Blog Comments

Good on ya!

Just noticed your achievement Roger in your blogs this evening, when I went hunting for some more IAM related experiences to read. Congratulations, I know you've come a long way, as Tricia said you had had a few sessions

As I said to Tricia, friends might say you ride well, but who are they to say so? (Not bashing them, they're simply in the same position as me). Going to Tricia was about getting comments from someone qualified to comment. I've only been riding 7 odd years, which is nothing compared to others, but who knows how many bad habits you might have picked up? The only difference is that I've done 230,000km+ in those 7 years, on everything from 50cc loaners to 1L sportsbikes to 1.8L cruisers, and now some adventure riding. There have been a few lessons handed out, the odd ones painfully, but thankfully mostly learnt safely and healthily.

The other thing I'm quickly finding out, which I don't think has been commented on by you or Geoff is the role the bike plays. Most are normal setups, but my GSA with linked braking, ABS and BMW suspension changes the rules a bit. Simple example is my bike won't pitch into corners if I'm hard on the brakes, and rear brake comes on with the front. Will be interesting to see if this comes into play during assessment etc.

Well done Allan, Having seen you ride i was sure you had done some advanced rider training. I actually passed my test a few weeks ago, after a long slog also. One of the biggest things I have learnt is smoothness in cornering, I did chuckle at your comment about breaking in the corner, exactly the sort of thing tricia will pull you up on.

I am also determined to push on and become an observer. I think this is some thing that you would be excellent at. Well done Allan, and good on you for doing some thing, regardless of how many miles we travel we can always learn some tthing.. There is a big difference between an experinced rider and an Advanced rider.

Ah, Ok. When I looked in the mirrors I thought you were far back, so slowed behind the vehicle in front (plus the road offered nowhere to pass).

I commented on following closely in the first section as you seemed to fill my mirrors, which felt rather close for my comfort, as I know the BMW has very good brakes. Still, if I was still able to be observed, then it's the whole point isn't it

As I mentioned in PM, my progress into IAM has been delayed slightly after burning my leg in an adventure ride. You'd think I'd know well enough to keep fleshy human bits away from hot motorcycle bits, but apparently not, and have been off my feet for pretty much the last 2 weeks giving it time to heal. Itching to get on with it however...

Nah, You didn't catch me on the hop, silly. You had said, that you weren't too sure about me being so close to you, when riding at speed...so I killed two birds with one stone, so to speak. Gave you a bit more breathing space, and even had a chance to enjoy the corners myself- still where I could see you though.....

Originally Posted by gijoe1313

Its always amusing to see how ol'gremlin has got used to the idea of dropping his bike now ... And the pangs of KTM ownership still runs deep in his veins!

It's got more crash bars than most bikes I've come across... makes it easy to be "happy" to drop it... After all, you can't have fun on a garage queen can ya? Yes... my heart still hankers after a KTM, but my head tells it to stop being stupid and that's it's only good for certain things, while the BMW is the better all rounder.

Stay tuned, I'll put up the blog for Poronui in due course, and knobblies helps the bike greatly

Originally Posted by raftn

low in mileage, high on fun....kind of sums it up pretty well I reckon. personally i think you did very well on the sand, my bike is a lot less in weight and it was a mission at times. Great fun though

Yerp... Never bought the bike to spend all day riding sand, so I accept the downside. Would be nice if the bike didn't think it was a perfect time to rest... every.single.fucken.time

Its always amusing to see how ol'gremlin has got used to the idea of dropping his bike now ... And the pangs of KTM ownership still runs deep in his veins!

low in mileage, high on fun....kind of sums it up pretty well I reckon. personally i think you did very well on the sand, my bike is a lot less in weight and it was a mission at times. Great fun though

Originally Posted by Gremlin

I'm so glad you're happy... I mean, it's not like you're actually able to get out there and ride all those roads yourself eh...

Funny you should mention that ... since I have two weeks of holiday ... and I have been given a pass to go do what I usually like to do ...

Must have a real experience adding all those KBers to the trip. Meeting up with all those otherwise unseen friends is half the fun of the trip

Originally Posted by Zapf

that is a lot of mush you are eating

It was very tasty mush however... Besides, it all ends up in the same place in the same condition, regardless of how it looked on the plate

I'm so glad you're happy... I mean, it's not like you're actually able to get out there and ride all those roads yourself eh...

Getting up early? Writing up long blogs? Taking care of yourself and respecting the limitations of your body? My my, how the worm has turned!

Good work, now thats some excellent riding done there!

that is a lot of mush you are eating

Originally Posted by gijoe1313

Now this was a boring blog, the only riding bits was when you missed the driveway! At least you didn't mess up anything at the backpackers and KoroJ's place this time!

Obviously you didn't read... we rode the waves between the islands...

I haven't broken anything at KoroJ's (and uh, long may THAT continue)

Now this was a boring blog, the only riding bits was when you missed the driveway! At least you didn't mess up anything at the backpackers and KoroJ's place this time!

When I came back at Christmas I was the only bike..actually I was the only vehicle on the top deck, I had three guys giving me advice on tieing the bike down!

I guess your posts are like your rides, getting longer! Good write up, so I guess you becoming a food critic reviewer as well now?

I know I know... 60 odd hour week will do that. I haven't actually finished the entire trip's write up yet, but I'm doing better than Toto

I've also got a couple of blogs after the trip, only written up to half of it so far... hopefully this afternoon will be productive.