23-25 May 2025

Leader: Dave Cox

Five of us headed to Greytown on Friday for a relaxing evening of chatting and dinner at the Greytown Campground.

A chilly start on Saturday dawned with frosty bikes and the arrival of two more keen cyclists. We headed off along the Greytown – Woodside Rail Trail. This is a very pleasant 5 km ride along the old branch line which closed in 1953.

The trail seemed quite flat. I was surprised to see the effect of the mild gradient on the train loads. Uphill trains could only pull 100 tons while downhill trains could roll along with 300 tons.

After Woodside we cycled along mainly quiet gravel roads and over the new Tauwharenikau cycling/walking bridge all the way to Featherston. A pleasant coffee stop and back the same way. More socializing that evening.

Sunday started with meeting Paul in Carterton and we headed for Gladstone. Sunday was a 40 km ride through Longbush, Ponatahi and back to Carterton. All the cycling was along sealed and mostly quiet roads. The traffic was generally considerate with drivers giving us a wide berth – only a couple of clowns in flash cars cut it fine.

Chris and Glenda demonstrated their puncture repair skills on Sunday morning and we all felt the strengthening northerly in the afternoon.

Those on the trip were:

Adrian Jull, Chris Keating, Dave Cox, Glenda Robb, Kate Livingston, Paul Michl, Susan Robertson, Liz Jull