Ohakune Trip, September 4th-6th 2022

Setting off midmorning Sunday for lunch at Pukekos Nest, Whanganui it was decided to then take the more scenic route via Fields Track, which heads a little inland off SH4 south of the Rauwaka Falls and hits SH49 just east of Ohakune. Great views and a bit of stock dodging on the way.

The prediction was for rain by lunch time on Monday and so an early start saw seven riders off to do the Rangataua loop. Most of us on e-bikes with Dave and Alistair B on unassisted mountain bikes, chapeau to you two! The loop consisted of Shannon St to Ruapehu Rd, Dreadnought Rd, Mangateitei Rd to SH4, then onto Ratamairie Rd turning towards the cemetery and then into what was most likely a paper road on farmland to Lakes Rd and the Ruapehu-Ohakune road back to Ozzies (just in case someone asks).

It was nice ride through the farm land but raining and colder by then, stories abounded afterwards of snake bites and getting stuck in ruts but all good fun and the larger puddles could be avoided. Researching the correct terminology for hitting the peddles on the sides of deep ruts, which it seems we all did, only found descriptions of clipping your lowers and landing on your face and tires turning into big, bald rotating masses of forest snot – could have been a lot worse people! Our bums stayed firmly on our seats and the wheels kept rolling, so I guess we got lucky.
By the time we completed the 20km loop the remainder of the team were walking to town for coffees but the riders decided it was time to head back to Ozzies where Marilyn measured out the warming medicinal port at 11am!

The rest of the trip was spent relaxing over convivial chatter, tall stories (some true, most debatable!), great camaraderie and a delicious pot luck dinner. Snow in the village didn’t eventuate overnight but at least the ski field got a bit of a covering at last.

The intrepid travelers were; Alistair Barkla, Jan Fleming, Dorothy and Alistair Linn, Pat and Dave McNair, Marilyn and Jim Finer, Rae Hannah and Wietze Hoogeveen. Many thanks to Marilyn for organizing.

Rae Hannah