Happy Valentine’s to everyone! Especially those that may not have got a card, surprise or expected….

The weather cleared a little this morning, so we were off on the bikes again. It’s been a few days since Louise has been out on hers, so we need to get her re-acquainted with the road and her bike skills.

We had a chat, and she decided she wanted to try the Rimutuka – as long as I rode point there should be no probs! We went down the SH1 and around the lake from Plimmerton and over to the Hutt valley to the Kaitoke Country Gardens for a break, a coffee and a decision point.

We met up with Robyn, a waitress, and started chatting about bikes. Ended up by swapping e-mail addresses – her son works in IT and you never know when something might come up! We also got swamped by a set of 5 yr old triplets, well Louise did – it was a cat thing to start with. Their Dad came out to rescue us after a while and we ended up chatting with him for 15 mins too.

Suitably refreshed, Louise still determined, we headed for the Rimutuka summit. Well, the road summit anyway!

We had a chat and decided to pop down the other side to Greytown for a cup of coffee and a late lunch. Louise did really well up and down the hill. We managed to stay clear of most traffic too, a bonus.

The cafe we’d previously been to in Greytown was closing as we arrived, so we popped over to the cafe on the other side of the road and had a lovely lunch in their garden area.

The clouds started closing in down the Wairapa and the wind was getting up. It had been bad enough for Louise being battered by the winds coming up the Hutt Valley, so we decided that after a stop at the Rimutuka summit again, we’d stop at Harcourt Park for another decision point – whether or not to do the Akatarawa road!

Yep, the wind got a bit fierce for Louise in places. Although not really bad, it wasn’t brill for her – she did very well and even managed not to get too exhausted from battling the wind. We stopped off Harcourt Park and could tell that the wind was going to be fierce down the Hutt Valley again. Rather than struggle down the SH2, cross over to the SH1 and struggle back up home, we thought it would be better to nip across the Akatarawa Rd to Waikanae. Hopefully, the road over would be a bit better protected.

Yep, it was better! Although we did come across a nasty bump involving a 4×4 and a car that was going to cost both of them a new wing! I did stop to make sure everyone was ok and to see if I was needed, but everything was sorted and they were happy to carry on themselves.

I stayed far enough in front, without being too far away, on point duty to get into trouble first if it was coming. That way anything coming our way had to get past me first, and was nicely slowed down and tucked on their own side when Louise got to them. It worked really well, even though it meant I had a wonderful time on the edge of my wits being first to a corner, making sure it was clear, looking at the next corner and that Louise had made it around ok – oh and staying on the road myself of course. That’s ok when there are only one or two odd corners, but after about 30km of almost constant blind bends it was certainly tiring! Probably more tiring than just riding the same road two up!!

No worries though, we got to the top for a stop and a much-needed break before heading on down to Waikanae and home. Louise was obviously getting more used to the bends by then and was doing great.

Total mileage about 190 km (approx 120 miles)