Sunday, November 20, 2011

The Honeyeater


The above, equals happiness for the below.


I have been extraordinarily lucky this weekend. 

On Saturday morning I rode out through Bethalls Quarry and Scenic Drive with Wayne, The Croc, Warren and Serge. The pace over, like the company was pleasant and easy. Up the quarry I lit the blue touch paper, and for a change my own fireworks were less than a damp squib. Onto Scenic Drive I eased, but some of the others from our company charged on. I was saving my legs for the expedition I had planned that afternoon on foot.

After we reached the top of Scenic Drive, and I had a fossick in the roadside gorse for the bottle of scotch that I placed there in June, I did come away empty handed, Serge and Warren rolled back the way they had come, and the Croc, Wayne and I snaked down the descent of Forest Hill Road, and then back to town by the very pleasant bike path, all the way in from Henderson. No traffic issues for us, it is a truly 
benign way to snake in from the outer west. 

My return expedition into the Waitakeres on Saturday afternoon was a delight, the highlight being the brief visitation of a Kaka while I was on a spur between steep grunts. It was wonderful to see and hear one of these chaps in the Waitakeres. I have had a mob around me before, like unruly schoolboys, but that was on the Eastern Coromandel. Several years ago, at dawn, I saw a pair on Sandringham Road, by Gribblehurst Park, but this is the first time in a while I have seen one out west. I was delighted.

The final stanza of unexpected joy was on Sunday afternoon, while I waited up a valley out of Piha for my scion to finish up his camp. As I sat, I had camera in hand, with a decent long lens, nearby was flax flowering, and I waited. Soon the territory master, a Tui appeared. Initially to chase the brace of Starlings from the prime food source, the flowering flax and it's nectar. On returning from that sortie, the Tui discovered a Myna was trying it's luck, so more whirring action required.

Rivals dispensed with, the Tui returned to start feeding, and I got lucky with the camera. It maybe a box ticking exercise, as I sure ain't a twitcher, but I have long wanted to snap a Tui on a Flax infloresence. Today was the day, a little longer lens would have been a nice luxury, but I'm happy anyway.

That done, and I looked up to see a Kereru swoop through, across the sky, I turned and nailed a Don Binney moment.

Sometimes, it just is.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Elastica



Junior decided that he would join me for my of my early morning rides, there was a small concession and we started at a time when it was still dark, but it wasn't completely anti-social.
The route was Carter Road, and home before 7:15. Easy peasy.

When we met he commented on the rain radar and that it looked like it might be a little damp, "Moist" I sniggered. So we rode out, the roads became damp alright, I took him through my little secret detour to avoid the plunge of death down past the Waikumete Cemetery.  I asked him what he thought of it, his only comment was that I had found the wettest road in Auckland.

The precipitation increased, and it was raining properly, we rolled up Carter Road with no urgency. It was now  more than moist. After Titirangi, I was, once again, throughly trounced on the Godley Road sprint, and then we rolled back into town, starting to feel a little cold by the end. Both of us thoroughly soaked by the end. Nothing a hot shower doesn't fix.

The vagaries of Spring.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Murmuration


Because I am feeling a trifle lazy, but have also had a couple of little gems appear, I will post them instead.
First up, a video that is just breath-taking.
Did you know that a group of starlings is a murmuration?
Here, witness a murmuration of starlings, play it full screen and grin.


Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

Then, a contrast, here is Mikeal, ripping around the Totara Park MTB trail on his 'cross bike.
Top trails for an urban environment, and well worth a roll around.



Lastly, the man who put this up on youtube, he is worthy of a public service award. Here is Andre Tchmil's 1994 Paris Roubaix win, well, the last One Hour and Forty Nine Minutes of it. Watch it and be awed, watch Tchmil bunny hop a round about at pace, watch Museuw and Tchmil drag race on the cobbles, watch the mud, watch the drama as Ballerini gets left in no mans land. It was one of Lottos defining moments!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Fitzroy, I ain't


K2, another year down, and another set of learnings.

I had prepped well, my equipment was ideal and up to the task, I started well and rode happily in the bunch as it ascended the first climb of the day, Kopu-Hikuai. My fear of being in the ejected portion of the group on that climb proved baseless. I rolled happily in the bunch to Pumpkin Hill, then was shed like a skin, and left to fend for myself. The rest of the ride was spent solo, in small groups, a larger group, then solo again, then a small group to finish with.

The roll down the Thames Coast, with the wind on my back and the sun out, was balm to my angst, and soothed a number of demons that had been nibbling. My climbing in the later half of the event was respectable, my rolling on the flat was easy, in a sense, by the finish, I snatched satisfaction from the jaws of despair.

So, what went wrong at Tairua?

I had made a poor call clothingwise, based on looking at the forecast and the rain radar. I started with only a jersey and base layer, when almost all others in the group had arm warmers and gillets. As a consequence, on the long descent of the Kopu-Hikuai hill, and the nicely paced roll through to Tairua, with the preciptation that fell, and an ambient temperature of 14 degrees, I got very cold. When Pumpkin Hill was met, I was simply unable to hold pace, and drifted astray. After being chilled, it took a long time to warm again, and even then my day was over, so I engaged tourist mode and enjoyed.

On the Thames Coast, as I rolled along in the warmth, with the sparkling sea as a companion, I decided, once and for all, that my K2 career was over. I have ridden the event 8 times, including the very first one. I have enjoyed all of them in parts, some more than others, but I have no desire to keep chasing some holy grail, that is unobtainable for a lummox like me.

On the positive side of the ledger, I did get to use my beautiful, light wheels that were built for me by Tristan Thomas of Wheelworks . These aluminium rimmed beauties, I have written of them before, weigh a little over 1300 grams, and stiff, true and responsive, and in that dreadful weather on Saturday provided good braking, in a sure manner. I can't recommend getting a set of hand built wheels enough, the amount of sheer pleasure, and satisfaction that I derive from riding something that was created just for me by an artisan is an utter joy.

The other "highlights" of the weekend, were learning about The Batchelor and spying a soiled smurf in the shared accommodation.

Thanks to The Worm and Junior for being a solid part of my journey getting to K2 over winter and spring.