With a couple of days rain (some of it pretty decent), I knew that the gravel was going to be good pretty much wherever I went so once I got back home I started getting my act together and wheeled the T7 out of the shed. But where to go?
Somehow, I'd really got the idea in my head that nothing was going to stop me from having a good ride and that if the dodgy looking weather became even dodgier then I was still going and going to have fun!
In the end I decided that I'd make my way up towards Taihape and then decide where to from there. But, of course I had to take as much gravel as I could.
The gravel started on Finnis Road and then I was onto Ridge Road to make my way North. To say that the gravel was good is an understatement. There was just the odd slippery bit but in general the road was fast and fun - even the more recently spread stuff.
 |
| Quite a few low flying clouds |
What started off as just a spit here and there slowly turned into some light rain as I got closer to Apiti. Did I worry? No way, I was having fun and did I mention that the gravel was awesome?
From Apiti I took the Rangitikei Scenic (sealed) Route through towards Rangiwahia but after climbing out of one of the valleys I noticed the name of a road coming up on my GPS - Conspicuous Road. I wondered how it got its name - it obvious reasonably conspicuous as I noticed it on the GPS when I wasn't really using the GPS but that couldn't be it. I needed to find out.
It turns out that it is a dead in road but it was a dead end road with some really nice gravel (conspicuously nice as I could feel how good it was under my tyres) on it and I got to some closed gates (quite conspicuous otherwise I might have run into them) relatively quickly - not sure if the gates where there to stop me or just stock as the road carried on quite conspicuously for some while by the looks of it. Not wanting to annoy anyone (my muffler makes me a little conspicuous), I turned around and soon was back on my way towards Rangi.
Rather than take the scenic route all the way to Mangaweka, I turned off onto Karewarewa Road which is a neat alternative that eventually takes you through a tight windy road through native bush before popping out on Kawhatau Valley Road and then onto one of our normal "must avoid SH1" routes to Utiku. Along the way I found a bridge - and it was still raining.
Trundling along towards Taihape I avoided the wrath of a cop parked on a passing lane to book people for 101 in a passing lane and then pulled into town for some lunch.
After lunch the T7 got some fuel (17.9L had got me 372km) before carrying on North and avoiding the next cop in the next passing lane. By now it was raining quite heavily and when I turned off SH1 to make my way to Rangiwaea Junction I discovered the most slippery roads in the country - there's no stones in the tar...
Anyway, I'm kinda used to crap roads and my the time I got to Turakina Road the rain had stopped and there was nice grippy gravel to be had.
I always enjoy Turakina Valley Road but man if all the gravel I ride this year is this good then 2025 is going to be a great year. Yes, there were some slippery bits (especially near some of the slips) but otherwise the gravel was outstanding, allowing plenty of pace and maximum grin factor.
If you watched all that (dunno if I would, but knock ya socks off), then you may have noticed some of the local wildlife. Yes, there were sheep, pheasants, turkeys, a cow, peacocks and a deer! What? You didn't watch it all? Ok,, well here is the little bambi:
Pretty cool to see and it gives you a wee idea about how busy and out of the way the road is.
Rather than take the seal out to the main road, I turned off Turakina Valley Road and took another favourite (Taurimu Road) through towards Marton. Got caught in a bit of a traffic jam at one stage too.
From Marton I just had to negotiate my way to the olds place in Feilding but also checked out another short piece of gravel around Halcombe - Makara Road. Then it was BBQ time. Great way to start the New Year!
