2024 NI800

Went for a nice wee ride in the weekend.  Read all about it here: https://banditrider.weebly.com/2024-ni800.html

Spot the upgrade

Muddy Mayhem in the Mangatuks: A Tale of Leaks, Losses, and Lucky Escapes

Well, it's been over a week since the ride so it must be time to write the blog...

But maybe I'll cheat again and try the AI thing:

(Title was the AI as well)

I headed down to Kapiti to join forces with Colin and Geoff for an off-road adventure in the rugged Mangatuks. My trusty Suzuki dirt bike, the "Yella Terra," was raring to go, and I was eager to put its capabilities to the test alongside the guys on their quads.

The day began with a bang – or rather, a leak. As we set off from the carpark, my camelbak's bladder decided to unleash its entire 2-liter contents down my back, soaking me to the bone before I'd even crossed a puddle. I looked like I'd taken an impromptu swim in the nearby stream. The guys couldn't help but chuckle at my misfortune.

As I waited for Colin and Geoff to catch up, I reached for my camera to capture their arrival. But, disaster struck again! My camera was MIA. Panic set in – had I lost it in the great outdoors? A sweep of my gear revealed nothing, and the guys hadn't seen it either. We pressed on, hoping it would turn up later.

We dove into the pine forest, navigating treacherous tracks filled with deep ruts and puddles. The quads handled the challenging terrain with ease, while I carefully picked my way through on the Yella Terra. The bike performed flawlessly, and I managed to stay upright – until I had to bypass a monstrous puddle via a narrow, tree-lined track. It was a heart-in-mouth moment, requiring precision and a steady hand to avoid plummeting down the steep bank or into the drink.

Meanwhile, Geoff had a spirited battle with the puddle, requiring multiple tow-outs and attempts to conquer it. Colin finally showed him the way, and after several valiant efforts, Geoff nailed it. His determination paid off, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

After surviving the tough stuff, we stopped at the Orange Hut for a well-deserved break. 

Colin bid us farewell, and Geoff took me on a scenic tour of the high points. We even tried to contact his ham radio buddies – but they were eerily silent. The views from the top were stunning, making the challenging ride well worth it.

As we rode, Geoff graciously let me sprint ahead, waiting at intersections to ensure I didn't get lost forever. Little did he know, I had a close call, slipping into a rut and almost becoming intimate with a bank. The Yella Terra and I remained upright, but some unfortunate undergrowth attached itself to my handlebars.

Later, we encountered a washed-out bridge, requiring a creek crossing and boulder-hopping extravaganza. The quad cruised through, and I carefully broke up the crossing into smaller stages to navigate the Yella Terra through the obstacles. A group of young riders on older bikes watched us cross, then gave it a go themselves. We never saw them again, so hopefully they made it out unscathed.

Back at the carpark, I breathed a sigh of relief – and found my camera safely stowed in the ute. I snapped my sole photo of the day – Geoff loading his quad onto the trailer. Not exactly the most thrilling action shot, but a beauty nonetheless.

The Yella Terra and I survived the Mangatuks, but my camelbak and camera had other plans. Time for a new chain and sprocket set – and perhaps a waterproof bladder.

Lesson learned: Always check your gear before heading into the wilderness, and never underestimate the entertainment value of a leaky camelbak.

Actually, that took nearly as much work as typing it and I got it to change a few things here and there.  Then I wasted more time trying to create some of the photos I would have taken...

The most accurate one?

And then these one's definitely captured my skill at tricky water crossings:

On a previous Sunday...

Yeah, I'm a little behind on my blogs again...

It was the Sunday before last and with the weather due to change again (after a stunning Saturday), I decided to squeak in a wee ride.  In fact, I needed one and when I left home on the T7 I was even considering a longer run (it was only 10am), regardless of weather - well, that was one idea.

My plans had me heading on down our usual route down to Eketahuna, see what the weather was doing and then maybe having an explore out East towards the coast.

But just as I hit the first stretch of gravel, the rain made its appearance.  And the gravel was reasonably fresh.  And I forgot that my sun visor was down.  The rain and sun visor issue made visibility a little tricky so the deeper than ideal gravel was a little more challenging and some sections had to be taken with a bit of caution.

In fact, some bits weren't fun, and the weather was looking even darker the further South I went.  You might say that my once eager enthusiasm was waning with the raining.  So, I bailed...

But not completely.  Instead of just hitting the main road back to Pahiatua and back over the track, I stuck close to the ranges (you know, where the rain is).  Heading back towards Mangamire on so called seal (not a stone in it) was actually worse than the gravel.  It was really wet and slippery and then the wind started up with a vicious crosswind blowing me all over the road.  I did get pushed across the road once - I was sure that the wind was inducing a sidewise slide and was a bit worried when I had to deal with a ute coming the other way on a skinny bridge.

I was pretty happy to get onto the gravel bit of Bridge Road and then Ridge Road Central.  In fact, things got a lot better with less wind and rain and the gravel was damn good too - finally getting to have the odd squirt and leave some marks on the road.

Popping out by the Pahiatua Powder Factory, I turned back onto some seal to head towards the gorge.  The normal Tararua Road short-cut was fabulous, followed by a more careful crossing of the track (slippery when wet) and a trundle home where the sun promptly made a short appearance before the rain began again in earnest.

Zero photos or video taken so you'll have to make do with a comparison of the clean T7 after the last ride and a very slightly grubbier one after this short pootle.

Special Stage 10

A couple of Saturdays ago, the Daybreaker Rally came through here and the cars got to sample some of my favourite "just up the road" gravel roads.  Add in some crappy weather and I was interested to see what sort of damage they'd done to the roads - would they just be nicely swept of gravel or just a series of massive ruts through knee deep mud?

Without actually looking at a map of the Rally, I decided just to head up one side of "The Valley" (Pohangina) and come back via the other.  It turns out that I nailed Special Stage 10 when I took Finnis Road (end of the special stage) and Ridge Road.  Here's the map of the rally.

I'm happy to say that the rally hadn't ruined Finnis Road (perhaps because it was downhill for them?) and I had an absolute blast charging up the hill.  There was grip where I needed it but also some slightly slipperier corners that allowed the  rear to slide around exiting corners under power - nice!

Hitting Ridge Road and it was pretty much more of the same except for where it wasn't...

There were some quite muddy and slippery bits where I had to pull my head in a bit to avoid the sort of off-road excursions that rally cars are prone to take (but sensible motorcyclists try to avoid) and also some bits where small, hard ruts had been formed.  The ruts were the trickiest as they were quite narrow and although they weren't deep it was easier to get a little upset if you slipped into one when peeling into a corner.

Nevertheless, it was a real hoot checking out the road and the mud and slipperiness was something you don't get every day.

Arriving in Apiti, I continued onto Kimbolton where I stopped for a sausage roll and to see if Ian and his mate Craig were around as Ian had mentioned that they were going to be in the area.  We kinda fluked making contact over Messenger 'cos that's something you're not usually looking at when ya are hanging onto the bars...

It turned out that they'd just stopped at a corner on Ridge Road.  I let them know that it was an "interesting" ride and then after a bit of back and fourth we agreed to meet in Apiti.

Thinking I had plenty of time (with them having 20+ km of Ridge Road to ride to get to Apiti, I meandered off up the road and grabbed a snap of the Kimbolton Fire Station for the AdvRider page before trundling off to Apiti to get that one as well.

In Apiti, I mooched around a bit and took in a few more photo stops before parking under a veranda as there was the odd spit around.

I hadn't been there long when I heard a couple of bikes coming into town from the Kimbolton direction.  Turning around I recognised Ian and his DR so I jumped back on the bike and raced off to catch them.

It turned out that they had taken one of the side roads off Ridge Road and hit the tar to get up to Apiti a bit sooner.  It also turned out that Craig had a new horse.

After a bit of a chat, we fired up the bikes and headed for Makoura.  I have to say the gravel section of Makoura Road was magic - really fast with plenty of grip.  And then it was onto Pohangina Road.

And that's all the video my useless GoPro took...

Pohangina Road was in a lot better condition than Ridge Road (no rally cars eh?) and while there was the odd slippery bit, a lot of metal had been laid over the sections that can get a bit slippery.  It was interesting being on some fairly clear, hard-packed stuff one minute and the next being into some deeper stuff that kept ya on your toes.

We had a quick stop in Pohangina where Ian pinched the Africa for the quick squirt back to my place fo a cold drink.

A pretty short little ride but neat to be out chasing the cars and nice to catch up with the chaps.  I even had time to wash the bike as apparently it was getting a bit grubby...

Oh, and this was some video of the cars on Ridge Road: