Anyway I was determined to get a ride in so rather than check out the tyre I loaded up the DL and finally got on my way. First up I pootled over to Feilding and then made my way to Mangaweka via the Rangiwahia Road. The road was in good nick, the sun was out and I was having a ball!
From Mangaweka I settled down a bit for the cruise up to Waiouru and a quick fuel stop. I also picked up some Subway to take with me for a picnic lunch on the side of the road somewhere. Now it was time for Fields Track - I'd decided that I wanted to ride through here and get the track on video so I could show off some of the great scenery as you drop down the valley (see video two) and the day was just perfect for it.
Here's a geeky taste of Fields Track courtesy of Google Maps:
And now for some proper video (decided not to add music over the wind noise and DL whine):
After crossing that little bridge you get into some really great riding as you carve up the hill and then finally drop down that magnificent valley until you hit SH4 at the bottom.
Along the way I'd realised that I was riding an adventure bike and that meant that I had a few more options available to me for the ride home. I decided that it was time for me to tackle the Wanganui River Road - a road that I last did a long time ago on my RF900 (not exactly an awesome gravel muncher). But first it was time for that picnic lunch at the Ruakawa Falls.
 |
| Not a Connie |
 |
| Not much rain lately... |
Just after Pipriki I finally hit gravel as I continued to follow the river towards Wanganui. There are a few little settlements along the way but really not a lot of anything except for great scenery.
Eventually the gravel petered out and I was back on pretty good tar for the rest of the trip down river. It was actually good to be travelling a little faster as by now the day was fairly warm and so was I. There was still plenty to see and I ended up stopping quite a few times for photos of the great country (more pics here).
 |
| That'll be the river then... |
 |
| Hmmm, wonder where that goes... |
 |
| Perfect day! |
View 08-04-12 Fields Track and Wanganui River Road in a larger map
Andrew, I love these little back roads you are taking. They are great for 2 things.
ReplyDelete1. No traffic
2. You can go as fast as you want because of number 1.
I always look for roads like that around here where I can. They look surprisingly smooth or is that the effect from the Vstrom? Funny my mate geoff has the same model vstrom you have.
I love the 3rd video of the river road thats my type of winding road, its got everything you want fast short straights sharp blind bends great views, what else could a biker ask for although the dirt at the end isn't much good on an R1.
Looks like a great day mate.
A great day all right. I think the GoPro takes out a lot of the bumps - even the gravel roads don't appear as rough as they are. Fields track is pretty rough in places and the Wanganui River Road is not a lot better - still great rides though!
DeleteNow that is a great day of riding.
ReplyDeleteFlat tires are a great reason to have a back up bike.
The road surface in the Fields Track videos looked a little rough. How would the Connie have handled it? I know the suspension on my Gladius beats me up on roads like that.
Thanks for sharing the videos and pictures. It is always nice to see the great roads everyone has to ride.
Sunshine, little to no traffic and a picnic lunch....perfect.
Yeah, Fields Track is pretty rough. The Vee is probably the better bike for it but the Connie has done it a few times - the last time just as dawn was breaking on the Grand Challenge, chasing the bunnies off the road...
DeleteI love days like that.....nice mix of surfaces to keep it interesting..
ReplyDeleteAndrew:
ReplyDeleteyour roads appear narrow with no shoulders, plus all those blind corners and you are blazing along. It was great that you had virtually no traffic. It looked like a nice day for a ride
bob
Riding the Wet Coast // My Flickr