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Gremlin's Tall Stories

NGARNZ Tukino Adventure Ride (01/04/2012)

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An alarm at 0730… man I could have slept another couple of hours but it’s not an option if I want to do more adventure riding. This time I packed everything up, chucked the panniers back on the bike, returned the key and headed into Taupo to re-fill the tank and have a quick breakfast. There was no cute chickie smashing her car into the pole this time (I reckon the 2 pumps are perfect for bikers) but an older guy in his nice shiny Merc was keen to give it a go.

I guided him in, motioning he had room and when he got out after keeping his car intact he commented it was a bit tight but the sensors would see him through. With a grin I commented he did better than a chick yesterday who had scraped her car up, which he seemingly didn’t find that amusing.

Again shortly before 9am we met at the Taupo Mobil. The group was much smaller this time, only 7 riders, well, Danny would meet us at Turangi and ride from there, so only 6 of us were on bikes initially. Craig with the KTM was joining in and we headed south. Jim’s 800 was taking a rest with its blown shock so Sue had offered up her Yamaha XT250 to be Jim’s next victim. He led out, albeit at a slower pace as it was all the XT could do.

He didn’t enjoy the road much so detoured to a dam, which required some rather rapid braking as he turned off into a little lay-by that wasn’t marked. Out to the end, a brief stop and back on the road again. That’s one way of getting rid of the queue of cars behind us I guess!

We were on final approach to Turangi when we detoured again, down a random (but sealed) road. I was beginning to wonder what Danny might be thinking but we carried on, and at the end turned right. A trio of horses carefully skirted so as to not unduly alarm them we hit gravel and very shortly after found a river. It was a two stage crossing with a rock bar in the middle. I was last in but as I entered David dropped his KTM entering the 2nd crossing and I must have lost all semblance of concentration thinking about him (learning a hard and fast lesson in the process) and dropped Jessica mid-stream on her right side.

I switched off the ignition and went over to help David who was unable to pick up his 690 Enduro, so gave him a hand. Turning back to Jessica, it was clear I’m excellent at disproving theories, especially the one where GSA’s never get fully on their side… Jessica was clearly very much on her side, but it took little effort to get the wheels touching the stream bed. She seemed extremely heavy to pick up (probably because of all the damn fuel) so I figured there were other riders… much easier to wait for them, than bust something. They pitched in and I rode her to the rock bar and then completed the crossing without further incident.

Jim asked if I was able to pick her up alone and I said I usually have to throw the panniers off and then I’m fine, but easier with a hand Jim declared we now knew the river well and we continued into Turangi to meet Danny. A couple of guys needed fuel and I wanted my bike lighter, so I left them to fill and once again we headed out. I could get used to these sealed roads The others couldn’t, so before we hit Desert Rd we detoured into the Kaimanawa Forest. Ignoring a road closed sign wasn’t for the best as we could avoid the odd branch but when an entire tree blocked the road it was time to turn around…

Some more exploring down roads, some of it quite rough and rutted the rest shot ahead but I plodded along more slowly, wary of the extra weight I carried and not wanting to damage anything I had to keep the bike in road mode for the extra preload on the rear. I was really happy with the decision to fit the TKCs as they were proving their worth of weight in gold. Traction was excellent all round and the going would have been more tough on less knobbly tyres (although how a guy was doing it with Tourances on his Transalp I’m not sure).

We hit the top of a road to a concrete tower of some sort and then descended, with Jim taking us to a swing bridge made of steel. It was odd walking across with the rising and falling, and even weirder once off it as the world seemed to keep going up and down. Back to the main road, it was time for the main event of the day, the Tukino Ski Field Access Rd which had been spoken about prior to the weekend as an option for Sunday – and I’ve wanted to explore the road for years. A couple of the guys aired their tyres down for the road ahead… yeah, don’t think I’m there yet. I let them all head off first as I was definitely the slowest and least capable.

The road was Ok to begin with, the odd surprise of soft sand amongst the harder packed pieces of road providing the odd surprise but most were over quickly. A water crossing was despatched but a large patch of soft sand was my inevitable downfall once again. I got about mid-way through before the bike canted over too far and I came off whilst still slowly moving forward. Soft sand and I really do not mix.

Craig ahead had seen me bail and was in the process of turning around to assist but before he could return I’d stood the bike back up (complete with panniers actually, of which I’m rather proud) and was digging myself out of the hole the bike was in (throttle is the only way isn’t it?) The rest of the sand was treated very cautiously and Craig advised the rest was all gravel and perhaps a bit rougher. We passed the 2WD car park some 6km in from the main road and it was less than 1km before it got very steep and rutted.

I selected first gear and fed out enough throttle to keep the wheels turning. I focussed on picking the best line and aided by the torque of the bike simply rolled up the hill and onto a flat area by the cell phone tower. I could see up ahead the guys had stopped, so worked my way down a slight hill and up the hard packed hill to them… only to find a gate barring our way. All that effort and we couldn’t get to the absolute top. Gutting, but at least we got as far as we could. Danny had already worked his way around the gate and reported it got a bit rougher and there was a waterfall.

Still, we had gone as far as we could, and a couple of the guys headed away almost immediately, to try and make Auckland before the end of the Red Bull scramble. My leg had been stinging since the soft sand so I figured I’d probably done something to it, and this was confirmed when I pulled up the pants to find a nice large burn on my leg. Somehow the pants must have caught on something or ridden up, to expose my leg, but at least the adventure boots being taller than road boots had limited the damage. I washed it with water and there was no other option than taking a cup of harden up, as I still had plenty of distance to cover before Auckland.

We stayed briefly getting some nice shots and enjoying the awesome view, before I stated I’d start heading down now and they could catch me up on the way down. The steep section by the tower was now a steep downhill and as I worked my way through it I think I began to realise I might prefer up hills. Still, only doing one and not the other isn’t an option, so again I selected first and let the bike roll down the hill against the gears. I cursed the slightly taller first the GSA has over the GS but it was still slow enough to pick and choose my lines.

Jim and Danny passed on the flatter sections and David wasn’t too far behind. Craig stayed behind all the way down (he later announced he got it all on video ) and followed me through my paddling of the bike through soft sand, as I was determined not to drop poor Jessica for a third time that day. Thankfully, I made it to the main road without further incident. Some of the guys, Jim, Danny and Craig were thinking of heading further south and David would accompany for a short while. There were several side roads I hadn’t explored between there and Turangi, so I bid them a safe ride and headed north to explore some roads.

I selected the first road I came to, on the right, pre-warned by Craig that there was a steep hill at the end of it which was quite loose, and I’d decided I would probably turn around at that point as he said turning around during the hill would be very difficult. Plans are made to be broken I guess, as I travelled all the way down the sealed road, kept going when I got to the loose stuff and made the bottom safely. The seal had finished mid corner, slowly petering out to the inside of the corner, plus was washed out so caution was the order of the day (especially being alone).

The river was at the bottom and was an excellent view, despite almost going too far right at the end and struggling to turn the bike around. The stream crossing to the road on the other side seemed to have a steep exit so I felt it was best to leave that alone. On the return to the main road I explored a few side trails but most were quite technical and a few turned into soft sand so I abandoned most, but did find a couple of groups of campers in the process (one was rather curious and appeared to have avoided civilisation for some time, going by the length of his white beard and hair).

Hitting the main road, chance in a million, I see David heading north and he notices my lights. Fair enough, I knew he was heading north at some point, but then I see Danny, Jim and Craig… the guys are a little lost. Craig stops and lets me know that Danny’s rear wheel bearings have failed so they’re making sure he gets to Turangi safely. Craig decides to explore the road I had just done so I catch up to Jim and Danny and tail them north. David is waiting after Desert Rd and falls in behind.

As we cross over the Pouto Canal Jim motions to pull over while Danny goes on ahead and we make our way down to the Canal. I’d been down once before, during a KB Gathering and had wanted to explore for a while, and it turned out Jim had never been along it. We spend a few minutes exploring its full length and it’s surprisingly short finding the gates and dam system at the end of Pouto Dam Rd. Gates bar access to the road and while Jim and David could get their bikes under the barrier, it’s doubtful for Jessica. We carry on, on foot to explore the dam structure.

On the return to the main highway at 12.30pm we divert into what appears to be some forestry roads and explore for a while. No signs ordering people to keep out until we eventually come across a locked gate, so we headed back to the canal and return to Turangi. The day has been rather eventful and sort of drifting from one thing to another as wished, but has been extremely fun. At Turangi I introduce the guys to the bakery and while they have pretty much run out of pies there’s other stuff left so we have a late lunch at 2.30pm.

David is only heading back to Auckland the following day and Jim and Sue return to Auckland from Taupo on Tuesday, so I’m the only one bound for Auckland. They head off to the Z to re-fill AGAIN! but I’m for Auckland having only done around 300km so far. The weather is still looking OK so I leave Turangi and head west first thinking it’s already 4pm and I’m going to get home well after 7pm and possibly more like 8pm. It’s only a few minutes later that I realise I haven’t set the GPS or bike for daylight saving which ended during the night. Slightly relieved that I now had an extra hour up my sleeve I settle back into the road riding groove and head north through Western Access.

In Whakamaru I pause for a moment, thinking I hadn’t checked my phone since morning, and then take the time to reset my clocks. Nothing pressing for work, I pass through Whakamaru and head north on SH32 towards Tokoroa. There’s road works on the dam wall at Whakamaru but I time the phase nicely to head straight through. Before Tokoroa I find the turn up Old Taupo Rd and really get back into road riding decreasing my ETA by several minutes. Smooth use of gears and lines sees me keeping a good pace, and uninterrupted by the complete lack of cars. Excellent stuff.

The TKCs have come along in leaps and bounds in their road performance after all the gravel work and I’m finding them very stable and predictable on the road. You still wouldn’t push them quite as hard, especially under braking, but they are working flawlessly with no slides. The only killer I guess is that their rolling resistance is higher which means higher fuel consumption.

Karen the GPS has been arguing with my route choice ever since asking for Auckland outside Turangi but she’s finally agreeing with me as I hit SH1, indicating to turn off just north and head through Matamata. Don’t you just love a nice network of back roads that minimises your use of the main highway (sealed or otherwise actually)? As I head through Matamata just after 5pm, the traffic is picking up, trucks are slowing everyone’s progress and the weather is looking extremely threatening. I initially pull over to throw the rain jacket on, but hesitate as it’s still a bit warm.

Instead, I opt to chase down the truck and all the following traffic finally finishing it on the straights to Tatuanui. Putting the Radar Detector back on in Turangi paid dividends (didn’t want it disturbing me accidentally while off road) as I was about to pass a slower car when it went crazy. Eventually an oncoming HP car passes, leaving me to resume my pace and pass the car. Last thing I want is to be pinged for something stupid like 111kph. A camper van at the new Tatuanui roundabout irritates me, staying in the right hand lane after the roundabout so I undertake him with the left… how some can be so incapable of spatial awareness is baffling.

It starts drizzling but I continue on getting past another queue in the vicinity of Mangatawhiri, leaving me with an open run to the motorway with the next queue some kilometres ahead. 90kph in the two passing lanes is bloody stupid when they’ve made Mangatawhiri a 100kph zone, but since when was logic ever part of a roading authorities’ skills requirement?

Back onto SH1 it was basically sticking with the traffic back into Auckland. The rain definitely got harder but the temperature was still in the high teens so never got cold (not to mention the big screen and deflectors keeping most of it off me).

I arrived home just before 7pm with only 1100-1200km completed for the weekend, but what a weekend it was! It also proves you don’t want to do 1000km a day the whole time, as there’s plenty of other things to do. I’ve also noted down several areas that will require more exploration, as the roads don’t exist in the open source mapset yet.

I highly recommend you think about Poronui for Sue’s next intake in September if you’re interested, as I’m already booked in again. Jessica is now just shy of 50,000km so she’s due for the 50k service. Thanks must go to Jim and Sue for organising an excellent weekend and to the lovely staff at Poronui for having us!

Pics: http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/b...0and%20Tukino/
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Comments

  1. KoroJ's Avatar
    Photographic evidence that you have washed the bike since the TT.....well half of it anyway!
  2. Gremlin's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by KoroJ
    Photographic evidence that you have washed the bike since the TT.....well half of it anyway!
    Well it's actually a rather small puddle (which only makes it more embarrasing I still dropped it). I think one pannier got a little wet and maybe the rim in a section? Not much more
  3. gijoe1313's Avatar
    I guess the next best thing to keeping the bike on its side is the more interesting photos you get to take?