That was fun! Loburn/Okuku/Lees/Ashley gorge

[AlpinePossum]

That was a fun day... Fantastic Weather.

I figured I'd go see how bad the crux point on Okuku pass (http://maps.google.co.nz/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&sll=-41.244772,172.617188&sspn=34.487856,67.763672&ie=UTF8&ll=-43.053148,172.345705&spn=0.032864,0.098877&t=p&z=14) was.

Some fairly deep puddles and a reasonably deep and swift stream. Definitely beyond what ye average 2wd can manage.

Figure that since I was doing it solo, I had better be careful so I spent some time paddling about trying to find a good line.

Hint: The damn 4wd's chew up the rocky river bed leaving it loose... A hundred yards upstream was a much longer crossing, but much firmer bottom.

I got off and walked the bike through the first deep / fast bit.

Good to have a 650cc boot blow dryer.:shifty:

There after the biggest hazard was deepish shingle... That's stuff really Good for Zen meditation.

Can't let mind wander, can't let mind panic, trust to the inherent stability of the bike, don't bugger around with the clutch just keep in the power band.

Oh yes. And hundreds of little fords. Failure to pay attention will be punished!

Lots of gates. Sigh! The Suzi's footstand interlock that kills the engine when the footstand goes down is a bit tiresome. Fortunately the starter worked everytime.

Going down the steep bits of Ashley Gorge, I did spend some time contemplating whether there was a word for when your brake foot disagreed with your throttle hand as to how fast you should be going! :laugh:

All and all grreat fun.

[Transalper]

If you had stuck a post in the forum before you went out you would have had a guide or two.
Guess you must just like it solo.

[thepom]

Damn I would have come too.....:bash:

[AlpinePossum]

When you type up a long reply... preview it... then someone interrupts you so you don't actually post it?

Dang!


If you had stuck a post in the forum before you went out you would have had a guide or two.
Guess you must just like it solo.

Actually this ride just sort of "happened". I reserve saturday mornings for "my preserve sanity time". Usually a walk in the hills, and now puddling about on the bike.

I had a strict time limit on saturday, I had to be back before 4 at the absolute latest and I had started out late as well... So I drove out of my driveway, looked at the sky, tossed a mental coin left or right, and went! After awhile I started to plan on getting to the crux point and having a look, and then turning around. Possibly turning around before I got there if I ran out of time.

But having got there, and given that I had scouted out most of the other side by car previously, I figured it would be quicker to cross and head home that way!

No need for a guide, as I have been recc'ing and drooling over topo maps and googlemap eyeing that route for years. Companionship would have been nice... but as I said, it just sort of "happened".

Solo has some advantages... easy to back off if you hit a personal time limit, and you can concentrate on riding the correct speed and correct number of rest stops for your skill level.

Having solo'd both on bike and foot in a number of rather strange places... I have a hardwired attitude that if I get into shit, I'm the only person on the planet that is going to get me out... so I better not get into shit in the first place! (Not entirely true... my experience is the average human of every country, race, colour and creed is amazingly helpful and generous. But that is something I never abuse by relying on!)

So I never commit to a route I'm not certain I can back out of. I end up getting off and walking a lot of obstacles, especially anything I can't see the bottom of!

It also means I'm usually pathetically slow compared to the average pack of riders. But thats OK, I like that. I'm just out to have fun.

Ah well... I'm gearing myself up for an overnight ride soon, maybe friday night if the planets align.... and weather permits. In NZ we need flexiweekend, not flexitime!

Where to? I'm not sure.... on my list are rides like...
* Lake Taylor/Loch Katrine before the Nats screw it up.
* Glenfalloch to Lake Heron
* Glenthorne and beyond.
* Anywhere the North Canty Adv rideouts are going. :)
* I have the 4wd trail book out of the library and will take a trawl through that.
* Probably have to skip anything not a formal paper road... lambing season and the farmers are bound to be shirty.
* Any suggestions?

As my plans firm up I'll start another thread for it. Be good to share some of the gate open gate close stuff!

[Transalper]

Indeed I still do the odd solo, usually basic stuff.
Plans are awkard since they involve thinking up a meeting time and place instead of just going when I'm dam well ready.

I've been known send a late morning text to just one other rider (usually cooneyr, the lucky fella) to see if he's free and up for a ride in an hour or so.
All comes down to the day I might want at the time.

I also get to ride with my partner J a lot (she has her own DR650), but she likes the stuff I call easy and we often do more black top than gravel together.
There's hopefully a decent day out coming up in the North Canty Rides thread Saturday 3rd, I imagine you've seen the post. Details aren't finalised yet but it's a date to keep aside.

Speed isn't normally an issue, there's almost always someone faster and someone slower than each of us.