I hit the sack at 2100 on Thursday night, worried that it was too early to go to sleep, but I went out with the lights, only to be rudely awakened by the alarm at 1230. Excited to be on my way after a couple of months of plotting and planning with screeds of emails between Jantar, Gremlin and myself, I dragged myself from the bed with a groan, scrubbed up, boarded the already packed and prep’d Enterprise and scooted the 10Km down to the Bluebridge Terminal….where I waited, with the 10 or so Chorus vans heading for repairs in Christchurch and chatted with another chap heading down there to help his family cleanup after the earthquake. We didn’t start to board until after 0230, then waited some more before finally leaving half an hour late at around 0330. I managed another couple of hours kip, we docked…then waited some more, finally getting off the boat an hour late at 0720. I had no great hurry to get to Dunedin, so trimmed out at an ‘under the radar’ pace and prepared myself for an uneventful excursion down SH1…..and that’s about all I remember of that….oh, except for coming up on a queue of cars with a Ginnie trapped between them a few Km short of Blenheim. I did my usual space hop to the front of the queue and as I passed the wee bike, I thought, ‘Shit, he’s loaded….shit, he’s even carrying gas….oh shit, that must be Toto!’ but I was already past by then and with barely more than a raise of an eyebrow. The other things I remembered was queues of traffic down the street at one servo in Kaikoura, whilst the other was closed and this was the same all the way through to Ashburton. I paused to put the wets on in Amberly, was astounded by the amount of traffic and apparent normality through Belfast, along Johns Rd and out of Hornby (except for the queues to the pumps), then when I did stop for gas in Ashburton, they had no 98, so I opted to put $30 of 91 in and that would get me to Dunedin. Apart from that it was a boring blur of a boring 694Km in a boring 8 hours flat from 0727 to 1528. I would have stopped to visit friends in Christchurch, but it was raining so that put paid to that. I checked in at the Carisbrook Motel, then went out to pick up my supplies of water and bananas for two days, gassed with 98 as well as 5Ltrs to go, (I had decided to carry some insurance in case I came up short if the pace got to hot on a couple of the long legs), verified where MacIver & Veitch were on Crawford Street, then went back to the motel to settle in. Jim had arrived by then, so we chatted for a bit before he went visiting and I walked down the road for dinner. I was all set to go and once again, hit the sack at 2100, konking out immediately….only to awaken at 0200…..bugger!! This tends to happen a bit with the excitement and anticipation of a big ride so I have learned to relax and dose through it, eventually getting up a bit early at 0430, scrubbed, snacked, checked the tyres (they were down a couple of psi), threw my luggage pannier on the bike and headed off to pump the tyres then get to the start point at 0530. I’ve become very pedantic about my tyre pressures because on a ride like this with the bike gassed, loaded, and me on board, we’re hitting over 450Kg, so a bit of pace on a course south Island road and the ST just chews through the rubber, and then of course, there’s that peace of mind that one requires to have the confidence to hang off the brakes through the big sweepers and take the 65 – 85 rated corners at riding pace. I pulled up beside Gremlin, who was doing his last minute adjustments etc, chatted with him, Toto and others as they arrived, killing time until 0600. We were finally called in and Malcolm & I were fortunate enough to be in the first 10-15 of the queue, we exchanged our disclaimers for T-Shirts and fitted them to the bikes. As part of our pre-ride discussions, we came up with the idea to duct tape an old trouser hanger into the lid of the top-box. The hanger was loose to swing so photos stops would just be; angle in straight at the target, flip the lid, grab the camera, flick the shirt out over the back, step back and click, lift the lid which pulls the shirt in, stow the camera and we’re off again. More importantly though, we just walked out of the shop, pulled the T-shirt from the bag, clipped it on and we were gone, probably amongst the first to get away. The benefit of having Malcolm as a riding buddy was immediately realized as he led us on a long-cut which avoided 4 sets of lights on the way out to Taeri Rd, but the start to the ride wasn’t great. We bolted straight into the first flyer around George King Memorial Drive and this was quite tight in places, with occasional loose grit, damp and it was dark, but we hadn’t warmed into ride mode so it wasn’t that comfortable, but once we had taken our 2nd pic for the day (1st was at MacIver & Veitch), then were scooting around Outram to Milton, it started to lighten up and things got easier. From Flyer 1 we were virtually straight onto Flyer 2, which was pix at the entrance to Gabriel’s Gully Rd in Lawrence and the Clutha Ferry at Tuapeka West. This was more pleasant rolling country and delightful riding. The original plan had Malcolm taking a gravelly shortcut from Lee Stream to Lawrence, saving 50Km, but I have an aversion to the loose stuff on the ST and expected to catch him up by the ability to have fewer fuel stops. In the end he dumped the gravel option at the last minute so I slotted into his fuel programme and our first fill was at Balclutha, arriving at about 0830, 210Km into the ride. From here it was around the Catlins to the first Checkpoint at Niagara Falls. I’ve only done this road once, when it was wet and we rode into squalls shortly after Owaka. I very nearly had a bad off and consequently have no fond memories of the route. This occasion was a different story altogether, it was a beautiful sunny morning, we had the sunshine on our shoulders and the hour of riding between 0840 and 0940 saw little traffic on a combination of rolling country, tight sections and some spectacular coastal vistas. We did have the odd moment on loose, new seal grit, but I guess I’ll have to agree with BanditRider that like Wellington, the Catlins is hard to beat on a good day. Piccy snacked of the Niagara falls sign, we were off and almost straight into Flyer 6 (3 for us) Southland Towns which comprised of pix in Wyndham, Winton and Otautau. We ended up behind two other riders but when they paused at Gregory Rd (Gravel), Malcolm hesitated also (strong is the lure of the dark side in that one) so I ended up in the lead because I had already discounted that option in my planning. More rolling countryside taken at briskish pace….bloody Marvelous…getting to Wyndham by 1020, straighter roads onto Winton by 1100, then Tuatapere by 1120, on track and time for our gold target. Next was gas and 2nd checkpoint at Riverton, 3rd checkpoint at Tuatapere, then out to Hump Ridge, (Flyer 7 but #4 for us). We’d considered this one in the early planning but dumped it, only coming back to it when it was shortened at late notice for the same points. It also worked in well for us because we were able to load more into Saturday, leaving an easier ride with less pressure on Sunday. It was a good option, getting 350 points for a short, quick scoot and then the hard riding started. Arse numbing, long straight roads to CP4 at Milford Sound was boring as hell, the scenery was great, the weather was clear and continuing to warm, but I hate straight roads. We gassed at Te Anau and things improved as we got closer to Milford, in fact it got downright fangable but we maintained restraint as we cruised through the beech forest, then up through vertical, rugged rock faces climbing to the tunnel and we were fortunate to catch the green light, but it was a bit disconcerting to find myself in a damp hole in the rock which sloped downwards. The first half was a bit hairy because coming from the brilliant sunshine took awhile for the eyes to adjust and be able to see through the gloom, but we made it ok and were soon taking the liners out of our jackets and grazing after we had our evidence of the trip. Heading back out, I passed Malcolm and enjoyed a wee squirt up to the tunnel where we had to wait this time, then when the traffic started moving, Malcolm moved to the right and started easing past the traffic until we got to the front and it was easier going this time as I seemed to be able to see better. Malcolm lifted the pace a bit on the way out, which made the long haul somewhat more bearable. Te Anau meant another fill, then it was over to Mossburn to start Flyer 8 (5 for us) which was photos at Apirama River, Wreys Bush Pub and Dipton Hall. More straight roads, but Malcolm’s Radar Detector had gone on the blink and we were being followed by a suspicious car so had to show much restraint. What a literal pain in the arse! We were dropping legs, shifting to the back seat and jiggling around to ease the discomfort, having done about 1000Km and the best part was, we still had 500+ to go. Things got easier when we got back on SH6 though and it was quite pleasant slipping up the side of Lake Wakatipu. At some point along here I got frustrated of sitting behind some slow traffic so I passed Malcolm and them and took the lead through some road works to lead the last stretch into our next fuel stop in Queenstown. We were surprised along this section to have Gremlin join us and were pleased for him to be doing this good and be well and truly on track for diamond. Once fuelled, Malcolm took the lead again for the nice we pootle up to Glenorchy and on to the Isengard site. Once we’d exited Queenstown, Betty (GPS) seemed to lose the track, but then came right, and as we approached Glenorchy I was surprised to hear Betty telling me to do a u-turn at the roundabout, then when we carried on through, the GPS seemed to re-calculate and get back on route. As we approached the Dart River, I could see Betty was wanting to go back down the other side and when we stopped past the line of trees at the Isengard site…..well, the tart wanted me to do another 15Km….on gravel no less…and when I looked, the Waypoint wasn’t even there….Damn, that shakes ones confidence in the machinery! Oh well, I led back to Queenstown, then Malcolm led up to Coronet Peak. It got dark through this time but with over 1200Km on the clock for the day, we were well and truly in the riding groove, so riding at night felt the same as riding in the day…just darker. I had read a note on KB that there was grit on the Peak road so we maintained some decorum with a steady pace, but man….I’d love to get let loose on that baby with a good surface and, as we experienced, no traffic. Once the sun went, the temp plummeted so once stopped, we grazed (the usual bananas, nut bars & water for me while Malcolm appeared to be on a diet of pizza and fruit juice), applied more layers of clothing and glove liners, then down, down, and on, on to Cardrona. We hadn’t passed Gremlin through this section and I recalled he had programmed to go back to Shell Q, which had put us back in front and now we were about to embark on a section of road I had been looking forward to…The Devils Staircase. I’ve only been along this road once, from North to South and there were road-works on the staircase at that time. Malcolm led us in but within the 1st corner or two, it was so tight, I was loosing his lights, and thought the ST lights might be better, so I passed and dragged us up at a pleasant but brisk, sub-fang pace. The reason I didn’t cut loose, was that we were running to our targeted times, which meant we would miss the 2300 cutoff for fuel in Cromwell and although it wasn’t going to be a problem for me to get to Ranfurly the next day, it would be tight for Malcolm to get home to Alex’. (although I did have the insurance fuel packed in case we needed it so it wasn’t really an issue) Never the less, I was endeavouring to maintain our briskish pace, but at the same time, trying to ride economically, as well as minimising any braking and subsequent blinding moments for my mate behind. My recollection of the Crown Range road was pretty vague. I just seemed to recall that it was a nice flowy road that had climbed steadily as it meandered along from Wanaka, then dropped down a steep series of switchbacks. I guess I had that wrong and was surprised when I got to the top and it fell away, so that and the brisk/eco riding approach I was adopting made for an interesting combo on a road that I didn’t know. The weight of the ST was pulling it down the hill and the lack of engine braking provided by the V4, usually means tapping the brakes is a frequent and steady part of downhill riding, but I was having a ball, tapping down into 4th as I was cooking into the corners didn’t really slow me down, it just stabilised the speed and although I wasn’t fanging it, I was riding on the edge, and fortunately the surface was mint….what a buzz! Cardrona came and went and I led onto Treble Cone (Flyer 20), which we had bought forward from the Sunday ride and inserted into the Crown Range, to save on time and prune a bit of distance. That was another pleasant wee pootle on a good road and best of all, we were getting down to our last hundred Km for the day. It was also noticeable that the numbers of riders encountered on the out-&-returns was dropping off and we only spotted a couple on this one, with Gremmy only 5 to 10 minutes behind us again. We finished the day with marginal night time pix at Luggate Hotel and the street sign for the Mt Pisa Rd, then had a lucky break as we turned to cross past Cromwell because the BP still had vehicles on the forecourt. We pulled in and filled at 2330, which meant we were saving 10 minutes by not having to fuel in Ranfurly the next day. We were back at Malcolm’s around midnight, had a feed, chatted, scrubbed and collapsed in heap by 0100. DAY 2. Nooooooo! The alarm went off at 0530 and dragged me from my coma! Up up and away, I got dressed, packed the luggage panier, extracting the day’s supply of bananas and water for the top-box, checked the tyres – 42psi on the button, exchanged the summer gloves for winter ones out of the wets and fuel panier, tidied the topbox, snacked, had a nice hot cup of tea….and we were gone at 0630. I thought it was bloody winter as scooted through fog at 3°, it was almost dawn as we took our first photo of the Poolburn Pub, then more fog on the straightish road out to Patearoa. Once again, Betty balked at the post and had I been by myself I think I would have missed the flyer…and once again, a check at the Patearoa stop revealed the Waypoint had disappeared (but later proved to be still loaded in the unit???) We were now at another point along the trip where Malcolm had the opportunity to shave 18Km off the route by taking gravel to Kokonga, on the way to Flyer 15 (12 for us), MacRaes Flat. Malcolm had estimated he would accrue 7 minutes by doing that, which would work out OK as he would need fuel in Oamaru, but I could zip past and carry on to Omarama for fuel and we would rejoin then. I’m like a dog with dysentery on these long rides and every time I see a post…(read, - have to stop), I get the urge to mark the territory and hence my aversion to the diuretic effects of coffee, especially when it gets cold like it was at this time. Once Malcolm left the memorial at Patearoa, I nipped around the back for a leak, before putting on the gloves and heading back to Ranfurly. I upped the pace a notch or two into quite-brisk mode and even the fog didn’t slow me down too much because the road already travelled earlier was pretty straight. Betty directed me back through Ranfurly, over to Kyeburn then out through Kokonga and Hyde to Macraes Flat. I was now travelling at pace down into gullys filled with fog, then rising out with one hand on the throttle and one shielding my eyes from the wicked sunstrike as the golden orb had ascended to just above the hills. To make this worse, Betty’s poor form had me doubting the instructions so when I saw the sign to Middlemarch at the Kyeburn turnoff, I thought, WTF!! Where the hell am I!! and then as I came into Hyde or thereabouts I went into a spin because there in front of me was a lovely big monument stating ‘You are now entering the city limits of Dunedin’?! “Oh shit”, I thought, “I shouldn’t be anywhere near Dunedin?” but I pressed on anyway, in too much of a hurry to stop for a manual check. That was lucky because this fantastic road meandered through and around the hills and occasionally one could see several Km of curly macadam across a wee valley and on one of these occasions I spotted another lone bike…. “awsome….that must be Malcolm” and I could see I was reeling him in. DAY 2. Nooooooo! The alarm went off at 0530 and dragged me from my coma! Up up and away, I got dressed, packed the luggage panier, extracting the day’s supply of bananas and water for the top-box, checked the tyres – 42psi on the button, exchanged the summer gloves for winter ones out of the wets and fuel panier, tidied the topbox, snacked, had a nice hot cup of tea….and we were gone at 0630. I thought it was bloody winter as scooted through fog at 3°, it was almost dawn as we took our first photo of the Poolburn Pub, then more fog on the straightish road out to Patearoa. Once again, Betty balked at the post and had I been by myself I think I would have missed the flyer…and once again, a check at the Patearoa stop revealed the Waypoint had disappeared (but later proved to be still loaded in the unit???) We were now at another point along the trip where Malcolm had the opportunity to shave 18Km off the route by taking gravel to Kokonga, on the way to Flyer 15 (12 for us), MacRaes Flat. Malcolm had estimated he would accrue 7 minutes by doing that, which would work out OK as he would need fuel in Oamaru, but I could zip past and carry on to Omarama for fuel and we would rejoin then. I’m like a dog with dysentery on these long rides and every time I see a post…(read, - have to stop), I get the urge to mark the territory and hence my aversion to the diuretic effects of coffee, especially when it gets cold like it was at this time. Once Malcolm left the memorial at Patearoa, I nipped around the back for a leak, before putting on the gloves and heading back to Ranfurly. I upped the pace a notch or two into quite-brisk mode and even the fog didn’t slow me down too much because the road already travelled earlier was pretty straight. Betty directed me back through Ranfurly, over to Kyeburn then out through Kokonga and Hyde to Macraes Flat. I was now travelling at pace down into gullys filled with fog, then rising out with one hand on the throttle and one shielding my eyes from the wicked sunstrike as the golden orb had ascended to just above the hills. To make this worse, Betty’s poor form had me doubting the instructions so when I saw the sign to Middlemarch at the Kyeburn turnoff, I thought, WTF!! Where the hell am I!! and then as I came into Hyde or thereabouts I went into a spin because there in front of me was a lovely big monument stating ‘You are now entering the city limits of Dunedin’?! “Oh shit”, I thought, “I shouldn’t be anywhere near Dunedin?” but I pressed on anyway, in too much of a hurry to stop for a manual check. That was lucky because this fantastic road meandered through and around the hills and occasionally one could see several Km of curly macadam across a wee valley and on one of these occasions I spotted another lone bike…. “awsome….that must be Malcolm” and I could see I was reeling him in. Oh well, we photographed the sheepy at the Mobil Station and zipped out to Flyer 19 (13 for us) at Lake Ohau, more straight roads but the lake was pretty/nice, scooted back through Omarama and onto the Lindis Pass and that hard to read mottled chip surface, continued down to Tarras then over to, and in the back of Hawea for a fill. While we were there a couple of elderly ladies turned up, looked confused so we explained it was an unmanned card pump, at which she looked even more perplexed and meekly asked, “Could you fill it for me please?” “Not a problem” we said, “Stick your card through the machine” and once that was done, Malcolm attended to the pump while I did the windscreen. One can’t complain about the service at an unmanned Allied Servo. On the road again and that delightful ride along Lake Hawea, then Lake Wanaka where, Malcolm managed a couple of twitches on loose grit then didn’t seem that comfy, so I thought I should give him a rest at the lead. What a brilliant ride, but the pricks that maintain this road need shooting. The number of times we would get in the groove, then all of a sudden we would come across a section of new seal with loose crap scattered about and invariably it would manifest at a corner…with no signage to warn us. I’d fly into it, having difficulty identifying a clean track so I’d have to straighten and hope. This resulted in a close shave with an oncoming car, not to mention a couple of stationary hillsides as I overcooked into corners too scared to take them….I hate it when that happens! It was still a good ride though but then we had to go out to the Cray Pot at Jackson’s Bay (Flyer 21 but our #14)…..more bloody arse numbingly straight roads. Sure the Beech forest is very picturesque, and the uneven surface bounced us around a bit, but I hate straight roads, so I clicked the pace up a notch or two. It was soon over though, we had clicked, grazed, swigged, the dysentery dog marked his space and we had chatted to a couple of riders on tour…..(but why the hell would you endure those straight roads for an ice cream?) We got back to Haast for a Pic there and fill-up and it was onto the West Coast….and that was nice! I led us on to Fox where we would encounter another 16-18Km section of road that I had been really looking forward to. Unfortunately, when we got there we encountered drizzle and the road had more of that loose stuff so I had to behave myself, but that was OK because not long after, I found myself on a sweet strip that Malcolm later informed me was Mt Hercules. (But more on that shortly) It didn’t seem too long before we were turning off for our last flyer to Okarito (Flyer 23 but 15 and the last for us). That was a pleasant wee scoot, although maybe a little narrow to let rip, we slipped in took our picky, more of the usual protocols and we were soon gone again. Have I mentioned that I love tight roads! The tighter the better and Mt Hercules had some exquisitely tight, cambered switch-backs and the ST was purring (just like last year on the Takaka Hill). It would lay down as it swooped through the bend thrusting forward as it smoothly transitioned to the next most excellent turn in the series and I reckon….that was nice!! I came around a hillside on a right hander and noticed a camper van entering the left hander 20 metres ahead. By the time he had negotiated the corner and was just starting to accelerate up the rise, I had slipped down to the corner, flicked around it and identified that the 50 metres to the next blind right hander was clear. He was lucky to be doing 20kph at this point and I was in 2nd or 3rd, so I applied the power brutally and bolted past the van, probably before he even knew I was there and I would have disappeared from view while he was still collecting his wits about him. I was surprised to find later that this must have pissed him off, generating a little road rage, because when Malcolm encountered him, he would move out to block the V-Strom from passing, even to the point our camper-van-man moved into the path of an oncoming car!! I don’t know??!! Any way, my only moment on this sweet adventure was negotiating a left hander when a truck was coming the other way. The road dropped away from the corner so I tried to give him as much room as possible by bringing the wheels to the edge and hanging over the open space, but there was a curb and I had to resort to the old off-road skills by flicking the bike up while I countered the balance and continued through the same track. Gosh I love tight stuff and the tighter the better….I love Mt Hercules. (might be something to do with the heritage perhaps?) We now settled into the tame, straighter roads that took us to Hokitika which was the all-but check point (photo of the old schooner and anchor on Gibson Quay), after which we had our last fill, then embarked on the last 250Km of our adventure…Arthur’s Pass. Once again I ended up in the lead and tried to maintain a steady, briskish pace over another of the South Island’s sweet roads as we enjoyed the last section to our Gold prize. I did have a wee moment as we descended from Arthur’s and there’s a couple of blind humps that require a little care when one isn’t familiar with where the road is going on the other side. I took one of these a little quick and braked as it peaked, so my momentum as the bike dropped away felt like it wanted to lift the back wheel and flick me off. It didn’t and wouldn’t (I hope), but it was a little disconcerting…..and then we had more bloody great long arse numbing straights to finish. We had planned our route, estimating times to the minute and on Saturday we varied slightly but ended up running to the programmed times doing about 1550Km in 18 odd hours. On Sunday we upped the ante a little, leaving Malcolm’s a half hour late, eventually arriving at Yaldhurst three quarters of an hour early at 2045, after doing about 1350Km in 14¼ hours. The ride didn’t seem as memorable as last year but I think that was due to compressing so much riding into the two days so it all became a blur, but it was awesome. We rolled in, took our last photo of the bikes in front of the pub, took the cameras in for them to dump the photos for scrutineering, had a great feed and a beer, then I had to leave for the B&B with Jim.
Once again, it was midnight before I got to sleep, awakened a bit early and we were on the road by 0830. More boring SH1 riding, but I’d dumped the 5Ltrs insurance in the tank and although Jim filled in Amberly, I tried to make the ride interesting by turning it into an economy run so I didn’t need to fill until back in Wgtn. I made it, going onto reserve at Koromiko, but I did have a problem with the GPS when it cut out and I lost my music going into Blenheim. Fortunately at the end of the trip and not on the TT ride itself. (I’ve since notified the supplier and expect to have checked on the warranty as I also found that it had dumped most of my weekend’s tracks) The ferry trip was smooth and we just chatted with other TT riders in the café. Many thanks to Mike and Robert for another great event. I managed to do 3977Km in 4 days at an average economy of 18.47 Km/Ltr, managing to burn 215Ltrs of fuel at a cost of $461, not to mention some wicked tyre wear. What a nice ride! It was nice to get gold! It was nice to do lots of new roads! It was nice to do some old favourite roads! It was nice to meet up with mates and ride with them! That was nice!!
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Counting down the last two weeks to the TT and this week I went on the Uly Ride to Apiti, combining it with my last prep’ ride. My plan was to ride with the group to the Pilgrims Rest , on Pohangina Valley East Rd, but then continue riding instead of stopping for lunch, focusing on maintaining a good average pace, whilst generally riding economically and within the prescribed tolerances, so as not top get pinged.
I did the usual ride prep of tyres, clean (& polish for a change), prepared a route for Betty, and mowed the lawns (because I know what’s good for me), then Sunday it was scrub up, stow the gear and hit the road for a fill at Shell Mana. I opted for Shell because I didn’t want the BP 98 to extend my range for pace, so the ride would be more realistic in keeping with the TT conditions. After topping up, I went to the Plimmerton Weigh Station to talk while we waited for the crowd to arrive…..all six of them, that is apart from Ken (RIC) and myself (TEC), there were six riders that departed, but one pulled off at Waikanae and another at Levin…just leaving six of us. We trundled along SH1 in the usual boring fashion, with the weather threatening to let loose and I was thinking I might need to get the wets out at Shannon, but once we were skirting past Levin I could see that the weather was clear ahead. About that time, I also lost my music and Betty stopped talking to me. With TT bookings and plans well underway and the drama of last weeks puncture(s) done and dusted with a new Storm 2 Ultra fitted, Steve & I were off on another ‘Multi-purpose’ ride…..for him it was just a conditioning ride for the Southern Cross, but for me it was conditioning for the TT2000, testing/familiarization for the GPS and the wish to put 2000Km on the bike to do the 108,000Km service and change the front tyre prior to the TT. The various requirements meant that perhaps something a little different would be required, so the route was planned in MapSource, a few bud’s were invited, but only Steve & I departed Caltex Rimutaka at about 0815. I might note here though, I left home at 0730, quite warm as I was fully kitted in ‘wets’, because the day looked dismal, but I was aware, having been over to Masterton on Saturday, that the weather would clear at the top of the hill. At Rimutaka, the weather was already clear and the wets were already off, the 18° had become 19° and I now had a full tank and pumped tyres. Steve led out, enjoying a sedate pace through minimal traffic over the hill and as soon as we were in the Wairarapa, the skies were cloudless and the temperature soared to 29°. There was a bit of wind that struck us unawares at odd places and angles going over the hill, but generally being behind us, it wasn’t too bad and the pace lifted as we headed for Martinborough. It was unusual to have these temps so early in the day and by the time we had been through the Tablelands and around the Water Towers, we had to stop at Wainuioru for Steve to strip a layer. At this point my economy was on 19Km/Ltr thanks to the tailwind. I led from here, taking us through Te Ore Ore, across Dreyers Rock Rd to Kaiparoro, then through Nireaha to come back to Eketahuna from the west. It was odd as the clear blue skies vanished suddenly as we approached the Mt Bruce area and became drizzly once we’d crossed SH2, so as we headed back to Alfredton, I decided it would be better to head straight up to Pahiatua via Tane, rather than the planned route via Rongomai-Mangamaire-Nikau and therefore avoid the wind and rain. The economy had dived to 17.5Km/Ltr with the combination of punching into the wind and tighter roads. We needed to still go to Pahiatua, because Steve would need fuel….and I wanted the Kms. After a fuel and natural break, we continued with Steve back in the lead and went out through Makuri to Pongaroa…..shades of the GC (Grand Challenge) as we would got hit by the odd wicked gust, through here, but the weather cleared again by Pongaroa, with the temp rising back from 22° to 28°…then 29° …then 30° ….then 31° …..whew…lucky I was able to drop the screen down! All the roads, so far had been in very good condition and this road was the same, with little of the loose stuff that had littered it on the GC and of course, once through Pongaroa, the road widens and improves further, so we were able to maintain an easy but kilometer eating pace and the tailwind was getting the economy back to 18Km/Ltr. It was interesting to note Steve’s off-roading skills as at one point, for no apparent reason, he threw himself out to the left and his bike to the right. At least, the reason wasn’t apparent until I came to the same point as I followed his track and a subsidence had the road falling away 6 inches (although it looked more like a foot). I was already well inside that line and needed little more than a gentle ease for more room, but contemplated how that little baby could cause a big problem for a rider’s momentary lapse of concentration. (Interesting to read in the paper that a rider died in this area later in the day as well). We galloped by Porangahau, pausing briefly at Waipuk’ where I decided not to fuel and continued to Havelock via Patangata and the (world famous to Napier riders) Middle Rd. This, as usual, was delightful and we arrived in Havelock at 1320hours, having done 447Km for an average of 85kph (or rolling estimated around 94kph). It was so hot, I had to strip off the helmet & jacket to fuel, then we found an airconditioned café, which was a blissful environment in which I could enjoy my club sandwich and organic lemonade (…go figure, it tasted ok but). The ladies serving us didn’t seem to mind when I dropped my pants either….although as usual, I did have shorts on under my corduras. The temp was still 31° when we left but soon jumped to 34° as we passed through Hastings, then settled at 33° for the trip down SH50. At this point, Betty let me down! Betty is the GPS, short for Betty Crocker, who I expect will prepare many a fine route. Anyway, I caused Betty to let me down because I attempted to put in a detour to the café, but got that horribly wrong, which ultimately resulted in losing my track log up to Havelock, had me finding my own (long) way across to SH50, then, when traveling back, not only had she forgotten to direct us from Oringi, around Woodville, but she was adamant I return via SH1. Perhaps I can blame the gloves.
Once we got back to SH2, the temp started sliding as we approached the clagged-in area over Pahiatua to Eketahuna, where it bottomed once again at a very pleasant 22°, but it jumped back to 30° as we came into Masterton where I needed to pause to drop a TV remote to mum, before embarking on the hill. That was something different! There was moderate traffic going up the hill and a wicked Sou’Wester. The wind was that strong that it even seemed to affect some of the vehicles and I suspect it would have been one of my worst ever trips over the hill except there was enough traffic that I was able to hide behind the bigger vehicles when expecting a gust, (but I was using pretty low gears just in case) then skip along through the traffic. Just prior to the summit a queue had formed and the traffic even came to a standstill and as we crested, I couldn’t see the front and had to assume that it stretched all the way to the bottom. This was quite good as it made it easier to pass, either singly or in clumps. I finally got home at 1820 having done 811Km for the day at 18.2Km/Ltr for the return and I now have 107,242Km on the bike. It was a great day and very odd in so many ways. The weather went from crap at home to OK at Rimutaka to brilliant, back to crap, back to better than brilliant, up to expiring in bike gears, back to crap, back to brilliant….and OK at home. We have traveled all the roads, some more than others, sometimes as a ride and sometimes when going somewhere else….but never all together. All the way up was on some of the best riding the Wairarapa has to offer (particularly right now as all these roads had very little crap on them and are generally in a good state of repair. One could say that we sampled many of the Wairarapa’s Delights…..and we weren’t disappointed! |
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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