June BRRBT - Up one side and down the other

Last weekend was a long one here and the weather had finally fined up just in time for our June tarmac ride.  Sunday was the day of the ride and it was probably the pick of the days - pretty chilly but no wind and plenty rays to catch.

I got away from home a little later than planned - trying to find something vital probably - and so was quite surprised when I got to Fielding and saw a lot of bikes already there and ready to rock and roll.

And as per usual, rather than simply changing worn tyres, there were some new steeds on display - some just a little bit special too...

Our first leg took us over through Okoia to meet up with two more riders in Upokongaro.

Next up was a delightful if slightly cautious (cold, damp roads in places) trip up the Paraparas to the bottom of Fields Track.  Here we lost the Tracer and a hungry super-charged beast (with a rider who didn't fancy pushing) while the main bunch headed up Fields Track.

What a neat little ride!  The road was in far better condition than I expected (it is winter after all) and up front I chased the sheep and peacocks off the road for everyone before stopping near the top to take in the fantastic view.

The rest of the ride through to SH49 was just as good.  Here is just a little taste of one great back road.

In Ohakune we stopped to say hi to Neil who was out and about wearing fluro lycra for some reason but didn't hang around to eat there as the town was flat out with their "Carrot Carnival".  Instead we shot across to Raetihi for a late lunch.

After lunch it was time for the main event - the River Road.  I hadn't been down it in a while as it had been closed for a time due to storm damage.  Reports from those who had been down recently warned of roadworks and mud...they weren't wrong...

At the beginning of the road we had to go through a lot of patches of new seal with plenty of marbles available to slither around on.  South of Pipiriki things got even more exciting with the odd slip and several sections of mud/clay to negotiate.  Have no fear, I was on a road bike with worn out PR4's - no problemo apart from wheelspin at just over idle...I should have had the GoPro on to capture this action - the below video is from where the road began to improve...

The further South we got though, the better the conditions and we had a nice little squirt before pulling up to check out the view and wait for stragglers.

Not sure what Robin had been up to...

KTM's can't help playing in the mud

Rob in particular really enjoyed the River Road - 200hp must have come in handy...

This poor wee Gladius took a wee mud bath but rider ok

And another Wee brings up the rear.

After the regroup we split up and went our separate ways with some heading into Wanganui for fuel and others visiting Okoia again.  Even I had to stop for fuel in Bulls and saw a few of the others roll through while I was doing this.  I got home just before 5pm and after putting the Connie to bed lighting the fire was a priority.  Great ride on a beautiful winter's day!

May BRRBT

Yesterday was our monthly Black Top ride and for reason I decided that I'd better try out the new beast on some back roads...

Purdy!

Rocking up to the garage meeting point there was already a fair few riders waiting for the kick-off and I wasn't the only one sporting some new tarmac eating tackle.

Terry's mint Cross Tourer

We also had a few BRRBT newbies on all sorts of two-wheeled creations.

Leaving Ashhurst we pootled through the gorge and even had to stop at some traffic lights where there was some work going on.  We turned off just the other side of the gorge onto Gorge Road (not sure why its called that) for our first little squirt along some back roads.

It was a great little ride to kick things off but there's a poor old pukeko out there who I think would disagree.  I tried to avoid him but perhaps he was suicidal or thought that the big blue Tenere was a bigger, sexier looking pukeko...

Next up was a little bit of Makomako Road before we turned off to take Mikau Road through to Mangamire and then SH2.  Another nice little run although spoiled a little by some road markers recent stuff-up - a big long line of slippery paint - check out the video to see the whoopsie.

After a short stretch of SH2 we turned off again to take in Hamua Rongomai Road which took us over to Magaone Valley Road and back in the direction of Pahiatua.

Instead of riding into Pahiatua we carried on around some more mint back roads through to Jacksons and Oringi to again pop out on SH2.

Robin representing Concours riders today

Terry and Barry

Colin and his mighty Wee

Another short ride up SH2 saw us in Dannevirke for an early lunch.  After lunch we lost about half the bunch as they had other things to do but for the remaining gang it was time to head further East towards Weber.

Rather than take the Weber road directly out to Weber we took in a small loop on Waitahora Road.  This was another neat back road but it did introduce us to some pretty blustery conditions and also to some woolly hazards...

We ended up on Weber Road for a few more km before I lead the gang astray on a detour to the Waihi Falls.  With 4 out of 5 of us on Adv bikes of some description I thought that a little gravel wasn't going to upset everyone too much...

Oh yes, it was a fun ride into the falls...

Suzuki parking only...

The team may have enjoyed the short 4km or so of gravel into the falls but weren't as keen to take more gravel out on 1 of the 2 possible options I mooted so we retraced our steps and then made our way to Pongaroa.  Just out of Pongaroa the wind got very strong and we were getting blown all over the place.  I pulled over at my bridge to warn the others that it would be worse as we climbed up over the hill and dropped into Makuri.  in the end we decided to chicken out and made our way back to Pongaroa and then turned South on Route 52 for the alternate route back to Pahiatua.

After more delicious corners and just the odd bit of wind we ended up  in Pahiatua where Colin waved me off as he headed home via SH2.  I decided to take in part of the track before testing out the Tenere's gravel manners again on Tararua Road.

I didn't see the Pukeko again on Gorge Road so maybe he was tougher than I thought and limped off home (yeah, right) but the twisty corners were still there and I had a nice little ride back through the gorge to Ashhurst and then home.  A nice little ride of around 370km and all done on one tank of gas made me a happy a camper!

April BRRBT - And now for something completely different...

Today was our April Black Top ride and in the planning stages I was struggling to think of where to go as we've covered a fair bit of ground since we started having the rides.  In the end I decided to do something completely different...

I came up with a simple route but instead of leading it myself I decided to send out a series of pictures taken along  the route and asking the guys to work it out and lead the ride while I tucked in behind as TEC.  This is what I sent out: I'm lost already...

Come this morning I was pretty sure that people would be able to find the start but when I got there I was first so I grabbed a coffee and parked up to wait.  First to arrive was Russell and he seemed to have a fair idea where we were going - a good start...Next was Rob who was a little more doubtful but had definitely worked out some of the photo locations.  Last to arrive was Brian and he just wanted a ride...

Russell led us out of Feilding and immediately added his twist on the route taking us out Makino Road and then on a roundabout route to miss out Halcombe but eventually bring us back on track when he turned onto Makuhou Road.  From here on he was faithful to my plan.

Riding through to Hunterville from Fordell was interesting as usual - crap on the road, a bull on the road and some wet and slippery bits as we got nearer to Hunterville.  In Hunterville it was time to gas up and grab some lunch.

After lunch Brian led us off up SH1 and got the next turn right to take us across from Ohingaiti to Pemberton and Rangiwahia.  It was a nice ride through here with just a few damp patches in places and the odd fresh obstacle to avoid.

Just before Rangiwahia Rob whistled through passing everyone so I thought I'd better tag along with him just in case he got lost or something...but no, he nailed the next turn and led us on a nice little squirt around the valley and into Ashhurst where coffee was had before we all parted company.

Not as many on the ride this time but I think the different format worked - we'll have to see if I can come up with something different again for next time...

Where we were supposed to go (clicking the icons will show the pictures):

Wanganui Toy Run

Saturday was the Wanganui Toy run and as it was the weekend of our monthly BRRBT ride I decided that the Toy Run would do for our ride.  Knowing that the ride took in the Paraparas also contributed to the decision.

Connie Brian (stay tuned for the reason for the Connie prefix) popped around early to pick me up and the two silver bikes made our way over to the BRRBT meeting point in Feilding.  For a while it looked like we were it but then this dirty old thing showed up.

Blow me down, it was BMW Brian on his new horse...

After the obligatory oohing and arring over the new bike and hearing about BMW Brians licence "issues" we decided that three was the total number of BRRBT riders coming and headed on out through Halcombe to Wanganui.

Arriving in Wanganui with plenty of time we found drinks and wandered around looking at some of the other machinery.

Not a bad day in Wanganui either:

By the time of the ride briefing there was nearly 50 bikes lined up and we were even joined by at least 5 other riders who have joined us on BRRBT or BRR Adv rides.  One of these was Peer and he ended up leading the ride on his new GS.

Peer lead us up the main drag of town (a slow process on a busy Saturday morning) and then out of town and onto the Paras.  Peer was doing a great job of keeping the ride under control and moving at an easy pace for the pack to keep up.  BMW Brian and I settled in behind him for a while but then when we started getting stuck into the delicious corners were forced to sneak past for a little fun.

In Raetihi we stopped for lunch (whereas the toy run carried onto Ohakune for lunch) with the idea being a return trip via the River Road.

Unfortunately for us we discovered (by means of whopping big sign that only I saw) that the River Road was still closed due to damage caused by the flooding a few months back - bummer!  As an aside, the Paras still (for the same reason) have a lot of road works on them with no fewer than three sets of lights controlling single lane sections.

So, rather than scooting across to Waiouru and crawling home via SH1 we decided to retrace our steps back down the Paras with a couple of small deviations where we could.

A nice little ride of around 380km all up and in pretty good weather except for the blimmin wind!  Where to next weekend?

BRRBT Dreyers Rock and Roll

Today started off fairly early but it did start off very well:

Pinched from 1 of around a million facebook posts...

After celebrating with some breakfast it was time to go and meet up with the BRRBT team for our monthly ride.

Getting to the gas station only Barry was there but we were eventually joined by Colin, Neil and Terry - a smaller mob this time, perhaps the others were still celebrating?

We waited around for a little while just in case there was a few late-comers but in the end it was just the 5 of us who saddled up and headed East.  The weather was great and the roads dry as we tackled the Pahiatua Track and made our way over ot Pahiatua.

From Pahiatua we aimed for Pongaroa and had a great run through to Makuri Gorge and up over the hill.  As always there was plenty of gravel and grit on the road in places, not to mention livestock - there were several ewes (with lambs in tow) on the road and even a bull which gave me a bit of a fright to say the least...

In Pongaroa we had a quick stop to use the facilities and couldn't help but notice all the vehicles outside the pub - I guess they were into replay number 1 of the game...

From Pongaroa we rode South through to Alfredton on 52 before turning off onto the new to me Dreyers Rock Road.  Not a bad little ride it is too...

The morning's ride finished with a trip through Mauriceville and then onto Masterton where it was time to stop for an early lunch.

After lunch the bikes with smaller tanks refuelled and we made our way out of town and back onto Route 52.  Dreyers Rock Road was too good not to try out again so over we went again and then turned North for Eketahuna.  Here we turned East again to make our way back to Pahiatua via Mangaone Valley Road.

By now the weather had packed it in a bit too eh...

Retracing our steps back over the track we were soon back in a very sunny Palmy and home in time well before smoko time.  A nice and summery little ride to cap off a pretty good day!