Opening of Wainuiomata Hill Shared Path, New Zealand

https://d.tube/v/kiwibloke/oyunyshq

This was a significant event, especially those that live in this suburb of Wainuiomata. The only access into the area is by this road. When they upgraded the road from 2 lanes (1 up 1 down) to 4 lanes, there really wasn't any room for cyclists though there are those like myself that risked being brushed aside by vehicles. Walking/running up either side of this Hill on gravel had it's risks as well, but the workout you get from it made it worth while.

This shared pathway (pedestrians/cyclists) is definitely going to become popular and there are some concerns, mainly aimed at the cycling community which I can totally understand. It really comes down to common sense, I ride/race on a road bike and coming down here at 60km+/hr would be the norm, therefore using this shared path is not an option for me. This brings us to those who drive over the hill in vehicles, who yell at cyclists to get off the road and back onto the new created shared path. I will ignore them, safety of pedestrians on this path are more important and unless I purposely ride up/down at 10km/hr or slower I will stay on the road. The next few months as summer approaches will be interesting.

My grandson and I, enjoyed the sunshine, the community spirit, and this wonderful path that we walked on today.

Camera: Sony FDR-X3000
Video Editor: kdenlive on Linux Mint 64bit

Aitutaki Koni Raoni 2019 by Akaiami

It's always good to remember where your roots are, and even though I did not create this video, or have ever been to this event, one day I would like to witness 1st hand and celebrate with the families who are a big part of me.

Aitutaki has a unique NY (January 1st) event called a Koni Raoni - which means "dance around". A village led dance team make their way slowly and progressively around Aitutaki on open vehicles to dance in front of the residents in each village.
- https://www.tripadvisor.com.au

Check out Akaiami's YouTube channel for videos showing previous Koni Raoni events.

Snow in Wainuiomata ?

Clearing out some hard drive space I came across this small video. I have no idea what I used to create this, most likely a mobile phone so the quality is poor. Still it's proof that strange things can happen and I thought I'd upload it anyway :-)

Bike The Trail 2018

The best annual family cycle ride event in Lower Hutt. This is my 4th time and today the weather was perfect, not too cold and windy, not too hot!

As with all the previous years, the start is crazy, everyone wants to be in the group that gets released 1st.

It's pretty hard to get the feel of a ride if you have never been on it. So I've created this 30min video down from a 1hr 40min ride and hopefully you get an idea of what to expect should you give this ride a go next year 2019.

At the finish I got told there was close to 1800 cyclists that participated, well done!

I really admired the number of young ones who gave it a go, especially those that made it all the way to Hikoikoi Reserve, Petone.

My Nieces Wedding

 I didn't take many video clips at the wedding, was trying not to be too intrusive.

Every part of the day turned out beautiful, she couldn't have done any better, especially up there in Hastings where the heat drives people indoors (or at least to the beaches).

Most of my clips were actually taken while traveling to and from this even, put the action camera on the end of a selfie stick then feeding it out the car window.

Make sure your watch all my videos in 1080p50, really does make a difference.