STJim
23rd February 2010, 15:18
Mt Ruapehu to Mt Egmont Motorcycle Ride
This ride is organized by Toko & Districts Lions Club from Taranaki. The third annual event took place on 31 January 2010.
Having heard good reports about this event from last year, we put it on our runs list for Hamilton Ulysses this year. My wife, Heather and I were the only takers. We set off from Hamilton in brilliant sunshine on Saturday, 30 January 2010 heading for National Park. Riding a ST Honda 1300, range is not an issue. We filled the tank at Taumarunui on the way down expecting that there would be ample fuel to get us to Taranaki. Taumarunui temperature was 27 degrees and it was rather warm.
As we headed out of Taumarunui up the hill to National Park the weather started to deteriorate. By the time we reached Owhango it had already started to rain off and on and the temperature had dropped to 22 degrees. We made a decision at that stage not to put our wet weather gear on. Bad decision!! By the time we hit National Park, it was seriously raining and the temperature dropped to 17 degrees. We stopped in at the first place that we could see life which was Evin’s Bar where there Saturday night BBQ was to be held. Coffee while we waited for the rain to go seemed like a good idea. About an hour later, the rain had almost stopped. We put our wet-weather gear on to go the 9kms to Discovery Lodge for our cabin for the night. After checking in, we returned for the BBQ. When we arrived we didn’t know anyone, however, we soon got talking to Clive and his wife from Hawke’s Bay and others. The social camaraderie amongst motorcyclists is great. With only a few exceptions, it doesn’t matter what you ride, everyone you meet is ‘your new best friend’.
Heather had her camera with her and enjoyed taking photos that evening and the following day on the ride (three of which are attached).
Next morning dawned rather grey and windy. As we headed up to the Chateau the weather was seriously inclement, wind and some drizzle. The only criticism I have with the organization of the ride was there was no tea and coffee available to purchase at the start.
The ride briefing was at 10.00am and the ride left the Chateau at about 10.30am. We didn’t rush to leave; we wanted to make sure that anyone wanting a race was away well ahead of us.
The ride headed back to Taumarunui where lots of people had to fill up with petrol. My pillion thought she needed some morning tea. On leaving Taumarunui, I must confess I didn’t particularly enjoy the ride from Taumarunui through to the Ohura junction. The road surface was wet with lots of shiny patches. I felt, two-up, I needed to take reasonable care. The result was I had a few bikes piling up behind me and just after the Ohura turn-off, I pulled over and let a whole lot past. I prefer to ride my own ride rather than be pushed.
From there, the road becomes less twisty and then you head up over Paparatu Saddle before you come down into the Tangarakau gorge and the gravel. I have been through this road before and have no problem with the gravel. You just take your time. We were through at Whangamomona at about 1.00pm. The Taranaki Rescue helicopter was at Whangamomona and four lucky people got a ride.
We left Whangamomona at about 2.20pm heading for Stratford. From Whangamomona there are three saddles to cross. The first one is the Whangamomona saddle, then it is the Pohokara saddle and finally, the Strathmore Saddle, each one diminishing in size. It didn’t seem terribly long and we were at Stratford. From there we expected to go up Egmont to what is known as the Plateau, however, we were directed immediately to a large carpark from where it was a walk to where everyone was to gather for the end and the prize-giving. At that stage we caught up with Millen and Donna (Ride-on and Misread) from the local Hamilton Kiwi Biker community. We had, of course, seen them at the start and at the lunch break.
At prize-giving, Millen was lucky enough to win one of the major spot prizes – a new helmet and Donna also ended up with a lucky draw for what ladies refer to as ‘throw over’ and a t-shirt. Yours truly ended up with a set of motorcycle tie-downs.
From there we headed for our accommodation for the night at a cabin at the motor camp at Stratford. We liked the Stratford motor camp, it is rather quaint with nice clean facilities.
From there, it was looking for food. There was very little open in Stratford on a Sunday evening and headed for the delicatessen at the supermarket to scrounge some food for dinner. Also at the Stratford motor camp was a group from Taumarunui Ulysses and John from Cambridge who has just joined Hamilton Ulysses.
Monday morning dawned, grey and drizzly. We headed for the Shell service station in Stratford to top the fuel up and then headed for Hamilton. At the bottom slopes of Mt Messenger, we passed John stopped by the side of the road. We thought he was just having a rest stop. At that stage, there was grit on the road, (we learned later that there had been a diesel spill) so we didn’t want to stop and kept going. At the rest area at the top and talking to Council worker in a truck, we learned that John was stopped with a flat tyre and that someone was going to assist him to get to the next service station up the road at Awakino.
We then had our next stop at Mokau at the Whitebait Inn. As we pulled in we saw a number of bikes from Auckland Ulysses and we caught up again with Millen, Donna and their mate Steve. We asked them if they had seen the guy stopped by the road at Mt Messenger and they hadn’t. At Awakino service station, there was Johns’ Honda Shadow on the back of a Works and Infrastructure ute. We helped unload it at the service station. It appears that he had a wee ‘off’ in the grit on the road and a flat tyre as well. He didn’t know if he would get home that night. I was pleased, however, to see him later that evening at the Hamilton Ulysses meeting. A new tube in his tyre was all that was required and he was home in Cambridge at about 4.30 that afternoon.
Then for us, it was upwards and onwards through the Awakino Gorge. Lots of traffic on the road for holiday weekend including heavy vehicles, boats and caravans.
At Piopio we stopped at the Fat Pigeon café. This café is fairly new. I have stopped there before and regard it as one of the best cafes in the Waikato region. Just before we left, it started to rain, we put all our wets on again and left in the rain which lasted all of five minutes, but from there, it was a straight run home to Hamilton arriving at approximately 3.30pm.
On the whole, a great ride. Will we do it again? Yes – very likely.
This ride is organized by Toko & Districts Lions Club from Taranaki. The third annual event took place on 31 January 2010.
Having heard good reports about this event from last year, we put it on our runs list for Hamilton Ulysses this year. My wife, Heather and I were the only takers. We set off from Hamilton in brilliant sunshine on Saturday, 30 January 2010 heading for National Park. Riding a ST Honda 1300, range is not an issue. We filled the tank at Taumarunui on the way down expecting that there would be ample fuel to get us to Taranaki. Taumarunui temperature was 27 degrees and it was rather warm.
As we headed out of Taumarunui up the hill to National Park the weather started to deteriorate. By the time we reached Owhango it had already started to rain off and on and the temperature had dropped to 22 degrees. We made a decision at that stage not to put our wet weather gear on. Bad decision!! By the time we hit National Park, it was seriously raining and the temperature dropped to 17 degrees. We stopped in at the first place that we could see life which was Evin’s Bar where there Saturday night BBQ was to be held. Coffee while we waited for the rain to go seemed like a good idea. About an hour later, the rain had almost stopped. We put our wet-weather gear on to go the 9kms to Discovery Lodge for our cabin for the night. After checking in, we returned for the BBQ. When we arrived we didn’t know anyone, however, we soon got talking to Clive and his wife from Hawke’s Bay and others. The social camaraderie amongst motorcyclists is great. With only a few exceptions, it doesn’t matter what you ride, everyone you meet is ‘your new best friend’.
Heather had her camera with her and enjoyed taking photos that evening and the following day on the ride (three of which are attached).
Next morning dawned rather grey and windy. As we headed up to the Chateau the weather was seriously inclement, wind and some drizzle. The only criticism I have with the organization of the ride was there was no tea and coffee available to purchase at the start.
The ride briefing was at 10.00am and the ride left the Chateau at about 10.30am. We didn’t rush to leave; we wanted to make sure that anyone wanting a race was away well ahead of us.
The ride headed back to Taumarunui where lots of people had to fill up with petrol. My pillion thought she needed some morning tea. On leaving Taumarunui, I must confess I didn’t particularly enjoy the ride from Taumarunui through to the Ohura junction. The road surface was wet with lots of shiny patches. I felt, two-up, I needed to take reasonable care. The result was I had a few bikes piling up behind me and just after the Ohura turn-off, I pulled over and let a whole lot past. I prefer to ride my own ride rather than be pushed.
From there, the road becomes less twisty and then you head up over Paparatu Saddle before you come down into the Tangarakau gorge and the gravel. I have been through this road before and have no problem with the gravel. You just take your time. We were through at Whangamomona at about 1.00pm. The Taranaki Rescue helicopter was at Whangamomona and four lucky people got a ride.
We left Whangamomona at about 2.20pm heading for Stratford. From Whangamomona there are three saddles to cross. The first one is the Whangamomona saddle, then it is the Pohokara saddle and finally, the Strathmore Saddle, each one diminishing in size. It didn’t seem terribly long and we were at Stratford. From there we expected to go up Egmont to what is known as the Plateau, however, we were directed immediately to a large carpark from where it was a walk to where everyone was to gather for the end and the prize-giving. At that stage we caught up with Millen and Donna (Ride-on and Misread) from the local Hamilton Kiwi Biker community. We had, of course, seen them at the start and at the lunch break.
At prize-giving, Millen was lucky enough to win one of the major spot prizes – a new helmet and Donna also ended up with a lucky draw for what ladies refer to as ‘throw over’ and a t-shirt. Yours truly ended up with a set of motorcycle tie-downs.
From there we headed for our accommodation for the night at a cabin at the motor camp at Stratford. We liked the Stratford motor camp, it is rather quaint with nice clean facilities.
From there, it was looking for food. There was very little open in Stratford on a Sunday evening and headed for the delicatessen at the supermarket to scrounge some food for dinner. Also at the Stratford motor camp was a group from Taumarunui Ulysses and John from Cambridge who has just joined Hamilton Ulysses.
Monday morning dawned, grey and drizzly. We headed for the Shell service station in Stratford to top the fuel up and then headed for Hamilton. At the bottom slopes of Mt Messenger, we passed John stopped by the side of the road. We thought he was just having a rest stop. At that stage, there was grit on the road, (we learned later that there had been a diesel spill) so we didn’t want to stop and kept going. At the rest area at the top and talking to Council worker in a truck, we learned that John was stopped with a flat tyre and that someone was going to assist him to get to the next service station up the road at Awakino.
We then had our next stop at Mokau at the Whitebait Inn. As we pulled in we saw a number of bikes from Auckland Ulysses and we caught up again with Millen, Donna and their mate Steve. We asked them if they had seen the guy stopped by the road at Mt Messenger and they hadn’t. At Awakino service station, there was Johns’ Honda Shadow on the back of a Works and Infrastructure ute. We helped unload it at the service station. It appears that he had a wee ‘off’ in the grit on the road and a flat tyre as well. He didn’t know if he would get home that night. I was pleased, however, to see him later that evening at the Hamilton Ulysses meeting. A new tube in his tyre was all that was required and he was home in Cambridge at about 4.30 that afternoon.
Then for us, it was upwards and onwards through the Awakino Gorge. Lots of traffic on the road for holiday weekend including heavy vehicles, boats and caravans.
At Piopio we stopped at the Fat Pigeon café. This café is fairly new. I have stopped there before and regard it as one of the best cafes in the Waikato region. Just before we left, it started to rain, we put all our wets on again and left in the rain which lasted all of five minutes, but from there, it was a straight run home to Hamilton arriving at approximately 3.30pm.
On the whole, a great ride. Will we do it again? Yes – very likely.