Otherland

To quote Carl Sagan - It is better to light a candle, than to curse the darkness.

Here's a few of last night's photos of Tamaki Drive at the top of the tide with water inundating the road, wind howling and drizzle ripping through. It was a fantastic place to be.

For once, and it's not that often that it is the case, the Olympus E3 was top of the heap and envy of a couple of other dSLR users there. With it's weather sealing that is as good as anything else available, I was free to roam and make the most of the conditions. There was one chap with a decent Canon 7d, but he was trying to use it wrapped in a towel and plastic bag, not ideal. His envy of my freedom was vocal.

To see other images of the night go here

Entropy, a measure of my uselessness

A long time between drinks for me here. If I could supply adequate reasons as to why I neglected my online spawn I would lay them out now, but I don't have any, apart from a sheer creative block and an enjoyment of summer.

Sunday just been, Doris and I knocked out a close to perfect point to point ride, Auckland to Leigh. The almost part comes from the section from Warkworth to Leigh, but I'll come back to that shortly.

The section from Auckland to Warkworth was just magical. The weather was perfect warm, windless and high overcast. Traffic was negligible, and the roads superb. I would rate the road through Woodcocks, from the SH16 turn off at the Kaipara end to Warkworth, as good as any other road in the Auckland region. The seal is good, the scenery pleasant, traffic light and it has a climb and descent combo that take some beating. The only caveat to this part of the ride is the section from Kaukapakapa is tough riding with a couple of solid to steep climbs, dead seal and a feeling of a slow leak. This is mitigated by what was behind, what lays ahead, and a magnificent view over the Kaipara.

The less than perfect part of the ride, was the section from Warkworth to Matakana, no shoulder, seal that abrades your nether regions and erogenous zones and lots of traffic, there's little to recommend here. The last leg from Matakana to Leigh is slightly better, but punctuated by short, leg stealing climbs.

The bright side is the reward of some of the best chips and donuts you can find from the Leigh fish and chip shop, eaten on the grass under a pohutakawa.

Takes some beating, thanks Doris for the company, it was a wonderful ride.