Exploring for Silver in South Island : Blue Beasts TT Anniversary Adventure

[sarahtvet]

The start to Thursday 12th was hardly an inspiration to head out and ride the best part of 4000K in 4 days. Grey skies, wind and rain on the hill didn’t even inspire me to get out of bed let alone get on the bike
Slowly I got motivated and got all the home and work stuff tidied away. Packed and repacked and then decided I needed new waterproof trousers.

Off to Outback clothing where the good fortune began with the owner letting me have my trousers at ‘Field day price’ even though it was a week away , what a cool guy. :

Being in town meant I just had to go to Cuba for a pre-ride peppermint tea and pep talk from Horse. Collected my pack from home and said my goodbyes to the menagerie and house mates. Running late and in a bit of a dither nearly dropped the bike on the gravel ‘deep breath, calm down ‘and I was on my way

Lesson One: Be prepared (don’t wait until ‘the day’ to buy wets)

Very glad that I had scrubbed in the new front tyre the night before, on the CD Wednesday night ride over Vinegar hill, as the roads to Wellington were wet and greasy. As I rode into Wellington the white horses in the bay reminded me that I had forgotten my anti-seasickness tabs......(see later)

Pete came over from Upper Hutt to buy me a coffee and have a quick catch up between check-in and boarding. I think he got the worst of the weather riding home poor guy.
This was my first trip with Bluebridge and was the peak of customer service from start to finish. The girl at checkin said ‘Hi you must be Sarah as we have only one bike travelling tonight ‘(apart from the GSX belonging to one of the crew) .

As I pulled onto the top deck I was greeted with ‘what a lovely bike’ well it was all set from there. Lots of laughing and banter with the deckhands as I tied down the beast and they stowed my helmet and gloves in a safe place. Escorted to the stairs and then they headed off to tie down the lorrys’ as I found a cuppa. By the time I had reread my routes they were back up and issuing orders for me to have free refreshments and a cabin, bedding and wakeup call if I needed it. Talk about first class care :

There we were chatting about bikes etc when Dogs passed the doorway, did a double-take then came in for a mutual catch-up of the past years events. Good to see him looking well if a little sleepy, I can’t say much, by now I was pretty green around the gills and the ferry was rolling ‘good n proper’. Offloading dinner made me feel a lot better and I chatted to some of the truck drivers before having a little snooze.

Lesson One x2 : Be prepared (take sea-sickness tabs)

Apparently they were struggling to dock in Picton due to 40 knot winds so I was glad I had taken Stu’s advice and decided to overnight in Picton rather than ride straight to Christchurch.
Jugglers Rest was 2min from the ferry and I got in just as the heavens opened. A note on the back door and another on my bedroom door to make me feel special.

There was a choice of 4 beds, well no choice really, the one with the Caspian-blue bedsocks was destined to be mine 
After a slightly despondant start I snuggled down as the wind raged outside and knew the weekend ahead was going to be great, how I under-estimated that......

[sarahtvet]

Picton to Christchurch

Friday dawned with blue skies and an autumnal freshness to the air. Breakfast of freshly baked bread and homemade organic jam was the perfect start.

I headed out of Picton on the dry roads of the coastal route full of eager anticipation. I played in the twisties and got to follow a cop for a while, he then kindly let me pass so I felt less under scrutiny. Passed a few of his mates olice:, one on a motorbike , a few K’s later, looked like they were waiting for somebody First motorcycle cop I have seen apart from on the training day.


Stopped for fuel at the Challenge garage just south of Kaikoura and got lots of encouragement and advice on fuel stops that would be open at the weekend.

Arrived at the Plaza shopping centre in Christchurch just as it began to pour, perfect timing. Purchased a tooth brush ops: and my ‘safety petrol container (not)’ and then went for lunch and a mocha to give the storm time to ease. Once a slight lull appeared I tootled to the City Centre Motel for some more spoiling.

Tina and Mary are the absolute best hoteliers you could ever wish to meet :
Their attention to detail and customer service included making space in their garage for the bike and giving me a room with a spa bath. They are personal friends but they do treat all their guests that way, hence why they were run off their feet all day!!!

The wet lunchtime rapidly turned into a warm bright afternoon so it was easy to reorganise the pack and get the bike set up for the marathon to come. I took advantage of the weather and went for a stroll knowing that I wouldn’t be walking much for the next two days.


I then succumbed to temptation and took my cuppa and had a frothy spa bath, just because I could. Hot tub is definitely on the (post PhD) want list now :bugger:

Early to bed with the alarm set for 415am and my clothes laid out ready, nearly too excited to sleep

[sarahtvet]

Into the West
Day 1 of the TT2000

It was pitch dark as I carefully manoeuvred the beast out of the garage and snuck out into the street so its’ roar didn’t wake the slumbering guests.

There was a buzz of activity at Hornby Honda I spotted LBD heading out on the Ducati as I arrived

Quick catch up with Monie as I headed in to hand over my pack and get my starters ticket. Well all I needed to do now was ride.....

I was fortunate to have parked up next to two Triumph sprints ridden by Maurice and Evan. Being polite they complimented the Daytona. It transpired that we planned to do the same route, apart from the fact that they wanted to do most of the flyers and I was unsure of my capability to fit them in.

Decided to go with them to start with and see how it went. The die was cast and as soon as Drew arrived on the beamer I headed off into the night with my three knights on their speeding steeds.

In no time we were in Rakaia where the petrol container already needed further strapping down, I should have predicted the outcome then.

By Geraldine I was 10L of fuel and a tie down and some bungies lighter Fortunately I hadn’t injured any of my new-found friends in the process and it gave them one of many reasons to tease me for the next 48 hours.

Lesson Two: Never try something new on THE DAY


Dawn was breaking as we headed to Methven and up to Lake Coleridge power station. The roads were dry and we settled into a steady rhythm.

Lots of bikes at Arthurs Pass and we decided to stop for breakfast and some socialising there.

It was a good run to Kumara and some lads beeped and waved as they passed us in a car when we were taking pictures of the sign. Two minutes later we passed them talking to a cop olice:and not 500m up the road two bikes were doing the same thing.

With a feeling of slightly guilty relief we headed out to Hokitika where the traffic was busy enough to be a nuisance for the first time in the day, this was due to scores of people attending the food and wine festival.

There I was fuelling up in Hokitika when a very good friend appeared by my side, we both knew each other were in the south but I had been adamant that I would not be going to Hokitika. It was fateful that Kevin had spotted us pulling onto the petrol station and ran across to wish us well. An added feel-good buzz to the already exhilarating start to the day.

Lake Mahinapua was calm and quiet after the buzz of Hokitika but no time to stop, back through the busy town and north along the west coast to Greymouth.

In my defence, I shall now add that the others were South Islanders and I was told to let Drew choose the routes as this was his backyard. That was all true, unfortunately Drew had not got the flyer details and none of us knew the area well enough to know that Kopara Village was South of Ikamatua and Blackball.

We took the picture outside the Blackball Hilton and I did wonder how we had got ahead of LBD, who flew in and out whilst we were talking. Well I wondered until I said – Kopara village then and Drews’ face said it all. Kopara Village should have been done before and would now cost us 1 ½ hours. :bugger:

Lesson One x3 : Be Prepared (know the routes even if you don’t plan to do them, you may change your mind)


We elected not to risk not getting home in time and headed on to the great twisties along the coast road leading to Punakaiki, Westport (no time for pasties) and on to Karamea.

Glad I got to take pics of this area from the back of Kerry’s bike on the last trip down as the road required all my concentration.

I was aware that I was slower than the guys on some of the really twisty sections so opted to leave Karamea slightly ahead of them. Maurice came with me and despite seeing the Denniston turn clearly marked on the way up we missed it on the way back and were nearly in Westport when we realised. Quick scoot back the other way and the two bikes, looking remarkably like our mates passed in the other direction. Maurice caught them, eventually, to find out they weren’t Drew and Evan. At this point we decided to go back to Westport and wait. These two little errors cost us gold in the end, but hey I was still not sure I would be up to the 2000K in two days.

Lesson Three: Note where the turns are if you pass them in one direction so you don’t miss them on the way back


We regrouped in Westport and Drew was adamant we would have time for a cuppa at his place at Reefton and fit in the Springs Junction flyer. He was a little less convinced when he realised we were going to Nelson via Mott but still was more chilled than I was. By now I was worried about holding the team back and offered to go on alone from this point. They laughed and told me ‘Drew says you ride Ok for a chick, that’s a huge compliment’. The decision was mine so I shut up worrying and concentrated on riding.

No ‘ladies first’ at the convenience, luckily us vets have strong stomachs Quick cuppa and Drew rechecked exactly where Morley Honda was, as I had misplaced my map and we thought we could be cutting it fine (silly us).

Evan felt the Sprint was not cornering well so decided to put some(about 20 more PSI) air in his tyre, luckily Drew had a compressor. Springs junction for 4 chewing gums and 4 receipts and then a brisk blatt to Mott.

A few of the Hyabusa Mohicans were by the road near the airport but indicated that they were under control so we continued into the petrol station and then took the scenic route into Nelson.

Whatever was I worrying about... 40minutes to spare and that was with all the banter and stuffing around at Motueka.

Plenty of people milling around but no sign of Stu, I text him so we could meet at the backpackers and he rang to explain that he was the rider we passed being ticketed at Kumara and he was now walking. All but one of the Busa Mohicans got in, an electrical failure had put one out of the ride.

It was whilst at McD’s that I realised Mike had carried my pack up from Christchurch in the van for me..... and it was still in the van. I have a huge history of lost luggage at airports so it shouldn’t ahve been a surprise. Oh well, roughing it is what ‘real bikers’ get to do I guess. Thankfully the bed came with bedding and I had some spare clothes and a small towel in my tank bag.

Lesson Four: Ensure you get sleep (don’t stay in a backpackers and remember to get your pack containing your earplugs)


I nearly ended up sharing with Mr Taylor, another rider. Once the confusion was sorted I did actually get a room to myself as Stu wasn’t there. Mr Taylor was in a room of four and woke up during the night in terrible pain and had to get an ambulance. Turned out he had a DVT. I found this all out as he had a cuppa with me when I was up at 415 Sunday morning trying to cure the migraine!!!! Probably fortunate we didn’t share

[sarahtvet]

[B]Day 2 of the TT Nelson to Christchurch via Farewell spit , Hamner Springs and Kaikoura with a few excursions enroute[/B]

I must have slept some of the night because I woke up exhausted, red-eyed and with the familiar left-sided pounding headache that often precedes a full-blown migraine.

Not this time, I was not going to spend this day being sick in a dark room that was for sure. Tea, tea and more tea, rehydration tabs and some voltarol for good measure. I knew McD’s was a bad idea at 11pm......


Apparently I look like a backpacker who cleans at the hostel on the side whilst cycling around the hills of the south island, a compliment in there somewhere.

‘Oh you’re on a motorbike, who are you pillioning with?... Oh your are riding not pillioning, a Daytona, oh the 675...955i , erm right guess I should shut up now’.

It was hilarious watching the guys dig huge holes and then try and talk their way out of being sexist bastards. To be fair the guy from the south was very apologetic, especially when he gave me advice on cornering and then Maurice came in, sat down and said ‘we going to try for gold today then girl’ I wish I had a camera at the ready :lolol:


The guy from the north didn’t apologise for his similar sexist assumptions but hey, we passed him so that was good enough for me :

Lesson five: Real Men encourage women to achieve and are not threatened by it.(Luckily I had chosen a fine group of real Men to ride with).

The organisers had opted for a group start on Sunday so we let the group go and stuffed around a little before heading off. I had decided to ride and choose whether or not to continue depending on how I felt. Not surprisingly the more I rode the better it got (Have I mentioned yet ‘ I love my bike’).


Over Takaka hill in the semi-dark and out to Farewell spit in the dawn, what a fabulous sunrise and scenery, a place to return to and explore a lot more

A leisurely brekkie in Takaka largely to avoid meeting other bikes on the Cobb Power Station road.

Yipee it was like riding in Devon, single track road with cliff up one side and river on the other. Not quite the allowed shortcut route Mike sent out last week :lolol: but close enough for me. Gorgeous virgin forest and with the sun shining it was a magical place.

Got over-confident on a bridge and slalomed across it, too quick to make the mistake of braking just swore lots, stared at the exit rather than the river and held on, all good

Fortunately I was at the back so nobody saw... apparently I wasn’t the only one to have a little Oops there. The only one I had in 3665K so I can’t complain.

Lesson Six: Better an Oops moment to rein you in than an Off


I hadn’t realised when I booked the TT that it was actually just short of 2 years from my inaugural southern trip with the Blue Beast.

That was when I had an electrical issue going downhill, at night in the dark and wet, when my riding was not up to the bike, conditions ,nor the length of day I had ridden.

It ended with the bike on its side on a bend and me unable to shift it. Luckily I stopped an oncoming car from hitting it by waving my torch and they helped me get it back on its wheels. Another rider then kindly rode it down the hill with no front brake lever whilst I rode his intact Daytona.


Well that ghost was well and truly put to rest as we traversed said road twice as part of the Mupana Kaiteriteri flyer and it was great. :

Lesson Seven: Your fears lessen if you turn and face them


I was low on fuel so got some from the local Water taxis and then lost the others when trying to find the fire-station. Drew and Evan had gone to track down Kaiteriteri fire-station and Maurice and I headed after them. Maurice flew past the shortcut to Kaiteriteri so I followed him, to be honest made little difference based on where we had to go and we quickly grabbed our pic and headed over the hill out of town.

Time was getting on and we were all aware that we had actually covered little of the basic 1000k’s at this point. Back through Mot and Nelson and out on the Picton road towards the bays.

We had opted for Okiwi Bay as the one of the potentially bad flyers we needed to do. We had been told the night before that the road wasn’t too bad. I beg to differ and it was as we stopped by the bay we decided that going for gold was no longer an option.

We were in Okiwi Bay when we needed to be in Picton so at this point we became more focused and less casual at the fuel stops and a little more adventurous on the twisties.

We saw many bikes coming out of Picton as we went in but hey we knew we were behind schedule and everybody had a different plan so there was no point judging our progress by others.

No time to go to Reefton for coffee today and Drew and Evan were unsure as we fuelled at Springs Junction if we would make the checkpoint and if they should go home from there.

In a complete role-reversal of the day before I said ‘Are you sure we won’t make it or are we going to have to stop stuffing around to make it?, If there is a chance we can finish I want to try so if we are going lets go’. So we went with a capital W.

Lesson Eight: If you say you can you can

What a fantastic fateful meeting. It was an absolute pleasure to ride with these guys throughout the trip but my two most memorable sections were Springs Junction to Mot on Saturday night and Springs junction to Hamner and on to Kaikoura on Sunday. The roads were dry, not very busy and the k’s flowed beneath our tyres like poetry in motion.

It was like meditating in a way, living totally in the moment both relaxing and exhilarating, I guess it is why we do it .

As we came out towards Kaikoura the sky was a magnificent ‘sky blue pink’ and I momentarily slowed to drink in the scenery. I noticed Drew on my tail and realised he had guessed that I was slightly distracted and was making sure I kept focus. Who wouldn’t have marvelled at the sight.

Plenty of bikes in Kaikoura and once re-fuelled we were on the last leg with time to spare.
Hornby Honda by 9pm, tired but not exhausted, stiff but not sore and bouncing with a huge cheesy grin.

I left Palmie with a vague hope of finishing, intact with no tickets. I didn’t in my wildest dreams entertain the thought of doing an extra 600K nor of seeing some of those exciting twisty roads that constituted many of the flyers.

I was almost disappointed that we had reached the finish, until I realised that many more rides and many more roads to explore yet, God willing.

We headed up to hand in our various receipts and grabbed a much appreciated drink and a sausage. Picked up our finishers packs and I couldn’t resist buying the Silver trophy, after all it is blue too

Chatted and saw the Busa Mohicans and LBD arrive, also the Invercargill girl who rode the East/West route on her own as a homage to her mate who died last year ,awesome achievement

Of course by now the news of the death of one rider and injury of another had filtered back and we were all saddened. At the time the people involved had not been named but they were nevertheless our fellow riders who had set out on the same voyage as us and therefore were and always will be connected to us all.

Contact details were exchanged and farewells said before we headed off for much needed respite.

It was amazing how getting back on the bike was such a pleasure.

A lovely note from the ladies awaited me and I was in the spa room again so, despite the barrage of text messages that arrived once the phone started to recharge, I dived into the steamy spa bath with cuppa in hand and washed off the grime and tiredness of the days .The grin wasn’t going to budge and was still there as I drifted into a satisfied sleep after chatting to Bruv and Stu and replying to all those who had been awaiting the outcome of the day.

There might not have been people waiting for me at the finish physically (see GC) but they were definitely there in spirit. I would never have attempted it without their encouragement and support.

I not only faced a number of my fears, achieved and exceeded my goals and saw more of the beautiful south more importantly I met many and got to know three good riders who were great people. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to undertake the ride, especially with guys such as these.

All the petrol station and shop owners we encountered on the way were interested and excited about the ride and quickly worked out we needed receipts so kept us organised. Considering we made some of them very busy in short spates of time they really handled it well. Another event where my life has been enriched by so much more than the riding.

Lesson Nine: Trying new things enriches your life

[sarahtvet]

Christchurch to Palmie – the adventurers return.

Glorious sun streamed through the windows when I finally surfaced at 850am- What time!!! I need to be in Picton by 1pm to get the ferry, ( many).

This is when reason intervened, I was still tired, had not had time to catch up with the girls and wasn’t even dressed, I was not going to make it. I rang Bluebridge who again astounded me by happily agreeing to change the ferry to the 7pm sailing at no extra charge

Tina then came in and brought me brekkie and told me to take it easy and not to worry about the check out time. Fine by me, cuppa and toast whilst the acupuncture needles removed the residual stiffness in my knees and then all sorted.

It was a beautiful morning and we sat drinking tea and chatting about the ride, the motel, life the universe and all good things. It was like I had only seen them yesterday and so good that they had time to pause in their hectic schedules when I was actually there.

All too soon it was time to load up and head north. Quick pic of my support crew holding ‘our ‘trophy’ and Tina waited to hear the roar of the engine as I headed off, initially in the wrong direction lol.

I decided to revisit the inland route at a more sedate pace so I could take a few pictures. Lovely autumnal colours and stunning South Island views.

I stopped for late lunch/afternoon tea in Kaikoura and met a guy from Hamilton who was touring with a few mates. I put my sunnies on the pac rack and drove off. I found them when I stopped to take a picture of the little church at Wharanui, how they didn’t fall off I shall never know.

The only grumpy person I encountered during the entire trip was the man in the Caltex in Blenheim (won’t go there again) who moaned at me cleaning the bugs from my headlight and forks with the brush and water. Must have been having a bad day.

I was so relaxed eating my ice-cream and topping up my tyres I didn’t realise the time until it was 550pm and I was supposed to check-in at 6 in Picton.

Kept myself in check knowing that a ticket would make me even later and I fortunately was nowhere near the last arrival and again I was greeted with a smile and by my name as I pulled up. On the bigger ship this time and with lots of stock, the bike felt right at home.

It was damp but not raining as I drove off the ferry and the ride back to Palmie was uneventful and much more enjoyable in the peace of the night than it would have been during rush hour.

102 hours, 6171 points and 3665K later I was home.

The dogs gave me a very enthusiastic welcome, thankfully Anne had bathed them so they smelt lovely.

It took me a while to be ready to sleep, my mind was buzzing with the excitement of the trip, arriving home and plans for the future.

It is amazing how cathartic a trip like this can be. I was inspired with new ideas for my Phd whilst I was on the ferry and answers to questions I had been mulling over for a while. The clarity of the riding somehow spilt into all areas.


In short
It was great, go try it

[sarahtvet]

link to pictures
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sarahtvet/TT200002#

[Meanie]

Awesome write up Sarah, and good on you for doing the extensions to get silver, sounds like you teed up with the right riders. Monie and I did the basic 2000ks easton route first which explains why we didnt see too much of each other.
A real shame about the accident and loss of life, certaianly put a damper on the finish.
We had an awesome time and look forward to the next one

[crazyhorse]

Well done. Sounds like a great trip and awesome adventure

[KoroJ]

Congratulations on getting Silver. Good effort.

[Jantar]

Well done Sarah. I really thought you had gold in the bag with all the flyers you did on saturday. Your first 3 flyers on sunday were the same as my last 3 on saturday and apart from finding some hidden fire stations I found them very easy points to get. Riding with Drew and Evan I thoght you would blitz them all with ease.

Well, gold next time round.

[sarahtvet]

Awesome write up Sarah, and good on you for doing the extensions to get silver, sounds like you teed up with the right riders. Monie and I did the basic 2000ks easton route first which explains why we didnt see too much of each other.
A real shame about the accident and loss of life, certaianly put a damper on the finish.
We had an awesome time and look forward to the next one

Glad you both had fun. Eastern route was twistier on the first day when you are fresher but think doing western was easier for the flyers. To be honest I was over twisties by the time I made Kaikoura, well for about 30m.
Probably go for 2000 next year as I have come up with a plan for a personal challenge within that.
When you do a ride like that all riders become part of the family so I am sure I echo everybodys thoughts when I say how deepely saddened I was by the loss of life and that my sympathies go out to all those touched by the tragedy.

Well done. Sounds like a great trip and awesome adventure

Was , if you haven't done it I expect to see you next year

Congratulations on getting Silver. Good effort.

Thanks mate, looked out for you but I am rubbish at recognising bikes and bikers with their gear on (that reads badly).
Sounds like you had a bit of fun too

Well done Sarah. I really thought you had gold in the bag with all the flyers you did on saturday. Your first 3 flyers on sunday were the same as my last 3 on saturday and apart from finding some hidden fire stations I found them very easy points to get. Riding with Drew and Evan I thoght you would blitz them all with ease.

Well, gold next time round.

I am guessing we nearly shared a bedroom?
Hope your leg all good now.
We took it a little toooo easy at the outset. Partly deliberate to not have two eay traffic at Cobb and also because we had a huge brekkie at Takaka.
Great guys to ride with for sure, will be having a few beers with them at rural riders :

Just heard from LBD, 4days into the 10K in 10d and is going well

[KoroJ]

It's amazing on these rides how few people you actually see....over the whole weekend.

There were a number of riders I knew were there but never saw them once.

[shafty]

Brilliant write up Sarah - really well written, and of course a great effort on the ride(s) as well. Even witty photo captions!
(I am curious what your personal challenge will be next time - cutting down on caffeine? LOL)

Well done that Girl!

[sarahtvet]

Brilliant write up Sarah - really well written, and of course a great effort on the ride(s) as well. Even witty photo captions!
(I am curious what your personal challenge will be next time - cutting down on caffeine? LOL)

Well done that Girl!

Thanks for such encouragement

I wish I could have done the 10K in 10 days, now that was a HUGE challenge.

I was thinking of trying to do the TT within 5K of the posted limits......including on the bends (may need more caffeine not less). Guess I shall have to learn to ride faster first

I would like to see if I can manage the ride without being called a cleaner this time too

I liked the cyclist comment better, it was a compliment to my physique , largely due to the bllurred eyes of 530am but have to take all the compliments you can get when you are over 40

After the training day yesterday I know the quads need some more work lol

[kit]

Awesome write up