I wasn't planning to ride this weekend as I'm flying solo at work for the next three months and figured I'd have plenty to do, but when I saw the weather was to be brilliant all weekend, I just couldn't help myself. The programmed Ulysses ride was a short/social jobby starting from Plimmerton, up to Foxton for lunch and on to Himatangi Wines, which isn't really much of a ride but one does always have to get home I guess!? With the late decision to go, I didn't get a chance to check the bike until 2200 last night and discovered a few things. I hadn't ridden it since the last Uly ride two weeks ago, my gear was still stashed in the right pannier, it hadn't been cleaned and both tyres were down to 38psi....so I didn't need to pack but I did pull the compressor and topped up the tyres. As predicted, this morning dawned crystal clear...and very fresh! I was ready to go by 0850 because I needed to stop in at the office to get the camera, then pause again at Countdown J'ville to get a top-up for the phone, then call in to BP Mana for a top-up on gas. When I pulled the bike out of the garage, the temp gauge was reading a very respectable 9°, but by the time I was ¾ the way down our street, it had rapidly ticked back to 2°, then by the time I pulled into the Plimmerton Weigh Station at 0940, it was back up to 6° and the ride along the motorway wasn't totally comfortable with many shaded wet areas that my brain kept reminding me, “Watch out for black ice!!” Sheesh, I don't know.....some brains!!!?? I made it safely at 0940 though, chatted, loaded the phone, donned my Uly hi-vis vest to do the TEC thing and 16 bikes hit the road at 1006. I was dilly-dallying around gearing up, so I was somewhat behind the rest but was surprised to be with them before we got to the end of the double lanes by Pukerua Bay.....then I just noodled along eliciting a most impressive 20.4Km/Ltr by the time we got to Shannon! I must say though, I'm sure that averaging 75kph on my dear old Red would have managed at least 21.4km/Ltr......damn! The temp generally hovered between 12-14°, but with the sun out, it was quite pleasant.
115Km done from Plimmerton and we were at the The Vines for lunch. I've never been there myself but it would seem it was a popular venue at some stage in the past and the facilities and service are certainly recommended. I had a burger, fries and coffee which all hit the spot. By 1315 we were kitting up to head back, but with everyone else content to only do another 100Km back along SH1, I headed back toward Palmy, then took Kellow Rd to cut through to Mt Stewart, hooked off toward Feilding but bypassed around by Manfield, scooted through to Ashhurst, then took the Gorge. I had considered the Track and Saddle, but the Track would have taken me through Palmy, plus there was too much potential for shaded wet greasy patches and the Saddle would miss Palmy but still have the greasy bits....so Gorge it was......plus it's ages since I've been through there. It was a bit depressing to get through to the Wai'rapa to find a blanket of cloud keeping the sun out and the temperature down between 10-12°, but thems-the-breaks. I was able to maintain a steady pace on the allowable limits and my 20.4Km/Ltr wound its way down to 18.2, the road was nice and dry and the traffic light. No dramas, but I opted to stick to SH2 to avoid any surprises. The sun finally emerged again just before Featherson and just in time to offer a good dose of sun-strike on the hill! It wasn't too bad for me since I ride with the visor up but the traffic was surprisingly heavy and many of the drivers appeared to be struggling as they rounded corners and copped the sun full on. As usual, I wasn't prepared to sit in the traffic and filtered my way along and, considering the traffic, it was quite a pleasant run over the hill and I only lost a few minutes on the GPS ETA. I eventually made it home at 1608, averaging 85kph from Himatangi. I had done 390Km for the day...which was a bit better than 200Km and ended up with an average of 18.1Km/Ltr. The bike now has 45,752Km on it.
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What a dry patch! My last blog and therefore my last ride was the TT2000 at the end of Feb. Not to say that the bike has been sitting in the garage all that time as there has been a bit of round-town stuff and of course there was the Capital Coast Conehead sessions on Wednesday nights through to Daylight savings. That was great fun, especially when Andrew would bring the GN125 along for us to practice for the Grand Ginny Challenge (Gymkhana event aimed to sort the men from the girls by placing us all on the same toothy machine). That was supposed to happen after the Wgtn Free Ambulance charity ride on ANZAC Day, but alas and alack, the weather put paid to that and we are still waiting. (There's a few recordings of our exploits here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/capitalcoastconeheads/ ) Anyway, at the end of the day, I managed to do a whole 1,000Km over March and April!! Between the pressures of work and the need to paint my roof.....and the crap weather, I've had no club rides, no trips, no good fangs.....until yesterday. I was talking to Ken on Friday and mentioned that I was intending to go for a ride when he suggested that I turn up to Palmy at 1000 with my camera because they were presenting the winner of the Ulysses Club annual motorcycle raffle with his chosen prize,...a brand spanking new ST1300. Well, that was good enough for me, so after coming home from Whitby's restaurant in the James Cook Hotel on Friday night (I might note that I was crammed full of tucker and really just wanted to put my feet up), I checked and pumped the tyres, packed the wets and other bits and bobs, checking the camera and GoPro were charged etc. The online Rain Forecast for the weekend was generally OK, but that's not what I awoke to at about 0700 and the late rise didn't leave me time for a spin through the Wai'rapa. Not a problem though as that was on the programme for later, so I scrubbed, got on the bike, scooted for fuel in J'ville and finally got on the road at 0759. Because I was expecting the conditions to improve and because my cordura gear is relatively new and because I'm riding an ST and the drizzly weather wasn't too bad, I didn't bother to put the wets on and that worked out OK, even though the weather didn't clear until Shannon. It was an uneventful ride with just enough traffic to be a nuisance and when the temp persisted to hover around 12° I did employ the heated grips for a bit of cosiness, arriving at City Honda at 0929. That was 1:30:24 from Z J'ville for the 134 Km at an average of 89kph...but who's counting....and it was SH1 riding. Jim & Colleen were already there and Ken & Shirley turned up soon after, bleating about torrential rain all the way, so I'm not sure which way they came, but after chatting for a bit, we were soon in the business of seeing one very happy chappy receive the keys to his new beasty. I did comment to Jim though that it would really be great to win a new bike worth $26K so he'll only have to spend $4K-$5K to get it right (Top-Box, scuff stuff, and so on and so forth). Nothing like a farkle or three to blow some dosh. Pix taken and from there it was down to a cafe for more socialising with the Manawatu Branch members until finally getting back on the road for home at 1132. The weather in Palmy was clear but it didn't look great over the Tararuas and I didn't have a plan apart from Track and Rimutakas. I did need to be a bit selective though because although I've had a new Pilot Road 4 GT sitting in the shop for most of the last month, I'm still eking out the Km's on the squared off Z8 with only 8,000Km on the rear, so I wasn't keen to be scooting over damp roads. That's what I got over the track but once I got off the hill and close to SH2, the roads were drier and the temp started to rise and the plan to do the Mauriceville road and Water Towers was cemented. Anyway, at the end of the day, I managed to do a whole 1,000Km over March and April!! Between the pressures of work and the need to paint my roof.....and the crap weather, I've had no club rides, no trips, no good fangs.....until yesterday. I was talking to Ken on Friday and mentioned that I was intending to go for a ride when he suggested that I turn up to Palmy at 1000 with my camera because they were presenting the winner of the Ulysses Club annual motorcycle raffle with his chosen prize,...a brand spanking new ST1300. Well, that was good enough for me, so after coming home from Whitby's restaurant in the James Cook Hotel on Friday night (I might note that I was crammed full of tucker and really just wanted to put my feet up), I checked and pumped the tyres, packed the wets and other bits and bobs, checking the camera and GoPro were charged etc. The online Rain Forecast for the weekend was generally OK, but that's not what I awoke to at about 0700 and the late rise didn't leave me time for a spin through the Wai'rapa. Not a problem though as that was on the programme for later, so I scrubbed, got on the bike, scooted for fuel in J'ville and finally got on the road at 0759. Because I was expecting the conditions to improve and because my cordura gear is relatively new and because I'm riding an ST and the drizzly weather wasn't too bad, I didn't bother to put the wets on and that worked out OK, even though the weather didn't clear until Shannon. It was an uneventful ride with just enough traffic to be a nuisance and when the temp persisted to hover around 12° I did employ the heated grips for a bit of cosiness, arriving at City Honda at 0929. That was 1:30:24 from Z J'ville for the 134 Km at an average of 89kph...but who's counting....and it was SH1 riding. Jim & Colleen were already there and Ken & Shirley turned up soon after, bleating about torrential rain all the way, so I'm not sure which way they came, but after chatting for a bit, we were soon in the business of seeing one very happy chappy receive the keys to his new beasty. I did comment to Jim though that it would really be great to win a new bike worth $26K so he'll only have to spend $4K-$5K to get it right (Top-Box, scuff stuff, and so on and so forth). Nothing like a farkle or three to blow some dosh. Pix taken and from there it was down to a cafe for more socialising with the Manawatu Branch members until finally getting back on the road for home at 1132. The weather in Palmy was clear but it didn't look great over the Tararuas and I didn't have a plan apart from Track and Rimutakas. I did need to be a bit selective though because although I've had a new Pilot Road 4 GT sitting in the shop for most of the last month, I'm still eking out the Km's on the squared off Z8 with only 8,000Km on the rear, so I wasn't keen to be scooting over damp roads. That's what I got over the track but once I got off the hill and close to SH2, the roads were drier and the temp started to rise and the plan to do the Mauriceville road and Water Towers was cemented. With the New Zealand endurance riding scene down to just two real rides, (The Chatto Creek 1,000 miler and the TT2000 – 2000Km in 48 hours) since I haven't sampled the CC, it's pretty easy for me to say I've just completed the best endurance ride on the NZ riding calendar!! That's not to say that it was the best ride I've been on and definitely not the best TT I've done, but as always with this type of riding, it was different, it was challenging, I rode a shitload of new roads for me, we got shone on, we got cooked, we got pissed on, we hit the verge of hypothermia, we got delayed, we pissed around, we pissed each other off, we had a good laugh, we looked after each other, we got lost, ….and we found ourselves!!!.....oh yes, and as I was riding lead pretty much all weekend, I had some wicked fangs!! As with all walks of life, endurance riders are a funny breed and there's no one 'type' of rider that does this stuff. In talking to other punters at the event, there were those that just wing-it and see what happens, those that do a moderate amount of planning, and then there's anal pricks like me that plan down to the minutest details and try to organise their ride to the minute...but we all get there in the end. Well, almost all! My ride started back in August when the TT website went live with the Checkpoints and I quickly came up with a raw concept, then sat on it until after the C1KC (Capital 1,000Km Cruise) was done and dusted. At that point I tweeked and refined the plan, identifying the accommodation stops, booking them and ferry sailings for my riding buddy Steve and myself, and registered for the ride. Then I spent many more hours drilling into MapSource and Google Maps removing any nasty gravel sections, estimating minimum and maximum ride times minimising time and maximising Km's, identifying CP's based on Points per Km and Points per Minute to then identify the best potential drops with cutoff times. By this time Steve and I had been joined by Woody and Ken, I prepared and printed CP booklets with spreadsheet printouts and we were on the plan to do 280Km Friday, 1200Km Saturday and 800+Km Sunday, collecting 44,200 points along the way. I must say that I felt this ride was going to be more challenging than the 2011 ride when I did gold with Jantar, completing 1550Km Saturday and 1350Km Sunday …. but I had planned well......but the best laid plans! As the countdown rolled into the last week I kept watch on the rain forecasts (which were all at odds with each other) and things weren't looking great, but I have new cordura pants and jacket, with all the other trusty gear and it wouldn't be too much of a problem. Then Friday rolled around, I was down at the Bluebridge but 0645, met up with others as they boarded shortly after me and we settled down for an extremely smooth crossing, arriving at Picton to have a sidewalk lunch in a balmy 26º, before checking into our cabin, settling in and killing time before kitting up to head over to Woodbourne, arriving at about 1615....by then the temp had cracked 31º. We mingled until 1745, got briefed, picked up our T-shirts (which I clipped by the shoulders on to the trouser hanger duct taped into the lid of my topbox), then hit the road for Onamalutu and Top Valley on the Northern side of the Wairau River before heading back through Renwick and to the Waihopai Dam and Netherwood on the South side. From there it was back to Picton, over to Oyster Bay, back through Picton, around to Momorangi Bay on Queen Charlotte Dve, then back to Picton for fuel, a beer then bed. When Steve and I do this type of riding we switch into GC-mode (Grand Challenge) whereby we dial up a steady pace around 110’ish kph, minimise stops and although we don't go fast as such, we don't slow down much either to ride as efficiently and economically as our pace will allow. By the 2nd stop, I figured we had problems because we were on a 'light' pace but Ken mentioned he was struggling with the glare and sunscreen in his eyes, plus the stops were way over the allotted 2 minutes. *sigh* ...she'll be right but! I hadn't been up the North side of the river or over to Oyster Bay since the mid 80's, I'd never been out to Waihopai and, having found the road was clean on the way out, I enjoyed a wicked fang on the return from Momorangi. I'd opted to do that CP on Friday night as the out and return added 28Km to the night, then the scoot around Spring Creek on Saturday morning added another 50Km to the tally for no extra time. We hit the sack at about midnight and arose at 0430 to get on the road before 0510. The weather on Saturday was supposed to close in so we bought the 0600 start forward to make up predicted lost time and elected to drop Elaine Bay to generate a time buffer and depending on how things went, we could pick up the points and Km's by adding in the faster Kohaihai CP if things went well....but the best laid plans!! We enjoyed an easy ride around to Canvastown, the Pelorus Bridge, then out to Penzance, which turned out to be a sweet one. Another new road for me, which claimed two TT'ers...and nearly claimed me! We pootled out there, took our pics then headed back but I had one of those brain fades...? or perhaps more correctly, a rush off blood to the head and I took off like a scolded cat, pushing towards my limits through the forest, then out onto the dairy flats. As I came onto the flats, three TT'ers were heading out and I was a little distracted as I waved....then just about shit myself! As soon as the 3rd biker shot past me, a bloody great dairy cow, or three, immediately strolled from a gate and across the road in front of me, about 50 metres ahead and from my right! Holy shit! I hit the picks with all the best linked ABS stopping power an ST has to offer, the front dipped and the dreamy front cow must have caught a glimpse of the lights as I closed to within 20 metres, rapidly transitioning from warp to impulse speed, but still on a perfectly timed collision course with no viable escape routes on offer. You could say I was toast, but with 15 metres to go the old girl swung her head away from me, jumped her front around to the right and tried to break into a stumbling run along the side of the road, although only managing two or three steps before I was past and out of danger. At that point I thanked my lucky stars, felt sorry for the poor prick that ended up with that adrenalin loaded, curdled syrup on their cornies and promptly started to analyse the situation. These cows were stragglers from a herd that were crossing (but controlled by the farmer) on our way out. I hadn't noticed any movement due to the other bikes, the soothing whine of an ST isn't exactly going to scare the bejeezers out of any beast and the cows timing was perfect.....and I guess it just wasn't my time!? I pulled up at the junction and started to don my wets for the anticipated and approaching weather ahead as I waited for the others. Pity about that because they decided to do the same, but we ended up not needing them and just wasted more time. In fact, we were losing time to a couple two-up on another ST! I settled back down and we pootled on to Peppin Island, Rabbit Island, then on to Upper Moutere on our way to our 1st fuel stop at Motueka. I still had half a tank but took the top up just to be sociable and not make Woody feel bad about riding his Kermidly Z1000, and by the time we pulled out it was 0940 and we had spent 20 minutes on our 10 minute fuel stop! Aww, she'll be right, I hear you say...we've got plenty of time since we dumped Elaine Bay! More delightful new roads for me as we scooted over to Marahau (actually, I really had a bloody great fang and had already taken my pic before the others got there), then pootled out to Riwaka Resurgence, (??), before embarking on the statutory rip roaring fang that is required whenever heading over the Takaka Hill! Or at least it was a rip snorter until hitting the Pea Souper fog just before the summit the most of the way down the other side. Another short wait then it was on more new roads to the Anatoki Salmon farm, through Takaka to Farewell Spit, back to a cemetery in the back of beyond at some place called Bainham, then back to Mot' for a snack and more fuel, …...but we only wasted 35 minutes on lunch and 17 minutes on the 10 minute fuel stop this time!....it's really good to have the best laid plans!!! We were into easy cruising now as we slipped back down the Mot' Valley to Orinoco, then on to St Arnaud. By this time we had been on the road for 11 hours, but had only managed 675Km (which should have been 750 if we had done Elaine Bay) .....and we had blown the hour and a half buffer that had given us! At this point Ken was starting to feel the effects and considering pulling the plug, so another quick modification was required. We had huge excesses of points so we decided to dump Lake Rotoroa, Seddonville and Tauranga Bay, then if we got to Greymouth early enough, we could take out the first three CP's for Sunday morning to create a bit more buffer there......but the best laid plans!!!! Our dithering and replanning only took 6 minutes on that 2 minute stop before we were scooting out to Kawatiri and on to Murchison where I thought it prudent to take an unscheduled 20 minute drink stop before pushing on to Hawks Crag, then more fuel at Westport, which only took 9 of the allocated 10 minutes, so we were obviously starting to crack on and make up time!! Then we only had a short scoot to pick up Denniston, Grand Canyon and Stockton Mine before getting onto the home straight......but the best laid plans!!!!! We were soon turning off at Waimangaroa and taking it easy up the hill to Denniston, I had Ken behind me but was quite focused on the road ahead, because the last time Steve & I had gone up there, there was loose crap all over the road, so I was taking care. I pulled up at the junction at the top to regroup, then Ken pulled up beside me and said, “I lost the other two right at the bottom and I tried flashing you, but you didn't see.” Bugger!! We waited 4 minutes, then I said, we're here now, we'll take our pic then go look. Sure enough, 1-2 Km up, Woody had managed to lose the back end on some loose crap in a tight left hander, the back spun out and it had gone down, breaking the clutch lever. By this time Steve was part way to jury rigging a repair with tie-wraps (or zip ties if you prefer), but the 2nd one couldn't handle the pressure and was slipping through the locking mechanism, so I grabbed a couple of mine, which were a little better, but not quite up to it. Throughout the time we were there, Woody was trying to make contact with some of his local compadres, but to no avail, and meantime, Steve had given the clutch situation more thought and figured that a bit of classic No8 wire might do the trick, so while he and Ken went in search of a scrap of wire around a fence or pylon, I went back to Waimangaroa in search of a coat hanger. I cruised back to the junction because I had noted some kind of garage there, but the prospects didn't look good, and although there were a few cars parked up at various houses, there was no sign of life and it was like riding through a ghost town, until I spotted two young chaps chatting in the front garden, so I pulled over and strode in. They looked a bit baffled to be receiving a visitor, but after a quick outline of the situation, they were soon shuffling through the garage, but with no luck, then into the house, soon returning with the wire coathanger that we were to be hanging our dreams on (not to mention our badges). I got back to discover that Steve & Ken had also been lucky enough to find an ideal length of wire by a pylon....but there was just no bending it, so the hanger was soon unraveled, pruned, shaped, slipped into place, twisted tight, tested......and voila, Woody was back in action, but I packed the rest of the wire.... just in case. Another scoot was made to the summit for more pics and we were back on the road to Grand Canyon and Stockton mine having only lost an hour and a half and lucky to be on the road again at all....it was 2015 but! …And getting on for dusk. More pics taken and as we started to head back through Westport, it was starting to drizzle and I had to pull over to sort out the visor as I couldn't see too well. The others kitted up with wets but I just put my winter weight Spidi gloves on and relied on the new DirRider jacket to do its thing. *sigh* We hit the road again at 2128 in the pitch blackness and within a few Km’s I knew this leg was going to be tough. The road was wet, the drizzle came and went and was just enough to be a nuisance, but occasionally it would be interspersed with a jolly good dump, I’m not the happiest of campers when having to pick clean lines through the proliferation of slick patches in the wet these days, and then there was Woody to think about with his jury-rigged clutch, so I didn’t want him to be having to use that more than necessary….and of course, by this time we were all starting to feel the effects of a long day. Well! The first thing I discovered was that my new jacket is actually a Not-So-DriRider Jacket!? It has zipped vents right up each sleeve, down the centre section on each side at the back and a couple of large sections that can tuck away on the front. It was described to me as, “Waterproof, plus it has a separate waterproof liner, plus the padded thermal liner.” And of course, I didn’t bring the thermal liner, but I did bring the waterproof liner….but I hadn’t put it in!! I figured the zips must have been really high tech jobbies to be waterproof, but of course the outer jacket is just shower proof. Fortunately though, ST riders don’t need a lot of protection because the bike takes most of the sting out of any weather, so on the really heavy downpours, I just managed to feel a few dribbles coming in around my shoulders…..and I could live with that until Punakaiki!? Punakaiki was a long time coming with a lot of effort and concentration required though. I generally struggled to achieve more than 80kph thanks to the dismal conditions and poor vision, which was a bit sad because I love that road, but we finally made it to the CP and I was able to take a marginal pic, then put my trusty Warehouse over-jacket and RainOff gloves on, so that fixed both the damp and thermal issues I was starting to have to deal with. We got back on the road and just to finish things off for the day, we had about 5Km of very gritty, loose new seal to contend with before Runanga, before finally getting to the Greymouth 24Hr Z at 1109, where we gassed up for the morning, then looked for a feed, which we had to settle for a pie at the Caltex down the road, made it to the Top 10 and by this time I was so shattered, I just collapsed onto the bunk. That was a bloody nuisance because I didn’t have the energy to download the data from the GPS and clean it out for the next day or download the video footage from the GoPro to free up space on the card, and charge the camera and remote batteries….so Sunday would be videoless. The other damn nuisance was that earlier in the day a casual chat had me setting the phone alarm for 0430, and we finally decided on 0530!!!....doh!! I ended up arising around 0500 in order to give myself plenty of time to repack my panniers and set up for the day. It had really pissed down during the night but was back to an intermittent drizzly, dismal day with the temp at about 16º (when it would finally become day), ….and a few more hours kip would have been very nice thank you. We finally got on the road at 0607 and within a few minutes, my trusty GPS was telling me that I had arrived at Boddytown…..but alas there was no Doc sign to photograph and I hadn’t noticed one over the preceding 200metres, so I went a little further up the road before turning back and was about to turn around again, when I noticed a ‘Town Sign’ stating Boddytown, and it was reflective so it made a much better camera target in the pitch black morn’. Pic taken and we shuffled along Marsden Rd to Rutherglen Rd, turned left for Dunganville and I was soon leading us astray!! Well to be absolutely correct, that dastardly rotten Mike Hyde (reknowned author of the Twisting Throttle series of books) was really to blame and my culpability was only in my knowledge that I knew he was a dastardly devil who couldn’t be trusted with GPS co-ordinates….but I obviously hadn’t checked thoroughly enough when comparing his GPS position on google maps and streetview. If we had been scooting along in the daylight, it wouldn’t have been a problem because one couldn’t miss the checkpoint that was really 5-6Km earlier than what my GPS said….and I might add, 5-6 gravelly Km’s!! Oh well, we only lost half an hour, or maybe a little bit more….but the best laid plans!!!!!! Anyway, speaking of losing time, with everyone kitted up in their wets (except me just riding with my Spidi Gloves again) I saw the writing on the wall, that my 2 minute CP photo stops were about to become very extended sociable affairs between Ken’s very chatty nature and Woody’s very particular, careful and precise actions and with not a lot of fat left in the barrel, I couldn’t afford to have that if I didn’t want an asterix beside my name. (that would indicate on the result sheet that we were overstayers, or overtimers, or something like that), so at Dungeon-ville, I said, “stay on your bikes, I’ll take the photos for all of us!” But when Woody relayed that message to Ken, when we got to Shantytown, he responded with, “Oh no, I’ll take my photos.” To which I think my eyes probably just rolled back into my head somewhere as I was probably thinking to myself, “Ooohhh F….F….S….s!!” as I was waiting, tapping some unmusical tune on my tank while he put his gloves, etc back on and wasted yet another minute of two… Hehehe… ! On-on and coming onto 0700 we were just getting back through Greymouth and onto Dobson, but the time gods hadn’t finished with me yet! As we were exiting town, the GPS was wanting me to keep left, but I knew where I was going and that I needed to stay right, take the 2nd exit from the roundabout and head along the south bank of the river….easy! Yeah right, I confused poor Kate, then she was telling me to go across the river…or somewhere to get back on track so I tentatively went onto the bridge, got a wee way out, paused, then hung a u-ee and scooted back to the desired track. Kate caught up and got back on track eventually and we only lost a few more of those very precious seconds. Dobson done, we crossed the river, did Blackball, then had a slightly extended stop at the Pike River memorial as we checked out all the effort that had gone into it before rolling on to Waiuta. This next stop was a hoot and one could only get this in the south island. We flicked off the main road onto a very narrow lane (which was still open and easy going), but then there was 6Km of hardpack gravel. Not a problem I thought when I planned the route, hardpack is easy, even on an ST. Yes well, it had been pissing down all night and the hardpack was some sort of greasy clay so very soon I was feeling the front going one way and the rear the other, so much care and restraint was needed, but we got there in the end. (The end was a hundred year old deserted mining settlement in the back of beyond). While there, I had to remove the pinlock from my visor because it was giving me all sorts of grief with fogging and getting water on the inside. From here on we were onto the Lewis Pass and flowy roads through Reefton to Italian Creek, back through Reefton to Blacks Point, then down to GAS Lewis Pass at Springs Juncton. Through this stretch the temp dropped to 6º, which after the 28-31 we had been enjoying on Friday, then 23-26 on Saturday, it was bloody cold. Prior to leaving in the morning, I had reluctantly put on a scivvy, plus I was wearing my wets, but I still had to squirm about in my jacket to try to brush off the cold. I wasn't wearing the RainOffs because of having to get on and off the bike and use the camera so they were wet and I had been using the heated grips...and cranked them up to 2nd, but as soon as we got to Springs Junction I had to throw on another scivvy and wets trousers before gassing up. We'd been humming and Hahing whether to keep or drop Hanmer and at this point, we'd lost a bit of time so I decided to drop it. The next sections were good though because soon after getting back on the road, the clouds cleared, the roads dried, the temp started to climb back into double figures and we were skipping along at a better pace. We collected Marble Hill and Glynn Wye first before a pause in Waiau, then over Leader Rd to SH1 and over the Hunderlees to Goose Bay, before returning over the Hunderlees and down to Cheviot for fuel and a snack. I had a ball through here because once again, being in the front, I caught a break through the traffic, then seemed to time it right each time I caught the next car or truck and just flew through to Goose Bay, getting my wets off....well almost all off, just as the others arrived. Lunch was quick and easy, then it was straight out to Gore Bay, coming back in at Dommet before heading on to Greta Valley for the out and return to Motunau Beach. At this point I knew we were getting tight for time so I announced to the others that I was bailing on the rest of the CP's (ie Scargill, Balcairn, Lyttleton, Charteris Bay and Charring Cross) to just focus on the 3000 points on offer at Port Levy. They agreed so we hit the road on our final mission....but the best laid plans!!!!!!! My plan was that Woody would need more gas before the finish, so while he (and the others) were topping up at Z Belfast, I would nip down the road to check-in at 219 On Johns so we could return whenever we wanted and wouldn't have to rush away after the finish. That would have been a good plan if anyone was in attendance at the office so I left empty handed! Then I hadn't really accounted for the roadworks and really slow traffic through Christchurch and on to Lyttleton, and figured we had time to take that CP because we were there. And most of all I hadn't accounted for the heavens to open up, initially with some spectacular forked lightning....right where we needed to crest over the hills between Charteris Bay and Port Levy!! That slowed me down somewhat and it was with great concern, reservations and trepidation that I continued ...putting life and limb on the line for the cause.....and the badge of course!! Steve & I got separated from Ken & Woody through the last bit, then I got down to the monument at Port Levy to find I was alone, then Ken & Woody showed up but no Steve??? We were on the ropes for time by now and couldn't wait so we shot back up the hill to find Steve waiting at the top with two other riders, so I told him to join them and we'd meet him back at Hamptons. Then as we climbed the hill for Charteris Bay, I paused to look back to ensure that Steve was with the other chaps climbing out of Port Levy, but I could only see two headlights, so I told Ken & Woody (who both had GPS's) to carry on and I'd wait for Steve to ensure he didn't get lost. Fortunately though, as they got a bit closer, I could see there were three bikes so I bolted….over a road awash with riverlets of water and more slick patches than you could shake a stick at! It was depressing to have to ride right past the Charteris Bay CP (twice) without picking it up and then I couldn't remember if it would be quicker to take Gebbies Pass or Dyers Pass, as it's been over 20 years since I lived in Christchurch and closer to 40 since this area was my playground.....so I foolishly opted for Dyers!? What a bugger because it might have been a close call but the traffic coming in was thick and slow. We made it in the end though, a smidgen late, a little worse for wear, a lot frustrated with some poor decision making on my part, and even more frustrating on my part for some poor planning because I was so knackered the night before that I hadn't even reviewed our position, I had no idea of what our points talley was or what we needed and as it turned out, if we hadn't gone for Port Levy, we would have been short! Well short!
Another thing I did wrong was that I had programmed the ride around the way Steve and I ride then took on two endurance-riding novices but didn't change the plan thinking that, “She'll be right, there's plenty of fat so we can drop this and this and that and still be OK!” But I got more depressed every time I had to let one slip away and in hindsight, I should have reprogrammed the ride to a bare basics with add-ons, because then it would have been OK to ride to the plan, or a boost to pick-up any extras. We made it though, dumped our photos, scoffed a sizzled sausage or two, mingled and traded lies with the other punters. Then slipped away for some pizza and a few reds...and a well deserved kip. Monday dawned another beautiful day where Ken was up and away early for a southern tour while the rest of us relaxed and slowly prepped to head north. At this point I found the Sunday GPS Tracklog had gone to archive in the unit….but didn’t quite make it!! (and that’s why I tend to clear the unit each day). Bother! We got away around 1100 on a cruisy ride, stopped for a casual lunch in Kaikoura, a nice cuppa in Picton then an easy cruise across the straits to get home at around 2300. Once back, I went to retrieve Saturday’s Video footage from my 500Gb portable drive, only to find it had crashed, wanted to be formatted and all the data on it was lost!! That’s alright though. Let’s face it, I had the best laid plans! It's been awhile since I blogged about my mate Jake and his sisters Eleni-Mei and Sienna. I guess that's because they live in Canada now, so they don't tend to 'swing past' the office anymore and it's a bit of haul and much organising required if we were to do the the baby-sitting thing...so bottom line, we haven't seen them for two years! However, two things transpired to bring the Chueys back to EnZed, their Uncle Joe got married this weekend and the Wellington 7's bought the Canada team (and their dad) over, so last week Ann and I got to spend some time with our mates again. Now two years is quite a spell so the lolly drawer has long been empty and I copped it from our other office dwellers when they found out I hadn't replenished the supplies for the impending visit and the kids had to be satisfied with chocolate biscuits. Personally I don't know what the others were on about because the little people didn't seem to mind, but anyway, feeling suitably chastised, I paid a visit across the road when Ann took our visitors to pick up dinner at Burger Kings. I grabbed a packet of kingsize snakes then went home on the bike with a plan! I put the bag in my jacket pocket and thought it was odd when I got home and noboddy thought it was odd that I sat down to dinner with my big thick bulky cordura jacket on??!! Good oh, all going to plan as we woofed down the burgers and chips and were about start on the soft freeze deserts when I steered the conversation in the direction I wanted it. KoroJ: What kind of pets do people have in Canada? Jake: Cats 'n dogs, the ususal! KoroJ: Ohh yeah. Do you have any? Jake: Nah! KoroJ: Oohh. What else do you have in Canada? Do you have snakes? Jake: Nah! KoroJ: Do y0u like snakes? Jake: Quick as a flash, “Yep” (already knew that 'cos he was part of the show and holding them on a Gold Coast trip). Eleni & Sienna: Nah! (disinterestedly and more focused on their deserts) KoroJ: Oh!....(reaching for his pocket)...that's a pity, I guess Jake and I will have to eat them all then! Jake: Eye's popping and huge grin emerges. Eleni & Sienna: Eye-popping-jaw-dropping attention grabbing surprize and disappointment as awareness of what just transpired dawns on them and results in scowls!! KoroJ: Oh well, (as he opens the packet), lucky it looks like there's a few spares! (as he smirks and looks relieived to be able to take off the jacket). Yess!! I haven't lost it!....and we've just had a great weekend in Nelson for Joe & Anna's wedding. On the biking front, it's a bit sad to be into Feb'ary and just getting the 1st blog out, but that's not to say I haven't been riding!....just not riding very far! Since Christmas, I've spent a fair bit of time prepping for the upcoming TT2000. We now have four riders in our group and I've now fine tuned the route, removing any gravel in favour of longer, faster roads to get the Km's up, refined our estimated travel times and selected potential Checkpoints to drop based on a points-per-Km as well as a points-per-minute basis....so we're all set to go there. The other thing that's been happening is that XP@ started a Facebook group called the Capital Coast Coneheads and we are now have regular Wednesday evening Slow Riding / Gymkhana sessions and another group called the NZ Distance Riders has formed to resurrect a North Island 1600Km ride...so I've been busy, but just not actually doing much riding! Another quicky done and dusted!
In terms of Forest Gump’s Mum’s Life’s-Like-a-Box-of-Chocolates Theory, I think this year’s box had more of those fudgy, truffly, cherry-ripey yukky ones rather than the Turkish-delighty, strawberry-creamy, chewy-chewy-caramelly Mmmmmm ones. For starters, it can’t have been a very good year because I’ve only managed to do 15-16,000Km ….pfft, how bad is that?! Both of Ann’s parents died this year so that’s been pretty tough, with Wattie going in late Feb, then Margaret checking out in late September.…and wet….it seems to have been a really wet year? I think there have been more Wgtn Uly Rides cancelled off this year than in the last 5 or 6 years combined? There was no Grand Challenge (again) thanks to some sort of meltdown within the Rustys, but life and riding goes on. I was lucky to be able to do the TT2000 because that was the weekend of Watties tangi, but thanks to MikeH allowing Trevor and myself to run a week later, we did slip it in and that was a nice wee pootle and what I thought was a rather tame route for the C1KC, when combined with magnificent weather, turned out to be a pearler. After much thought and to-ing and fro-ing I tried to sign up to the IAM thing, but they’re choking in Wellington so I’m on a waiting list until they get some Observers through. I did do a social ride with them though and as well as confirming to myself that my attitude pretty much sucks towards riding to the letter of the law and road-code, I was left with a few doubts about some of their practices, or perhaps more correctly, their rigid application of some of the IAM philosophies. Maybe it was just the bods on the ride though so I’m reserving judgement and I’ll see how I feel when my name eventually comes up. I did manage to get back into a bit Slow Riding / Police Rodeo / Gymkhana stuff this year and eventually, with prompting, nudging and dragging from James (XP@), we started having a fortnightly Wednesday practice session. I really enjoy this stuff but in trying to fix the bad habits, I feel like I’ve been going backwards. All good though. Warwick and I managed to clean-up at the Wgtn Uly Go Karting this year and that’s bloody good fun, then I managed to string a few strikes and spares together to win the 10 Pin event as well. I managed to get back into a bit of photo scanning, finishing off the old negatives…and then there’s been my foray into the realms of filming and editing video after buying a Go Pro. What a lark that is! As with most computer type stuff, it’s a huge time-sinkhole! James (XP@) gave me a heap of GC footage from the 2011 event so I had fun getting the hang of editing with that, but I’ve since purchased Power Director 12….but not had the time or inclination to really get into it more than just cut my videoed rides down enough to dump them on YouTube (without music). (I also had a couple of 2Tb Expansion Drives crash on me so I lost a lot of what I had done)! Hmmm…OK, I guess there may have been a few Hokey-Pokeys and maybe even a Barrel of Gooey Lime (which used to be my favourite chocolate back in the day) in the selection. We (12 of us) had a fantastic family holiday to Fiji in November, I’ve read a few Jack Reacher books lately, the low Km’s mean I’ve saved a shitload on petrol and tyres and servicings and I’m quite happy with the Z8’s I’ve been running. We’ve signed up for the next TT2000 and I just need to refine the route planning for that, get into some vid editing, do a bit more lead-lighting, plan the next C1KC (and perhaps a GC replacement)….maybe find time to do a little work and I might feel a bit more fulfilled this time next year??!! Today was a huge relief for me because over the last month or two, things have been pretty hectic both at work and on the motorcycling scene for me and today, after the running of the Wellington Ulysses Christmas Gymkhana, I'm freed up again. It was bloody great fun but the lead in has been a bit rushed because first I had to get the C1KC, then two MDA rides out of the way so this week, I had to do the prep work of sorting the plan for the course layout, then practice the setup for one of the courses as I hadn't done it before. Lucky I did because it took the best part of an hour the first time (by myself) so I gave it a bit of thought, then met up with Steve yesterday to convert it from a triangulation measure to a square measure and we got it down to 15-20 minutes. Today several of us turned up at the Riverbank Carpark around 0800, completing the setup around 10'ish, had a quick walk through, then AndrewT took the rest of the punters through while the ones who had done the Slow Ride training demo'd. Then we got into it. We started doing the competition course at about 1130, then started packing up to go to the Petone Working Mens Club for lunch after midday. As I mentioned earlier, it was bloody great fun, both having a go and watching the others. I'd like to get a bit more consistent and start nailing some of the courses but the ST is a big beast and I have to be content with how I'm doing compared to the guys on the 250-650 trail bikes with there insy-winsy-teeny-weeny turning circles...particularly John Medlin. We tried all sorts to beat him, starting with how his keys disappeared for a bit, then he didn't realise until we started that there were three components to the course and not just one, so he was so busy trying to figure out the route, I wanted him to be disqualified for not being in the start on time. Then when he did start, he got confused an blew it, but he nailed the 2nd run....dammit!! Of course, I still believe that was technically his 3rd run and therefore shouldn't have counted!!?? Next time John Medlin!! Many thanks to Andrew Templeton for his time and guidance to the branch for this stuff and his assistance in preparing today. Another year almost over and we've just completed another Muscular Dystrophy Ride, whereby we take Christmas gifts to children in the central and lower North Island. This year we had a bit of a change and the week before the main MDA Ride, we took presents to MD children in Wellington on the way to our Cancer Kids Ride (which involves turning up to the Cancer Kids Christmas Party and taking them for rides)...so the last two weekends have been a lot of fun and quite fulfilling. We have never included these kiddies in the past as we were under the impression that they had a Wgtn Christmas party and gifts but it would seem, not so. After a bit of work to tweek the children's profiles, adding a couple of new ones to the list, then making a few minor amendments to the route plan, we were ready to go and this year, Ann was coming again. The only other items we had to attend to was getting a new Z8 fitted to the front of the bike and buying a couple of new slimline sleeping bags. Friday morning finally rolled around and we made our way to Brown Owl to start our adventure. We were packed to the gunnels (including 2.5Kgs of lollies), GPS was programmed, GoPro charged up and fitted, Camera packed and my Pix-E cape ironed and at the ready. We trailed out and puttered over the hill, then slipped to the front at the Featherston regroup to lead to the first stop at a new addition's place on the main road in Carterton. It was lovely to see the family support here with grandparents and parents in attendance along with older sisters home from school. We trailed the pack to the next stop, which was Douglas Park School in Masterton and on the way here it became apparent that none of my mateys had read the ride instructions because as I pulled around the corner onto Ngamutawa Rd......hello.....there was nobody home where we should have been regrouping to dress-up and arrive as a unit!!.....*sigh*. Oh well, just to make things worse, we got to the school to find they weren't expecting us!!?? Hmmm...not a problem though, they whistled the kids out of class, we dipped deeply into our supplies of lollies and were soon in the giving groove. Next stop Pahiatua and Ann & I led on again, then paused to mark the corner at the red pub...only to watch the riders continue down the road to the school instead of regrouping at the pub! ...*double sigh*...what did I expect?! I got Steve to take over at the corner so I could go fetch the others before the kids started coming out of class before we all got there. We eventually all assembled at the pub then made our way to what seemed like a deserted school, although a quick check revealed not so....we weren't expected and most of the school were down the road at a big sports day! *triple sigh*....Oh well, there were some kids there so we treated them to lashings of lollies, then scooted down to the park to see the girls and give them their presents From here we made a decision to deviate from the programme which had us stopping for lunch in Woodville, but instead we decided to go to the Purple Haze Cafe in Mangatainoka. This sounded like a good idea but I'm not sure if 20 bikers turning up out of the blue, made their day or ruined it. They were certainly stressing somewhat as they started taking orders and saw the queue! By this time we had done our deliveries though so we weren't in any rush and all was good. This stop also meant that we didn't need to go via Woodville so a quick tweek of the GPS and I re-routed us around the back roads, across the river and out to Oringi via Jacksons Rd. From there we paused for some to gas up in Dannevirke, then Steve led out, diverting us through Ormandville and Takapau....because we could....then on to the next refreshment and regroup at the Tikokino Pub, before finishing the day with the scoot over SH50 and to the marae in Taradale. Well we didn't quite finish the day with that, just the riding part, because we still had to do the Powhiri thing, then go for a bbq and give presents to the local MD kids. Saturday started with a good feed, pack-up, I gassed the bike and added some pressure to the tyres, we had a group photo, then left for Taupo. Ann & I settled at the rear through to Tarawera, then led away through to Z Tauhara at the bypass and on to our first delivery of the day at Oruanui. From there it was across to the Western Lake road and down to Kuratau through drizzle, but it got a bit heavy so a couple of us paused to put the wets on. The word I passed around at Jac's place was, “Stop'nGo Regroup at BP Taumaranui, on to the delivery, then back for lunch and fuel!” Yes well, even this was just a repeat of the instructions in the booklet, but we arrived at the BP to find most of the bikes lined up at the pumps.... “FFS!!!! What part of stop 'n go don't those guys understand?!” *Quadruple sigh* …. after our stop-extended pause-go regroup we did the delivery which was the saddest of the weekend because one of the boys had progressed to being confined to a mobile bed. MD is just so Bloody sad! As we were about to leave there, the last three riders turned up and seemed a bit miffed about something, but I just re-iterated the instructions given and that was that. They accepted that but did grumble that the instructions weren't fair on their geriatric bladders...ho-hum, I just rolled my eyes...then we returned to McDonalds for lunch. Then it was time for the fun part! A scoot up '4 to Ramaroa Rd, across to '3 via Aria, and over the Awakino Gorge to the pub. I had the GoPro set up for this section and even though the ST rear suspension felt really soft and wallowy, we had a blast. I'll mention here that I thought it was odd the suspension was so soft on this bike and even though I had the preload fully wound up, it kept bottoming out. After getting back, I dropped into Boyles when I was passing during the week to discuss it and when we were having a look at the bike, I noticed that there were all these lines along the preload stalk?? “'That's odd' I thought so I grabbed the dial and gave it a good twist....and bugger me, it moved!! Shit, it was just stuck and I've been riding around for the past year with it set on soft. We haven't done much two-up so it hadn't been much of a problem until now...but please!! There's just no helping some people!! After a 30 minute pause at the Awakino Pub, we finished the fang with a spirited burst over Mt Messenger and that was hard case because after a jolly good thump on the stops accompanied with a big scrape on the centre stand as we swept through a right hander near the top, I felt Ann edge back out rather than sticking with me as I threw the bike into the following left hander....'oh dear' I thought, 'I must have given her a scare and better ease back a tad.' We got through OK though and were soon regrouping and buying 'supplies' for the night in Urenui before going to the marae at Sentry Hill as a group. After being greeted, settled and fed at the marae, I found I was feeling rather shattered so retired early (even too tired to read) and didn't even find the snorers were a problem. Next morning dawned a great day but that didn't last and by the time we were ready to depart at 0830, I slipped into my wets. This sort of ride is no fun when you have to get fully kitted for the weather, but we had a job to do and just got on with it, with a couple of deliveries in Bell Block, one in New Plymouth, a couple more in/around Inglewood, then down by Normanby.
That last stop was cool as the wee chap had a wee bike of his own so when we were ready to leave, his dad went down the road with the camera and filmed the boy leading us out. From here it was to a lunch stop in Hawera, but Ann & I took the opportunity to visit her parents gravesite in Patea, then rejoined the other at the regroup at Whanganui Gull, then on to the last stop of the weekend in Palmy. We had been pretty lucky to miss most of the rain all day but shortly after we arrived, the heavens opened and it pissed down. (I knew I shouldn't have taken the wets off). The weekend finished with an easy scoot back to Wellington and collapse in a heap on the couch. We arrived home at 1653 having done 1247Km and the bike now has 39,424Km on it. This ride continues to be one of my favourites, but it was great to have it done and dusted and now I'm already prepping for the Christmas Slow Ride and luncheon. Another bloody marvelous day.....Bloody Marvelous!! Prep for this year's C1KC started straight after last year's one, when, although I had a couple of potential routes, I was doodling on MapSource (as you do) to see just how far we could get from Wellington, ...without doing an out and return, ...and still be a reasonably interesting route to ride. I was hoping to touch Tauranga but had to settle for Rotorua-Putaruru, so I ran the options past my old Wgtn Uly Ride Committee buddies, we settled on the two potential options and forgot about it. In mid August I pulled the stuff out again, revisited the route options, this time including STJim from Hamilton, settled on the Rotorua option with a Northern start at Putaruru, emailed a heads-up to all the previously registered 1000Km Cruisers, started threads on KB & the Uly forums...had three entries within 24 hours, about a dozen within a week and ended up with 64, comprising of 35 bikes out of Wellington, 9 (2 with pillions) from Masterton, 2 from Wanganui & 6 from Palmy (all joining the Wellington start but finishing at home) and 10 starting from Putararu and riding in the reverse direction. (for those that can't help themselves on the math thing...yes that adds up to 61 bikes, but for 1,000Km, the pillions probably have to be harder arses than the riders and therefore are recognised with equal status, earning certificates and badges). Organising this ride doesn't seem to take a lot of effort as it's pretty much regurgitate the same old stuff, but leading up to the ride I probably did spend the best part of a couple of days, getting the Ride Instructions done, tweeking the briefing, compiling pictures of the CP's (all of which are emailed to the Registered Riders a week before the event), then a day or so before, printing all the certificates and packaging them with the badges and year bars in pre-loved C4 envelopes. Then finally the day before the ride, emailing out start lists for Masterton and Putaruru, printing a list for Ann (in Wgtn) and myself, drawing the prizes (this year, compliments of Boyle Kawasaki in Wgtn), packing up the car and bike....and that's it....except I couldn't find the finisher list for Putaruru and my list so needed to print them again in the morning!! Alarm went off at 0500 Saturday and we were up and at 'em and out the door at 0540....but as it is with computers, mine didn't want to know me so I didn't get to Caltex Rimutaka until 0620 and was surprized to see a big crowd of bikes all 'taped-up' (we issue yellow & black tape to tie on the back of the bikes to easily identfy each other on the road) and ready to go. So a bit of a blur gassing up, taping up, fitting GPS and Go-Pro, meeting some of the riders ...and it was really great to see Mike, who has done all 6 previous C1KC's but could ride this year due to health reasons, but still came over from the Kapiti Coast to see us off. As usual, I waited until the last rider had left and we had checked that a missing starter wasn't coming (3 non-starters this year...thanks for the donations anyway) before I set off at 0658, into the gloomy mist surrounding the Rimutakas and, as usual for this ride, I had no set plan...apart from ensuring there are no stragglers, and/or everyone is teamed up and making progress. So, my casual start had my average at 93kph by the bottom of the hill, dropping to 86 by the summit, where I had caught Gav, bottoming out at 71 before the bridge and back to 73 in Featherston. Then I stuck behind Gav until just before the turnoff for the Track. By this time the average was up to 87kph, I knew Gav has done Mega miles solo on his Interstate, so he was OK solo.....and I was feeling a little frisky!! The Track was OK, but it is a road I treat with the utmost respect because one is never quite sure what the surface is going to be like, and on this occasion it was OK...not great but I made good time and caught up with Hitcher and Jane on the decent and in to the first CP, a photo of the bike at Aokautere School. I waited a couple of minutes for Gav to arrive in which time I came up with a short term plan, I would try to catch up to Hitcher and Jane by the Kimbolton CP, then film them though some of the curly parts of Rangwahia Rd....yes well....the best laid plans. (Little did I know they were pausing in Feilding). So I rolled into Kimbolton, surprized to see no Bandit & Z1000, but instead 2 cruisers, an old CBR and a Beemer and thinking, 'hmmm, that's a crisper pace and stop than I expected from the Hitchers?', so taking little more than a minute, I was on my way again. At this point, it was 0914, I was 198Km into the ride and the total average was back to 86 with the stops. I still figured I'd catch the Hitchers and/or enjoy a briskish ride over a nice road!!....and I did! (not the Hitchers, but the nice ride over the nice road) Around Ruahine I spotted a couple of bikes ahead and thought I had caught my prey....but it just turned out to be Menie & Yod!! Oh well, I filmed them anyway, passed some of the Northern starters, caught Bandit Rider waiting at SH1 and I slotted behind them through Taihape, Waiouru and over the Desert Rd. By the this time, the weather was brilliant blue skies with the magnificent vista of Ruapehu and Ngarahoe, so prior to Waiouru, I flicked the Go-Pro on to catch a 10 sec burst of the scene....but dumbarse that I am, I turned off the Remote, but failed to stop the camera, so 30+ minutes later, when I decided to catch another short burst....yes well....I now have 30 minutes of boring straight SH1, albeit on an incredible day and with menies arse in front of me all the way....but, it did mean that I ended up with evidence of the Popo delaying a pretty red cruiser with yellow tape tied to it's rear! More footage scored through the curly sections and more stunning vista as we crested to view Lake Taupo, then I pulled out of the group to fuel in Turangi. Normally I would make it to Rotorua on a tank, but my 'fresh' pace wasn't very friendly for my economy and with the Taupo bypass meaning I would have to divert to Wairakei, and with the knowledge I could still get to Raetihi from here, I opted to fill up...and I desperately needed a 'natural break'. By this time (1048), I was 355Km into the ride and the Palmy boys had dragged my total average back to 93kph...so a new plan formed!! I kicked into GC mode and decided to 'crack on' and 8 minutes later, fueled, watered and snacked I got back on the road. Now enjoying a 'spirited pace' I embarked on the pleasant ride around Lake Taupo....bloody nice road and bloody spectacular to be riding along the banks of the lake in 21°, virtually no wind, brilliant clear skies and very little traffic (so a bit more footage) and I was soon taking the turn-off for Reparoa. I opted for the deviation because I felt safer to push the boundaries of the allowable limits through here...and I hadn't done it since 2007, so I was soon (1213hrs) stopping at the Skyline centre in Rotorua for CP photo #3, total average back up to 92kph, 487Km done, and most importantly, my eta back in Wellington had dropped from 1900 to 1630'ish. I pulled into the stop to find Biggo and his two mates on 109's there and 2 minutes later I eased into the traffic a little behind them, however I passed them as they appeared to be checking the route instructions at the turnoff in Ngongataha, so they slotted in behind me, naturally thinking, 'this is the man to follow, he'll know the route off by heart'! That was quite a reasonable assumption on their part, however, I had to deliver the certs & badges to the Okoroire Pub for the northern starters!...Oh dear, I didn't want to lead these guys astray (an extra 10Km or so) and fortunately we had to stop for a lollipop man at some roadworks so I tried to portray the message to Biggo. Fortunately they continued on the right track and I arrived at Okoroire at 1242, 531Km done and just over half way. I handed the package over the bar, relieved myself (again), snacked, swilled, kit back on and off again…only losing 7 minutes, but enough to drop the average from 92 to 90 kph. Nice wee roads around here and I was soon back on track, passing a couple of Masterton riders out of Putaruru and taking a pic of the Puketurua Hall. 1308hrs, 558Km done and average at 90kph....and a minute and half later I was enjoying Old Taupo Rd....and that's what the CP at the hall was for, to ensure riders had to take this road rather than just scoot down SH1. Now the fun began, the fast lightly patrolled roads down to Whakamaru and around the western lake. I passed a few more riders gassing at Whakamaru, then caught back up to Biggo and the 2 cruisers with a Bandit in tow about half way down the lake. I seemed to be doing a similar speed to them, catching up by increments through any curly bits, finally latching onto their tail about 20Km from Kuratau. It was quite nice to be into a group and I was more than happy to slot on the back, but as ever, I was thinking of the road ahead and figured, 'Nah, I want an unencumbered crack at the 2 saddles between Kuratau and Tokaanu on SH41 and the lovely Te Ponanga Saddle on SH47, so when we reached a couple of long straight sections, I took the opportunity to cruise past the Bandit and one of the 109's, then passed the other 109 and Biggo coming out of the junction. *Sigh*....bike heaven!!....SH41 and next to no traffic on a magnificent day! After a jolly good fang, I settled back down to business and cruised through to Raetihi, arriving at 1537, 776Km done, and a total average of 95kph, with the eta down to 1810. I was half-pai expecting to possibly meet northen starters here, but 10 minutes later, fueled, relieved, watered, snacked and Go-Pro lens de-bugged, I was back on my way.....Mmmmm......the Paras!! And what a Para's!! More bloody great brilliant riding!! I was now aiming to get the ETA down to 1800 for an 11 hour ride, but it was really strange, for some reason, my GPS only graced me with 2minutes!!?? Hell, I wasn't caning it, but I was going 'comfortable quick' with easy acceleration and minimal braking, a bit of chop to 4th for 65-75 corners and 3rd for tighter ones. I will admit that the economy was under 15Km/Ltr through here and I did average 105kph...but please!!...two miserable bloody minutes!! It just isn't fair! FFS...90Km at 100kph is 54 minutes and 90Km at 105kph is 51.4 minutes.....ooooh shit.....I wasn't going fast enough!! Oh well, I was back to reality now, or at least, I was after bypassing Wanganui via Kaimatira Rd and Fordell and it was steady-as-she-goes, boring, crap riding down a horrid, boring, straight, SH1 chock full of traffic. This would bugger my ETA you say, but not so!....Just as my Garmin 660 seems to know intuitively what speed I tend to do down the Paras, it also seems to know that I tend not to linger in traffic down SH1, so at 1608 I was pulling into the Parrot 'n Jigger with a slightly uncomfortable butt and bloody relieved grin on my face....then I guess that turned to a quizzical expression because there were no other bikes there!! I walked into the bar to see Ann, all set up and reading her Kindle. She looked up, her mouth dropped, and she said, “What are you doing here?....Johnny, you've been speeding! You left last!” What could I say? Rapidly racking brain for answers...'No, I didn't have to stop much...Bloody big tanked ST's', nah...'Where are the others?...they must have been going slow', nah...oh dear, I just looked a bit sheepish and stunned mulletish and said, “I don't know, why aren't they here yet?” Hehehe....Bloody GC Mode, does it all the time. It's not about speed, just minimal stops and constant grazing! ….and pushing the allowable limits!.....but just a little bit! What a ride! I had concerns at the start that the route included a bit too much State Highway riding, but it was fine. It was relatively open and therefore quick for any uninitiated endurance riders but it contained enough curves for experienced rider to still enjoy it. As always, (so far) we managed to throw in a few roads that many have never ventured on and it was wonderful to hear feedback from experienced Rusty Riders that they enjoyed the ride and route. (That's a bit of a problem too because I do have a few unused routes, but I'm running out) about half the Wellington starters were in by 1930 and the last, but two got in at 2145. The other two had phoned in to advise they would be late and would email there pix in. I managed to do 1051Km (with the wee excursion to Okoroire) in 11hrs 10min, being 10hr 40 min moving time for a moving average of 99kph and 30minutes stopped time for a total average of 87kph. I took 72 minutes of video footage and that's going to be bugger to edit, but there should be some good stuff in there and,...as I said at the start, I had a bloody marvelous time. I didn't feel totally comfortable at times and put that down to a lack of ride fitness for 'endurance type' riding....so I guess I need to do more Km's!! Many thanks to: the 60 other souls that embarked on the ride with me Jim Galt for handling the Putaruru Start & David Coy the Okoroire finish Glen Morgan for handling the Masterton start Ann, Ron Meiklen & Steve Klaui for controlling the masses at the Wellington start and Ann for being there at the finish. Boyle Kawasaki for the spot prizes (and my boss at Affiliated Insurance Brokers for the certs and my time) The feedback has been great, I hope the rest of you enjoyed it as much as I did!...oh yes...and we should have raised about $700 to buy Christmas presents for kiddies with Muscular Dystrophy. (That ride's on the 6-8 December and will be another blog). Since my last blog I've done a few rides but I've been as slack as Gremlin at not getting anything written up!!....again. Last Sunday I went for a ride with some of the local IAM group....so I had to behave myself!? Unfortunately I needed a decent ride, but it was a bit short and I couldn't be bothered going for a bit of fang after the lunch stop, so I just slotted in with the group and came back over the hill. It was pretty windy, which wasn't much of a problem going north over the hill, but we copped a few good puffs going along the Western Lake and I caught a couple of beauties on the way back over the hill. The worst place is where all the work was done on the Wellington side at the summit and sure enough, I felt the gust coming on, decided to try to blast through it, but wasn't quite set and ended up bailing on the corner as I got swept onto the yellow lines....yuk! Saturday I did the ACC Ride Forever course with the Bald Bikers. That was the 1st formal training I've done in 4 years so it was quite good to reassure myself that I hadn't picked up any more bad habits in that time...not to say that I've lost any of the old ones. It was quite a full day and worth the effort.
Sunday was a Uly ride to Waipuk' and unfortunately it clashed with the Pink Ribbon Ride, but the programme was done 6 months ago and I needed the conditioning for next month's C1KC (1,000Km Ride). We ended up with a dozen riders and I set the GoPro up on the front of the bike before we left Brown Owl, with the intention following one or two of the riders over the hill. I had the remote unit in the glovebox and pulled it out as we passed Kaitoke, only to witness my glove liners get whipped out of the box, across the dash and out the left side. I went back for a quick look but alas, that's the last I've seen of them. Consequently I didn't shoot any footage over the hill, but once we'd gone out through Martinborough, I filmed through the tablelands. (A quick scan revealed it needs stabilising and I'm just trialling Premiere Elements, so can't deal with it just yet). We paused for fuel in Masterton, where I shifted the GoPro to the back of the right pannier, then we went out via Te Ore Ore, to Pongoroa, on to Wimbledon, Porangahau and Waipuk'. I haven't been over Route 52 for a year or two and I'd have to say, it's in a very good condition at the moment, with little grit or crap and apart from a herd being moved, I saw no loose sheep or other critters. There were a few spots of subsidence but East Cape is probably worse, the weather was great, the pace was a little sedate, but all in all it was a bloody treat. We got to Waipuk' at 1430, had a snack and made our way back by various routes. I wanted to come straight back via SH2 and by now, the wind had really got up and the weather was starting to close in and look a bit dirty to the south and west. My economy was sitting on 18.5Km/Ltr at this point and since I wanted to preserve it to get back without refuelling, but I was punching into a stiff breeze so I just slotted in behind cars that were getting along at a good clip. Even then, I was still often down at 15.5 - 16Km/Ltr. There wasn't too much traffic though so I made good time and once I was past Mt Bruce, the wind had eased somewhat and the skies looked clearer. It would have been a fine line to make it home on the fuel so I elected to stop in Featherston to fill before taking on the hill. I was back into the eye of a very stiff breeze at this point so opted to drop a gear and tended to use a fair bit of brake as I enjoyed the fang over the hill, braking late into the corners and always ready to power out and even though I was ready for the vicious blast at the top, it still blew the ST around a bit. I got home just after 1800 and had a marginally sore butt....so I guess I achieved what I set out to do and get a bit of conditioning by doing 587Km for the day at a moving average of 81kph. |
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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