https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/27141-Phreak Kiwi Biker - New Zealand motorcycle community en Sat, 02 May 2026 16:49:23 GMT vBulletin 20 https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/images/BP-Brown/misc/rss.jpg https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/27141-Phreak https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2459-A-Year-In-The-Life-Of-A-Biker Mon, 12 Mar 2012 07:36:55 GMT So, I decided (after being told by several people in the past) to start a blog.

Dunno if anyone out there will be even slightly interested in my ramblings, but here's the address:

http://ayearinthelifeofabiker.blogspot.co.nz/

So far I've only done the Intro, but hopefully will be posting up on it every day (or so!) with my thoughts, ride experiences, and just general stuff going on in my life.


:) ]]> Phreak https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2459-A-Year-In-The-Life-Of-A-Biker https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1563-Part-4-and-home-again Tue, 25 May 2010 11:27:40 GMT Finally found the time to write down the events on the last leg of my (short) trip away, being the return trip home from New Plymouth...

Left Dad's place at about lunch-time on Sunday, after a long talking to from Dad about the need for effective wet weather gear when riding... Yup, thanks Dad, I'm sick of being wet and cold and miles from anywhere warm! That said, I'm definitely keen to get my hands on a full new set of 'winter' gear, if anyone knows of where I can get good deals...

Anyway, back to the trip... Filled the bike up at the Shell on the way out of N.P (very friendly staff again!) and headed off. Happily cruising along on my own, through the hills heading north, when I spot a group of sports-bikes parked in a rest area just off the road. Quick decision, I pull up for a break too, only to realise that they are just about to leave. Okay, cool! They race off, and I continue on my way, losing sight of them pretty quickly... Through Mokau I see a whole big bunch of cruisers parked along the road, get a couple of waves from their riders as I pass.

Not sure the name of the beach, or the road, but coming down a long straight hill after Mokau, there is a little rest area right beside the beach with an absolutely spectacular view - so I pull in for a break. Shortly behind me an adventure rider pulls in too, and we exchange pleasantries. He heads off while I clean my visor, and then I get back on the road. Bugger all traffic on the road, so I'm having a bit of fun taking corners a little wider than usual, leaning right into the corners, just enjoying the ride!

After a quick gas stop and munch in Te Kuiti, I pass through Otorohanga, and Te Awamutu (where I grew up), and head into Hamilton. The bike is running sweet as I make my way up the new motorway extensions that used to be Avalon Drive (used to work at the Caltex on Avalon) and onwards North to Auckland. Stop for a drink at a Shell, decide to try calling my brother who lives in Ngaruwahia (I think) but he's not answering so I decide to just keep going. Leaving Hamilton, the rain starts again and before long I'm pretty soaked again. Dammit!

Stopping in just about every town I pass to try and keep some warmth in my fingertips, time is definitely getting on and I'm wishing I had left Dad's earlier... Get to Mercer and it's well dark, so pull into the gas station (Mobil?) just off the motorway, and have a laugh with the attendant about the rain. He's stoked, says he wants to take his new ute out paddock bashing! I laugh, thinking how good it is that he can make the best out of even crappy weather like this. After about half an hour of drying out and getting warm again, I get back onto the motorway, only to be cold and wet within about ten minutes again!

Once past the Bombay hills the rain abates, and the traffic builds. Resign myself to just press on, and get some new waterproof gloves at least as soon as I get home (I get paid tomorrow, CycleTreads can expect me around lunchtime-ish!)

Delighted to see the Sky Tower loom into view finally after about five and a half hours on the road, this puts a big smile on my face as its stopped raining completely now and I'm so close to home I can feel the warmth of my house beckoning...! Before long I'm parked in my garage, thanking my bike for a very memorable trip, and heading inside to find my flatmate (God bless you!!!) has the fire going, the house is SOOOOO nice and warm, and even offer to make me a hot cuppa! Gotta love it!

In retrospect, I am glad to say that I enjoyed every second of being out and about exploring this beautiful country that we call home. I would like to thank all the folks I encountered on the road, and hope to do it all again real soon.

Big thanks to my Dad for all the wisdom shared! Bigger thanks to the K.B.ers for their comments and words of advice.

Till next time, ride safe!

:rockon: ]]> Phreak https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1563-Part-4-and-home-again https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1560-Part-3-and-a-change-of-plans Sat, 22 May 2010 11:29:26 GMT So, got to catch up with heaps of friends in Wellington, between rain-drops - the whole riding in the rain thing kinda sucks when my gear most definitely ISN'T waterproof... This morning, however, God decided to smile down on us and provided an absolutely gorgeous day! Sun shining again, hardly a breath of wind, and I made the decision to head back home early...

The reason for this is that a really good friend of mine in Wellington was really strapped for cash, needed to pay some pretty serious bills - the full saga. So, me being the nice guy and good friend that I am, I decided that the money that was going to be spent on the continuation of my trip would be much better served helping out someone in need, so I offered to help out and cut my little holiday short. I figure, I can take another holiday again soon, but I would like to think that if I were in need my friends would help out too...?

So, that done, instead of heading towards the Hawkes Bay today I am now back at my Dad's place in New Plymouth, heading back for home in Auckland tomorrow. But I don't regret my decision in the slightest - today was a fantastic ride!

Left Petone after filling up with gas and supplies at about 11am, in light traffic, and got onto the northern motorway pretty quickly. Atop the Ngauranga gorge (the view of the harbour was amazing unlike when I arrived a few days ago!), I was passed by a fellow biker on a nice looking cruiser, kinda looked like a new 'hog. Not entirely sure what it was but it was loud...! I decided to stick behind him through traffic, all the way to Otaki, where he pulled off right at the roundabout after the shops, whilst I continued straight and north. Have to say, big thanks to this gentleman; I love it when you meet up with another 'two wheels enthusiast' on the road, and can simply enjoy not being out in the open alone! Had a kind of near-miss when a lady pulled out in front of me from my left and then decided to take a right turn (slowing down as I was wondering where she was going) - BUT she did give me an "I'm sorry!" wave when she realized what she had done. I had to slow down abruptly, and with the other bike behind me I hope I didn't give him a scare! I'm sure I didn't, as he seemed to just pull around me without a problem, but just thought I should say thanks to him anyways. Gave him a friendly beep on my horn when he pulled off to which he gave me a wave - just goes to show that the owners of different styles of bikes CAN appreciate each other!

So, carried on after this through to Levin, where I stopped for a quick lunch at McDonalds (which was full of kids just finished their Saturday sports games!), then on to Wanganui. Stopped in for a gas (and comfort) stop at the BP in the middle of the city, had a bit of a chat with the old guy on the cashier - really nice chap too! He said they get quite a few bikes come through, but made special mention that he liked my CBR...! :-)

Onwards and upwards, thinking that the roadworks were going to be nightmare again - but pleasantly surprised that I didn't get held up at all! (of course, it's Saturday! Even road-workers get weekends! LOL) Straight sailing the whole way through, hardly any traffic on the road at all. Carried on to Stratford, with the sun now in my eyes I decided to stop at the Shell station on the main street, only because my butt was getting really sore! Pulled in beside the air-pump, and thought to myself "really should check my pressures" - rear was at 29 and front was at 21... Hmmmm... pumped both up to 32 - not sure what they should be at actually! Figured 32 would be okay, but if anyone knows any better, let me know? Thanks! Suffice to say, they definitely felt harder when I got back on the road...!

A quick jaunt up the road to New Plymouth, and into my Dad's garage. I actually thought I'd be a bit more sore after the ride - I usually get pretty sore in my lower back and my arms - but I must be getting used to long rides now cause I feel perfectly fine! :-)

Anyways, back to Auckland tomorrow, so will update again either tomorrow night or Monday, and guess what? I still have another week of holidays to go!

For those of you that are wondering, I had planned on going to Napier today, and then Taupo, then Tauranga and the Mount, then back to Auckland via the Waikato. Well, that was the plan... Maybe next time.

Matter of fact, next time I decide to go for a ride around the country, I will give some more notice and maybe meet up with other fellow 'bikers in their own home towns?

Till then, ride safe! ]]> Phreak https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1560-Part-3-and-a-change-of-plans https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1559-Part-2-of-the-journey Fri, 21 May 2010 03:16:09 GMT Part two of my ride was on Wednesday, from New Plymouth to Wellington... The weather in N.P. on Wednesday morning was amazing, almost too good to leave behind! The sun was out in force, not a cloud in the sky... Got on the road at 9am, for a quick stint to see my Step-Mum at the school she works... Part two of my ride was on Wednesday, from New Plymouth to Wellington...

The weather in N.P. on Wednesday morning was amazing, almost too good to leave behind! The sun was out in force, not a cloud in the sky... Got on the road at 9am, for a quick stint to see my Step-Mum at the school she works at, in Inglewood. Man it was good to be out on the road again! Seriously guys, we should all be doing this more often. The absolute freedom is the best kind of stress-relief that I can find!

Anyways, got to my Step-Mum's school pretty quickly, she took me through to one of her best friends classes - they were just finishing 'show and tell', so I was asked to bring my bike around to the classroom to show the kids. It was pretty cool, I can tell you! The kids crowded around, asking questions, pointing out what they liked (mostly the Repsol paint scheme) and asking more questions! Put a huge smile on my face! :-)

So got going from there after saying goodbyes to the kids and my Step-Mum, with a warning from her that there were a fair bit of road-works on the main road around Stratford... Well, she wasn't wrong! I must have had to stop at least a dozen times coming down, both before Stratford and afterwards, 30kmh zones galore, the roads being re-surfaced for miles and miles. Not much fun, but when they are finished it'll be well worth it. From memory the roads weren't the nicest last time I used them, nice that Auckland isn't the only place getting their roads upgraded! Lol!

Other than that, the ride was pretty much plain sailing until about 5 minutes out of Waikanae, when the skies opened up and the downpour started! Within about ten minutes, I was pretty soaked, and not enjoying it at all. About the only parts of me that were still dry were my feet (thanks to good quality boots!) and my head (well, the top of my head at least)! I hate to admit, my Ixon gear didn't hold up very well at all, but it dried out pretty quickly in my friend's hot water cylinder cupboard. I should say though, I was still quite warm, despite being pretty thoroughly wet! But, the bike was performing even better than usual, thanks to the cold air temperature, so I kept on!

Again, even though the weather was so crappy, some of the landscape we are privy to in good old New Zealand still take my breath away - and every time I make my way down to Wellington there are two particular scenes that have this effect on me... The first is are the beaches right beside the motorway between Paekakariki and Plimmerton - I dont know what it is about this little section of the road that seems so special, it just is! With the rain-swept visor on my helmet up, the spray from the tires of the car in front of me stinging my eyes, I still had to hear the sound of the waves crashing on the rocks pretty much directly below me. It was pure magic...! :-)

Rocking over the last hills in familiar territory again, on roads I know like the back (and front!) of my hands, I got that warm feeling creeping up my chest the closer I got to Welly, the city I do love so much! I lived here for about 4 years before the move to Auckland, and I still feel that old kinship. The second sight that always gets me is that of Wellington harbour as you come down the Ngauranga gorge, around the sweeping right hand bend at the bottom of the hill. Unfortunately however, today you couldn't see a thing... Except for a whole lot of mist over the water. But, I always look out for it, just one of the little things that makes Wellington so special for me. Maybe next time it'll be more like I remember! :-)

Man, but I must have looked a sight when I finally got into Wellington city, pulling into the Shell service station down the road from the Beehive, to text my friend to find out where she was... Turns out she had already texted me, saying she had finished work early and to meet her at her house - in Petone! Soggy gloves and dripping helmet back on again, the traffic just starting to converge for the afternoon rush home, I braved the rain and wind for the last 15 minutes. Surprisingly, we held a fairly good pace on the motorway to Petone, but once in the township this slowed to a crawl. Had to have a little laugh to myself, the last 5 minutes of the trip seemed like the longest! Typical, huh?

So, arrived in Wellington safe and sound, texted my Step-Mum to let her know as much too (come on, you would too right...?) and now proceeding to dry off and catch up with my friends in this part of the country till Saturday. One thing I do love about the rain - it washes all the bugs off the front of the bike! No need to spend another hour cleaning and polishing this time! Yay!

Next update on Saturday night... Till then, ride safe!

(Oh yeah, thanks for the comments guys!) ]]> Phreak https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1559-Part-2-of-the-journey https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1552-2-week-holiday-on-the-Bike! Mon, 17 May 2010 22:57:34 GMT Okay, thought I'd write a little down about my journey around the North Island over my holiday...

Got the CBR back up to spec again, thanks to the guys at Cycletreads for the new chain and sprockets, you have restored my faith in people!

Starting from home, on Auckland's North Shore, I left yesterday at about 10am after filling up with gas and packing the minimum gear I figured I'd need into my bag. (Spare change of clothes, shaving gear, laptop, cell-phone, and chargers...) Suffice to say, even though it's coming into winter now I have a strategy: I have friends and family at pretty much every stop I will be making, so will at the worst only be wet (if it rains) between stops. And I trust my Ixon gear to keep me dry!

So, anyways, left Auckland yesterday at about 10am, got onto the southern motorway and traffic was good, carried on to Ngaruwahia (is that how it's spelt?) for my first gas stop. BP on the main road is always a good place to stop 'cause the Cafe has the best lasagne squares! Quick munch (and a quick clean of the helmet - bugs in the Waikato are fierce!!!) and I'm back on the road again, bypassing Hamilton heading for New Plymouth. Figure I should have enough gas to get me all the way through to N.P (my GPS says I'll make it barely!) so away we go.

Pretty easy ride, sun is shining, minimal traffic on the back roads, cagers let me past nice and politely when we hit straights, I'm smiling under my lid. God I love being on the bike on a long haul! Get to maybe 5 or 6 minutes out of Te Kuiti and all of a sudden the exhaust is WAY louder, so I pull over and inspect, yep, the silencer has come out. Pull the bike safely off the road, and wander back to see if I can find it... (not overly hopeful but hey, you never know!) Turns out about 300m back up the road its lying in the middle off the tarseal, thank god no-one has run it over! Trudge back to where the bike is waiting, head into Te Kuiti to find an engineer to fix...

Cant remember the guys name, but found a small engineering place not far off the main road. He did an awesome job, Mig welded some nuts to the inside of the silencer and fitted new bolts so that it wont rattle loose again! REALLY nice guy! And no charge, either! Cant thank you enough, mister! So, silencer back in exhaust, back on the road again in no time at all.

Come to the hills between T.K. and N.P, and the road looks a bit wet, and I know some of these corners are pretty tight, so no rush, sit behind a cool looking SS Commodore with another Holden behind me, good gaps between all of us, happy to just cruise through the twisties. It strikes me as amazing how nice it is to take your time, and that people that use the same roads in their cars are happy to take their time too. I don't like to rush when I'm not too sure about the road conditions, and the two Holden drivers seemed more than happy to maintain a relative speed, not rushing but not dawdling either. Yup, cool. :-)

Pull off to run on my own after the hills, after the little village with the whitebait cafe, (cant remember it's name but must stop in there one day!) over the long bridge and the late afternoon sun hits me WHACK! straight in the eyes... Hate it when that happens! Remind myself to take my time, still plenty of daylight before it gets dark, gotta clean my visor again soon 'cause the bugs are starting to get pretty thick... See a sign for a rest-stop just up the road a little bit so decide to pull in. The view is amazing, on a little rise overlooking the beach - what a beautiful country we live in! Check the GPS, only about 70 km to go to New Plymouth, all good!

Oh yeah, might I say at this stage, the bike is going MINT! Temperature gauge (which I'm used to going up to about three quarters on a really hot day's ride) has sat at just under half ALL day; sweet! Silencer is still nice and firm in the can, tire pressures are good, everything is good! :-)

Back on the black stuff, hear a couple of coughs and splutters from the engine, reach down to flick the gas-tap over to reserve, check the trip counter - 220kms. Hmm, was expecting to get a little bit more than that... Oh yeah, I was going up a hill and the fuel pick-up in my tank is a little forward of the middle so I guess that makes sense. Into Waitara for gas again, find a BP (but no BP cafe this time LOL), fit just over ten litres in, gotta love being on a 250! Lady behind the counter cant believe that I last filled up some 230 kms ago, for only ten litres of gas. Hehe...

Traffic starts to queue up on the way into New Plymouth, the typical 5 oclock rush to get home after work, but being on a bike I slip past most of it on the shoulder (at a safe speed of course!) and get to my Dad's place without hassle.

Destination 1 reached. Yay! :-)

Relaxing for today, gonna clean all the bugs off the front of the bike, maybe go shopping for a birthday present for my step-mum, then off to Wellington tomorrow! Stay tuned...! ]]> Phreak https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/1552-2-week-holiday-on-the-Bike!