Grape Ride

[RoadRaven]

Well done you...
Thats a very repectable time - I'm well impressed


I'm hoping to get down to it next year. I think 2 of my son's are planning on doing it as it is part of the NPS and I think they plan on getting into a team.

[Pip]

Back on the Team Estrogen forums after a post-Grape Ride road trip around the South Island. It was, indeed, lovely to meet Kiwigirl and both of us did really well. I knocked half an hour off last year's time and think I'm good for another 10-15 minutes off on a day with less of a headwind. I lost a bit of time on the ride out to Picton because I was coasting a bit to stick with a good pack of women, (including one with a very lust-worthy white, black and orange Pinarello) but then I lost them behind me somewhere on the hill up to Picton. Thankfully I managed to get into another pack on the last stretch into Havelock where the headwind was fierce. It turned into a tailwind from Havelock onwards and that was the fun bit. I felt like I was flying!

I won't be doing the ride again next year. I'd love to but on 27 March it's too early. I'm thinking I'm going to do the 130km ride in Buller on 17 April instead. It's on my birthday and it ties in with my husband and I heading down to Central Otago to help out on my father-in-law's vineyard. I can highly recommend it to any other newbies out there though!