A Wee Pootle!

A small group of us meet at Manawatu Motorcycles last Sunday with thoughts of not heading out for long ride, but a shorter one that involved a large number of corners within a short distance of Palmerston North. Oh, and a good cafe along the way as well. After a brief weather check and group consultation a trip over the Pahiatua Track and return via the Bridge Cafe was chosen. Supporting the Cafe was also a consideration as the closure of the Manawatu Gorge has been a real challenge for a large number of businesses on the Woodville side. Lining up for the pootle was a selection of the Manawatus' finest motorcyclists sausage roll and muffin connoisseurs and coffee drinkers. Sir Al dragged out his VFR for a spin, as did Ian with his VX and rounding out the the four strokes was yours truly on the XJ. The two strokes were covered with Kim on his NSR and Rich on his T500. The run over the track was rather enlightening. Having spent a bit of time toing and froing to Hawkes Bay over the last couple of months, the track was in remarkable condition compared to the Saddle Road with the traffic being comparatively light. We all did our share of cautious bend swinging and the only thing that slowed us down was a couple of light showers along Ballance Valley/Gorge Road. The Bridge Cafe soon appeared just and we were able to park up in our favourite spot under the trees where a few slabs of concrete are conveniently placed for side stands!
It was good to see the support the cafe was getting from others as well as us. Not only do they serve great food, but the olde environment is a lovely place to munch on a sausage roll and slurp a cup of tea or coffee. Mind you the lads were a little concerned with Sir Als choice of food. No sausage roll or muffin for Sir Al. A gluten free cake is very out of the ordinary for him. Maybe it goes with his latest motorcycle acquisition? It was good to catch up with some of the pit gossip courtesy of Kim and the Blue Haze Racing team who had a great time racing in the last of the Vic Club Winter series at Manfield.
All too soon it was decided to head back to town via the way we came. It is a great little ride, and as the days get longer and daylight saving kicks in, it might be nice to do an evening run to the Bridge Cafe when they have one of their Friday Pizza evenings?
PS. We think Sir Al is alright. Maybe he is adjusting to the fact that he now has a big bore two stroke single trail bike that doesn't break down or run out of petrol after 50 kays!