Twin Streams and Audrey Hepburn

The Twin Steams ride was fated from the start.

First off, the trains were cancelled so the planned train trip to the start of the ride was off - I know this seems a very strange concept to those of you out there with a proper public transport system ... but this is NZ, and yes they do have whole days when the trains don't run - this was such a day!

So ... we cycled from the city to the start point at Mt. Albert ...

Along the way we came upon the smallest on-street bicycle icon I have ever seen!

It occurred to me that perhaps the size of the icon is directly proportional to the health of the resident cycling culture ... this is a picture from Copenhagen (courtesy of Copenhagen Cycle Chic) ... evidence would suggest I'm correct in my assumptions!

We stopped for some breakfast at Pt. Chev - here I am in my own bicycle version of Breakfast at Tiffany's ... Breakfast at Rode!

Can you spot the resemblance?

Of course, Audrey Hepburn was no stranger to bicycles!

After breakfast we rendez-vous(ed) at the new start point for the ride ... but alas, we were told that the start point had been moved further on to Te Atatu due to a tsunami warning! So on we went .... our gentle Sunday ride had transformed into a 50km round trip!

And here is my 'leading man' (continuing the cinema analogy, and also in that he knew the way and I didn't!) at the Packing Shed cafe where we stopped for some lunch.

Here are some of the others ...

... that we eventually met to 'start' the ride!