A Paekākāriki Bike Ride [Written To The Tune Of ‘Truckin’ By The Grateful Dead]


Ridin’ got my helmet on
Keep bikin’ push my pedals down
I’m cruisin’ trying to be on time
Just keep ridin’ on

  Start on the bike track the north end of Paekakariki
It’s an easy ten minutes to ride past the stream so keep on
A typical sunshiny day and I’m in a daydream
Keep it up and see what the next bend brings

Concrete meets the unsealed track
Uphill don’t go sliding back
Push hard and you’ll get the knack
I just keep bikin’ on

Up at the top of the hill and a farm spreads around me
Sheep are looking at me like I’m somebody strange
There are hills and grass and fences as far as I can see
Out of the gate and speed down the hill all alone

Crusin’ to the wetlands loop
I’m stoppin’ to read World War Two
Soldiers living on the coast
Just sitting here to kill time

Today the suns all shining on me
Othertimes I’m not so lucky
As I sit here it occurs to me
What a long strange ride it’s been

I circle the wetlands and give thanks I’m not on a road bike
There’s mud there’s logs and the long grass is really a pain
I take the hills as fast or as slow as I like
Racing through life you’ve really got nothing to gain

Bikin’ I think it’s time to go
Been thinking I got to get on home
The sun gonna go on down
So I’ll keep bikin’ on

I take a quick detour and head down a steep grassy rough slope
It’s the dunes restoration and people been working hard
The grass is long and my bike is finding it hard to cope
Give it up and push her back uphill again

Ridin’ I’m a going home
It’s been a good ride but I gotta go
Back home sit down and rest my bones
So I can keep ridin’ on