Folding Goldies ride – Seeking Sakura in Whitby

On Thursday 28 September, we went on a Folding Goldies ride to take a look at the flowering cherry trees in Whitby. Alastair, the leader of the FG group had been in Japan at the peak of the cherry blossom season, hence the name of the ride – Seeking Sakura in Whitby. 

We were to meet at the Porirua train station at 9:35, and ride the Whitby Traverse, to see the cherry blossoms, then to Pauatahanui for coffee, and return to Mana, via Te Ara Piko. The map is here. 

John and I took the train from Takapu Road – we could have biked to Porirua, but I suggested we ride that stretch after the main event, rather than before.

On the motorway side of Porirua Station (photo by John)

Ten of us set off from Porirua Station, and after ducking under the motorway, we had to bike up Champion Road for some distance, because the track alongside the Kenepuru Stream was not usable. There were repairs going on after it had been damaged by flooding. We joined the Bothamley Park track a bit further along. This is a pleasant, wide track through a bushy area, where it is easy to ride side by side and have a conversation.

Bothamley Park (photo by John)

Coming off the Bothamley Park track onto Warspite Ave (photo by John)

At Ascot Park, the “track” leads alongside a sportsfield. It is basically a concrete drain, but in several places the concrete is cracked and very uneven. On a previous ride I had a spill along here, so I was quite careful. No spill this time.

The “track” alongside the Ascot Park sportsfield (photo by John)

Whitby has a great network of walking/cycling tracks, but you’ve got to know your way around them, as they are not very well signposted. We have got lost a couple of times on previous rides.

The cherry blossom trees in Nishio Garden were donated by Porirua’s sister city Nishio in Japan. I think we got there just about a week too late to see them at their best. There were plenty of blossoms, but the leaves had already started coming out. And sadly the swathe of daffodils under the trees had all but finished.

Plenty of blossoms, but also lots of leaves, and not many daffodils left (photo by John)

Gordon checks out the information panel about Nishio Garden (photo by John)

From this angle, the blossoms appear swamped by greenery (photo by John)

By 10:30, we were at the Ground Up Café in Pauatahanui, where we enjoyed coffee and scones. Always a very pleasant interlude – the chance to chat and get to know each other a bit better.

Coffee and scones at the Ground Up Café in Pauatahanui (photo by John)

After our coffee stop, we rode along Grays Road, Te Ara Piko and the Camborne Walkway to Mana. From there, most of the group headed for the station to take the train back to Wellington or Pukerua, while we decided to bike back to Takapu Road, in Tawa. We rode a total of 32 km.

Riding on the protected lane on Grays Road (photo by John)

A brief stop at Motukaraka Point (photo by John)

The Camborne Walkway took us back to Mana (photo by John)

Some headed off to Mana Station, we biked back to Tawa (photo by John)

Mana to Pauatahanui

On Monday 11 September, it was a fine but windy day, so we decided on a short-ish, undemanding ride (17 km). We hadn’t biked to Pauatahanui for quite a while, so we parked at the Ngati Toa Domain, in Mana, and biked along the Camborne Walkway. The track was reasonably dry, and we didn’t encounter any people with pushchairs, so I ‘survived’ the track without taking a spill – as I did the last time we were here.

On the Camborne Walkway (photo by John)

We biked to Pauatahanui and had lunch at the Ground Up Café. We are always impressed with how quickly our coffees are delivered – the barista must be listening closely to the orders being placed, and putting them into effect immediately.

John’s hotcakes were beautifully presented – and delicious too (photo by John)

After lunch we looked into the saddlery and stock feed shop next door, and got talking to the young woman at the counter. She was interested in our SmartMotion bikes, as she said she worked a couple of days a week for Daryl Neal, from whom we bought these bikes, when he used to own Wellington Electric Bikes in Upper Hutt. He had a hand in designing the SmartMotions, but now concentrates on designing and building UBCO electric farmbikes, and she works on his web design. Thinking she would be a keen cyclist, I asked her what sort of bike she rode. Her answer was “I ride a horse”!

On the way back along Motukaraka Point, I noticed a layer of shells in the cut-away bank next to the road – a midden from long ago. This area was once an important Ngati Ira settlement. While John stopped to take a photo of it, we were hailed by a chap who had been sitting near his parked car, playing his ukulele. “I know you, do you write a blog? I recognised your bikes”. He said his name was Terry Casey, and he plays in Bluegrass bands in Upper Hutt pubs. We chatted, and then he played a little tune on his mouth organ. You do meet some interesting people while biking …

There are some nice gardens at Motukaraka Point (photo by John)

A midden – this area was once an important Māori settlement (photo by John)

A chat with Terry Casey, Bluegrass musician (photo by John)

There is a new stretch of track and boardwalk across some of the wetlands, which is very much nicer to ride on than the road (which is narrow and busy wih car traffic). It is a local Rotary project, and I hope that eventually the whole stretch between Motukaraka and the Camborne Walkway will be provided with a walking/cycle track away from the road.

The boardwalk across the tidal area (photo by John)

The tide was in and the wind was quite strong, causing wavelets to slap onto the road (photo by John)

Back at the Ngati Toa Domain, we thought we would go and look at the “beach that disappeared”. In April, a whole beach alongside the Mana Marina disappeared overnight. In the aerial photo on this website,  you can see the same brown yacht as in John’s photo, and you can see how large the beach was, which is now gone.

There was once a beach here … (photo by John)

A final pretty shot of the entrance to Porirua Harbour (photo by John)

Folding Goldies ride – Pauatahanui and Whitby

After two months of not blogging, I have a few rides to write up. Even one that we didn’t actually go on.

On 24 August, the Folding Goldies group planned a ride which Alastair called a “Tour de Paekakariki” – having been inspired by watching the Tour de France. He suggested taking the train to Paekakariki, then climbing the Paekak Hill, riding over the top, down to Pauatahanui, along Te Ara Piko to Mana, and then the train home.

When he first put out the email, I said "You've got to be joking", but he assured us that the climb was “steady but not too steep”. John reckoned I was a wuss, if I didn’t join in, so I was prepared to give it a go. After all, we have e-bikes that “flatten the hills …”.

But in the end, neither of us went, as John was still having trouble with his knee (damaged a month earlier), and I managed to get him to see a doctor that day.

Five of the other Folding Goldies did go, and Alastair put up a few photos of the ride, which I’ll share here (with his permission).

Biking up the Paekakariki Hill Road (photo by Alastair Smith)

At the Paekakariki look-out. From left: John B, Sue, Daryl, Carole (photo by Alastair Smith)

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A month later, on 21 September, the Folding Goldies went for another ride. This time, the plan was to take the train to Pukerua Bay, ride down Te Ara Harakeke to Plimmerton, then the Camborne Walkway and Te Ara Piko along the northern shore of the Pauatahanui Inlet. Lunch at the Ground Up Café in Pauatahanui, then the Whitby Traverse to see the cherry blossoms in the Japanese Garden in Whitby, before heading back to Porirua via Bothamley Park.

John wasn’t up to biking yet after his health set-back, so I went without him. But he was able load my bike into the car, drive me to Takapu Road station, and unload the bike. Because the e-bike is heavy, and I have problem hands, I am not able to manage lifting it in and out of the car myself.

Apart from Alastair, three other Folding Goldies came along. Lynn joined us at Pukerua Bay Station, having biked there from Paraparaumu. We zoomed down Te Ara Harakeke, rode through Plimmerton and Mana, and headed onto the Camborne Walkway, around the northern edge of the Pauatahanui Inlet.

At the end of the Camborne Walkway. From left: Gottfried, Lynn, Frank, Alastair

After the Camborne Walkway, we had to ride on Grays Road to get to Motukaraka and Te Ara Piko. As we were approaching the bridge over the Kakaho Stream, we could see that there were preparations for building the next stage of Te Ara Piko. Two lines of flags showed where the track will go across the wetlands. This is really good news, as the road bridge is narrow and not terribly safe for cyclists, so it will be great to have a separate bridge for walkers and cyclists. Of course we stopped to take pictures.

Alastair crossed the road to take photos

Two lines of flags show where the track will run through the wetlands towards the Camborne Walkway

The proposed track, near the Kakaho Stream

There is an interesting blog post on the Te Ara Piko website, which describes this next stage of the pathway. It also has information about the Pauatahanui Garden Trail on Sunday 27 November, which is a community event to raise funds for the continued extension of the track. I think we will go – it will be a good cause to support. 

After lunch at the Ground Up Café in Pauatahanui, we headed into Whitby, where we were hoping to see the cherry blossoms in the Nishio Japanese Garden. We did this ride at about the same time last year, in the opposite direction, and saw the blossoms then. This time, unfortunately, the trees had not yet started to flower, though the daffodils under them looked lovely.

Lots of daffodils …

… but sadly no cherry blossoms yet

However, on our way through Bothamley Park, we saw quite a few trees that had started flowering – probably just different varieties.

We did find some trees in Bothamley Park that were flowering

When we got to Porirua, the others planned to take the train back to Wellington from there. I was biking back to Takapu Road, from where John would pick me up. However as the train wasn’t due for a while yet, they accompanied me as far as Redwood Station, before catching the train from there.

John was waiting for me at the Takapu Road end of Te Ara Tawa (photo by John)

Despite the cold wind, and the disappointment of not seeing the cherry blossoms, it had been an enjoyable ride, but somehow, it wasn’t the same without John.