What is the right (affordable) ebike for me?
Back in February 2020 I bought a Gepida Reptila urban ebike, just before lockdown, and I love it.
Nearly 6 years on though and I'm learning that while the Reptila is excellent on smooth roads and paved paths, it's not really the right bike for the shingle, rougher surfaced and potholed roads and trails I'm encountering more frequently.
Now I'm engaged in seemingly endless research about gravel ebikes and other off-road ebikes.
What's heartening is that Gepida have two models, at a somewhat affordable price, that could perhaps be better for me if we're going to attempt more bike trails: the Gepida Berig ATB Step Through and the Gepida Ruga Pro Tour (Step Thru), which I may have a small preference for.
I want to try a test ride on them both, but the "problem" is that the closest stockist is in Auckland, a 90 minute drive from here. It'll be a few weeks before we can arrange that.
Before driving home we made a quick visit to Haruru Falls, just outside Paihia. The chickies by the entrance were cute. 🐦
The falls were lovely.
I really enjoyed the lesbian romance, Under the Witness Tree by Marianne K. Martin. 📚
After inheriting an old plantation house, Dhari Weston heads south to settle the estate and meets intriguing Dr. Erin Hughes, a local history professor with in interest in old houses and the new girl in town.
It didn't follow the usual pattern, the characters were interesting, and the author taught us some new (to me) historical truths.
I'd read more by this author.
A lovely spot for breakfast at Zane Greys. The author visited here a century ago, loved the fishing and started a tourist trend.
One delight of the day was that we spontaneously added an extra day to our trip, driving to the east coast to visit Paihia in the Bay of Islands. We enjoyed an excellent pizza funghi last night at Charlotte’s on the waterfront.
For various reasons, including rain, we biked only 8Km round trip yesterday on the Hokere end of Pou Herenga Tai. The part we cycled included about 1.25 Km of boardwalk, a part I particularly wanted to bike along.
View from the lobby of our hotel in Paihia, Bay of Islands. Enjoying an afternoon cuppa and a lie down in our room with its car park view.
View from the cafe at Māngungu Mission. In the end we biked 8 Km round trip at the west end of the Pou Herenga Tai bike trail.
Today’s forecast is rainy. Weighing whether to go ahead with the cycling part of our trip. We could do it some other non-rainy day…
The view at Opononi/ Omapere is so beautiful on a good day. In fact, any day at all probably.
Ten Clues to Murder (The Cat Caliban Mysteries Book 10) by D.B. Borton. 📚
Cat Caliban thought her biggest challenge this holiday season would be surviving her annual family Monopoly game. But when a member of her local writers’ group calls in a murder, the stakes suddenly skyrocket.
This book took some very unexpected turns revealing Borton's skill as a writer. I don't want to risk giving anything away, but I found this book very satisfying.
Another good (and mouthwatering) read — The Mumbai School for Murder (A Temple Hill Mystery Book 3) by Meeti Shroff-Shah. 📚
When fiery teacher Ms Venus is found slumped across her desk, the school insist she died of natural causes.
But Radhi’s not convinced. The Ms Venus she knew was in rude health, quite literally, stirring up drama and discord at every turn.
Today we're heading off to the Hokianga over on the West Coast.
We'll be visiting Manea Footprints of Kupe:
a 75-minute multisensory journey of guided storytelling – through art, taonga (cultural treasures), film, performance, digital interaction, and the splendour of Hokianga’s natural surroundings.
The descendants of Kupe welcome you, as do the spirits of our ancestors. Enter Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe, our sacred cradle of tribal histories. Walk with us in the footprints of our ancestor – Kupe the intrepid, Kupe the voyager, Kupe the discoverer.
Somehow when I got my new phone I thought Call Screening would be a good idea. Pah! Yesterday I missed 6 calls from a person I'd said could call me. Today two calls from a tradie.
Now it's OFF. How To Turn Off Call Screening On iPhone (iOS 26).
I hope that fixes it!
So pleased I thought to grab a (shaky) video of an adult white-faced heron feeding two chicks in the nest close to our house. 🐦
No sound — they were too far away for that.
A few times recently I've heard a Ruru | Morepork in the nearby trees. 🐦
Before dawn it carried on hooting for ages, allowing me to get this audio file. I used Fission to amplify the sound so there's quite a bit of background noise. There are also occasional frog croaks if you listen carefully.
Last night I went to sleep to the bangs and whizzes of fireworks in the neighbourhood. Today's first news story is a good one — Photo gallery: Pets relaxing to RNZ Concert's soothing sounds for Guy Fawkes | RNZ News:
Pets around the country are chilling out to RNZ's annual Guy Fawkes Night Concert for Animals.
All the music has been chosen to calm pets inside on Guy Fawkes night in case they're spooked by the loud noises and flashes of light.
The show will include music written for animals such as 'Mina' by Edward Elgar for his beloved Cairns terrier. 'The Swan' from Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns and 'Scene by the Brook' from Beethoven's Pastoral. We haven't forgotten farm animals either, with 'Sheep May Safely Graze', by Johann Sebastian Bach.
I rewarded my gym session with a splendid brunch at The Anchorage. It's a beautiful spot — who needs to fly to a Pacific Island with this only a 10 minute drive away (or 20 minutes in my case since I managed to get lost 🤣).
Baby white-faced heron is growing and developing the white face. 🐦
Extreme zoom and crop.
In the last couple of weeks, every time we go out and about, to the shops, for example, we see hikers with backpacks and walking poles making their way around the place as they walk Te Araroa Trail:
one of the worlds’ most diverse long distance trails, spanning the length of Aotearoa New Zealand.