Celebrating/Commiserating Daylight Saving

The end of daylight saving could be regarded as an annual milestone of sorts as it provides a useful looking forward/looking back reference point as we count down the autumn to winter transition. A group of us decided the fine weather on Sunday deserved a ride, because you just don't know when the weather is going to 'pack up'. It was an interesting gathering at Manawatu Motorcycles with a mixture of modern and classic machinery. Great to see PC on his Kawasaki S3 400, and Sir Al out on the H2 again. Bruce S had his 900 Ducati out for a spin, with Ian joining the Chromeys on his W650. Rich front up with his mile munging DL650 V-strom, and yours truely on the ever reliable XJ750. Hunterville was decided on as destination, with the route to get there being via the Turakina Valley Road. For those of us on our four strokes, considerations such as fuel range was negligible, but as for those with two stroke triples know all to well, any tank distance over 100kms could be an issue.  This meant that PC on his air/petrol cooled S3 would need to have three stops for our run. Interestingly, Sir Al on the H2 had no such concerns as his bike regularly achieved over 50 mpgs, so he was sure a tank would definitely get him home. Our run over to Turakina had Sir Al out front setting a great pace as we made out way through the Mount Biggs, Halcombe and the less travelled roads out the back of Marton.
Our first stop was at Turakina so PC could top up for the next throttle stretching part of our run through the valley. With PC having added a portion of his wealth to ExxonMobil we headed off up the Turakina The Fordell turnoff had us very quickly pointing in the right direction for our destination with some very spirited riding from the lads. PC decided to enjoy the delights of triple two stroke power as he chased  Bruce and Ian on the W650 and 900. He certainly had a big smile on the dial when we parked up outside the cafe in Hunterville with tales of pushing the little triple to its limits. He was also pleased with its economy when it only took 5 litres to top up the tank. The distance from Turakina to Hunterville is 46kms, so around 25mpg. Hydrocarbon heaven!  The fact that he had done the same run the day before certainly encouraged his spirited riding, but for those of us who hadn't a more prudent approach was required. As the suns arc lowers and the days get shorter, it was interesting to observe the number of corners that seemed to have been in the shade all morning and were still damp from the morning dew. The end of daylight saving certainly helps with our relatively later departure ensuring the roads have a longer drying time before we get to them.
After a leisurely morning cuppa/breakfast, we decided on the Vinegar Hill route home as some had important chores to do at home. (I heard someone had to bottle there whiskey ready for the working week) Rich invited me to give his brand new 650 V-strom a spin. What a hoot. It is certainly a rather tall perch to enjoy the motorcycling experience, and one felt like pointing the bike either north or south and heading off into the distance. It looks like I may need to purchase another Lotto ticket this weekend. Our last stop at the top of Cheltenham saw Sir Als H2 electrics playing up, so he headed off home and we didn't see him on the side of the rode so he made home in time to bottle his whiskey.
Another excellent wander around the countryside, and lets hope the cooler months will still provide us with some nice days to do more of the same.