Emlyn
25th October 2010, 16:34
Out the gate by 7am was the plan, and we are off to a good start already fuelling up when 7am arrives. There are three of us for this trip; two up on a Triumph 1050 and Mr Triples brother on his VFR 800.
We followed the Chch to Dunners route, heading to Darfield and collecting answers as we went. With the snow capped mountains in the distance ahead there was a real nip in the air. The familiar local roads were in pretty good condition and traffic was light at that time of the morning, but we hankered for the windy, less travelled roads of the south, anticipating the challenge ahead.
A question to answer at Orari encouraged us to take our first rest, the little cafe there was open and we had all travelled past often, but never stopped in. Despite the open sign the door was locked, bummer, however the owner was happy to see us and let us in after all, for great coffee and an overwhelming selection of delicious food... stop in when you get the chance.
The chance to thaw out was great, we headed back out into the cool morning, grateful for the lack of rain but hopeful of the sun burning through the heavy cloud layer soon. We head towards Fairlie, the roads are starting to get nice and windy now, fantastic. We are mindful of speed this weekend due to the increased presence of the Police but it is a great stretch even at a sedate pace.
Finally we reach the sun, and its effect is immediate. We broke over the Burkes Pass summit and chased the sunny patches on the road as the clouds raced along too, trying to block us. However soon enough we had sun and felt the air temperature increase, delicious. Took a toilet break at Pukaki for a 5 minute chat about progress and headed off again.
Through to Otematata for lunch at the pub, we enjoyed a meal and chatted to the locals about the big weekend they expect with all the young ones camping and the police around to keep an eye on things. A labour weekend tradition it seems.
Sadly we couldn’t take a look at the Maori cave drawings near Duntroon, there has been a pretty big slip there, though we didn’t notice that until we had all our bike gear off, what a shame. In Duntroon we had a play at the Gaol house, as many do for sure. The ladies toilets down the road had a novel idea for saving space, carving the door to fit around the toilet seat to allow for full opening. Classic kiwi ingenuity at its best!
We experienced being lost for the first time at this point. We didn’t find the correct road and arrived in Livingstone to chat with a friendly local about where we may have gone wrong. Pretty soon into the conversation he realised he had spoken with another chap and his lady on a DR650 only a few days before... that will be Transalper we laughed, though it was in Duntroon rather than out in the boonies when TA was talking with him! We headed back and corrected our path, finding it easily with the local help.
We headed toward Maheno, enjoying the roads, despite a bit of grit, and the weather which remained awesome. Shag Point and Dunedin questions completed we headed to Leith Valley and our little cabin for a much earned beer and rest. The evening sun, with no wind, relaxing with a beer and having the pizza delivered was fantastic; we settled in and slept well.
Sunday morning and out the gate by 7am again. We expected today to be longer and harder as there were many more unfamiliar roads for us. We found North Road on the map at the camp, so headed out of Dunedin as instructed, looking for Mt Cargill Road. Who would ever want to leave Dunedin via SH1 again? What an awesome piece of road, we were enjoying it so much we forgot to look for the answer to our first question of the morning, we got to Waitati and no one had an answer! Bugger.
The Coast road via Warrington out to Karatine was nice too and new for all of us. There were huge ripples in the road, they were like earthquake damage, though probably subsidence or something, either way it was a good reminder that the pack on the rack should be buckled on, as it flew off, luckily hitting the rider on the back so he realised, as it could have been a long ride back from Palmerston on a bag hunt.
At Palmerston we were ready for breakfast and got to meet and chat with Thunderbolter who was heading to Waimate for the races, giving us fair warning about the increased traffic and police etc. We had another great feed and headed off to Trotters Gorge which is more familiar for us, though none the less fun, awesome.
Back across SH1 for some more coastal roads, and still not getting tangled up in too much traffic, with the sun happy to escort us, we are enjoying the challenge again today. We fluked upon Eden road in Oamaru, without too much indication, a bit of a back brake slide and almost a Viffer up our arse, we headed inland again.
We zig zagged across SH1 some more, as we followed our directions and wound up in Waimate, ready for the Navigational challenge with our personal tanks emptied and the bike tanks filled. It was a challenge in its self to navigate around Waimate as the roads were closed for time trial car races, and there was no access to answer the question. Marching up to a couple of locals Em went to try for the answer while the bikes fuelled up. Nothing free around here apparently, $20 or your phone number for that information thanks, said the security guard on the gate. Great, always knew there was something in the water around here! So whether we got the right answer or just a blokes name in case Em decides to look him up one day, is for Nighthawk to decide!
We really enjoyed the Nav Challenge section today; admittedly having someone able to focus on the instructions while we rode made a huge difference and meant a pretty continuous ride without too much need for stopping and discussion. Particularly enjoyed heading through the might Grays ford, had to get a photo opportunity in there. Em rolled her eyes and asked if the rims are even wet, but fun all the same.
Travelled through Geraldine, Mayfield and Thompsons Track for lunch in Rakaia before the homeward leg through Leeston with Em taking a turn on VFR from our lunch stop to home in Chch city.
Overall we had a great time, without any real struggles to find our way and clocked up 1097 with over shoots and beer fetching included. Thanks to Nighhawk and Xaria, and whoever else helped to organise, much appreciated and looking forward to next year’s challenge.
Sorry our other friends on their Thunderbird could not join us as planned, they had an off during a ‘warm up’ ride which resulted in a broken arm, and a very broken bike. Look forward to getting them involved and riding the Escapade together next year.
Cheers all,
Mr Triple and Emlyn.
222066222067222068222069222070
We followed the Chch to Dunners route, heading to Darfield and collecting answers as we went. With the snow capped mountains in the distance ahead there was a real nip in the air. The familiar local roads were in pretty good condition and traffic was light at that time of the morning, but we hankered for the windy, less travelled roads of the south, anticipating the challenge ahead.
A question to answer at Orari encouraged us to take our first rest, the little cafe there was open and we had all travelled past often, but never stopped in. Despite the open sign the door was locked, bummer, however the owner was happy to see us and let us in after all, for great coffee and an overwhelming selection of delicious food... stop in when you get the chance.
The chance to thaw out was great, we headed back out into the cool morning, grateful for the lack of rain but hopeful of the sun burning through the heavy cloud layer soon. We head towards Fairlie, the roads are starting to get nice and windy now, fantastic. We are mindful of speed this weekend due to the increased presence of the Police but it is a great stretch even at a sedate pace.
Finally we reach the sun, and its effect is immediate. We broke over the Burkes Pass summit and chased the sunny patches on the road as the clouds raced along too, trying to block us. However soon enough we had sun and felt the air temperature increase, delicious. Took a toilet break at Pukaki for a 5 minute chat about progress and headed off again.
Through to Otematata for lunch at the pub, we enjoyed a meal and chatted to the locals about the big weekend they expect with all the young ones camping and the police around to keep an eye on things. A labour weekend tradition it seems.
Sadly we couldn’t take a look at the Maori cave drawings near Duntroon, there has been a pretty big slip there, though we didn’t notice that until we had all our bike gear off, what a shame. In Duntroon we had a play at the Gaol house, as many do for sure. The ladies toilets down the road had a novel idea for saving space, carving the door to fit around the toilet seat to allow for full opening. Classic kiwi ingenuity at its best!
We experienced being lost for the first time at this point. We didn’t find the correct road and arrived in Livingstone to chat with a friendly local about where we may have gone wrong. Pretty soon into the conversation he realised he had spoken with another chap and his lady on a DR650 only a few days before... that will be Transalper we laughed, though it was in Duntroon rather than out in the boonies when TA was talking with him! We headed back and corrected our path, finding it easily with the local help.
We headed toward Maheno, enjoying the roads, despite a bit of grit, and the weather which remained awesome. Shag Point and Dunedin questions completed we headed to Leith Valley and our little cabin for a much earned beer and rest. The evening sun, with no wind, relaxing with a beer and having the pizza delivered was fantastic; we settled in and slept well.
Sunday morning and out the gate by 7am again. We expected today to be longer and harder as there were many more unfamiliar roads for us. We found North Road on the map at the camp, so headed out of Dunedin as instructed, looking for Mt Cargill Road. Who would ever want to leave Dunedin via SH1 again? What an awesome piece of road, we were enjoying it so much we forgot to look for the answer to our first question of the morning, we got to Waitati and no one had an answer! Bugger.
The Coast road via Warrington out to Karatine was nice too and new for all of us. There were huge ripples in the road, they were like earthquake damage, though probably subsidence or something, either way it was a good reminder that the pack on the rack should be buckled on, as it flew off, luckily hitting the rider on the back so he realised, as it could have been a long ride back from Palmerston on a bag hunt.
At Palmerston we were ready for breakfast and got to meet and chat with Thunderbolter who was heading to Waimate for the races, giving us fair warning about the increased traffic and police etc. We had another great feed and headed off to Trotters Gorge which is more familiar for us, though none the less fun, awesome.
Back across SH1 for some more coastal roads, and still not getting tangled up in too much traffic, with the sun happy to escort us, we are enjoying the challenge again today. We fluked upon Eden road in Oamaru, without too much indication, a bit of a back brake slide and almost a Viffer up our arse, we headed inland again.
We zig zagged across SH1 some more, as we followed our directions and wound up in Waimate, ready for the Navigational challenge with our personal tanks emptied and the bike tanks filled. It was a challenge in its self to navigate around Waimate as the roads were closed for time trial car races, and there was no access to answer the question. Marching up to a couple of locals Em went to try for the answer while the bikes fuelled up. Nothing free around here apparently, $20 or your phone number for that information thanks, said the security guard on the gate. Great, always knew there was something in the water around here! So whether we got the right answer or just a blokes name in case Em decides to look him up one day, is for Nighthawk to decide!
We really enjoyed the Nav Challenge section today; admittedly having someone able to focus on the instructions while we rode made a huge difference and meant a pretty continuous ride without too much need for stopping and discussion. Particularly enjoyed heading through the might Grays ford, had to get a photo opportunity in there. Em rolled her eyes and asked if the rims are even wet, but fun all the same.
Travelled through Geraldine, Mayfield and Thompsons Track for lunch in Rakaia before the homeward leg through Leeston with Em taking a turn on VFR from our lunch stop to home in Chch city.
Overall we had a great time, without any real struggles to find our way and clocked up 1097 with over shoots and beer fetching included. Thanks to Nighhawk and Xaria, and whoever else helped to organise, much appreciated and looking forward to next year’s challenge.
Sorry our other friends on their Thunderbird could not join us as planned, they had an off during a ‘warm up’ ride which resulted in a broken arm, and a very broken bike. Look forward to getting them involved and riding the Escapade together next year.
Cheers all,
Mr Triple and Emlyn.
222066222067222068222069222070