Racing Dave
17th December 2010, 13:17
You may recall that my attempt to participate in this year's Small Bore Challenge on my NXR125 ended both in dismal failure and in a helicopter ride to Dunedin with a dislocated shoulder.
Yesterday I rode the full course, again on my wee Honda, leaving Fairlie at 2 am on Thursday morning, and returning just a few minutes under 24 hours.
The usual close calls with wildlife (8 wallabies, 5 possums, 2 hedgehogs, many cows, many many sheep, many many many rabbits) totaled just one small bird. With my maximum speed of 80 km/h, maybe they find me easy to avoid?
The first four hours was in either mist, drizzle, or fog, as was the last two hours, and I was down to the bottom of first gear over Mackenzie Pass, as there was no visibilty. However, once past Ranfurly and all the way to Omarama, the sun shone, and it was hot.
Only two fuel stops (Lawrence and Cromwell) but I had to tip in one spare bottle of fuel just before Clark's Junction, as my tank range is 390 km in adventure mode. Another brief stop to discuss the legality of my number plate with one who cares about those things, ended amicably.
I wanted to get to the Little Omarama Saddle in daylight, as I didn't fancy the risk of the ruts and possible hidden horrors in the streams in the dark, and made it with only minutes to spare - the sun had set, but it was still light on the south side, and fully dark by the time I descended. As it turns out, the fords are much smoother than the track! Likewise Black Forest, the road is in very rough condition.
All good fun, but I don't see me completing the 2011 event in one day, so I'll be moving to the two-day rider's list.
Thanks again to Ryan for putting in the effort, it looks like next month's ride will be a cracker.
Cheers,
Dave B
Yesterday I rode the full course, again on my wee Honda, leaving Fairlie at 2 am on Thursday morning, and returning just a few minutes under 24 hours.
The usual close calls with wildlife (8 wallabies, 5 possums, 2 hedgehogs, many cows, many many sheep, many many many rabbits) totaled just one small bird. With my maximum speed of 80 km/h, maybe they find me easy to avoid?
The first four hours was in either mist, drizzle, or fog, as was the last two hours, and I was down to the bottom of first gear over Mackenzie Pass, as there was no visibilty. However, once past Ranfurly and all the way to Omarama, the sun shone, and it was hot.
Only two fuel stops (Lawrence and Cromwell) but I had to tip in one spare bottle of fuel just before Clark's Junction, as my tank range is 390 km in adventure mode. Another brief stop to discuss the legality of my number plate with one who cares about those things, ended amicably.
I wanted to get to the Little Omarama Saddle in daylight, as I didn't fancy the risk of the ruts and possible hidden horrors in the streams in the dark, and made it with only minutes to spare - the sun had set, but it was still light on the south side, and fully dark by the time I descended. As it turns out, the fords are much smoother than the track! Likewise Black Forest, the road is in very rough condition.
All good fun, but I don't see me completing the 2011 event in one day, so I'll be moving to the two-day rider's list.
Thanks again to Ryan for putting in the effort, it looks like next month's ride will be a cracker.
Cheers,
Dave B