Friday, April 24, 2015
Monday, April 20, 2015
What to do when the weather's bad...
Or perhaps when it's like this...
Yes, Sunday was what we like to call - a pearler! So it just couldn't be wasted!
Neil had already been talking about going for a ride on Sunday so we made plans to meet in Taihape and then go play on some delicious back roads.
After putting the liners in my gear (not really necessary) I fired up the Connie and pointed it Northwards. Within about 2 seconds of hitting the open road I was grinning and singing away to whatever the Senna was pumping into my helmet - be glad you could not hear me. The day was truly spectacular and it was fantastic to be out enjoying it on my favourite horse. I forced myself to stop at the lookout on Vinegar Hill just so I could hopefully capture a bit of a taste of what the conditions were like.
Back on the road, the rest of the ride over Vinegar Hill was a hoot but a 40km stretch of SH1 at careful pace (plenty of time to enjoy the day though) to Taihape followed. In Taihape I parked up next to Neil's Speedy and some other bikes and had a coffee while catching up with Neil.
Coffee's downed we geared up again and I followed Neil South out of town. We turned off SH1 not far down the road and started on our way to Rangiwahia on Toetoe Road. I'd only been through here once before and this time around I was going in the opposite direction. It's a nice little drops down into a pretty valley and onto Potaka Road.
Eventually we were onto the more familiar road through to Rangiwahia and then onto Kimbolton. This is always a great road with little traffic and plenty of great curves. Just out of Kimbolton we stopped at what is probably a familiar spot to regular readers of this blog for a few more pictures and to rave about the beautiful day.
We spent about ten minutes just sitting in the sun and could have stayed there all day but eventually we had to go. We crossed over onto SH54 again and made our way over to Halcombe to catch up with Wee Colin. Here we harassed him for not coming riding while forcing some of his hot homemade soup down (it was terribly good).
Neil and I then parted company as he turned and headed for Ohakune while I scooted home via Feilding. A truly stunning autumn day and a great way to spend it!
More pics here.
Yes, Sunday was what we like to call - a pearler! So it just couldn't be wasted!
Neil had already been talking about going for a ride on Sunday so we made plans to meet in Taihape and then go play on some delicious back roads.
After putting the liners in my gear (not really necessary) I fired up the Connie and pointed it Northwards. Within about 2 seconds of hitting the open road I was grinning and singing away to whatever the Senna was pumping into my helmet - be glad you could not hear me. The day was truly spectacular and it was fantastic to be out enjoying it on my favourite horse. I forced myself to stop at the lookout on Vinegar Hill just so I could hopefully capture a bit of a taste of what the conditions were like.
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| Damn the clouds... |
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| Trying to get mountain and bike in the same picture but someone has put a fence in the way... |
Coffee's downed we geared up again and I followed Neil South out of town. We turned off SH1 not far down the road and started on our way to Rangiwahia on Toetoe Road. I'd only been through here once before and this time around I was going in the opposite direction. It's a nice little drops down into a pretty valley and onto Potaka Road.
Eventually we were onto the more familiar road through to Rangiwahia and then onto Kimbolton. This is always a great road with little traffic and plenty of great curves. Just out of Kimbolton we stopped at what is probably a familiar spot to regular readers of this blog for a few more pictures and to rave about the beautiful day.
 |
| Even the Harley boys were out and about... |
We spent about ten minutes just sitting in the sun and could have stayed there all day but eventually we had to go. We crossed over onto SH54 again and made our way over to Halcombe to catch up with Wee Colin. Here we harassed him for not coming riding while forcing some of his hot homemade soup down (it was terribly good).
Neil and I then parted company as he turned and headed for Ohakune while I scooted home via Feilding. A truly stunning autumn day and a great way to spend it!
More pics here.
Wednesday, April 08, 2015
Tuesday, April 07, 2015
BRRBT - Route 52 Romp
Sunday was our monthly Black Top ride and for this month I'd planned a trip down one of my favourite roads - Route 52. Route 52 is windy, bumpy and narrow in places but it is a lot of fun and it was time to show it off to some of those who hadn't ridden it before.
As per our last ride we met out in Ashhurst and this month we had a decent sized group with I think thirteen of us in the end. There were a few new riders to the group and also a few new bikes being ridden by some of the regulars.
Our route over into the Bay took us up over the Saddle again and while there was less gravel on the road, a light rain had turned some of the clay on the road into some pretty slippery mud - a bit of excitement early on in the ride...
After the short adventure ride we made our way through to Dannevirke where some fuelled up before the trip through Ormonville and Takapau to Waipuk where we stopped for an early lunch.
After lunch we made our way out of Waipuk and onto Route 52. The ride through to the turn-off at Porangahau was particularly nice with only a few small sections of new seal to slow us down a whisker - otherwise it was just one nice smooth flowing corner after another.
We had a brief stop at Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki- maungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu just in case any of the guys hadn't got a picture of their bikes in front of the sign and then carried on South to Wimbledon in search of wombles.
From Wimbledon the road gets a bit rougher but we took things fairly sensibly and eventually rolled into Pongaroa where every ute in the district was parked up with fresh venison piled up in their trays. Obviously a bit of a hunting competition to celebrate the start of the "roar".
The next leg of the ride took us further South through Alfredton and onto Eketahuna where we stopped to fuel up and farewell some of the Wellington contingent. This only left a fairly spirited ride through Mangamire and over the track to finish the day off nicely.
The video below is just a few snippets of Route 52 - doesn't it look fun?
One great ride - where to next month?
More pictures here.
As per our last ride we met out in Ashhurst and this month we had a decent sized group with I think thirteen of us in the end. There were a few new riders to the group and also a few new bikes being ridden by some of the regulars.
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| Yes, that is Terry's new V-Strom |
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| Colin is keen on the new 1290 Adventure |
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| Paul and the Shadow joining us for the first time |
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| Bits of the Saddle Road stuck to the GoPro... |
After lunch we made our way out of Waipuk and onto Route 52. The ride through to the turn-off at Porangahau was particularly nice with only a few small sections of new seal to slow us down a whisker - otherwise it was just one nice smooth flowing corner after another.
We had a brief stop at Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapiki- maungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu just in case any of the guys hadn't got a picture of their bikes in front of the sign and then carried on South to Wimbledon in search of wombles.
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| Brian's new to him KTM parked up front |
 |
The next leg of the ride took us further South through Alfredton and onto Eketahuna where we stopped to fuel up and farewell some of the Wellington contingent. This only left a fairly spirited ride through Mangamire and over the track to finish the day off nicely.
The video below is just a few snippets of Route 52 - doesn't it look fun?
One great ride - where to next month?
More pictures here.
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Manfield Track Day
No, I wasn't there tearing up the track on the Connie or V-Strom (although there was one Vee out there having a go) but I did pop in with Dad and my brother-in-law to check out the action.
Walking through the pits there was some fairly nice machinery to drool on:
Watching the riding was also interesting as there was everything from 250cc learner bikes to big adventure bikes and out and out racing machines.
Here's a few of Supersonic in action:
And a certain Yamaha dealer:
A good way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning.
More pics here.
Walking through the pits there was some fairly nice machinery to drool on:
Watching the riding was also interesting as there was everything from 250cc learner bikes to big adventure bikes and out and out racing machines.
Here's a few of Supersonic in action:
And a certain Yamaha dealer:
A good way to spend a few hours on a Saturday morning.
More pics here.
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