MD
22nd August 2005, 17:54
Went south for a 3 day weekend to check out Golden Bay, Marlborough or anywhere we could find beds for nine riders. The local councils must have won the lotto powerball of grit prizes because the pricks dumped barge loads on every hill, bend and the straights for good measure. The grit took some of the shine off the riding but 3 days of sunshine makes up for a lot. Disappointed because I've looked forward to riding the Takaha hill for years. There were sections free of grit so we caned it but it was always in the back of your mind that 'maybe the next bend...'
One of us had an unfortunate but interesting bin at the top of the Takaha Hill. Missed taking out the top of Hill sign by a metre. Front wheel washed out on a GSXR1000 as he flip flopped between a right and left hand bend and grabbed too much front brake, maybe. It was a dry section free of grit. Poor rider cracked his sternum and broke a bone in his thumb but walked away and even rode on. Tough bugger, even tougher bike.
The bike slid then flipped over a small tree down a steep bank and ended up stuck upside down in a tree. All we could see was the wheels sticking up. Lucky for us because without that tree it would have been waaaay down the cliff in smaller bits. We dragged it up expecting it to be a wreck. BIG cosmetic damage. Stunned us that it started so we dug the debris out of the bushes and with lots of duck tape and bungees got it rideable. I wont post pics out of respect for the owner who might not want publicity. What goes on tour stays on tour as they say. It was getting late and light fading. So picture this, we found the head light unit and dash, taped then in position, plugged wires backed in and ... shit they worked. Speedo was shattered but the revs worked. Front brake reservoir was smashed but we plugged the remaining hose attached to the lever with a screw and they still worked- all the way back to Picton. In case Mr Plod came along and ordered bike off the road we found the broken indicators and taped the bulbs on and .. then there was light!! Looked like a cool mad max fighter but still a shame for the owner.
One last thing- anyone hear of a fatality/serious bike crash Sunday 21/08 about 3pm on the St Arnoud to Blenheim road? We passed a yellow bike headed the other way to us, waved and nodded as usual then 2 minutes later he crashed. We stopped at the next pub and locals came in a while later and told us about the accident and said that he appeared to be dead. One of our group had just pulled over to visit a local he knew as it happened. He heard the crash. Nothing in this morning's DomPost? Hope we heard wrong.
Long story to say, I'LL VOTE FOR ANY PARTY OPPOSED TO CHEAP GRIT IMPORTS.
One of us had an unfortunate but interesting bin at the top of the Takaha Hill. Missed taking out the top of Hill sign by a metre. Front wheel washed out on a GSXR1000 as he flip flopped between a right and left hand bend and grabbed too much front brake, maybe. It was a dry section free of grit. Poor rider cracked his sternum and broke a bone in his thumb but walked away and even rode on. Tough bugger, even tougher bike.
The bike slid then flipped over a small tree down a steep bank and ended up stuck upside down in a tree. All we could see was the wheels sticking up. Lucky for us because without that tree it would have been waaaay down the cliff in smaller bits. We dragged it up expecting it to be a wreck. BIG cosmetic damage. Stunned us that it started so we dug the debris out of the bushes and with lots of duck tape and bungees got it rideable. I wont post pics out of respect for the owner who might not want publicity. What goes on tour stays on tour as they say. It was getting late and light fading. So picture this, we found the head light unit and dash, taped then in position, plugged wires backed in and ... shit they worked. Speedo was shattered but the revs worked. Front brake reservoir was smashed but we plugged the remaining hose attached to the lever with a screw and they still worked- all the way back to Picton. In case Mr Plod came along and ordered bike off the road we found the broken indicators and taped the bulbs on and .. then there was light!! Looked like a cool mad max fighter but still a shame for the owner.
One last thing- anyone hear of a fatality/serious bike crash Sunday 21/08 about 3pm on the St Arnoud to Blenheim road? We passed a yellow bike headed the other way to us, waved and nodded as usual then 2 minutes later he crashed. We stopped at the next pub and locals came in a while later and told us about the accident and said that he appeared to be dead. One of our group had just pulled over to visit a local he knew as it happened. He heard the crash. Nothing in this morning's DomPost? Hope we heard wrong.
Long story to say, I'LL VOTE FOR ANY PARTY OPPOSED TO CHEAP GRIT IMPORTS.