Personal entry

I pretty much finished my TT2000 prep by printing our Route booklets on Friday, so yesterday was scheduled for a conditioning ride (ie 500-700km).

The first thought was to do the World Tour of the Whanganui River road (you know, Jurusalem, Corinth, Athens & London), but since my tyres are on their last legs (booked in for 60K service and new pair of Z8's on Thursday), I thought it might be more prudent top stay closer to home, so a loose plan evolved to just go over the Hill and see ...

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This month has been another reasonably quiet riding month, but there's been plenty happening and I have managed a couple of short rides. I'm certainly appreciating the DriRider jacket as I've been riding with the zips in the sleeves open, the zips in the back down and the front panels folded away.

I went out with the IAM riders on Sunday and it was 23° at 0900 and when I was heading home at about 1300 it was hitting 31°. It was quite a pleasant ride over the Hill, then down the Western ...

It's a bit rough to go two months between blogs, (espicially in ther middle of Summer) but it's not that I haven't been riding, just that I've been a bit remiss. Also, I did do a blog in December after a crap experience when flying with Virgin....but I just didn't post it up. And when I say I have been riding, I guess in reality I've only done one blogable ride!...although I have done 2,000+km! ...a lot has happened but.

Since getting the new supension James and I did a trip to Manfield ...

Thought i'd try out what others have done overseas, put some kenda k270's onto the drz400SM rims --- couldnt break the bead myself so had Botany Honda do it, they did a great job.

offroad (rutty clay on construction sites) they performed great, front is a bit sketchy but the drz seems to climb over some pretty gnarly terrain with them on

Onroad they're great, able to cruise at 100kph with no worries, tight corners ...

Another day, another dollar!.....ummm......yeah, nah.......I had the day off and spent nearly three grand!!

There was a time I would have been ecstatic to be riding a $3K bike but we nearly spend that on decent riding gear these days and today I spent that much making improvements that probably won't do anything to the value of the bike.

At the beginning of this year I was chatting with Andrew Templeton at a Capital Coast Conehead session and he mentioned how rapt he ...

Another day in the saddle started just after 0500, a quick scrub, kit-up, the bike and car were already packed and we were on the road to Caltex Rimutaka by 0545 for the start of the 8th Capital 1.000km Cruise. We pulled in to the forecourt a little earlier than usual, at 0610, and there were already more than half a dozen punters eagerly awaiting to check-in and depart, so I gassed up then assisted Ann to get her table and chair set-up, the rider list and strips of yellow and black (Resene) tape ...

Three years between rides is a bit of a stretch, and I might be a bit biased, but God damn it, I enjoyed the shit out of the North Island 1600!!

The last few blogs have outlined the prep' and the weekend before the big event had me in a bit of a panic to fix the stebel horn because I new BrianH was going to be scrutineering the bikes and if he can pick up, that the rear tyre on a Beemer has been fitted back to front, he was sure as hell going to pick up that my horn was neither squeeking ...

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few more bits onto the drz, bashplate from GPcustom, zeta pivot leavers, bark busters

drove around the Hunua ranges and in as far as I could go before the logging tracks were fenced/unpassible -- thinking about changing the front sprocket to a 16T sounds like only minor mods needed for it to fit