At around 9, Mark, Brian and I made our way out to the ride start at Himatangi. Once there we signed on and got our badges and by the time we got back to the bikes we'd been joined by Meanie, Monie and Cowboyz.
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| Himatangi |
The ride finally hit the road at around 10:15 and 3-400 bikes starting making their way to the East Coast. We started with a short boring stint up SH1 to Sanson and then turned off to ride through Fielding and across to Ashhurst. Riding along Ashhurst Road I managed to be quick enough to get the GoPro running to catch the Rescue Helicopter filming the long line of bikes.
In Ashhurst we pulled out of the line to fuel up. This avoided the mad rush for gas at Woodville and meant we wouldn't need any more fuel for the rest of the day. When we hit Woodville we ran into the tail end of the run as they were making their way into town for the lunch stop.
After grabbing our lunch we caught up with Pete and Dan who had decided to join us for the run over to the Coast. As this was Dan's first ride on these slightly dodgy roads we decided to leave well before the bunch and take our time. Here's me trying to catch the mighty Keeway in the Makuri Gorge.
I just manage to catch him and then lead the guys up over the hill:
Eventually we hit Route 52 in Pongaroa and after a short squirt we turned off onto River Road to take us into Akitio and the ride end.
As we were amongst the first to the beach we had plenty of time for a drink and something to eat as we watched the rest of the bikes roll in. Once again we didn't want to be riding in the big group so left early before the prize giving and headed for Danniverke.
Along the way we had a bit of drizzle and some wet, slippery roads to deal with but by the time we were on the Weber road we were in the dry once more. Here three of us got away a little and after parking up in Danniverke were surprised to see the other two turn up riding each other's bikes. I'm pretty sure Dan found the GSX-R1100 a little different to the Super Shadow...
Now all we had to do was get home and while Dan and Pete took the main road, Brian, Mark and I just had to take in a few more back roads and the Saddle to make the ride more interesting.
In Ashhurst we pulled out of the line to fuel up. This avoided the mad rush for gas at Woodville and meant we wouldn't need any more fuel for the rest of the day. When we hit Woodville we ran into the tail end of the run as they were making their way into town for the lunch stop.
After grabbing our lunch we caught up with Pete and Dan who had decided to join us for the run over to the Coast. As this was Dan's first ride on these slightly dodgy roads we decided to leave well before the bunch and take our time. Here's me trying to catch the mighty Keeway in the Makuri Gorge.
I just manage to catch him and then lead the guys up over the hill:
Eventually we hit Route 52 in Pongaroa and after a short squirt we turned off onto River Road to take us into Akitio and the ride end.
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| Pete |
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| Fastest Keeway in the West |
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| Akitio |
Along the way we had a bit of drizzle and some wet, slippery roads to deal with but by the time we were on the Weber road we were in the dry once more. Here three of us got away a little and after parking up in Danniverke were surprised to see the other two turn up riding each other's bikes. I'm pretty sure Dan found the GSX-R1100 a little different to the Super Shadow...
Now all we had to do was get home and while Dan and Pete took the main road, Brian, Mark and I just had to take in a few more back roads and the Saddle to make the ride more interesting.
3-400 bikes, wow, huge group. Smart thinking breaking into a smaller group for the ride.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you had a great time and the weather cooperated. What was your total km for the day? it looks a fair ways on the map.
Long ride......like rides like this....
ReplyDelete