Making hay

The sun hasn't shone much in the last week here in the windy (and wet, remember it always rains in NZ!) city, so any opportunity to get on the bike has been snapped up eagerly. Tuesday the rain abated long enough for us to get in a night ride at Makara.
The trails were still a little damp in places, becoming almost sodden on the higher sections, but in surprisingly good shape considering the amount of rain in the days before. Josh brought along Hadley from Crankworks, and his dog Drake, a black lab (I think) that halfwheeled everyone on the way to the top, then would sprint past out of sight before re-appearing looking you in the face a few metres later. Like a black ghost in the lights.
At the summit the fog was a pea-souper, and negotiating Ridgeline with 2 metres of visibility and soap-like traction was interesting and fun, until you ended up in the bushes. The lower half, when you could see again, was great fun. Luckily there is a bike wash station in the car park, and luckily Josh had brought a few beers.

The rain returned again later that night, and stayed around until Friday, which was a glorious, sunny day. Wellington when the sun shines is a beautiful city. Pity I spent most of the day inside at work, looking out into the street wishing I was riding.
This is the view over Evans Bay from my new flat.
I got to leave early though, so a road spin on the commuter bike was in order. There was just enough daylight left to head around the bays towards Seatoun and drop in on my mum, who is over and staying with my uncle and aunty (hey L & V!).
The air was just crisp enough to warrant arm warmers, and the breeze wasn't gale force... it's strange how around one corner you will be faced with a headwind, then make another turn and it's suddenly eerily calm, then back to buffetting you again, then propelling you forward effortlessly.
I wished I had my road bike here again, I need to feel the purity of a long spin, just tapping out the rhythm for a few hours. This would suffice for now though.
This is my beer of the week, I saw it in Spoke magazine (I think, or the Sunday paper...), but hadn't seen it in shops until last night. And what a little beauty it is. Reminds me of Little Creatures a lot, with a strong, hoppy and fruity flavour and 5.2% kick. Will be having a couple more with Lindsay tonight.