Bulls to Wellington

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Blog entry: 8th September 2019 ‐ Day 194 ‐ NZ Leg 4

#WRWR2019 #WRWR #WRWRNZ

Leg 4 is the shortest leg of the relay that I'm participating in (a mere 143KM). I'm not sure if the is the shortest leg of the New Zealand legs. The route from Bulls to Wellington was a straight ride continuing along SH1.

This leg was cold but we didn't have the rain as we did in the morning's leg. Unlike the previous leg, there were only two regrouping stops; one in Levin & the second at a truck weigh station heading into Wellington. The second stop was to ensure we were all together as we entered Wellington city & made our way to the grounds in front of Parliament House but that didn't go as planned as the group was not in tight formation & cars got in between the riders.

Due to being spread out on the motorway heading into Wellington, I followed the closest bike I could see & ended taking the wrong exit but luckily there were other bikers at a light controlled intersection from the relay who pointed me in the right direction so I made it to Parliament House along with the other riders.

Once we arrived & lined our bikes up Grant Robertson the Minister for Sport & Recreation came out to greet us & have a look at the bikes. As I was shivering due to being so cold, I didn't stay very long. Only long enough to get in some photos.

I refuelled as I left Parliament grounds & headed to my accommadation with another rider who was staying at the same place ‐ The Quest Petone. Once I had checked in via the remote after hours reception, I discovered that I did not have parking included in my booking so I had to call the after hours desk again to have this arranged. I'm not exactly sure what happened to the other rider's parking as they had parked in my park. All three bikes were able to fit in there.

After relaxing, warming up & a shower, we headed off to dinner at The Petone Working Men's Club. The dinner here was a lot more organised than the dinner in Taupo. The food was also better espically the fish, which was so bloody delicious. I also managed to sign the baton & have a hold of it!

At the dinner, there were more spot prizes & you guessed it. Once again I was a winner. This time I picked a SA1NT T‐Shirt. I suspect every dinner in the relay has prize draws.

I had mixed feelings about my participation in the relay coming to an end. I was shattered after two days of riding with the group even though I am use to doing a lot more hours with less breaks in a day so I was glad in that respect to be leaving. But on the other hand the relay was heading to the South Island which is fantastic to ride & if I had continued in the relay, I would have participated in all 8 NZ legs. This was what I was sad about missing out on.

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