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Morepower
13th May 2006, 00:02
This is from a couple of years back...

Leaving from Napier What better to do on a cold and damp winter morning than go motorcycling.
A good weather forecast for Taupo has me setting off at around 8.30am on what is a familiar but greasy road. Thankfully there was no real rain but the spray from trucks required either a good memory or guess work as to where the road went at times. Soon I was cruising towards Taupo marvelling at the cloudless skies but cursing the biting cold at the same time. A welcome coffee soon warmed up the insides as I decided where to head.
Heading North I turned off towards Kinloch to head around the far side of the lake. The roads here are fast and free of traffic but care is needed as shaded parts stay wet and the resulting slides have me slowing down a bit and lacking confidence in my rear tyre which is well past its best. At Kuratu Junction I turn right to Taumarunui . I stopped at the top of Hill where there was a lookout and could see Mount Egmont as well as the Tongariro Mountains, The cold air meant there was no haze and the view alone made the trip worthwhile.
It had been a difficult ride so far as the roads still went from dry to wet where least expected however I was soon at Taumarunui. Another Tank of gas and I headed down highway 43 which is named the forgotten highway and would take you all the way to Stratford . This road would make a great summer ride through Whangamomona to New Plymouth. The surface was uneven but it has little traffic and some great scenery.
I didn’t head to Stratford rather went towards Ohura where I planned to stop for lunch. Now Ohura must have had a reason for being there at some stage but has been long forgotten. I cruised down a wide main street which had a center median and a number of long closed businesses. There was a Garage on the right and what looked like a craft shop as well. Now this was around 1.30 on a weekday and there was no one to be seen. I stopped at the store and got a pie and a drink then sat down outside on a picnic table. It was then something struck me as very odd. Total silence . Despite the Garage down the road being open, the odd house and the council truck across the road , there was no sign of life other than the old lady running the store. The Council truck was really odd as it had a trailer that was obviously for a ride on mower. The cut grass was a giveaway that some mowing had been done however there was no sign of the mower or any workers. As I ate my lunch there was no babies crying , no TV noise , no cars , no radios , no mowers , no anything . It would have been noisier in the middle of the bush. I walked across the road to the toilets and walked past a house that was open with cars outside in the yard but still no sign of any life. By this stage I was spooked and very keen to get back on my bike. I wondered if the locals were hiding watching this stranger from behind partially pulled blinds. Not wanting to meet any Banjo players I headed quickly out of town,noticing that this lovely place has a prison as well. The road was very bumpy and parts had me standing on the pegs dirt bike style to cope at a reasonable speed.
I was well pleased to get back on the main highway and head back towards Taumarunui . This is a nice piece of road and it was not long before my radar detector started to beep , slowing me to a legal speed as the Highway Patrol car came into view. More gas at Taumaranui and towards home via Turangi and the east side of the lake. As I was quite tired by this stage I was quite pleased with the TL’s ability to just lope along at just over 4000rpm and 120kmh with no effort. A few corners around the lake were fun and woke me up a bit .
The best part of the trip riding wise was the Taupo Road on the way back , at this stage it was dry and with little traffic I was having fun.

I cant say this was the best trip I had ever done , but it was interesting and I saw parts of the country I had not been to before. The roads were quite rough and the rotary shock just didn’t cope once it was hot. Other than that the TL showed once again how good it is at touring

slimjim
13th May 2006, 08:05
:scooter: morning laddy , was wondering what's the weather out your way, heading to thee cold duck,,wondering if wets to wear or just thee leathers:yes:

yungatart
13th May 2006, 10:10
Slimjim, it is fine here, cool with some cloud - but NO rain! Enjoy your weekend!