KoroJ's Blog

I hit the sack at 2100 on Thursday night, worried that it was too early to go to sleep, but I went out with the lights, only to be rudely awakened by the alarm at 1230. Excited to be on my way after a couple of months of plotting and planning with screeds of emails between Jantar, Gremlin and myself, I dragged myself from the bed with a groan, scrubbed up, boarded the already packed and prep’d Enterprise and scooted the 10Km down to the Bluebridge Terminal….where I waited, with the 10 or so Chorus vans heading for repairs in Christchurch and chatted with another chap heading down there to help his family cleanup after the earthquake.

We didn’t start to board until after 0230, then waited some more before finally leaving half an hour late at around 0330. I managed another couple of hours kip, we docked…then waited some more, finally getting off the boat an hour late at 0720.

I had no great hurry to get to Dunedin, so trimmed out at an ‘under the radar’ pace and prepared myself for an uneventful excursion down SH1…..and that’s about all I remember of that….oh, except for coming up on a queue of cars with a Ginnie trapped between them a few Km short of Blenheim. I did my usual space hop to the front of the queue and as I passed the wee bike, I thought, ‘Shit, he’s loaded….shit, he’s even carrying gas….oh shit, that must be Toto!’ but I was already past by then and with barely more than a raise of an eyebrow. The other things I remembered was queues of traffic down the street at one servo in Kaikoura, whilst the other was closed and this was the same all the way through to Ashburton. I paused to put the wets on in Amberly, was astounded by the amount of traffic and apparent normality through Belfast, along Johns Rd and out of Hornby (except for the queues to the pumps), then when I did stop for gas in Ashburton, they had no 98, so I opted to put $30 of 91 in and that would get me to Dunedin.

Apart from that it was a boring blur of a boring 694Km in a boring 8 hours flat from 0727 to 1528. I would have stopped to visit friends in Christchurch, but it was raining so that put paid to that.

I checked in at the Carisbrook Motel, then went out to pick up my supplies of water and bananas for two days, gassed with 98 as well as 5Ltrs to go, (I had decided to carry some insurance in case I came up short if the pace got to hot on a couple of the long legs), verified where MacIver & Veitch were on Crawford Street, then went back to the motel to settle in. Jim had arrived by then, so we chatted for a bit before he went visiting and I walked down the road for dinner.

I was all set to go and once again, hit the sack at 2100, konking out immediately….only to awaken at 0200…..bugger!! This tends to happen a bit with the excitement and anticipation of a big ride so I have learned to relax and dose through it, eventually getting up a bit early at 0430, scrubbed, snacked, checked the tyres (they were down a couple of psi), threw my luggage pannier on the bike and headed off to pump the tyres then get to the start point at 0530.

I’ve become very pedantic about my tyre pressures because on a ride like this with the bike gassed, loaded, and me on board, we’re hitting over 450Kg, so a bit of pace on a course south Island road and the ST just chews through the rubber, and then of course, there’s that peace of mind that one requires to have the confidence to hang off the brakes through the big sweepers and take the 65 – 85 rated corners at riding pace. I pulled up beside Gremlin, who was doing his last minute adjustments etc, chatted with him, Toto and others as they arrived, killing time until 0600.

We were finally called in and Malcolm & I were fortunate enough to be in the first 10-15 of the queue, we exchanged our disclaimers for T-Shirts and fitted them to the bikes. As part of our pre-ride discussions, we came up with the idea to duct tape an old trouser hanger into the lid of the top-box. The hanger was loose to swing so photos stops would just be; angle in straight at the target, flip the lid, grab the camera, flick the shirt out over the back, step back and click, lift the lid which pulls the shirt in, stow the camera and we’re off again. More importantly though, we just walked out of the shop, pulled the T-shirt from the bag, clipped it on and we were gone, probably amongst the first to get away.

The benefit of having Malcolm as a riding buddy was immediately realized as he led us on a long-cut which avoided 4 sets of lights on the way out to Taeri Rd, but the start to the ride wasn’t great. We bolted straight into the first flyer around George King Memorial Drive and this was quite tight in places, with occasional loose grit, damp and it was dark, but we hadn’t warmed into ride mode so it wasn’t that comfortable, but once we had taken our 2nd pic for the day (1st was at MacIver & Veitch), then were scooting around Outram to Milton, it started to lighten up and things got easier.

From Flyer 1 we were virtually straight onto Flyer 2, which was pix at the entrance to Gabriel’s Gully Rd in Lawrence and the Clutha Ferry at Tuapeka West. This was more pleasant rolling country and delightful riding.

The original plan had Malcolm taking a gravelly shortcut from Lee Stream to Lawrence, saving 50Km, but I have an aversion to the loose stuff on the ST and expected to catch him up by the ability to have fewer fuel stops. In the end he dumped the gravel option at the last minute so I slotted into his fuel programme and our first fill was at Balclutha, arriving at about 0830, 210Km into the ride.

From here it was around the Catlins to the first Checkpoint at Niagara Falls. I’ve only done this road once, when it was wet and we rode into squalls shortly after Owaka. I very nearly had a bad off and consequently have no fond memories of the route. This occasion was a different story altogether, it was a beautiful sunny morning, we had the sunshine on our shoulders and the hour of riding between 0840 and 0940 saw little traffic on a combination of rolling country, tight sections and some spectacular coastal vistas. We did have the odd moment on loose, new seal grit, but I guess I’ll have to agree with BanditRider that like Wellington, the Catlins is hard to beat on a good day.

Piccy snacked of the Niagara falls sign, we were off and almost straight into Flyer 6 (3 for us) Southland Towns which comprised of pix in Wyndham, Winton and Otautau. We ended up behind two other riders but when they paused at Gregory Rd (Gravel), Malcolm hesitated also (strong is the lure of the dark side in that one) so I ended up in the lead because I had already discounted that option in my planning. More rolling countryside taken at briskish pace….bloody Marvelous…getting to Wyndham by 1020, straighter roads onto Winton by 1100, then Tuatapere by 1120, on track and time for our gold target.

Next was gas and 2nd checkpoint at Riverton, 3rd checkpoint at Tuatapere, then out to Hump Ridge, (Flyer 7 but #4 for us). We’d considered this one in the early planning but dumped it, only coming back to it when it was shortened at late notice for the same points. It also worked in well for us because we were able to load more into Saturday, leaving an easier ride with less pressure on Sunday. It was a good option, getting 350 points for a short, quick scoot and then the hard riding started.

Arse numbing, long straight roads to CP4 at Milford Sound was boring as hell, the scenery was great, the weather was clear and continuing to warm, but I hate straight roads. We gassed at Te Anau and things improved as we got closer to Milford, in fact it got downright fangable but we maintained restraint as we cruised through the beech forest, then up through vertical, rugged rock faces climbing to the tunnel and we were fortunate to catch the green light, but it was a bit disconcerting to find myself in a damp hole in the rock which sloped downwards. The first half was a bit hairy because coming from the brilliant sunshine took awhile for the eyes to adjust and be able to see through the gloom, but we made it ok and were soon taking the liners out of our jackets and grazing after we had our evidence of the trip.

Heading back out, I passed Malcolm and enjoyed a wee squirt up to the tunnel where we had to wait this time, then when the traffic started moving, Malcolm moved to the right and started easing past the traffic until we got to the front and it was easier going this time as I seemed to be able to see better. Malcolm lifted the pace a bit on the way out, which made the long haul somewhat more bearable.

Te Anau meant another fill, then it was over to Mossburn to start Flyer 8 (5 for us) which was photos at Apirama River, Wreys Bush Pub and Dipton Hall. More straight roads, but Malcolm’s Radar Detector had gone on the blink and we were being followed by a suspicious car so had to show much restraint. What a literal pain in the arse! We were dropping legs, shifting to the back seat and jiggling around to ease the discomfort, having done about 1000Km and the best part was, we still had 500+ to go. Things got easier when we got back on SH6 though and it was quite pleasant slipping up the side of Lake Wakatipu. At some point along here I got frustrated of sitting behind some slow traffic so I passed Malcolm and them and took the lead through some road works to lead the last stretch into our next fuel stop in Queenstown. We were surprised along this section to have Gremlin join us and were pleased for him to be doing this good and be well and truly on track for diamond.

Once fuelled, Malcolm took the lead again for the nice we pootle up to Glenorchy and on to the Isengard site. Once we’d exited Queenstown, Betty (GPS) seemed to lose the track, but then came right, and as we approached Glenorchy I was surprised to hear Betty telling me to do a u-turn at the roundabout, then when we carried on through, the GPS seemed to re-calculate and get back on route. As we approached the Dart River, I could see Betty was wanting to go back down the other side and when we stopped past the line of trees at the Isengard site…..well, the tart wanted me to do another 15Km….on gravel no less…and when I looked, the Waypoint wasn’t even there….Damn, that shakes ones confidence in the machinery!

Oh well, I led back to Queenstown, then Malcolm led up to Coronet Peak. It got dark through this time but with over 1200Km on the clock for the day, we were well and truly in the riding groove, so riding at night felt the same as riding in the day…just darker. I had read a note on KB that there was grit on the Peak road so we maintained some decorum with a steady pace, but man….I’d love to get let loose on that baby with a good surface and, as we experienced, no traffic. Once the sun went, the temp plummeted so once stopped, we grazed (the usual bananas, nut bars & water for me while Malcolm appeared to be on a diet of pizza and fruit juice), applied more layers of clothing and glove liners, then down, down, and on, on to Cardrona.

We hadn’t passed Gremlin through this section and I recalled he had programmed to go back to Shell Q, which had put us back in front and now we were about to embark on a section of road I had been looking forward to…The Devils Staircase. I’ve only been along this road once, from North to South and there were road-works on the staircase at that time. Malcolm led us in but within the 1st corner or two, it was so tight, I was loosing his lights, and thought the ST lights might be better, so I passed and dragged us up at a pleasant but brisk, sub-fang pace. The reason I didn’t cut loose, was that we were running to our targeted times, which meant we would miss the 2300 cutoff for fuel in Cromwell and although it wasn’t going to be a problem for me to get to Ranfurly the next day, it would be tight for Malcolm to get home to Alex’. (although I did have the insurance fuel packed in case we needed it so it wasn’t really an issue)

Never the less, I was endeavouring to maintain our briskish pace, but at the same time, trying to ride economically, as well as minimising any braking and subsequent blinding moments for my mate behind. My recollection of the Crown Range road was pretty vague. I just seemed to recall that it was a nice flowy road that had climbed steadily as it meandered along from Wanaka, then dropped down a steep series of switchbacks. I guess I had that wrong and was surprised when I got to the top and it fell away, so that and the brisk/eco riding approach I was adopting made for an interesting combo on a road that I didn’t know. The weight of the ST was pulling it down the hill and the lack of engine braking provided by the V4, usually means tapping the brakes is a frequent and steady part of downhill riding, but I was having a ball, tapping down into 4th as I was cooking into the corners didn’t really slow me down, it just stabilised the speed and although I wasn’t fanging it, I was riding on the edge, and fortunately the surface was mint….what a buzz!

Cardrona came and went and I led onto Treble Cone (Flyer 20), which we had bought forward from the Sunday ride and inserted into the Crown Range, to save on time and prune a bit of distance. That was another pleasant wee pootle on a good road and best of all, we were getting down to our last hundred Km for the day. It was also noticeable that the numbers of riders encountered on the out-&-returns was dropping off and we only spotted a couple on this one, with Gremmy only 5 to 10 minutes behind us again.

We finished the day with marginal night time pix at Luggate Hotel and the street sign for the Mt Pisa Rd, then had a lucky break as we turned to cross past Cromwell because the BP still had vehicles on the forecourt. We pulled in and filled at 2330, which meant we were saving 10 minutes by not having to fuel in Ranfurly the next day. We were back at Malcolm’s around midnight, had a feed, chatted, scrubbed and collapsed in heap by 0100.