No rain, Nothing planed so why not go and check the condition of the 42...
So I decided to go and check it out and post a few pictures!
Down the western bay road to Tokaanu for fuel, Up over the saddle and off to find the start of the track! Doh there it is! a quick U turn required!
The track is in good condition, well good enough for a mad solo rider on a BMW F650 with a full tool kit, consisting of a cell phone and a can of tyre weld
Items of interest on the ride.
Bee in helmet within the first 6k!Visor down me thinks!
Thinking man i have to pick up the pace on the gravel i am too slow! Then looking at the speedo and thinking... No 90km.hr is probably a bit over pace... Slow down!
No "off's and No almost off's! Pretty impressed with these Mitas E-07's!
Getting stopped by a very worried French MTB rider at about the half way mark, She says "this is the 42 Traverse".. I say "Umm Never done this ride before, but i hope so! she says "Oh ok, How far into the track are we?" I say "sorry not sure i did not take note of my trip meter at the start." "never mind" she says. then she says " there is a big river crossing around the corner and i think you will have a real hard time getting your bike across" My heart drops....Surely i can complete the ride!
"Thanks, I guess i will find out" i say and ride around the corner to see a long river crossing with her man in bare feet getting his bike across..
I wait for him to clear the river and think, well this is it! Slip in ionto gear and begin the crossing. Half way across is about part way up my engine and the man is looking on with interest....
The BMW takes it in its stride and i pass the man standing on the far river bank, climb faultlesly up a crumbly rocky hill and continue on..
Along the way i pass about eight MTB riders, all look bemused to see a shiny BMW on their "tough track" I even stop at one guy who looks really confused to see the bike and advise him that he should get a motorbike as its sooooooo much easier to ride than his bike! a bit of a laugh and we continue on.
I stopped at the bottom of a good size hill climb to pick a line to ride, Nothing too serious i decide and am about to let the clutch out when a YZ comes down the hill! He pulls up next to me and advises one bike behind before racing off, Shortly after an older guy on a quad rumbles down, Yet again another rather surprised look at the BMW... Damn BMW.... Aint these guys ever seen one before!
Up the hill we go, BMW does not complain and we continue on with a few photo stops at various places.
Eventually i pop out the end of the track and take a breather, have a refreshing drink from my super well shaken and stired bottle of rather angry Coke and take a few more photos.
Along come a few of the front runners on the MTB's i passed along the way. The first two stop for a chat about the track and how far to get to the main carpark and a look at the damn bike again!
Off they go and the next guy stops for a look at... You guessed it.
He says "How far in did you go before you turned around?" I said "I came from the other end" he says "really! Heck thats quite a bike to do that track on!, I bet you had some real trouble on some of the bits back there!" we chat for a while and discuss the track, including some of the harder bits and both head off on our ways, i think the bike was thinking it was pretty cool by this stage! so it was time to put it in its place and head off to catch up with a mate in Taumaranui before heading to Taupo to say hi to the oldies and home to toke! along SH41 and SH1 from Turangi to Taupo, What a scenic ride!
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Originally Posted by JATZ
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