On Sunday we had a family trip to the Rimutakas, to the north of Wellington, past Upper Hutt.
We went to the Rimutaka Rail Trail which follows the original train route between Wellington and the Waiarapa, built in the 1870s. There is an gradual incline to the summit, which I managed to overlook in the planning, and then a steep decline over the other side to the Waiarapa. Isaac and I cycled, while Joe and Shaz ran to the summit. The sign says it is 10km, but it seems longer, probably partly because of the incline for the second half. The gradient was very much more apparent to me on the way back when I did not have to pedal for about 4 Km.
Everyone did well, particualrly Joe and Shaz. It was a very windy day, which did not help. Isaac was certainly happier on the bike on the the way back. We had lunch at the summit, and Isaac and I loooked at the summit tunnel which is 580m long. You can see the end of the tunnel, but within 30m it is too dark to see the ground. So a full trip will have to wait until next time when we bring some lights.
As isaac and I reached the car park a long time before Joe and Shaz, Isaac and I squeezed in another activity. We made contact with our ‘petrolhead side’ by going to watch karting and motorbike racing at the raceway just along from the car park. I thought it was quite good fun, but Isaac (not surpisingly) was not impressed. He thought it all too noisy, and the the cars and bikes just followed each other around. He did not appreciate the maneuvers or the smell of 2-stroke.
