I finally got an Avon Storm on the front this week. The PR2 was good for 18,000Kms by the time it got down to the indicator strips and had squared off slightly. I'm not sure how much this affected the handling but the difference between the tyres was significant. The Storm made the PR2 feel like it had been running partially deflated as the bike felt crisper and livelier but at the same time, much more stable.......in fact it felt bloody marvelous and that was good because we had a Big Day Out this week. We happened to go to Napier on the last day of the Art Deco Festival last year and were so impressed that we decided to go for a ride again this year. Initially we thought it would be good to have an overnighter to Taupo, but that got too hard so, it was organised as a Ulysses day ride and posted on KiwiBiker as well for a 0700 departure from Brown Owl Shops. I got up at 0515 to cook breakfast and Ann & I left home at 0625. I had cleaned and filled the bike the day before, so we were ready go, it was a fresh 13º and we arrived at Brown Owl at 0650 to find that Steve (Twosup - Hyabusa) was the only other rider coming. That was sort of disappointing but also good, because with no Sprottys or Cruisers, we didn't have to stop in Masterton or Waipuk' for fuel as both bikes would make Napier in one hit. We chatted for a bit and finally departed at 0710, having a leisurely ride over the hill, through to Masterton, then out past Te Ore Ore for Pongaroa. The ride between Masterton and Wimbledon was rather difficult as the road was wet in places and the sun had come out, casting lots of shadows. This made it hard to distinguish between wet and dry or light and shade and whether or not there was any loose stuff on the hump, so I elected to err on the side of caution and 'ride-the-ruts'. This stretch used to be great, but successive reseals and lack of proper maintenance has made this ride worse over the last year or so and today was made worse by the amount of crazy sheep on the road. Most would run off to the side but one just stood there and I had no idea what it was going to do, several would run out of my way then run back in front of Steve, and as I approached one corner, I was dumbfounded to see a lone sheep come charging straight at me. The only thing I could do was to brake hard, then saw that the reason for this strange behaviour was, that the sheep was running from a truck with a yappy little dog on board. Another couple of 'moment's occurred when we came flying around a corner to find a tree down across the road and I was waiting for a Highwayman to step to relieve me of my treasures, but fortunately a path had been cut through and we managed to pass unimpeded, but it got the heart rate up a bit all the same, and another moment was when we hit a bump in the middle of a sweeper that was sufficient to cause the ST to bottom-out and send quite a jolt through us. From Wimbledon on, the road was magic, the temp shot up from 14º to 20º, we soon passed through Waipuk' and finally arrived in Napier shortly after 1100. We parked-up, stripped off, then wandered down the esplanade for a coffee, oggling at the vintage cars that were arriving to be admired. We enjoyed a snack along with a bit of sun, then strolled around some more before having another drink, watching the aerobatic display and leaving at about 1430. By this time the temp was up to 25º and the day was magnificent as wet set out for SH50, but as we got to Tikokino, the wind was getting up and made riding that wee bit more difficult. We had to punch into it, sometimes as a headwind and sometimes it hit us from the right hand side and it certainly affected the economy as I saw my average drop from 17k/ltr to 16.4k/ltr. We were to stop at Café88 in Woodville, but the whole main street was out of action due to a power cut….amazing with all those turbines chundering away just up the road, and I might add that this would be at least the third time I have struck this in Woodville, so we carried on and stopped for another coffee in Pahiatua. From here on in the wind had dropped slightly and also our direction swung us around so it became more of an assistance and we finally got back to the Hutt at around 1830, with the economy crawling back to 17.2k/ltr, 712Kms done for the day and 32,326Km on the bike now. Another couple of 'moment's occurred when we came flying around a corner to find a tree down across the road and I was waiting for a Highwayman to step to relieve me of my treasures, but fortunately a path had been cut through and we managed to pass unimpeded, but it got the heart rate up a bit all the same, and another moment was when we hit a bump in the middle of a sweeper that was sufficient to cause the ST to bottom-out and send quite a jolt through us. From Wimbledon on, the road was magic, the temp shot up from 14º to 20º, we soon passed through Waipuk' and finally arrived in Napier shortly after 1100. We parked-up, stripped off, then wandered down the esplanade for a coffee, oggling at the vintage cars that were arriving to be admired. We enjoyed a snack along with a bit of sun, then strolled around some more before having another drink, watching the aerobatic display and leaving at about 1430. By this time the temp was up to 25º and the day was magnificent as wet set out for SH50, but as we got to Tikokino, the wind was getting up and made riding that wee bit more difficult. We had to punch into it, sometimes as a headwind and sometimes it hit us from the right hand side and it certainly affected the economy as I saw my average drop from 17k/ltr to 16.4k/ltr. We were to stop at Café88 in Woodville, but the whole main street was out of action due to a power cut….amazing with all those turbines chundering away just up the road, and I might add that this would be at least the third time I have struck this in Woodville, so we carried on and stopped for another coffee in Pahiatua. From here on in the wind had dropped slightly and also our direction swung us around so it became more of an assistance and we finally got back to the Hutt at around 1830, with the economy crawling back to 17.2k/ltr, 712Kms done for the day and 32,326Km on the bike now.
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I used the bike this week, but didn't go for any rides as such as we had whanau staying with us. We discovered recently that an uncle had a child that was adopted out and this week we were able to welcome our 47 year old cousin into the fold. It was nice to be able to help out by having him stay and provide him with a copy of the Family Tree and a CD of old photos.
On biking matters this week, for the third time, I am having difficulty putting an Avon Storm on the front. I can't believe it, and what is pissing me off is, they haven't even responded to advise when the tyres will be available. Good news though is that I did change my mind (again) and entered The Mini's Return. I had decided not to do it although I still followed any Rusty News and threads on the subject and finally relented with the opportunity to help out another rider and buy Jantar's entry from him. Now that I have committed, I am very keen and eager to head off next month. I've booked ferry tickets and accommodation, where required, and planned routes to and from that won't duplicate many roads along the way..........5,000+ Kms in a week....Bring it on! A bit of a different week this week. I went to the Osteo' for my regular 'grease & oil', attended the Cruisy Wednesday night ride over to the Royal and back, then had some whanau turn-up Thursday night and Friday for the 7's and Wiremu's (step-son) 21st.
The weekend was spent watching a bit of 7's on TV, entertaining over the bar-b-que and a few beers, then washing the car and bike down on Sunday before going for a wee ride to visit an uncle and finished off with a pootle over 'the hill'. It was a great day and still 25° at around 1800 as I came back into Wellington and finished it off with a bit of investigating availability of ferries and accommodation as I am reconsidering whether or not to do the 'Mini's Return' in March. I'll have to make a decision and bookings this week if I decide to go ahead. To ride, or not to ride......that is the conundrum!! |
Old Blog?
These blogs were posted on the KiwiBiker forum but I decided it was time for a change. Archives
January 2017
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