Auckland to Coromandel ride:

Distance - 200Km

Time - Bloody early

Weather - Could not be better

Do it again - You betcha!

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It was a huge gamble to arrange a ride at the start of May and expect the weather to come to the party, but that was exactly what happened! We could not have asked for a more perfect day with very light winds and nothing but blue sky the whole day.

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A ride from Auckland Ferry Building to Coromandel Township was being organised for 6th May 2017 and an invitation was extended to ABC. Initially six put their hands up, but due to an overseas trip the next day for Scotty, too much work & little training for Dean W and Club Nationals on for Rex, only three of us ended up joining a group of nine. Steve, Malcolm and Martin. It turned out to be a great group number…not too big…not too small.

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We met up with the others of our group at 6:15am and the looks on their faces when they saw Steve’s aero S-Works didn’t bode well in their minds! “Who invited the pro” it was heard to be said. It would soon be clear that their worries were justified (more on that topic later)

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We meandered down Great South Rd looking for the turn in at Takanini to head toward Clevedon. It was Steve’s eagle eye which spotted the road first as I was too busy chatting away to notice that we were even in Takanini. Heading toward Clevedon saw our first (and thankfully only) episode of the day when a driver just about took us out whilst trying to take a corner and talk on his cell phone (bloody idiot)

 

After surviving that, John Leonard’s tyres were still shaking from the incident and decided to give up the ghost. First puncture of the day 35 km into it. That was a bit of a shame as Steve was smelling the coffee in Clevedon and was slowly ramping it up and quite enjoying himself. The puncture gave the group an early respite from what would become many calls up front to “ease up”.

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Clevedon was an early stop for coffee, but next stop would be Thames, so the boys stocked up on caffeine/cakes (and a pie in my case). We got chatting to some duck hunters fresh from their morning kill of 1 duck. They got bored and came for coffee. In another world, they could be cyclists, such is the calling of caffeine on them.

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Back on the bike and heading for the coast, it was not long before Kawakawa Bay invited us up the first hill of the day. Steve took the chance to stretch his legs after being very restrained since Clevedon and he took off, the rest followed. Regrouping after each hill kept the bunch together as we hit the Kaiaua Coast line together.

 

This saw our second puncture of the day when Malcolm totally blew out his rear tyre on some road works. It took a while to patch his tyre up so he could hopefully ride to Thames to get a new tyre. The patch held and he made it.

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Once clear of the road works, we then got into a group roll-around rhythm and the 40 kms down the coast line went by quickly. Steve decided to go for a pee so he said he’d do 10 mins solo effort, stop for a pee and then chase to get back on. Huh! It turns out that his 10 min effort afforded him pee time and a rest, waiting for us to catch up to him (and so the legend tales begin).

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After hitting Miranda (100km mark) some of the lads were getting a bit tired and the ones who were not fit enough were feeling the effects with a few calls to ease it back. Understandably, this was a group ride and keeping the group together was the main aim (and big ups to Steve who restrained himself valiantly to this end). However, as Thames was looming with 20km out (and with 115kms in our legs), Steve decided to take off! I had a moment of stupidity and decided to go with him.

 

The rest of the lads thought “best not” and they continued in their bunch.

 

After looking at his rear tyre for 4 km, it soon dawned on me that I couldn’t sustain 48 kph for the next 16km to Thames and I sat up for some belated relief. After riding another few k’s on my own, I saw Steve standing on the side of the road waiting for us. “If I’d known you were going to stop a wee bit up the road, I would have persevered and hung on a bit longer” I said to him. “Oh, I looked back and you weren’t there, so I pulled up” he replied. Yeah right – Hmmmm, maybe he was getting tired too, I thought. A chink in the legendary armour me thinks? I’ll get him up the coast – I bravely thought to myself.

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The group caught up and we cruised into Thames for some well-deserved lunch. Not a lot of banter was happening as the weariness was taking its effect. But the food and drink was good and after refuelling, we hit the 40 km inner coast road knowing it was the last leg of the journey. It was agreed that this last leg was a free-for-all and we would meet up in Coromandel, so it only took 5 mins for the lead bunch of 3 to form itself. Steve, Malcolm and me….the only 3 wearing the ABC kit.

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After a short stint on the front I left it to Steve to break the wind for me and Malcolm (he’s so kind like that) and I just hung on for dear life. Periodically looking back to see if Malcolm also had the look of death on his face as I had, it was good to see him giving it a go and sticking in there.

 

It was about halfway up the coast when I looked back and there was no sign of Malcolm.  I was pretty sure I only looked back 3 seconds before, and he was right there??  Such was the pace piled on at the front, that I soon realised that we could have time travelled into another dimension by actually travelling faster than the speed of light and hence that 3 seconds could have actually translated to about a kilometre in distance! Sorry Mal.

 

And time travelling was exactly what I thought as I yelled up to Steve that I was going to sit up and rest my legs for the impending Manaia twin hills when we were 10 km out from them. Steve looked quizzically back at me as though I was delirious. Two minutes later we hit the foot of the hills! “Bloody hell, where did that 40km go” I said to Steve. He laughed and wondered what I was going on about with “10 km to go” mutterings. “We’re already here Martin” he said. “Sorry legs, no rest for you” I said. And so the grovel began.

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Steve again took off up the hills and waited for me at the top of each of them. Aaaahhh, so my theory of him getting weary was misplaced. I should have known better!

 

We took a couple of selfies atop Manaia and enjoyed the view for a few minutes, then cruised the down hills due to a few cars on the road. Once we hit the flat 10km into Coromandel, my legs decided to have a rest and I sat up and cruised. Guess what Steve did? 

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15 mins later I pulled into the Top 10 Holiday Park where a warm shower awaited. As I threw my leg off the bike, I saw Steve and Malcolm walk out of the office (having picked up their bags of clothes we each couriered down). “Bloody Hell, where did you come from Malcolm?” Was time travel actually real?  Yeah, No! It turns out he blew himself up trying to hold on to the ABC pace and ended up walking the big hill. A caring motorist stopped and asked if he wanted a lift, which he eagerly accepted. So Malcolm took out line honours into Coromandel (no-one said you had to be on your bike) PS: He also had the fastest mat to mat time!

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After welcoming the main bunch in and having a few beers after our showers, no one was looking forward to getting back on their bikes for the 10.5km ride to the ferry. Wearily we did so and cruised to the wharf with 15 mins to spare. Once aboard we all settled in and hit the bar. It was most disappointing to discover there were only 3 pies on sale. It was Hobson’s choice for me as being last

in the line, I ended up with the vegetarian option (that nobody else would touch). Second pie of the day and I wasn’t going to say no.

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We all had a great chat and banter on the day’s happenings during the 2 hour boat trip. The guys got to know the others they had never met before, and bonded by sharing such a momentous day.

 

By the time we floated into Auckland Ferry wharf, it was 6:30pm and very dark. We said our goodbyes and did congratulatory pats on each other’s backs.

 

Then I saw Malcolm getting on his bike looking like he was ready for another ride! “What the hell are you doing Malcolm?” I asked. “Oh, I feel bad that I didn’t do the whole ride, so I am going to ride Tamaki Drive and my wife will pick me up” he replied. Well that is the ABC spirit right there, I thought. Well done to him for even contemplating it, which is more than I could have mustered at that point in time. So off he went with Ofisa, my Samoan friend (who incidentally rode from Mt Roskill to the wharf in the morning, then went with Malcolm and then back to his house. Posting a full 240km for the day – absolutely awesome effort from one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet).

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And so the day ended with a leisurely drive back home and with thoughts of an absolutely awesome day out, not just due to the 200kms we had rode, but also due to the comradeship of sharing such an event with other like-minded guys. 

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I guess this is what cycling is all about. Thanks to everyone (Steve T, Malcolm, Steve W, Bruce, Mark, Ofisa, John, Dennis) who contributed to a fantastic day out.

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