Well, in my opinion every day is a good day to ride ... however, there are quite a few responsibilities that can prevent one from riding. As the bikes had arrived earlier in the week, Joan and I coordinated for a time slot that allowed me to have a few hours to go play!
Having no knowledge of the topography that I was going to roll over I decided to take the only bike I have here that has gears, which happens to be the rather brightly and not so color coordinated mountain bike. It also has the "flat proof" tire set up as again, I did not know what types of roads and road conditions I would encounter.
I awoke to a not so bright light, meaning overcast sky, then peeked outside to see softly falling rain, add the temps in the 40's (F) and a steady 10 mph wind, stir, and you have my favorite riding conditions ... I know I have issues ... :)
Found the correct clothes for such an occasion, added fluids, turned on the rear blink-y light, protected passport and phone in plastic bags and set out sort of knowing the roads I was going to take. We are on top of a hill, so I dropped down to the main road and headed N/NW toward the sea. There are large shoulders, and little traffic, so I got to listen mainly to the various birds frolicking in the trees nearby ...
As I approached the lake, I saw fishing huts with early morning anglers on the water, a couple of saw mills with equipment that must date back to the late 1800's and a few camp / hotel looking places (I really need to practice my reading skills). As I neared the small village where the river meets the sea the rain stopped, and allowed for a couple of photos to be snapped (link here and below). I could see that I was heading to the hillside that borders the lake, and I generally recalled the maps indicating the road went into the hills, but had no idea how far up and in I would go ...
I took a right for the second leg of the trip and began climbing, very gently on relatively narrow roads that were being used by commuters (about ten times the amount of traffic I had encountered on the ride thus far). No one seemed impatient with me, as every few hundred meters I could get out of the way and let folks pass, yes, they actually waited for me in stead of risking a pass, quite different from many of my US experiences. The road climbed for about 1500 or so feet over about three miles, so not too steep, although there were a couple of rather steep sweeping turns. I was curious on the ride about where they might keep livestock as the valleys seem to be used for planting ... and there to the left (East) were quite a few cattle pastures in the rolling hillside. They seemed like very happy bovine ... Halfway up the climb there was a large tower connected to a tourist building that allow you (I assume) see the hillsides and the lake and ocean, a stop for another day.
Near the top of the climb I was caught by another small caravan of cars, the lead car passed as we crested, which I thought was nice so that I had a guide on the way down. The rain started falling with more intensity, and of course, I "wiped" the brakes and switched to a gear that would allow top cruising speed ... the decent only had a couple of "interesting" corners as the road conditions were moist, but not slick ... and the guide car proved very useful in showing the way around a few of the blind corners ... as I expected the decent was much shorter than the ascent (so depending on my mood I will go in the opposing direction for a steeper climb ...) inevitably, I caught the lead car as I can take corners more quickly than cars in most cases, I was happy to slow down and enjoy the view and return the patience that had been shown to me.
The road flattened and we all cruised into a stoplight were those behind me finally passed. I took a right and began the third segment and finally got lost - missing a turn I ended up on a very rural road, not leading to a bridge over a very big river. So a quick stop to check the navigation system on the phone and - yep - confirmation, turn missed ... So I doubled back, corrected the error in navigation and was home in about 20 minutes from that point.
I passed a couple of locals going the opposite way on bikes, and got quite the look, despite my waving hand and bearded smile ... I was not looking at too many faces in the autos as they passed. I look ridiculous in the states on a bike, so seeing a pasty white giant, fully kitted in OZONE garb with purple and white glasses must at least start a few conversations over tea today.
I look forward to more fair conditions, as the scenery is stunning and the water fowl are quite varied in nature.
The smells of the ride were intense in the heavy rain, most still use wood fired space heaters and stoves, burning either pine or apple wood. Fresh fish filled the air at the village on the lake / sea junction and as I rolled through the small towns on the way, the smells of tea and breakfast filled the air ...
If you want to look it up: From Tomiyachi (have fun finding it :)): North on 12, Then right or East / South on 339, then right or South / West on 189 back to 12 and up the hill to the house.
A good day to ride indeed ...
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