Not quite sure why, but the urge for a ride, a long ride, had come over me in recent days and with a favourable forecast in the offing, today was the day, with a “Round Coromandel Loop” in mind.
Being an early riser, and keen to miss as much holiday traffic as possible, I was up at 4.20, and wheeled Anastasia out of the garage at 0515 (scratching a pannier on a planter box in the process), trying not to annoy too many neighbours with my departure. Predawn is actually a great time to ride, but the sun soon rose and that phase of the day was gone, as I was topping off my tank at BP South – plans for a "pre-departure" coffee were forgotten in my eagerness to be on the road. Heading towards the Coromandel is to head into the rising sun, so a bit of a nuisance at times, but in the best possible way. As usual at this time of day, cresting the Bombay Hills is to pass from being reasonably warm (jacket only) to having to stop to put on a hoodie to cope with the rapid and considerable drop in temperature – I know that it is likely to happen yet the severity of the changes surprises me every time. The cone fairies had been busy overnight, blocking off all passing lanes (miserable buggers) , but fortunately the other early risers had places to be, at a pace was not too excruciating, with most seemingly utes towing boats. On the odd occasion where necessary, I dropped down a gear or two and made short work of any mobile obstacles – ever mindful that the light mounted on my screen would flash red (bright and fast) should any traffic cop try and ping me – having a laser jammer is icing on the cake. Having decided that heading anticlockwise would probably work best (a good choice), I made great time on roads that can be very slippery in the wet, but on a mild morning like today, were a dream. A quick trip to Tairua, then a brief stop to text my brother Wayne who lives in Whitianga to arrange a coffee – I have not caught up with him for a couple of years, so long overdue. Wayne and his best mate (and ute security officer), Mr Ted met me at the prearranged café and we slipped into easy conversation that guys seem to manage despite the passing of time since the last meeting. Wayne and wife Diane moved to what was a still fairly sleepy and remote Whitanga nearly 20 years ago – and whilst it now boasts a Warehouse and Placemakers, they still love living there, far from the pressures of the big smoke. Sounds pretty good to me…. On to Kuaotuna to catch up with another mate, more coffee, bacon and egg pie for breakfast and another pee, then homeward bound, up one side of the Coromandel Range, then down the other, a quick clip with few tourists to frustrate me reward for the early start. Prudence paid dividends, so whilst making good progress I managed to avoid the attentions of the many police cars on the road, and the breath test check point at Kaiaua caused no consternation at all. Comments are closed.
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Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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