Touring & The Bikes You Use

After enjoying the Coro Loop, I knew I didn't need to do much to tempt GiJoe into a Cape Reinga ride. For those not familiar, its the top of the North Island. Not considered a day trip by most, its a little over 1000km with the route we take, and we finish during the night (depending on when we leave Auckland naturally). In the past two trips up, the first, we helped a biker who broke his ankle on the gravel at the top, delaying our trip by over 4 hours, getting home around 5am, and the chap who ...

After joining Toto and GiJoe in pootling down to see Mr Qmoto himself this Wednesday just past, Toto was keen for more riding. Hassling GiJoe during Thursday, who in turn hassles me, we decide on a Coro Loop at night, excusing it as training. Have to do night rides I guess.

Naturally, there's no time like the present, so Thursday night it is. Scampering home to swap into more appropriate gear (draggins to Quasi the previous evening were just a tad cold), I get caught up in a problem, ...

Well I guess now is the time as good as any to tell a tale of my time with my brand new motorcycle.

As you know my esteemed reader, I have recently come in possession of a fine piece of mechanical engineering. Namely one CB1000R, known as a Predator - born from the engineering workshop of an '07 Fireblade engine and modelled in the runway fashion halls of Europe.

I acquired my bi-wheel locomotive contraption from those erstwhile rapscallions in Botany ...

Another weekend, another ride. Thinking of a route during the week, I didn't know what to choose. Reading the wandering comrades threads about his new bike, I thought doing some of that might appeal, but couldn't be bothered going to Wellington. I did think him suffering through snow, hail, rain etc was typical of him, but then, the weather wasn't that surprising.

Reading MSTRS thread late on Friday night gave me the hatchings of a better plan, and an excuse to pop over the Napier ...

I've been telling myself I need to get back into riding. As usual with winter, the weather is crappy so not exactly appealing, and there's always some sort of work to do, so you let the riding slide. Problem is, I enjoy the long rides (600-800km, or more), so there is an element of riding fitness. Stop that sort of riding, and your fitness drops away. I don't drive, but around town riding for work or odd tasks doesn't compensate.

The weekend of 22 August rolls around, and I start ...

From Masterton, we took our leave, the sun was falling and many a township had to be passed before we could rest from our might exertions in the safeness of one’s own bed. The time taken whizzed, by as I rode the newly acquired steed.

It was a learning experience from one another, the little VTR huffed its way at me as we proceeded to eat up the twisties of SH54 and the backroads towards “home”. As time passed and we settled into each other’s rhythms, poor DONOR was left behind in ...

Now for this nefarious plan to tour the countryside of our fair lands, DONOR and I had numerous challenges to overcome. Namely provisioning. We spent a goodly amount of time with drool on our chins as we thought of all the rations we would consume, vittles to munch on and liquid potables to quaff.

With that semi-sorted, we loaded copious amounts of ginger beer into an eski and basically proceeded to chuff all sorts of gear into DONOR’s station wagon. We also sorted out our bike trailer ...

Well my fine ladles and jellyspoons, it is with a mixture of trepidation and exhilaration that I actually post up something! This has been a long while due to the onerous exertions of reality (yah! boo! hiss! )

Anyhow the meat of the matter is that my friend Greentea has been pining for her own bike to call her own, to love, to throw hard earned cash and to call it by it's own name. The tale of this saga begins last Friday past (20th Aug) when she piped up she wanted a bike ...