FLASHING SPOKES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 449, 6 March 1909, Page 10

FLASHING SPOKES.

CYCLE ROADS OF WELLINCTON. THE MOVING PICTURES OF A DAY. (By F.A.M.) Merrily, merrily, at break of day, Ilodgcs bursting with buds of Slay, Dowilrons glist'uing along tho way, Hearken what Iho streamlets say! Steadily, steadily, speed along! Pedal yo, pedal yo, swift and strong, While tho air is sweet with the breath of May, Pedal tho livelong day. —Cycle Song. Tho Call of the Road. Wellington people are practically unanimous in tho belief that the high roads which lead to tho capital, and entwine it, wore built for strictly utilitarian, principles and for strictly utilitarian purposes. They act on tho belief, and have not learned to rise, in tho morning; whon spring i 3 in tio air to seo tho glory ot the sunshine and to hear tho far call of tho long white road; and yet in the oarly morning, when the air is freo from fu mo and dust, and tho luxurious motorist is still contemplating his breakfast over tho counterpanes, there is a fascination and a delight in the_ road which will be felt by anyone who rejoices in motion and in beauty. The broad level roads of Canterbury have their call to the lover of tho plains, and the slopes of tho Taieri pipe for the roadmen of tho south. But tho lover of the mountain and stream, of sea and sky, may hear the call of tho road no less distinctly, and follow with as much delight, if ho listens, by tho paths which lead northward from Cook Strait. Tho Wheel. And thero is a fascination in tho wheel. Not tho living throb which the horseman loves, but tho calm, swift, inevitable beat pulsing with tho blood and responding eagerly to tho bounding muscle. Tho goggled spectre on tho spluttering steam-wheel may go farther, but ho will fare worse—for forty miles of green hill and summer air is worth a thousand seen through glass, darkly and dustily. Tho motorist may pollute tho air as ho will, and follow the delight of headlong speed even to the kill, but ho misses tho wsysiclo flower .and the milestones stand round him like tombs. Let him , pass. He pays not in fibre, neither will ho receive the rewards of toil. Pray only that the glorious hound of his engine does not bear him to tho slaughter of an inuocent. -Meanwhile tho steady wheel noses'softly through tho dust or flics swiftly down tfee slope—the spokes scattering the sunbeams as tlioy fly. Oh, tho arching neck of tho Arab steed Is a noble siftht to 8»e; But the spokes flashing bright in the brave sunlight Are fairer by far to me. In and About tho City. A few of our cycle tracks are known to aft, and nouo it more deservedly popular than tho Queen's Drive. When tho wind is in tho north tho . wise wheelman will ap■ptoac'n it Srom Oriental TSay, and with favouring broeze linger round tbo pleasant curves, out past tho Patent Slip, through Kilbirnie, till the broad sweep of Lyoll Bay .shows the blue of tho open sea, with its white border of surf. Eouud the far headland, when tho day is clear, the Kaikoura Mountains show their white peaks. If tho south wind blows, however, it is best to take the short but strenuous course to Island Bay, and so enjoy the more the longer winding road and the following wind. At Island Bay and Hougliton Bay beyond, the southerly heaps.up the sea during a storm, catches the wayo ns it breaks upon tho rooks, and drives it to the valleys. In storm or shine these be twelve good miles of sea and hill. Turning aside at Kilbirnie, the cyclist may fellow round the head of Evans Bay, through tho cutting, to; that'plain marked out', by tho gods as tho. campus-' martins' for: the peolpo of the Dominion city,: lint , wresM'-by tho I'uries and handed over to tho agents of the and. riie cyclist is now able to skirt the lulls and seek Worser Bay and Seatoun by way of the forts. Ten years ago tho Beach lioad was a quiot refuge, and in Scorching Bay a pair of trunks, tho .costume of a summer day. Now—but we must on, out towards tho Heads, where civilisation may ease our journey homo by tunnel or electric tram, lint tho Queen's Drive and Miramax are tho pleasure of an idle hour—tho training ground for,tho rides beyond. When tho season is young; and tho muscles untested, it is best to begin our travels by an easy run. It is barely sixteen miles to Titahi'Bay— sixteen miles of good road and pleasant ways. j - Wolllnston-Tltahl Day. Not sixteon pleasant miles perhaps— though nature has done her part to mako the road through Kaiwarra to Ngahauranga a pleasant one. Steep hill-sides, with nativo bush, cut off from tho sea and hills beyond by the dust of the highway. Only when tho shambles of Ngahauranga are passed, and tho road climbs into the hills, does tho traveller leave the c-.rcs of the city behind him ant! hearken to the calliu* of tho stroam. Up into tho heart of the mountains the road gently rises—bare juts of rock rising through bush or green hillside— up, by tho winding valloy which tire tiny stream has . been fashioning through tho ages, up by that gentlo slope which invites tho struggle- of musclo as tho roac l ascends and promises delight for tho down, run in tho evening. Thirty years ago thai deep, narrow gorge, its giant side's wood, clad, must havo been marvellously boauti rul—for man himself has been linablo tt wrest the beauty from it. On, the farthei sido.of Johnsonvillo, whero the-"Jittlo churcl and churchyard mark tho summit, tho road dips down among green elders and the wheel races through the shadows out towards lawa. Hero tho stream no longer twists through clefts of rock—hut shines silver through the rich green. Tho Takapu Boad, branching to tho right, has pretty picnic places, but wo pass on across tho fiat of tho mythical city towards the sad towers of lorirua; past tho pink mid white of wanton briar-roso by tho chapel, out to tho left of Porirua Harbour;'through tho Maori village whoro little dark-skinned urchins aro at cricket; then to tho left, over tho whaleback which dips into tho sea at Titalii Then for a swim and land) in tho far valley, or tho club. Wellington—Plinimerton. But if wo turn not off at Porirua, but follow the main'road to tho right, skirting tho landward sido of tho harbour, we will find i'limnierton, on her beaches, not 18 miles from town. Hound tho four main bends, through tho shade of tho pines, tho road winds into i'aremata. The cycle must be wheeled over the planks of tho railway hridgo, and not two milos ahead lio tho warm shallows behind tho long railway platform. Hero Wellington makes holiday at the week-end.

Wellington-Panautanui-Hiitt Valley. And now that tho muscles are hardened to tho road, lot us not turn aside at tho l'arcAintn Hridge, but pass on to tho "Golden Gate." Tlio periwinkle flowers under tho hedges as wo swing easterly round tho northern arm of Porirna harbour, ilrignt homesteads, with their red geraniums, stand sentinel along tlio hills, which nproad their bony lingers into tho sea. Tho water laps tho roadside when tho tide is at tho full, and plays with tho white shells as it recedes. ISut the hamlet in frent is Pahautanui, and across tho little bridco by tho Assembly Hall, wo will dcGert tho sea and follow the stream into tho liills Wo havo cycled now a little more thaii twenty miles, and tbore is about tlio samo distance lett to do, for the round trip is approximately 42 miles. The road winds upwards over tho divide at R good grade, and from the poiuts of vantage vistas of iurrowed ridges stretch to the farther ranges which lndo tho son. Remnants of nativo bush surprise us in the angles as we near the summit, and in the autumn this groen brackon will Bliine in every shade of gold and purple. i\ow the ridge'is crossed, and tho Mutt.Valley widen, it Silverman and Irentham. Thn roud ru;is stceplv down with many turns and twists, and,' thouch ten years havo dono much to rob it of its splendour, tho valley still lies deep in natm'al glory. With brakes hard down wo .run into Hay wards, and then move on to-

wards tho hasto of town. No view in the valley inspires a inoro perfect sense of quiet peace than dijos that from tho :mA below Hay ward's on , a summer evor.ing. The wid cuing valley, tho broa!, clear river below, the blue-gums, which fringe tho rail-line, dark against the sky, and always the steep, bush-clad hiil abovo; and on'the waysido deep grass of richest green. On a Ihio'holiday this unfrequented road is dotted with, picnic-parties.' Hut wo must on through Bclniont and Lowev Hutt to meet the broud main road, which leads past the railway reconstruction' vr-rke, into tho city. Wellington-Uppor Hutt. It is a slightly longer journey. to the Uppd Hutt and back, and tho samo road must be followed going and coming. But it is curi» ous how different is the effect except, perhaps, to tho surveyor who looks behind and abont, and has eyes only for his landmarks. Toiling up in the morning to tho gorges, which widen into rich valleys at Silverstream, tho thought is only of hills in front with thd quiet teout streams and silent bushland pastures. Tho golden gorso in tho river-bod scents tho air, and tho pedal-song swings to tho stroke. But in the afternoon, freewheeling to the sea, the hills nro soon from a different point of view and at a different angle. Tho world is at peaco, and the mind lingers with the still browsing cattle. Where the railway bridge joins the hills at Silver, stream the enterprising cyclist may essay t<l carry his cycle over tho sleepers and return by Haywards and Belmont. But if tho railwa.vmen are abroad let him remember the commandments. There should bo a footbridge at Silvorstream to link tho valley. Wellington-Day's Bay and Walnui-o-mata. Two more shorter rides branch from the Hutt Valloy. Turning asido at tho Waiwetu Road, just over the Hutt Bridge, and passing M'Nab's Gardens, tho road runs out past tho old racecourse to tho AVainui Hills. JVo. or threo hundred yards up the hill there is a branch which leads round tho rocks past Lowry Bay to Day's Bay. Tim cyclometer will show just fifteen miles from'the General Post Office to tho well-known wharf, and wind is more easily endured on land than on sea. But instead of turning off at tho \\ainui Hill, we may push our cycles up tho hill, and any point on tho road' will givo a view of sea and sky well worth stopping for j tho valley of the Hutt in the foreground, tho white city in tho distance—and distance lends enchantment to tho viow. From the top there is a fair run down to tho dear fly-streams which tho skilled anglers love. But wo will follow up tho road which loads to tho reservoir, and lunch under the trees by tho lake. It is barely ] 8 miles away, but it is worth a long day's march. Welllngton-Makara-Oliariii Valloy. Thoro is another journey which I must not miss, and it is sought by the Karori Road, with its glimpses of valley and harbour. Over past the suburb, lies tho Makara Hill, and beyond, a very beautiful valley which ends on a desolate stony beach. But we cross the bridge, which loads round to Johnsonvillo, through tho Ohariu Valley, following up tho stream through its many turnings, reaching Johusonvillc by loi\ger stretches, liero we may take, tho Ngahauranga Gorge, or sweol> iown through Kliandallah" and Crolton. Both roads aro beautiful, 'and if it bo night tho hills rush past—giants guarding tho highway. There is a tense excitement in tho raco as brako jambs hard and tho knee grips the frame; for tho road has many turns, and often in the angles it runs away from the corners where it should be built up. Therefore, cyclists, beware, and let not your 30 miles find your body bruised and your cycle, a wreck. '