Return to The Gentle Annie

With autumn well under way there is always a sense of urgency to make the most of fine weather before the Winter months descend on us. A weather forecast of severe gale force winds in Southern Hawkes Bay had us rethinking our planned trip over the Gentle Annie. On the morning we decided to sneak past the winds by making our way through the Bay and over the Gentle Annie before they reached there full fury from midday on. This proved to be a great plan as we headed up and over the Saddle Road and we were greeted with an excellent tail wind that took us all the way to our first fuel stop at Hastings. Once fuelled up we then headed out to Fern Hill and started our climb up into the Kaweka Ranges and it was here we felt the full effects of the wind. As we headed higher the wind speed accelerated and caution was called for as the bike felt more like a yacht tacking into the wind. As we neared the top things became a little calmer and by the time we reached our stop at the top it was relatively calm and pleasant. After regrouping and admiring the view we were on our way to our lunch stop in Taihape. 

One of the nice things about going from east to west is once you are at the top you get some lovely views of Mount Ruapehu as you ride along through the farming country. The road is a lovely series of open corners interspersed with tighter sections as nature carves its way through landscape. Things tighten up even more as Taihape gets closer and soon we are parked up outside the Brown Sugar Cafe. It is easy to see why it is a popular place with great food and ambience. After a pleasant time in their cottage garden we were back on the road again. Whilst at our lunch stop some of the conversation was around our route home and a decision was made to take the 'long way home' through Kimbolton.

We initially headed off down Highway One and then onto a road many of us hadn't been on for a while, the Ohingaiti to Pemberton Corner run. And what a great choice it was. There is some really interesting countryside beginning with the suspension bridge over the Rangitikei River and the climb up to the plateau above the river gives some excellent views. The gradual hand of autumn was certainly evident in the yellowing of the trees as we made our way through a chorus of tight but flowing corners. Pemberton Corner arrived all to soon and we regrouped for our final push through to Kimbolton and then onto home. 

It was a great day out and about and nice to have some new company along for the first time. John and Alison were teamed up on there Triumph Thunderbird Cruiser and certainly had plenty of presence with its chrome and metallic paint. Stuart was out and about on his recently purchased Suzuki 1250 Bandit and was enjoying its copious quantities of torque on the run. Sir Al was still making the most of his heavily modified Harley Davidson Sportster and busily calculating fuel stops due to its small tank size. Gary and Bruce were having no such problems with there frugal German BMW GS's that seem to be able to get 400+ kays out of a tank. Rich was happily punting his Vstrom through the countryside and yours truly enjoyed stretching the legs of the GSR on occasions. Definitely a recommended ride.