Ixion
14th May 2006, 17:37
In This thread (http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=29266) I posited the possibilty of an alternative to SH16, now that the Interchangeable Mabels have discovered it.
So, the threatened rain not eventuating, I set off to check it out, accompanied by the faithful Von Klunken. I considered taking Phoebe, since she is my best bike on gravel, thanks to that 19 inch front wheel, but decided that Der Uberfarter's was the better miount for an exploration - and he has a much longer tank range, which I though might be significant.
Boring stuff to start with, motorway to Westgate, fill up, and crawl through the Mabels to Old North Road. has anyone else noticed how BUSY Old North Rd is nowdays?
The first turn off , from Old North Rd into Ararimu Valley Rd I found OK. Hm, wonder the sprots bikers haven't descended on this road, I thought, it's just one corner after another, with a few short fast straights in between . Nice scenary, good road, twisty following twisty, not another vehicle on the whole road. Sprotsbikers should love it . Then , Ah, gravel. Now I know why they don't come here . Not bad gravel , though, about 5km of it, fairly good except for one stretch about 100mtr long that had me up on the pegs (Sammy Millar? Who's he ?). Then some more seal.
Then the first hiccough. The next turn should have been Valley Rd, which on the map is shown as going though to Kahikatea Flats Rd. But - the sign post said "No exit". Bugger. Fortunately , while I was poring over the map, a car shot past, stopped , reversed, and an old geezer asked where I wanted to go. "Waitoki". "Go down here, 1st left, Forestry Rd. have a nice ride"."Thanks very much". That's one of the nice things about riding back roads, the people are much friendlier.
So, off to find Forestry Rd (it's not even on my map). And here it is. Gravel,but quite good gravel, no problems. A crusier went past, good on him. Basically riding through the forest.
Some twists and turns , and eventually I come out onto a sealed mainish road. Check the map, conclude that this is Kahikatea Flats Rd, I've just come out at a slightly different point. And on the way, I pass the OTHER end of Valley Rd. So it DID once go right through. I wonder what is in the middle of it that stops you getting through now. And is it legal and can it be removed ? I'll find out next time. Anyone know a good place to get dynamite?
Turn left, should bring me to Waitoki, and it does. With a gas station, and it's open. Take note. The only one I'll see until I get back to Kaucop.
Right turn to the Waitoki Rd, next stop Wainui. A nice fast road, this is more to Von Klunken's liking, he settles down into Schnell-Panzer mode, and stops grumbling about "not havink enlisted vor zer Afrika Korps", and starts asking how far it is to Paris . With undertones of "Uhlans? I vill giv zem zer Uhlans" . And a few kilometers knocked off at a decent rate, not likely to be any plod this far out. One or two cars AND A BLOODY HORSE FLOAT. Where do the damn things come from? But it's a fast road and no other traffic so overtaking is dead easy.
Wainui. And the next problem. According to the map, I should turn left here into Haruru Rd. But there IS no left turn. Only a right and straight ahead. Both also on my map, and neither what I want.
Go back down the road I came down, in case I missed a left turn. Nope. Try the right hand road (Wainui Rd) a kilometre or so in case the turn is actually off that. No. Back to Wainui, and try the one remaining road (Weranui Rd). And here it is, a kilometre up that road, the turn off to Haruru Rd. Maps are not always quite right.
Strike off into Hururu Rd. And through the time tunnel, back to yesteryear. This is what motorcycling was like when I was young.
Hururu Rd starts out as a nice twisty sealed road. Good fun. Then comes the gravel, after about 5km of seal. And some warning signs. Hm. Loose metal. Hm. Road Narrows. Hm. Beware of loggin trucks. OK. Beware of stock. Will do.
And a nice easy gravel road it is, not much gravel.Mainly just wet dirt. That's OK, I'd rather have dirt than loose metal.On it winds through typical New Zealand back country. No other traffic , a few people walking or doing farmer stuff, give them a wave, and they wave back, so much friendlier on the back roads.
Nothing scarey on this road, though I keep the speed down, I've learned not to belt along back roads, they get used for all sorts of things, and there's no point in antagonising the locals. They're their roads after all, not ours. A quiet 80kph is quite nice on this road.
And here's the turnoff to Tahekeroa.Signpost says 6km. I can't resist it, I've never been there. Must just go and have a look, it's only 12km return.
More nice road, pure dirt now, this road hasn't seen the council gravel truck in years. Washboard on all the corners, and cambers going every which way. And lots and lots of potholes. That's OK, I can ride round the potholes, I know how to negotiate strange cambered corners, and Von Klunken's suspension copes very well with wash board. Not as good as a proper dirt bike, but pretty good, This is the sort of stuff he does well. Despite more grumbling about the Afrika Korps.
On the way I cross the railway line. It looks abandoned all right, and it would be easy to get even a big bike onto the tracks. No road heading toward Ahuroa, alas. But the railway goes there. Can anyone confirm that it's no longer used?
The road winds on , up and down, 6km comes and goes , no sign of anything.By now the road is down to a single narrow lane, real back country. Nice. I pass one 4wd going the other way. Give him a wave, he waves back,the driver looks surprised to see another vehicle(so was I), but he knows the correct etiquette for metal roads. As did everyone I encountered on the gravel on the trip. Good to see that there are still some competant NZ drivers out there.
Finally, at the 11km mark I come to the intersection with Upper Waiwera Rd. Signposts aren't always right either. Its a nice looking road, and I don't know if I've ever ridden it. But it will take me out to Waiwera, on the opposite side of the island to where I want to go. So, reluctantly, I turn back.
Back into the Haruru road (another 11km later) .And here's Makerau Rd and the top end of the Kanahoi Rd. On down Makerau Rd, hoping that Burnside Rd, and the Wech Access Rd both exist, and do in fact connect. I'm not too confident. But, here, with a bit of seal and a nice bridge (one lane of course, I've already lost count of the number of one lane bridges- that's what you get on these roads), is Burnside Rd.
The seal gives way to gravel after half a kilometre, but it's good gravel. I was scared the roads might have been buried under inches of metal as the council works departments used up their annual budget at the end of March, but it appears not. They're pretty good, nice and predictable .
Made a wee oops at one point, I shot up a farm driveway, instead of following the road when it swung hard left and over a bridge. The farm drive ran straight ahead off the road and it was wider and in better condition than the road! I never even noticed the road swinging left , hidden by trees.
Somewhere along the way it turned into Wech Access Rd, but I didn't notice.
And here we are, emerged in West Coast Road. Turn right and head for Komokoriki.
Sealed road, and the sign says "Twisty Road, 14km". It was , too, everything from 25kph hairpins to fast sweepers. One or two cars, maybe half a dozen an hour, that's heavy enough traffic for my liking.Pass a big crusier going the other way, give him a wave , he waves back, you get a better class of person on the back roads.
And here's the turn off on the left, Old Woodcocks Rd. It's gravel, but SUCH good gravel. 120kph is easy stuff on this gravel, it's actually better than seal, because it doesn't get slippery with rain the way seal does. And the rain is starting in now.
Farming country here, not bush. On to Kaipara Flats, and turn left to Kaipara Flats Road. Sealed now, wave to a farmer on a quad, sheltering under a bridge waiting for his dogs, he waves back. Turn off now onto the Tauhoa Rd. Gravel again, but good gravel. Nothing difficult, anyone could ride these roads. Hoteo, nothing there now. Look about a bit for any sign of a road through to Ashby , but no sign of one. Must have been one once though, following the railway.
Round a blind bend, and there's a calf in the middle of the road. One of those red and cream ones (Friesian? Dunno, I'm not into cattle). But it's OK. I'm not going fast, pays not to make assumptions on these roads, I ride round the calf, and it just looks at me.
The rest of the way to Tauhoa is straight forward, gravel, nothing difficult, no traffic, I'm the only thing on the road. This is what it used to be like. Peaceful.
The rain is set in solid now, but it's not a problem.
Tauhoa, and with the rain, I figure that this is enough for one day. Turn left onto SH16, and head to Helensville for a well earned pint at the Grand Hotel .
And home in the rain, down Old North Rd. Has anyone noticed how busy that road is nowdays?
So, there it is.
A perfectly practical, and very pleasant alternative to SH16.
A bit of gravel, but nothing that should worry any rider.
Of the 220km today, about 80km was gravel, but 22 km of that was the side excursion to Tahekeroa.
It's there.It's nigh well deserted. And it's fun. Mabel can have SH16. I've got an alternative.
So, the threatened rain not eventuating, I set off to check it out, accompanied by the faithful Von Klunken. I considered taking Phoebe, since she is my best bike on gravel, thanks to that 19 inch front wheel, but decided that Der Uberfarter's was the better miount for an exploration - and he has a much longer tank range, which I though might be significant.
Boring stuff to start with, motorway to Westgate, fill up, and crawl through the Mabels to Old North Road. has anyone else noticed how BUSY Old North Rd is nowdays?
The first turn off , from Old North Rd into Ararimu Valley Rd I found OK. Hm, wonder the sprots bikers haven't descended on this road, I thought, it's just one corner after another, with a few short fast straights in between . Nice scenary, good road, twisty following twisty, not another vehicle on the whole road. Sprotsbikers should love it . Then , Ah, gravel. Now I know why they don't come here . Not bad gravel , though, about 5km of it, fairly good except for one stretch about 100mtr long that had me up on the pegs (Sammy Millar? Who's he ?). Then some more seal.
Then the first hiccough. The next turn should have been Valley Rd, which on the map is shown as going though to Kahikatea Flats Rd. But - the sign post said "No exit". Bugger. Fortunately , while I was poring over the map, a car shot past, stopped , reversed, and an old geezer asked where I wanted to go. "Waitoki". "Go down here, 1st left, Forestry Rd. have a nice ride"."Thanks very much". That's one of the nice things about riding back roads, the people are much friendlier.
So, off to find Forestry Rd (it's not even on my map). And here it is. Gravel,but quite good gravel, no problems. A crusier went past, good on him. Basically riding through the forest.
Some twists and turns , and eventually I come out onto a sealed mainish road. Check the map, conclude that this is Kahikatea Flats Rd, I've just come out at a slightly different point. And on the way, I pass the OTHER end of Valley Rd. So it DID once go right through. I wonder what is in the middle of it that stops you getting through now. And is it legal and can it be removed ? I'll find out next time. Anyone know a good place to get dynamite?
Turn left, should bring me to Waitoki, and it does. With a gas station, and it's open. Take note. The only one I'll see until I get back to Kaucop.
Right turn to the Waitoki Rd, next stop Wainui. A nice fast road, this is more to Von Klunken's liking, he settles down into Schnell-Panzer mode, and stops grumbling about "not havink enlisted vor zer Afrika Korps", and starts asking how far it is to Paris . With undertones of "Uhlans? I vill giv zem zer Uhlans" . And a few kilometers knocked off at a decent rate, not likely to be any plod this far out. One or two cars AND A BLOODY HORSE FLOAT. Where do the damn things come from? But it's a fast road and no other traffic so overtaking is dead easy.
Wainui. And the next problem. According to the map, I should turn left here into Haruru Rd. But there IS no left turn. Only a right and straight ahead. Both also on my map, and neither what I want.
Go back down the road I came down, in case I missed a left turn. Nope. Try the right hand road (Wainui Rd) a kilometre or so in case the turn is actually off that. No. Back to Wainui, and try the one remaining road (Weranui Rd). And here it is, a kilometre up that road, the turn off to Haruru Rd. Maps are not always quite right.
Strike off into Hururu Rd. And through the time tunnel, back to yesteryear. This is what motorcycling was like when I was young.
Hururu Rd starts out as a nice twisty sealed road. Good fun. Then comes the gravel, after about 5km of seal. And some warning signs. Hm. Loose metal. Hm. Road Narrows. Hm. Beware of loggin trucks. OK. Beware of stock. Will do.
And a nice easy gravel road it is, not much gravel.Mainly just wet dirt. That's OK, I'd rather have dirt than loose metal.On it winds through typical New Zealand back country. No other traffic , a few people walking or doing farmer stuff, give them a wave, and they wave back, so much friendlier on the back roads.
Nothing scarey on this road, though I keep the speed down, I've learned not to belt along back roads, they get used for all sorts of things, and there's no point in antagonising the locals. They're their roads after all, not ours. A quiet 80kph is quite nice on this road.
And here's the turnoff to Tahekeroa.Signpost says 6km. I can't resist it, I've never been there. Must just go and have a look, it's only 12km return.
More nice road, pure dirt now, this road hasn't seen the council gravel truck in years. Washboard on all the corners, and cambers going every which way. And lots and lots of potholes. That's OK, I can ride round the potholes, I know how to negotiate strange cambered corners, and Von Klunken's suspension copes very well with wash board. Not as good as a proper dirt bike, but pretty good, This is the sort of stuff he does well. Despite more grumbling about the Afrika Korps.
On the way I cross the railway line. It looks abandoned all right, and it would be easy to get even a big bike onto the tracks. No road heading toward Ahuroa, alas. But the railway goes there. Can anyone confirm that it's no longer used?
The road winds on , up and down, 6km comes and goes , no sign of anything.By now the road is down to a single narrow lane, real back country. Nice. I pass one 4wd going the other way. Give him a wave, he waves back,the driver looks surprised to see another vehicle(so was I), but he knows the correct etiquette for metal roads. As did everyone I encountered on the gravel on the trip. Good to see that there are still some competant NZ drivers out there.
Finally, at the 11km mark I come to the intersection with Upper Waiwera Rd. Signposts aren't always right either. Its a nice looking road, and I don't know if I've ever ridden it. But it will take me out to Waiwera, on the opposite side of the island to where I want to go. So, reluctantly, I turn back.
Back into the Haruru road (another 11km later) .And here's Makerau Rd and the top end of the Kanahoi Rd. On down Makerau Rd, hoping that Burnside Rd, and the Wech Access Rd both exist, and do in fact connect. I'm not too confident. But, here, with a bit of seal and a nice bridge (one lane of course, I've already lost count of the number of one lane bridges- that's what you get on these roads), is Burnside Rd.
The seal gives way to gravel after half a kilometre, but it's good gravel. I was scared the roads might have been buried under inches of metal as the council works departments used up their annual budget at the end of March, but it appears not. They're pretty good, nice and predictable .
Made a wee oops at one point, I shot up a farm driveway, instead of following the road when it swung hard left and over a bridge. The farm drive ran straight ahead off the road and it was wider and in better condition than the road! I never even noticed the road swinging left , hidden by trees.
Somewhere along the way it turned into Wech Access Rd, but I didn't notice.
And here we are, emerged in West Coast Road. Turn right and head for Komokoriki.
Sealed road, and the sign says "Twisty Road, 14km". It was , too, everything from 25kph hairpins to fast sweepers. One or two cars, maybe half a dozen an hour, that's heavy enough traffic for my liking.Pass a big crusier going the other way, give him a wave , he waves back, you get a better class of person on the back roads.
And here's the turn off on the left, Old Woodcocks Rd. It's gravel, but SUCH good gravel. 120kph is easy stuff on this gravel, it's actually better than seal, because it doesn't get slippery with rain the way seal does. And the rain is starting in now.
Farming country here, not bush. On to Kaipara Flats, and turn left to Kaipara Flats Road. Sealed now, wave to a farmer on a quad, sheltering under a bridge waiting for his dogs, he waves back. Turn off now onto the Tauhoa Rd. Gravel again, but good gravel. Nothing difficult, anyone could ride these roads. Hoteo, nothing there now. Look about a bit for any sign of a road through to Ashby , but no sign of one. Must have been one once though, following the railway.
Round a blind bend, and there's a calf in the middle of the road. One of those red and cream ones (Friesian? Dunno, I'm not into cattle). But it's OK. I'm not going fast, pays not to make assumptions on these roads, I ride round the calf, and it just looks at me.
The rest of the way to Tauhoa is straight forward, gravel, nothing difficult, no traffic, I'm the only thing on the road. This is what it used to be like. Peaceful.
The rain is set in solid now, but it's not a problem.
Tauhoa, and with the rain, I figure that this is enough for one day. Turn left onto SH16, and head to Helensville for a well earned pint at the Grand Hotel .
And home in the rain, down Old North Rd. Has anyone noticed how busy that road is nowdays?
So, there it is.
A perfectly practical, and very pleasant alternative to SH16.
A bit of gravel, but nothing that should worry any rider.
Of the 220km today, about 80km was gravel, but 22 km of that was the side excursion to Tahekeroa.
It's there.It's nigh well deserted. And it's fun. Mabel can have SH16. I've got an alternative.