Zukin
28th August 2006, 22:05
Day 1
Napier to Ohope Beach (Via East Cape)
620 Kms
Well it all started well leaving Napier just after 8am.
It was overcast had had been raining overnight to make the roads that much more interesting.
For those familiar with the road to Wairoa, lets say the gorges were their normal slippery surface!
I still made good time reaching Wairoa and a quick stop at the lookout, and then it was time to continue North to Gisborne for a lunch stop.
By lunchtime the weather had started to clear and was becoming warm which was not what the weather forecasters had indicated.
After refueling both the bike and me, I was off up to the East Cape, this section of road I had never driven/ridden before, so this was new territory for me.
About an hour North of Gisborne (between Tologa and Tokomaru Bays) I had my first close encounter with the wildlife!!!
Was in a deer, was is a goat.......NO I got my first bird strike at 100km!! (after all that was about maximum speed for the XR250 :laugh: )
Now I saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Hawk took off from the other side of the road, it struck my leg first, and man it hurt like hell, then it proceeded to ht my pannier bags!! At first I didnt know it was a hawk, but the feathers were still embedded in my bag!!
I didnt realise at the time but a few hundred meters up the road I noticed my right hand side pannier bag was sitting at a very peculiar angle, so I pulled over, and it was at that moment that I knew it was a little more serious than I first thought. The bird had hit the bag with such force that it had broken the pannier rack, and the clips securing my bag to the rack, this is in turn meant the rack and bag had pushed hard against the plastic side cover and in a result had bend against the hot exhaust!!!
Not only could I smell the plastic burning I could now see smoke!! :gob: So I ripped the pannier from the side of the bike and threw it onto the road, and put out the smoldering mess with my camel pak (will always carry it now) and then surveyed the damage
1x Side cover buggered with a hole in the side of it
1 x Melted Pannier bag
1 x Jersey with a huge hole in the arm! (and the only one I carried)
Then I had to figure out how I was going to carry all the stuff I had in the bag in the first place, as I knew I couldn't mount anything on that side for the remainder of the trip. I removed what was left of the pannier rack, and put some of the stuff into the other bag, and into a spare drysack I was carrying and secured it all on the pack rack. With the ROK straps I secured the remaining bag onto the good side as the bags normally connect to each other.
Once I had done all this I was off like a dirty shirt, and a quick inspection after a few kms ensured that the load wasn't going to move.
This put me about an hour behind schedule and reached Te Araroa at about 3.30pm.
Now I thought about missing the ride out to the East Cape lighthouse, but then I soon reminded myself that this one of the main reasons for coming this way.
So after topping up at the local store in Te Araroa (fuel was $1.91 a litre for 91, luckily there was no 95 on tap) I proceeded out to the Cape.
The Gravel road was good, but there was a few slips after the recent heavy rains the East Coast has experienced over recent weeks. I really pushed the XR on the gravel, testing both the rider and the bike, but in some places I had to button off as road works had left the road in places very soft and very loose.
Took the typical photos of the lighthouse and the approaching front and at 4.30pm I thought it was time I continued North to my nights accommodation at Ohope beach.
I thought it may take and hour and a half, but no way!! Whilst it is a good road (but watch the patches of gravel on the corners where they have done some repairs) it is long and windy and I soon found that I was riding into a setting sun, with salt over my visor and an I have never ridden in the dark before.
But I made good time and I actually found it easier once the sun had actually set as I could see a lot better than with it low in the sky.
I took my time in the dark and made Opotiki at about 7.30pm, and after a well deserved coffee and pie, I was off to Ohope.
My butt was sore and my fingers were cold, but I was happy with my achievements of the day (except for that damn bird wrecking half of my luggage!!)
Luck was on my side as I didnt have any rain for this first leg, something I was happy about as I havent a lot of experience in the wet.
I also really got a feel for the bike and think I have started to have a little more confindence with the tyres and cornering :yes:
I stayed at a great campsite in Ohope, called the Ohope Top 10 Holiday park, a great place and friendly staff.
I got all prepared for the next days riding which was forecast for rain the entire day, boy how wrong were they!!:Punk:
Added Day 2 and 3 Below - Enjoy :)
Napier to Ohope Beach (Via East Cape)
620 Kms
Well it all started well leaving Napier just after 8am.
It was overcast had had been raining overnight to make the roads that much more interesting.
For those familiar with the road to Wairoa, lets say the gorges were their normal slippery surface!
I still made good time reaching Wairoa and a quick stop at the lookout, and then it was time to continue North to Gisborne for a lunch stop.
By lunchtime the weather had started to clear and was becoming warm which was not what the weather forecasters had indicated.
After refueling both the bike and me, I was off up to the East Cape, this section of road I had never driven/ridden before, so this was new territory for me.
About an hour North of Gisborne (between Tologa and Tokomaru Bays) I had my first close encounter with the wildlife!!!
Was in a deer, was is a goat.......NO I got my first bird strike at 100km!! (after all that was about maximum speed for the XR250 :laugh: )
Now I saw it out of the corner of my eye as the Hawk took off from the other side of the road, it struck my leg first, and man it hurt like hell, then it proceeded to ht my pannier bags!! At first I didnt know it was a hawk, but the feathers were still embedded in my bag!!
I didnt realise at the time but a few hundred meters up the road I noticed my right hand side pannier bag was sitting at a very peculiar angle, so I pulled over, and it was at that moment that I knew it was a little more serious than I first thought. The bird had hit the bag with such force that it had broken the pannier rack, and the clips securing my bag to the rack, this is in turn meant the rack and bag had pushed hard against the plastic side cover and in a result had bend against the hot exhaust!!!
Not only could I smell the plastic burning I could now see smoke!! :gob: So I ripped the pannier from the side of the bike and threw it onto the road, and put out the smoldering mess with my camel pak (will always carry it now) and then surveyed the damage
1x Side cover buggered with a hole in the side of it
1 x Melted Pannier bag
1 x Jersey with a huge hole in the arm! (and the only one I carried)
Then I had to figure out how I was going to carry all the stuff I had in the bag in the first place, as I knew I couldn't mount anything on that side for the remainder of the trip. I removed what was left of the pannier rack, and put some of the stuff into the other bag, and into a spare drysack I was carrying and secured it all on the pack rack. With the ROK straps I secured the remaining bag onto the good side as the bags normally connect to each other.
Once I had done all this I was off like a dirty shirt, and a quick inspection after a few kms ensured that the load wasn't going to move.
This put me about an hour behind schedule and reached Te Araroa at about 3.30pm.
Now I thought about missing the ride out to the East Cape lighthouse, but then I soon reminded myself that this one of the main reasons for coming this way.
So after topping up at the local store in Te Araroa (fuel was $1.91 a litre for 91, luckily there was no 95 on tap) I proceeded out to the Cape.
The Gravel road was good, but there was a few slips after the recent heavy rains the East Coast has experienced over recent weeks. I really pushed the XR on the gravel, testing both the rider and the bike, but in some places I had to button off as road works had left the road in places very soft and very loose.
Took the typical photos of the lighthouse and the approaching front and at 4.30pm I thought it was time I continued North to my nights accommodation at Ohope beach.
I thought it may take and hour and a half, but no way!! Whilst it is a good road (but watch the patches of gravel on the corners where they have done some repairs) it is long and windy and I soon found that I was riding into a setting sun, with salt over my visor and an I have never ridden in the dark before.
But I made good time and I actually found it easier once the sun had actually set as I could see a lot better than with it low in the sky.
I took my time in the dark and made Opotiki at about 7.30pm, and after a well deserved coffee and pie, I was off to Ohope.
My butt was sore and my fingers were cold, but I was happy with my achievements of the day (except for that damn bird wrecking half of my luggage!!)
Luck was on my side as I didnt have any rain for this first leg, something I was happy about as I havent a lot of experience in the wet.
I also really got a feel for the bike and think I have started to have a little more confindence with the tyres and cornering :yes:
I stayed at a great campsite in Ohope, called the Ohope Top 10 Holiday park, a great place and friendly staff.
I got all prepared for the next days riding which was forecast for rain the entire day, boy how wrong were they!!:Punk:
Added Day 2 and 3 Below - Enjoy :)