Dusty Butt 2008
1000km riding over mostly gravel roads within 24 hours
So here I was on the eve of the Dusty butt, with good intentions to get to bed early and to get a good nights sleep, so I had plenty of energy in the tank to tackle what could be up to 24 hours in the saddle of the trusty GS.
So we packed the bikes and double and triple checked everything, so they were ready to go in the morning.
Then we proceeded to the Dusty Butt BBQ (thanks Warewolf), where I met for the first time many of the South Island KB’ers that I had talked to numerous times, but had never actually met.
It was a good social evening, with adventure bikes scattered in Warewolfs driveway and spilling onto the road, the talk of course evolved around Bikes and adventures and the Dusty Butt!
We left there and headed home for a bit of R&R, as the start time was 5.30am!
So I had swallowed a cold ale, and then went to bed, but do you think I could sleep!
The nerves were outta control, have I got everything? Will I get up Maungatapu ok? Etc my mind was doing 100 miles an hour!!
I managed to get a few hours sleep, before my alarm was blaring in my ear at 4.30am
It was time for Dusty Butt, something I had spent so much time preparing for, it had consumed me for the last few months, but as I would discover later in the day, it was time and preparation well spent!
Breakfast, toilet, smoke and we were off into the darkness
We met at the I site carpark and were the first to arrive.
Our riding team for the day was the first to arrive, followed closely by Cooneyr.
We decided to head off into the dark for Maungatapu ahead of the faster riders as we didn’t want to hold them up if we fell over, so we got a 15 minute head start.
We entered the track in the dark and proceeded up the Maungatapu track (which is in good condition), with lights blazing and the 3 riders of Jim, Kyle and I riding in formation.
We didn’t have any trouble and made good progress up the track and down the other side.
As we headed down it was remarkably light, and we had good views towards the Marlborough Sounds.
There was a little mist in the air, which kept us cool, but acted as a magnet for the dust as I was at the back, so by the time I had arrived at Pelorus, I was already covered in dust!!
We were at the Pelorus bridge when we could hear this big thumper howling down the road, sure enough it was Ian on his fire breathing monster, he can sure ride well, he would of left 15- 20 minutes after us and arrived soon after we did.
Then it was a quick tarseal ride through Havelock and onto Onamalutu, and a great gravel road/track through the forest.
It was here that we wondered if the rabbits and hares had somehow been mating with sheep, because they were suicidal! As soon as you got close to them they would run towards your front wheels.
We made good time through here and then back across the road to follow the Wairau river to Tuamarina and then back to Blenheim for our first stop for fuel and liquids, it was already hot and we knew Molesworth was going to be hot and dusty.
While we were stopped in Blenheim this is where we saw the other riders for the first time.
We were off again this time for Taylor’s pass and onto the Awatere Valley, where our next part of the ride would take us to the top of Mt Altimarloch, riding to a height of 1696m!
It was a good ride up, but in the back of my mind I was thinking about the problems they had last year with punctures on this track, so I was cautious, scanning for sharp rocks that were laying, waiting for their chance to inflict serious damage to my tyres.
As we neared the top, we passed MattsDakar and Ian coming down, these guys were on a mission, and were obviously way superior riders compared to me.
We made the top and stopped for a 5 minute breather, when the 3 riders of Warewolf, Transalper and Cooneyr arrived shortly afterwards. We took the obligatory photos and then it was time to head back down the mountain and onto Molesworth.
The road into Molesworth was like a super highway, with 4wds every few hundred meters apart, which created quite the dust storm.
Most of them were courteous and would pull over as we approached them.
By the time we reached the Rangers Cabin at Molesworth we were well and truly Dusty.
A quick stop here for the 6 riders that managed to stay within view of one another, it was here that we decided to ride together to open the many gates on route to Hanmer Springs.
The dust in here was something else, the grader has recently been in there and had pushed the edge of the road into the middle, and all that was left was a very fine powder on the side of the road, right where we were riding. It was unbelievable; you honestly couldn’t see anything else! So we spread out here for a while.
It was then over Jollies Pass to Hanmer, where the temperature had soared to over 32 degrees, it was 12.30pm when we arrived at the fuel stop to fill up both the bikes and ourselves, before heading through Rainbow and Porika.
We said farewell to the 3 faster riders, and headed off from Hanmer not long after.
The road into Rainbow was in the best condition I have ever seen it in, we didn’t have to dodge the thousands of potholes that are often scattered across the road, and this made up some time.
It was still hot but not as hot as Molesworth.
Following the river meant we also managed to have a cool breeze which certainly helped.
As we got closer to Rainbow station the more bees and wasps appeared, so it meant riding with the visors down, which I didn’t really like too much.
But it was either a nice cool breeze on the face or a sting and a swollen face.
It was at the Northern end that I noticed we had been riding for 10 hours and had covered 500km, so that was about ½ way.
But the second half to me didn’t seem as long?
Dusty Butt 1000km - We knocked the bugger off what next?
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great photos as well.
Originally Posted by marks
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