KIWI RIDER JANUARY 2021 VOL2 | Page 66

Central Plateau . So , ‘ pin it to win it ’ became the name of the game , but , even still , I was lucky if I was doing 90km / h . Despite some heavy rain around Masterton , we arrived down in Martinborough just in time to snag our pick of the accommodation ’ s beds and grab a beer before heading to the Martinborough Rugby Club to join the rest of the Rallye . The ride day of the Rallye dawned early and I set off with Ray , our social media and fellow podcast guy , to grab a pie ( okay , maybe it was two ...) for breakfast at the local Four Square , rather than attempt to get a breakfast at one of the few cafes that were open and already crawling with riders . The Rallye route itself was one of those that you really do have to experience for yourself . As my plan to run my iPhone and the REVER app as a GPS falling apart with the death of my phone on the way down , I reverted to the tried and tested route-sheet navigation . I have to say , there were absolutely no complaints from me . Navigation using route sheets is both involving and fun in a way that following a GPS line could never be . The route was put together with local knowledge from long time KR friend Bill Biber , and what a stunning route it was . Starting with very tightly winding tarmac over twisting hills , which felt like somewhere in the European Alps , it then dived into the gravel and headed for the coast . Every time we stopped we were agog at just how good the riding was . We had a bit of everything including the classic holdup as a farmer herded his stock down the road past us . If you ’ ve got a GPS or the REVER mobile app in your smartphone it ’ s well worth downloading the route as it was an utter cracker of a day . After a few beers and my second night of surprisingly good sleep we hit the road back up the North Island through some of the most atrocious weather I ’ ve ridden in quite some time .
66 KIWI RIDER