Petone to Eastbourne

We hadn’t biked to Days Bay and Eastbourne for quite a while, so on Tuesday 21 March, we decided to ride from Petone to Days Bay for lunch. We parked in Petone, in the carpark at the western end of the Esplanade. A few weeks earlier, the short gravel track between the parking reserve and the Petone Wharf had been sealed, and made wider, which makes it much nicer to ride on.

The beach-side track has been widened and sealed (photo by John)

I had hoped that the narrow, gravel track in the Hikoikoi Reserve, that runs along the Hutt River estuary, might also have been improved, but it hadn’t.

Crossing the bridge over the Hutt River is always a little hazardous. It is narrow, and often there are people fishing, who leave their paraphernalia on the path, and sometimes they leave their fishing rods propped up half-way across the path. I always worry that one day a fishhook will either give us a puncture, or worse, may be flicked back and hit one of us in the face.

The path across the bridge is narrow, and often clogged with people fishing (photo by John)

We continued on the track alongside Seaview Road, and past the marina, where we didn’t take any pictures this time – just for a change. Onto a stretch of cycle path between the boat launching ramp and the Point Howard Wharf.

A cycle path heading towards Point Howard (photo by John)

For the first few kilometres around the eastern bays, there is a sort-of protected shoulder on the seaward side of the road, but from Lowry Bay, this disappears and we had to cycle on the road.

There is a protected shoulder of sorts for some of the way … (photo by John)

… but from Lowry Bay we had to ride on the road (photo by John)

At Days Bay, we stopped for lunch at the Chocolate Dayz Café. Directly behind the café is the Southlight Studio, where photographer Simon Hoyle specialises in family portraits. We had some wonderful family photos taken by Simon about 17 years ago. He took us to the Eastbourne Wharf, where he took some lovely relaxed photos of us all. They are much treasured.

John liked the contrast of the orange chairs with the blue of the view beyond (photo by John)

The Chocolate Dayz Café, with the Southlight Studio at the back (photo by John)

After lunch we continued the ride towards Eastbourne, as far as Burdan’s Gate, which is the start of the track to Pencarrow. We didn’t carry on to do the Pencarrow ride, as I was still a bit reluctant to tackle loose gravel (after my fall on Ocean Beach Road several weeks earlier). But we sat in the sun and took pictures.

The Eastbourne Domain (photo by John)

We noted that they had changed the gate for pedestrians and cyclists since the last time we were there. It was a very awkward narrow zig-zaggy gate. Now the gate is somewhat easier, but I think it would still be a bit of a mission to get the e-bikes through. We watched a couple of cyclists coming back from a ride, and they had to raise their bikes onto the back wheel to be able to walk them through the narrow gap.

The gate (with the chain attached) is still very narrow and tricky to negotiate with a bike (photo by John)

Looking north ... (photo by John)

... and south, towards Cook Strait (photo by John)

By the time we got back to Petone, we had done a very relaxed 28 km.

Folding Goldies Ride – Te Whiti Riser

Last Wednesday, 1 March, we went on another Folding Goldies ride. This time, the organiser Alastair Smith suggested exploring the relatively newly completed Te Whiti Riser track. This is a 3.3 km track that meanders from Te Whiti Park in Lower Hutt up the Eastern Hills to connect with the ridge track that runs along the top of the Wainuiomata Hill. It is not very steep – no more than a 7% gradient – and according to Alastair’s email, “comfortably wide”.

The plan was to take the train to Woburn Station, ride the track to the top (about 230m of climbing), admire the views, and ride back down the same way. Then bike to Petone for lunch somewhere, and take the train back into town. As an added interest, Simon Morton of RNZ's This Way Up had asked to come along on the ride, and would probably want to do some interviews with FG members.

We had heard about this track, and were keen to try it, so this was a good opportunity. But unfortunately, for John and me, this turned out to be one of our less successful rides.

Instead of taking the train to Woburn, we parked the car on the Petone foreshore, and biked up to Woburn station, to meet the others. It was a large group, 11 including Simon – we are growing! Though not all ride "foldies", we are mostly all “goldies”.

Nigel emerges from the train with his bike (photo by John)

Unfolding the folding bikes on the platform – with so many bikes on the train at once,
the folding bikes had to be folded to be allowed on (photo by John)

Simon had already started interviewing people on the train, and he lost no time in talking to those of us waiting on the platform as well.

Simon Morton interviews Colin on the train (photo by Alastair Smith)

Simon talks to Frank at Woburn Station (photo by John)

Introductions – Désirée, Nigel, Colin, Frank (photo by John)

A group photo taken by Simon Morton

Introductions over, we biked along Whites Line to Te Whiti Park, from where the track starts.

Negotiating the gate at the bottom of the track ... (photo by John)

... and off they go (photo by John)

Though the track was not steep, it was gravel, and it did meander up a steep hillside, with likely steep drops beside the track. Because of his balance limitations John decided to ride his non-electric Giant. It is lighter and easier to manoeuvre than the e-bike.

The track was not particularly steep (photo by John)

John and I negotiate a corner (photo by Simon Morton)

Under normal circumstances, the gradient should not have presented any difficulties, even with a non-electric bike. But John was having trouble. After only a fairly short distance, he had to stop and catch his breath. Determined to keep going, he waited a few minutes and carried on. But standing astride his bike, leaning over his handlebars, panting and out of breath, he worried me.

Alastair waited for us to catch up (photo by John)

Alastair, concerned not to lose anyone, waited for us to catch up. “How are you going?” John wasn’t going too well, as for me, my response was “I’m hating it!”.

I was riding my e-bike – being such a sook when it comes to hills. But I found the track hard to negotiate because of its narrowness (only 1.2m wide) and the tight corners at times. And the drop to the side of the track freaked me out big time. I have mentioned in other blog posts how I have a fear of ditches and drops (going back to childhood days), which sets up a panic response. On this track, I was getting plenty of adrenalin surges. 

John had several stop/start goes, each time having to wait to recover before being able to go on. I was really concerned, and reminded him not to be a hero. It would be better to stop before things got even worse. We had a slightly longer stop at a bridge spanning a bush-clad gully. It was shady there, and a bit cooler than the brilliantly sunny and hot hillside we had just come up.

Another breather – in the shade – with Alastair keeping an eye on us

We carried on for another short distance, but finally John gave in, and agreed to stop. We didn’t want this to develop into a major emergency with a chopper having to medevac him out. We returned to the shade of the bridge, and told Alastair that we would wait there while the rest of the group rode to the top and came back. 

It was a good place to sit and wait. A bit of a cut-out on the bank made a useful seat, and after a while we amused ourselves taking photos. And the rear-facing camera on time-lapse on John’s bike took several pictures of us as well.

Recovering in the shade (photo by John’s time-lapse camera)

The sound of the cicadas was deafening! (photo by John)

The bridge clings to the edge of the gully, following its contours (photo by John)

John takes a photo of the gully below (photo by John)

Several large trees had been cut down to make room for the bridge (photo by John)

Supplejack vines hang from the trees (photo by John)

I wandered down the track to take some pictures of the view, which looks out over Lower Hutt.

A glimpse of the Hutt Valley down the track

Lower Hutt and the Western Hills

The track goes somewhere in amongst the trees and scrub to the top

It is a real pity we didn’t make it to the top, because the view is wonderful, looking out over the Hutt Valley, and out towards the harbour on one side, and down into the Wainuiomata Valley on the other – or so one of them told us.

The view from the top (photo by Alastair Smith)

Before long, the group returned, having made it to the top and back. Simon was among the first to get back. He is quite a seasoned cyclist and mountain bike rider. We really enjoyed his TV series “Along for the Ride”, a couple of years ago. 

Simon was among the first to get back. Note all the recording gear
hanging around his neck (photo by John)

Simon enquires how John is feeling now

A satisfied bunch of riders returns from the top (photo by John)

We gingerly made our way back down to the bottom of the track. Simon had a very useful tip for me. If I lowered my seat, I would have more control and I would be able to put a foot on the ground if I felt “unsafe” on tight corners. I did as he suggested, and the way down felt much less panicky. It really is a lovely track – barring any health or panic issues …

It really is a lovely track (photo by John)

Nearly there …

When everyone had got to the bottom of the track, and Alastair had counted us to make sure all were present and correct, Simon left the group. This was “work” for him after all, and he had to get back to the office. He promised to let us know when the programme would be aired on Radio NZ – probably in three or four weeks.

Note (added 5 April): The programme was aired on Radio NZ's "This Way Up" on 1 April, with the title "The bike gang with gold cards". It can still be accessed online here. (If you can't see the photos in this link, "refresh" the link, and the photos should appear.)

Dayll and Steven left the group along the way as well, so there were only eight of us left to have lunch at the Esplanade Cabaret on the Petone foreshore. This place was a revelation to us. We had biked past it numerous times, but didn’t know it was a café. The name Cabaret suggested a night time venue, so we never investigated.

It turned out to be a large and very busy café, upstairs, featuring a deck with a wonderful view out to the harbour. And they make the best iced coffee we have had anywhere in a long time …

Lunch at the Esplanade Cabaret in Petone (photo by John)

The view from the deck

After lunch, some took the train back to Wellington, and some decided to bike back. For John and me it was just a very short distance back to where we had parked the car.

By the time we got back to the car, John was feeling so awful, that I thought I should take him into A&E to have his heart checked out.

I think it was the right thing to do. They did the usual tests to see if he had suffered a heart attack. Negative, fortunately. But obviously something had happened that was not right. His heart suffers from the occasional “go-slow” (bigeminy), where effectively his heart rate goes down to about half of what it should be. We think that this is what caused him to not be able to cope with what normally would have been a relatively easy ride.

The hospital kept him in overnight and he did a treadmill test the next morning, which he managed OK. He came home later that day, but he is not quite back to his usual self yet. Let’s hope he comes right soon.

Note: Thank you to Simon and Alastair for sharing their photos.

Hutt River Trail – Upper Hutt to Petone

A week ago, Sunday 1 May, we arranged to go for a bike ride with our friend Pat. We let the weather decide where we would go. Kapiti was due to have rain that day, so we decided to take the train to Upper Hutt instead, and ride down the Hutt River Trail.

Instead of taking the train from Petone, as we have done in the past, we left the car at home this time and biked to Johnsonville to take the train into town, and then another train out to Upper Hutt. Pat lives near the Johnsonville line, so we arranged to meet on the train.

At Wellington station, the train to Upper Hutt was waiting, but it would be another 15 minutes before it was to leave. We got on board and secured our bikes. Soon after, a young Asian couple with bikes arrived and also wanted to take them on the train. Since it was the weekend, there was only one carriage, with room for just three bikes. We were ready to fold down our bikes, to make room for theirs, but the guard wasn’t having any of that. She told the young couple in no uncertain terms they could not get their bikes on, and they complied. What a pity. With few other passengers, there was plenty of room to park our folded bikes in the pushchair area. A bit of flexibility would have worked fine for all.
From Upper Hutt Station we rode through the streets towards the riverside track by a different route – down Whakatiti Street which took us to a track running alongside the motorway for some distance. Eventually we were able to join the river trail at Moonshine Park.

The track beside River Road, SH2 (photo by John)

Petone to Eastbourne

On Tuesday 29 September, we decided on an easy ride from Petone to Eastbourne. Although the ride was all on the flat, we took the electric bikes, as there was a brisk breeze.

We parked at the motorway end of Petone and biked to Days Bay without stopping. There is a bit of a cycle lane on the seaward side of the road in most places, but at times we had to cross and ride on the road. We stopped for coffee and a scone at the Chocolate Dayz Café.

Fortified by coffee at Chocolate Dayz (photo by John)

It was a pleasant ride round the bays to Eastbourne. It seemed to us – but we may be mistaken – that the shape of the beach had changed since were last there. It seemed more ‘scalloped’ somehow.

We thought the beach had changed shape (photo by John) 

The same stretch of beach, seen from the other end (photo by John)

We biked to the end of the road, stopping at Burdan’s Gate, the starting point to the Pencarrow Lighthouse track. We did not want to bike there today – in any case, the silly gate which gives pedestrians and cyclists access to the track is too awkward to manoeuvre the e-bikes through. And these bikes are too heavy to lift over the main gate across the road.

Coming back through Eastbourne, we took a little detour onto the wharf.

The Eastbourne wharf (photo by John)

As we were riding along the riverside track at Seaview, we saw, up ahead, the little yellow tug Kowhai pushing along the dredging barge with a digger on the top. John raced along to catch up with it so he could take a photo.

The tug Kowhai, and the dredging barge (photo by John)

On the Waione Bridge across the Hutt River, there are always people fishing, causing a bit of an obstruction on the narrow foot/cycle path. Sometimes they have a bike or paraphernalia near them on the footpath, so you have to dismount to get past. This time, when we rode past one of the anglers, something wet and slimy hit me on the side of the face. I don’t know what it was, it didn’t hurt but it was pretty icky! At least it didn’t smell!

The rest of the way back to the car was uneventful. We had done 33 km – a reasonably respectable ride.

Folding Goldies and a midwinter dinner

On Thursday 25 June, we finally did the Folding Goldies ride that had originally been scheduled for 4 June but was postponed because Alastair, the instigator of the group, had been unwell.

The original plan had been to take the 9:05 am train to Trentham, then bike down the Hutt River Trail, continue from Petone to Days Bay, and then to take the harbour ferry back to town. Things changed a bit when Paraparaumu resident John B suggested a later train, as he had to get himself into Wellington first. So the 10:05 train it was.

We boarded at Petone (it is easier to park there than in town), and met the others on the train. A very small group we turned out to be – just us plus Alastair and John B. The others on the mailing list were either unable to come or forgot.

From Trentham station we rode down Totara Street to Trentham Park. A good path led across the park, and through an area of bush, and delivered us onto the Hutt River Trail.

On the Trentham Park bush track. From left: John B, Désirée, Alastair (photo by John)

It was a very leisurely ride down to Lower Hutt, where it was decided that there would not be enough time to get to the last “Gold Card” sailing of the ferry at 12:40, so we diverted to Janus Bakkerij for lunch. A pleasant hour or so was spent chatting. Since we last saw Alastair, he and his wife had been to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, which sounded like quite an adventure. His blog about the trip makes for an interesting read. He also told us he had upgraded to a new electric bike (a Scott with a Bosch mid-drive) with an easier step-through than his old one.

We flagged the idea of going to Days Bay, and rode back to the Petone foreshore, for us to go back to our car, and the others to take the train back to town.

View to Somes Island and Wellington beyond – from the Hikoikoi Reserve (photo by John)

In the Hikoikoi Reserve (photo by Alastair with John’s camera)

We were happily pedalling along Petone foreshore, when John sensed something wrong with his bike. Yep, a 5 cm nail, right through his rear tyre. Darn! and we only had another kilometer and a bit to go! I suggested I could bike on, get the car, and pick him up, but John decided to fix the problem right there and then. The inner tube was punctured right through, and he had to take the rear wheel off to replace it. As a sensible cyclist, he always carries a spare.

Yet another photo of John fixing a flat tyre!

Fortunately it was fine and calm, so I sat on the wall, while John effected the repair. John B had carried on to catch the train, Alastair came back and gave John a hand. I watched a man and his dog playing on the beach.

A man and his “Staffie”

The young Staffordshire bull terrier was very keen and hyperactive, and seemed to have an incredibly strong grip on the stick they were playing with. He hung on while his master twirled him around hanging off the stick! After a short burst of activity, the man came back to his vehicle and when I commented on the strength of his dog’s jaws, he said he thought he’d better get his dog off the beach before “that fluffy little dog” came by, as it wouldn’t stand chance if his dog got a hold of it. Good call, I think.

Before long, John’s tyre was fixed, and we pedalled back to the car, and Alastair to the station. We had biked 27 km.

                                                         * * * * * * * * * * * *

In the evening, we went to a midwinter dinner at The Pines, in Houghton Bay. This is a yearly event, organised by the Ngaio Scottish Country Dance Club, and the dinner is followed – of course – by some dancing. It is great to catch up with dancing friends and have time to talk over drinks and dinner, as there is usually not much time for chat between dances at club nights.

It was a most enjoyable evening. A roaring open fire on a cold winter's night, an excellent buffet meal, scrumptious desserts, good company and dancing – what more could one want!

Tables ready for dinner at The Pines (photo by John)

Dancing after dinner (photo by John)