1/15 - Picton to Pohara

Mileage:  250'ish

Getting My Groove Back

Guess what my breakfast was this morning?  Yep, french toast with bacon, plantains and warm fruit compote and honey drizzled on the bottom.  Be very very jealous.

It’s amazing how much riding ability you lose in a year when you ride only sporadically.  I’ve ridden less than 2000 miles between both bikes this year, and all of them on straight roads.  We hit some really twisty roads today.  They were gorgeous but the lack of riding combined with loose gravel and dirt had my nerves on edge.  It didn't help that I was being distracted by the views. 

Matt would pull ahead, then stop and wait for me.  At one point, we decided to split up and meet about 50 miles down the road.  That worked well because I could take my time getting my legs back, work through the turns and enjoy a leisurely pace and he can zip through the canyons as fast as his little heart desired.  We coordinate our gps’ and split up.  

The route was primarily hwy 6 with a turnoff towards our meeting point.  I slowly got my groove back as I worked through the tight turns.  Pretty soon, I was feeling the rhythm again and shifting in the saddle like I used to.  I began looking through the turns and leaning into them with anticipation rather than trepidation.  I felt fantastic.  In fact, I felt SO fantastic, that I didn't realize I had missed the turn to our meeting point until I was 20 miles past it.  By the time I met up with Matt, I felt like I had my old riding confidence back.  I also got used to the feel of the BMW and the best gears to use.  This was certainly no 250!

We had a quick lunch in Okiwi Bay and headed up to the Nook hostel in Pohara via hwy 6.  We arrived around 5pm and Matt headed out to do some more riding while I stayed at the hostel to grab some dinner.  I was wiped.  I got hit with a serious case of allergies on top of the cold which had turned pretty nasty.  The nearest restaurant was about a mile up the road so I threw on my walking shoes after a nice hot shower and went in search of grub.  I passed some cow pastures and was creeped out when the cows wouldn't stop staring at me.  

Creepy cows...

I had seen Ginger Beer at another restaurant and wanted to try it but they had run out so ordered it tonight.  Yummm...  Dinner was a small prawn and avocado appetizer with my entrée being a warm Mediterranean salad consisting of spinach, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese in a filo wrap drizzled with olive oil.  Oh my god, it was so good!

On the way back, I grabbed some stuff to make breakfast from the local supermarket who’s owner used to be a trucker living in Amarillo.  That's TWO people I've met who used to live in Texas.  Weird. 

At the hostel, I met a Swiss named Florian.  He said I could call him Flo, haha!  He and his girlfriend were on a 10 week trip through Australia and New Zealand.  A lady named Patty from New England who had been living in South Kona, Hawaii for the last 22 years was also staying there.  She was in the process of moving back to New England with her boyfriend and decided to take a 4 month break to visit New Zealand then drive across the country.  She was also an herbalist and offered to boil me some water with sweet birth essential oils to help my allergies.  I sat with my face over the steaming pot of water and a towel over my head.  I didn't care that I looked like a complete dork, my sinuses were killing me and I was willing to try just about anything.  Besides, it was worth it.  My sinuses felt much better and my I felt like I just had a facial!