for home. That's when I ran over some glass! bugger! front tyre flat. A quick change and im on my way, 4 km later and bang goes the rear tyre!
So one tube only means i'm up the creek without a paddle so I rang rescue one(joe) who came to pick me up. But still enjoyed the ride, how can you not on a beautiful day.

 

http://app.strava.com/activities/52763775

 

Another new family member

Great excitement this month with the arrival of Kobe our great grandson. Ashley and Michael will make great parents and we are really proud of them.

 

 

 

Diane missed the birth as she was in Brisbane at the time but thanks to Sara(nana doole) they had lots of support leading up to the birth and Tash made it from gisborne  in time to be there even though she did get a speeding ticket on the way!

 

 

 

Spent a day in the Waikato this week and picked a perfect day for a ride! started out on the main road from Hamilton to Cambridge and took a look at the new velodrome/cycle centre on the way, going to be a great asset for cycling in new Zealand.

turned inland at Cambridge and headed for morrinsville. As the sun rose it got warmer and as I went along this bit of road it reminded me of being in the Loire valley in 2009. just minus the heat!

I went on the scotsmans valley road next ,this road has short sharp climbs that can be attacked in the big ring so I treated them as intervals,great stuff!.By this stage I was 60k into it and the day was getting better,no wind and blue skys.what more could you ask for.

These roads brought back so many memories, it was here that I developed my love for the bike.i sure miss this area.

After morrinsville a quick blast up tauhei road then completed my Waikato loop on gordonton road giving me 118k for the day. life was good to me today.

 

http://app.strava.com/activities/51863580

Is it april already?

where has the year gone? seems i only just got over the xmas rush in the shop!.
this year the weather gods decided to smile on us so we had a lot of very happy holiday makers.
hear me complain? NO!

 

Have had some nice days out on the boat this year, caught a few nice fish too which is always a bonus

 

 

Of course all this playing out in the boat takes me away from the bike and as july is getting closer by the day i have got back onto the bike with a vengence.

 

 

 

 

 

A great bit of weather

We all now how nice sunny days seem to make everything easier and riding a bike certainly fits in with the sentiment exactly.

This week my riding has taken me over a road i have not used since last year ,It goes along the coast from matarangi to kuaotunu,it's gravel but hard packed and even on my 23m wide race tyres not too much of an issue.

At this time of the year the water is usually very clear, obviously the water temp has dropped but still it would be great diving conditions

Today i did 50km on my new bike, it's a singlespeed rocket. Why no gears i hear you ask? You didn't ask? well i will tell you,Having only one gear forces you to peddle at a faster rate or leg speed which is great for the heart and lungs without building honking great thigh muscles.
Also it breaks up the training routine and it sure lets you know you have a pair of legs!

Time for a catch up

Now that the mad rush of Christmas has passed and we are starting to return to normal I thought it was time to catch up on the last few months. After my trip to France in July we got stuck into a major overhaul of our boat Magic.
With  the help of Jim and Gail we stripped the hull back to bare wood! no easy task with 35 years of paint and antifoul to remove..long days sanding,filling and painting paid off as we have ended up with a boat to be proud of.
I replaced all the thru the hull fittings,seals and fittings at the same time.I must acknowledge the efforts of jim and gail during this time,who both  worked on the boat with us  every day for 4 weeks with out a day off.,thanks guys.

The weather was not kind to us over our nz summer and strong winds meant we only got out a few times to enjoy our boat.

Although we never went hungry

In february we had a quick trip to melbourne to attend the wedding of our nephew Bevan to the marvelous Emma

After 5 years of owning the beemer i decided it was time for a change so this is the new bike.

It's a triumph America and im having so much fun riding it. smooth,light and easy to handle.

We just got back from a week on the gold coast. went and did the theme parks etc.warm weather and nice surroundings gave us a nice break.

I have still managed to get a bit of time out on the bike as time allows although the motivation levels are not as great as the years im training for the tour.roll on 2013!