1001 Ride Mountains to Sea to Windmills Ride – 22-23 February 2020
Ask anyone planning a sports event or an outdoor wedding – and they will all tell you that you can plan for almost anything – except the weather.
A week out from our Ohakune road trip and the forecasts weren’t looking that flash – but we were hoping that with 6-7 days to go, things could improve.
On Friday night the heavens opened in Palmerston North and it was still raining when we met at memorial park to load the bikes in to the Bike Barn van, and the bodies in to the bus to head to Ohakune. Enroute the weather cleared and we were hopeful of a dry ride.
We departed our accommodation for a loop around Raetihi and back, where some decided to go back to the accommodation and save their legs for day 2, while 14 or so hardy souls braved the elements and completed the climb through some roadworks up to Turoa ski field – striking some rain on the descent .
After cleaning ourselves up, we had drinks and nibbles at our accommodation before heading to the Powderkeg for dinner and maybe one or two more drinks
We had hoped the rain would pass overnight, but we woke to light rain. We headed off to Raetihi which was mostly dry, then struck some rain on the road to Pipiriki, before turning on to the River Road. The rain started to clear along this stretch of road and even though it remained overcast, we were all taken with the stunning views. We stopped in at Jerusalem and a few other photo spots and the closer we got to Whanganui the more dry road we noticed, both groups reunited briefly in Whanganui at the lunch stop.
We then left Whanganui via Durie Hill and Fordell, where we first noticed the blue sky, and headwind.
We soldered on through to Turakina, Marton, Feilding and back home – while we all agreed it was a tough day, it’s one that we all really enjoyed – whether it was for the distance, the views, to ride in some new roads or to just enjoy the organised ride, and group riding experience – a huge thanks to Rob Ryan for organising this event
