I met up with Richard on Friday morining. First stop was Ohakune for petrol and lunch.
Next we went onto the Tangiwai -Huntersville road. Saw this house and may others I missed along the way. By the way, someone's pinched the old building idea and it seems to be a lot more popular with the Yanks.
Looking towards Waikanae
The bike and I got to stay at Aslan's place and what an enjoyable stay it was.
The next morning we went to the briefing. Guess who rode their bikes in?
after they had unloaded their ute 🙂
The place was overflowing with Adventure Riders and we saw bikes of all shapes and sizes
It wasn't long before we were underway. I have no pictures of the morning run, apart from a few Magic Mushrooms, but they came out all blurry.
At first I was completely out of my depth, but after a while I felt more comfortable, until a slightly higher level of obstacle kicked in.
After a quick break at Aslan's house we went on to Parliament.
The next stop was lunch at Motorrad at Viven street.
After that, off we went to Island Bay and before I knew it it was sand and then gravel. Next came Devil's Gate. Before I could think it through I was one my way. Here I am making slight adjustments to my mirror, they bike may have fallen on it seconds before
On we went in the loose gravel. Other bikes seemed to glide over it. My bike started sinking as soon as I stopped. Damn, I hate the smell of clutch in the afternoon.
Next came some stunning scenery (use your imagination, or the link to Dave Cohen's website)
Somewhere along the way came the valley of river crossings, 24 of them. It looks easy and I am sure it is (for others) at the end I had the grand total of 24 lifetime river crossings under my belt.
Two were quite demanding. This one was easy
This one was harder
On the last one my thoughts were not on photography. I was thinking about where the Helicopter might land. (Got in before you, Steve :-P)
More scenery
By this time I had it figured out and was having the time of my life. The bike actually did what I told it to and it became easier and a lot more fun. Unfortunately I couldn't join the others on the last challenge section as my petrol was starting to run low, bugger 😳
This was an extremely well organized event with routesheets, sweepers, lunch and an excellent dinner. I can only recommend you attend. I got passed by a lot of people, including people with pillions, a girl on a postie bike, other girls and just about anyone who could ride with more confidence. However, this didn't bother me the slightest, well only the tiniest little bit.
Oh and thank you to Henry who showed great concern for the trade-in value of my bike, but he needn't worry, this one is not for sale.
People please feel free to fill in the gaps.
Re: OK, second attempt.Dave Ross2017-02-03T06:40:17+13:00