Quads, bikes and clay...

Recently, a certain KTM/BMW rider did the sensible thing and bought another Yamaha.  Trouble is, it somehow has got four wheels.  Oh well, at least it's a 700 - just not quite the right 700...

And it needed to be taken out on its first excursion and to which I somehow got persuaded to come along.

So, yesterday I loaded up the yellow bike and made the trip down to Waikanae.  The weather forecast was good, so naturally I ran into rain about halfway down...Good thing I was in the ute.

Arriving in Waikanae, the quad was loaded and we headed off to the carpark on the Western side of the Maungatoks.

As we left the car park the weather appeared to improving and the end we had no rain.  But of course, that rain had fallen earlier to make things interesting...

Colin lead us up the first bit before waving me past, telling me to stop at any intersections.  Sweet as, off I went and pretty soon was slithering all over the place on wet clay or exposed rock.  Exciting stuff.

We ended up poking around all over the place before a quick stop at the Orange Hutt for a snack and a chat with some 4WD drivers.  It was good to see a few families out enjoying the tracks and some young fellas on their cheap little trail bikes having fun.

Anyway, off we went again and now Colin really started leading me astray, picking some more and more tricky and/or overgrown trails.  His quad seemed to handle things fairly well and I actually enjoyed some of the more technical riding when we clambered up steep rocky tracks or had to take to the bush to avoid some ruts that would drown an elephant.  The rocks in the slippery creek crossing were still slippery and a pain...

Out on a more major logging track I had a major moment (one of a few).  The track was pretty hard but also very wet and muddy from all the truck traffic.  Colin blasted off up the hill so I naturally had to give chase.  Giving chase involved a wee handful of revs in third gear and the rear wheel pulling out to overtake the front - while still maintaining a pretty fast pace up the track.  Picture a bike totally sideways but somehow still moving forward...

I can remember thinking that this was going to hurt but must have grabbed the clutch and somehow got myself out of trouble.  I decided to treat that bit of track with a little more respect - for a while...

Colin approves of the 450

Sort of making our way back to the Orange Hut, Colin decided that we need to check out a section called "the Ruts" - I wonder why...

We managed to avoid a lot of the really gnarly stuff but soon came across the 4WD guys trying to drag a stuck ute out.  The little bloke in the photo with Colin had great delight in pointing out the stuck vehicles and was really keen to watch us go through...

Little bloke and winching wagon

Partially submerged ute

Safely through the ruts we got back onto some more decent tracks and I particularly enjoyed one climb where I was able to really give it to the RMX and even hit 5th for a short burst.  Man, does it go and man, does it get you pumped.  At the top of the hill it was time for coffee and hot cross buns 😁

A bit more larricking around and we were back at the car, slightly sweatier and slightly sorer than when we'd left.  Awesome fun and great to get out on the dirt bike!