KoroJ's Blog

Another Rusty Ride done and dusted, this time the Southern Cross Road Rally, touted as the longest Rally in the Southern Hemisphere….that is, until they hold the 10,000Kms in 10 days next year.

This ride is held every two years and I’ve wanted to do for awhile but haven’t been able to and I put off entering this year due to the cost, but when Ann won $1,000 BP Gift Voucher and I only needed to buy accommodation for 3 of the 8 days….well I had no choice.

Preparations were made, gear assembled, route options planned and discussed with my riding buddy, Steve, accommodation and ferry sailings booked, ….waiting…..waiting…..bike cleaned and packed the day before and we were off.

DAY 1 – 22/03/09 – Wellington to Tokomaru Bay:
The day dawned overcast and cool at 12°, but I was up and away from home before 0900 to meet Steve at his place in Trentham. By the time I got there it was starting to drizzle and he had gone to fill-up, as he obviously had itchy feet waiting, then he required a nice cup of tea to settle himself down. We donned our ‘wets’ and hit the road for Caltex Rimutaka for my fill, finally leaving Wellington at 1005 and due to the rain and late start, we decided to leave out our foray up Route 52, instead opting for SH’s 2 & 50 to Napier. Steve led out and fortunately we took it very slowly over the Rimutakas, because there were a couple of patches where I could actually smell the diesel on the road it was so bad. However, we weren’t far into the Wairarapa before the weather had cleared and we eventually had to stop South of Woodville to get the ‘wets’ off as the sun was out and the temp was steadily climbing. At this point we took a wee diversion through Bluff Road, Hopelands & Jackson’s Rds to emerge again at Oringi. From there it was up SH50 and lunch in Fernhill before stopping for gas at Bay View.

My economy gauge was telling me that the ride so far was very tame (at 19.9 k/Ltr) but we were about to embark on some of the best roads the North Island has to offer, as I led out and endeavoured to ride on ‘the pace’, maintaining our favoured touring speed at between 110 & 120. The Napier – Wairoa road, as always, lived up to expectations and we were soon fueling in Gisborne, which would get me all the way round to Opotiki (or Rotorua if I needed to). From Gisborne it was a short hop up to our cabin in Tokomaru Bay, just stopping briefly for a photo op’ in Tologa Bay. We arrived a 1755, just before they closed, settled in, then went down to the pub for dinner where we met up with Malcolm, Max, Mike and a couple of other riders who were also on the Rally. A pleasant meal and evening was had before retiring for the night.
645 Kms for the day at 19.5 K/Ltr Total Kms: 645.0



DAY 2 / Leg 1 – 23/03/09 – Tokomaru Bay - East Cape - ?:
Leading up to the trip I had been monitoring my tyres and tried to get a new Storm for the front but they wouldn’t be available until late April. The tyre only had 12K on it and should have lasted the trip, or at least half of it, and as it was a mid-week ride I left it on. Bad Move! We got to Tokomaru Bay and it was down to the marker strips on the left hand side, so I decided I needed to find a new one. I contacted Ann to get me Bike Shop phone numbers for Rotorua, Hawera and New Plymouth, then started ringing around Rotorua……no luck, much stress, but one guy suggested that I might get one in Tauranga and fortunately, Smiths in Durham Street had a Metzler Z6.

After discussing it with Steve, we decided he would stick to the planned route from East Cape to Hawera via Rotorua, the Western Side of Lake Taupo and the Paraparas, but I would scoot up to Tauranga, then decide what to do and we would meet up in the morning.

Steve topped up at Tokomaru Bay and we headed for the cape in wets and steady drizzle, pootling along to conserve fuel as there was plenty of time. There were heaps of bikes at Te Araroa, so we loitered there for a bit then casually made our way along the gravel out to the Cape, arriving about 1030 in the hope that the Rustys might start us off early, but no such luck, so once again we just chilled out and ‘chewed the fat’ and fortunately the rain had cleared.

I had told the chap in Tauranga that I would be there about 1600, so when the briefing/greeting was done and the books opened, I managed to sign in quick and get away in the first 30 odd. I sat in behind another chap and we managed to pass many of these riders along the gravel and once I got to Te Araroa I upped the pace, passing a few more on the wet roads until I was in front with just one or two riders following. I was trying to ride as quickly as possible but at the same time going easy on the tyres, so the guy behind me must have thought I was a bit off my game with the wide lines but I was soon stripping the wets off in Opotoki and gassing up.

The sun was now out and the temp climbing to 20° as I made my way around to Tane Atua, then up the coast. I choose not to have a Radar Detector but at times like this, it would have come in handy as I tried to keep the speed under 115kph, and despite lots of major roadworks, I finally got to 153 Durham Street at 1605….whew!!! ….and my front was now buggered. The guys at Smiths – Motorcycle Mad were great and they had me back on my way at 1700, scrubbing in my nice new tyre along SH29. That was done by the time I got to the Kaimai’s and the traffic was keeping a nice pace at around 120kph, but that was when I got my next wake-up call. Riding with my visor up near dusk was inviting the largest bumble bee in the province to take me on and I watched him zoom toward my screen at a closing speed of around 130, then at the last minute, shoot over the top and onto my left temple…..Bastard, he got his just deserts as the last thing that went through his mind was his arsehole…but man did it hurt. He stung me a beauty and my eyes were watering.

I made great time through Cambridge and Kihikihi and with the sun getting very low, I decided to make another convenient stop for fuel and food at Te Kuiti. I was surprised when I got to the BP to see about 20+ bikes around the pumps and café because although my diversion didn’t add much in the way of Kms, I had been at the bike shop for about an hour. I filled, then joined Richard & Malcolm for a snack before hitting another of the North Islands special roads, the Awakino Gorge.

Richard and Malcolm happened to depart just after me and seemed happy with the pace as they tagged along, enjoying my first ‘pucker’ moment of the tour. I was South of Piopio, exiting a left hander at 120 and as the road dropped away down a ½ Km decline, I noticed that the whole surface from side to side and the full length of the hill was unrolled gravel. With what seemed little more than 10 metres notice, I was still leaning and angling out of the corner, so I stood it up, hit the picks and entered at an angle still doing about 110. As soon as I hit the gravel I let the ST have it’s way, swimming about on it’s big radials, but as more speed washed off, it became easier to manage, and as I was on the right side of the road and there were three riders ahead of me about half way down, I just stayed on that side of the road and eased it down, catching the last of the other group at the bottom.

That little moment over, I decided it would be nicer to get ahead of these guys (and guyess) before the gorge so I did that and pressed on. The Awakino gorge is in great condition at the moment and the best part of all this is I would get to do it again the next day….in daylight. Malcolm was stopping the night in Mokau, but Richard stuck with me through to Bell Block at 1005, where I would now stay the night after changing from sister-in-law in Hawera to neice here.
751 Kms for the day at 17.3 K/Ltr Total Kms: 1,396.7