Headbanger done got the blues

**Headbanger** · 5th April 2010, 21:59

Get a call from the Oldboy asking if I wanted to go on a road trip over Easter with him and his riding buddies. This is pretty interesting as in the last 20 years he hasn't invited me anywhere with his riding group. Now that I've given up on the Harleys I'm Mr Popular. Even stranger being that one of his group has a soft-tail, and two ride Vrods, in fact he's the only one currently on a Jappa.

The plan is to head up to Omori to a Blues Festival. Call in for a couple of hours and then continue North to find accommodation. Then the next day over to Whakatane and through the Gorge to Gisborne. And then the third day travel home to Wanganui.

I was told to meet them all in town at 8am for Breakfast, I arrived 20 minutes late so just settled for an orange juice. Which made fuck all difference as they talked shit solidly until 9am, at which time we left the cafe, made our way over to the bikes and they talked shit for another solid 30 minutes,before all at once throwing on the gear and roaring out of town like a bat out of hell.

The Parapara was as usual a pure joy to ride, Its great having that piece of road as the starting point for so many trips out of Wanganui. The major road works over the last couple of years is changing the feel of it but I like what they have done. You can't complain about our shit roads and then whinge when they fix them up.

Anyway, The road was dry, traffic light, The pace was good and we made excellent time, and then to my surprise half the group hung a right at the Turangi turn off, seems they had decided earlier to skip the Blues festival and head over to the East Coast.

So the four of us that were left continued on to Omori, arriving at 11.30, which was excellent....apart from the fact the show started at 2pm. we had 2.5 hours to kill in a town small enough to piss over,The hunt was on for a cafe and after stumbling into The Governor General (or so I'm told, It could be I was having my leg pulled so I just nodded and done what passes for a smile when I think someone is pulling my leg but I'm not sure) we were directed to a cafe that took an extraordinary long time to serve lukewarm coffee and a bland plate of wedges.

After stretching that out as long as we could (the highlight being when I knocked over the menu blackboard with my chair resulting in an almighty crash as it relocated itself into the middle of the assembled coffee drinkers) we headed off to the Omori Estate, still an hour before showtime but what the hell, we didn't have a better plan.

http://www.omoriestate.co.nz/

Within about 5 minutes of arriving we had positioned ourselves within arms reach of the bar and were sending in a delegate every 3 minutes to ask if they were serving drinks yet. Funny enough it seems no matter how many times we asked they wouldn't budge

we were approached by a friendly chap looking to tell us how good he was at airbrushing, In fact he assured up he was a man of many talents. As it was one of the group had just been discussing what he wanted airbrushed onto his bike so they went to sort out a quote.

http://www.customsdepartment.co.nz/

Soon enough the bar opened and we roared into the first bottle of wine for the day (and it was great stuff) while we waited for the bands to hit the stage.......

**Headbanger** · 5th April 2010, 23:03

One of the crew we were traveling with knew of two or three other people from Wanganui who were attending and when they arrived they done a quick assessment and ducked off to their holiday home returning ten minutes later with chairs for all of us.

As the first band took the stage we were kicking back in comfort, eating shrimp pizza (did I mention the Wood fired Pizza setup beside the bar?) sipping wine (and great stuff it was too) and the sun was shining. The crowd continued to filter through the gates and The Jukes played a damn fine set. I even recognised a few of the songs

http://www.thejukes.net/

Soon enough the first bottle was emptied and replaced with another (damn fine drop it was as well) I'm sitting there gazing out over the lake, the band is rocking, and the wine is getting finer with every sip, It dawns on me, I'm not leaving, fuck the road trip, I want more wine, rockin bands and pizza.

So I jump on the bike and tear up to the motel we passed in town, fully booked. They do a ring around, everything else is booked. I made a few phone calls to holiday homes listed on the internet but got nowhere.

Defeated I headed back to the show, The Jukes were finished and one of our crew was heading back to Wanganui leaving just three of us.

Those of us that were left were enjoying the day so we decided that even though we had no accommodation we would stay until Midge took the stage and had done a couple of numbers, then ride into Taupo to look for accommodation and in the event we didn't find any head back to Wanganui.

That sorted I acquired another bottle of fine (and damn fine it was too) as the Mike Garner Trio took to the stage, and lo and behold, The percussionist was the airbrusher who had accosted us earlier in the day, He was indeed a man of many talents, playing an assortment of instruments including a washboard, a bicycle horn, and the very box he was sitting on ( I kid you not). Great stuff.

http://www.mikegarner.co.nz/index.html

By this time I was restricting myself to one class of wine an hour and we were getting plied with food from the champions who had supplied us with the chairs, Home made dishes as well as cheeses, crackers, quality chocolates, fruit and we were buying the Pizza at an alarming rate.

The day was staring to cool off but the wine was having an effect as small groups of people were up and dancing.

The Mike Garner Trio finished their set and an American lady took the stage, done a few old Jazz standards with just her guitar, and then the Mike Garner Trio retook the stage...this time as her backing band. The story being they had only played togther one before, 2 nights earlier in Rotorua.

She threw down some mean tunes on the guitar and they boogied along for another hour or so. Im afraid to say I wasn't famlier with any of it, lmfao, but it was thoroughly enjoyable.

**Headbanger** · 5th April 2010, 23:25

Soon enough they were setting up the stage for the main event, Midge Marsden. I wouldn't say I was a huge fan, Burning Rain is a great NZ song but I probably wouldn't have traveled to the event for him alone. However he is a professional and has a cracking band. His guitarist was awesome, they had great stage banter and the songlist and performance was well structered to rock the place.

And hell yes, They rocked the joint.

After 2 or 3 songs I suggested to the oldboy we hit the road. hell no he says, accommodation was sorted hours ago, The ladies who supplied us the chairs had a room full of beds and by moving a couple people out of that room into another had freed them all up for our use.

Fuck me says I.

All these hours of responsible drinking, For nothing, I felt cheated, so sprinted to the bar to grab another bottle of wine (great stuff it was too) which I happily put in my belly as the band played on.

By this time the sun had gone down, the entire crowd (full of wine) was on its feet in front of the stage, partying like they were 40 years younger and the band were belting out The Midnight Special. Finishing a near 2 hour set with an arse kicking rendition of Burning Rain.

We made our way back to our accommodation and after 3 or 4 more glasses of wine ( I had a thirst worked up by now) crawled into bed and went out like a light.

**Headbanger** · 5th April 2010, 23:59

I awoke a couple of hours later,Its pitch black, My mouth is so dry it was trying to suck my lips into my throat, My head is pounding, My bladder is screaming and I have no idea where I am.

Fuckin wine.

Playing it cool I attempt to get out of the bed, first surprise is its a bunk. Second surprise is there are steps leading up out of the room, which I discover by falling up them (yes its possible) headbutting the open door, and then falling back down the stairs with appropriate grunting and swearing. I was relieved no one came and switched on the light at this stage as they would have seen a half sober near naked fat guy sprawled out on the floor.

Fuck the wine.

After navigating the steps and the door I made it into the hallway, Still pitch black I went about the task of finding the toilet in a completely unfamiliar house by feel alone. Having that sorted I sculled back copious amounts of water, retreated back to the bedroom and was soon slumbering once again.

Woke at 7am feeling pretty damn fine, we decided to impose on our hosts as little as possible by hitting the road and getting breakfast at Turangi, Only to discover hot coffee on the table and a mean feed of trout in the fry pan.

Where do people this nice come from? Giving beds and breakfast to strangers? Its humbling. Its way nicer then I could ever be.

Anyway, The trout was awesome, It was without a doubt the best breakfast I can remember eating.

Its gets the Fucking Awesome award for being Fucking Awesome.

8am we hit the road, The third member of our group heads back to Wanganui and me and the oldboy head north towards Rotorua via the Western Bay Rd (and it becomes apparent to me why I was invited, The oldboy was hell bent on an epic ride through the Waioeka Gorge and knew no one else was overly keen

)

Refreshed and well fed we rode onwards, The air was still and wet, at times we were riding through thick fog, There was no other traffic on the road, The sun was trying to burn through the thick layer of cloud, eventually blazing through and brightening the day.

It was a very cool time to be riding, The Western Bay Rd is always a good road to ride, great scenery if you take the time to look and chock full of fast sweeping corners, and the weather conditions only added to the experience.

**blackdog** · 6th April 2010, 00:37

mmmmmmmm trout

cool writeup hb, sounds like it as a blast

good job

**Conquiztador** · 6th April 2010, 05:30

Next time sell tickets! I buy one!

**Genie** · 6th April 2010, 06:04

Awesome write up, thanks for sharing and you can fall up stairs even when sober!

**sinfull** · 6th April 2010, 07:47

Excellent write up HB , loved it !!

And +1 with Conquiztador on the tickets !!

**sunhuntin** · 6th April 2010, 09:57

fuckin awesome!

**Headbanger** · 6th April 2010, 23:56

And onward we rolled, Heading through Whakamaru and turning right and traveling over the dam.

I've always like riding across that dam for some reason, the setting is perfect (after all its not everyday you ride over a dam) Pristine and calm waters on one side, a massive concrete structure holding back millions of tones of water, and on the other side a sheer drop down to a trickle of water. Its all about massive strength and restrained power/energy.Trapped by the efforts of mankind so we can run electric can openers..

Anyway, we took a hard right directly after the dam down Ongorato Rd (30), Having never been down this road before I was in for some killer sights, Pristine forests the entire way on our left, on our right a massive lake with sheer cliffs, we eased off and took it all in.

Soon enough we were ejected back onto the main road and continued onto Rototua, which as everyone knows smells like arse. And why the hell anyone would want to smell arse all the time is beyond me.

We carried on following SH 30 and traveled through some awesome lake country until we merged onto SH 2 at Awakeri and traveled southish for awhile before the road swung around and headed back to the coast. Through Waiotaha Beach, onto Opotiki and then into the stunning Waioeka Gorge for the final push into Gisborne.

I won't go into detail apart from to say it was well worth the effort, The roads were stunning, The landscape was stunning, The Gorge was huge, massive sheer faces rising straight up into the clouds. And I was looking forward to a motel, a beer, a steak meal, and a hot shower.

**Headbanger** · 7th April 2010, 00:24

Arriving in Gisborne at 2pm we headed out to the port to have a meal at a favourite cafe, while we were eating the oldboy remarked that he thought it was too early in the day to stop just yet.

I replied that I was pretty damn tired and pretty damn sore.

He looked down at me and suggested I toughen up.

LMFAO.

And that was it decided, we had just added an extra 470 KM's to our day as the next stop after Gisborne was Napier, and when you get that close to home you don't stop, You just carry the hell on home.

As 3pm rolled around were were full of food, the bikes were full of fuel and we were heading out of town. Took it pretty easy to Wairoa, just sitting at the tail end of a line of traffic most of the way, watching the mad fuckers do incredibly shithouse passing maneuvers.

After a rest we once again headed for Napier, Its funny that in a car I detest the road from Wairoa to Napier but on a bike its one of my favourite roads. We picked up the pace and this proved to be one of the most enjoyable section of the day. What I didn't realise at the time was the oldboy (who was leading) had sped up as a commodre was sitting on my tail and had pulled up alongside me numerous times in an attempt to pass me.

My bad, Blows me away that I wasn't aware of the car at all.

We stopped in Napier for fuel and coffee, By this time it was pitch black and we still had approx 260km to go. Fuck yes, clever fuckers. The ride was becoming a blur.

Again on the road,Though truth be told I was enjoying the night riding, stopping at Dannevirke for a rest and more coffee (that is what the dehydration thread recommended isn't it?,Start with a hangover, avoid food, drink lots of service station coffee?) Both of us struggled to get our gear back on and get back on the bikes.

The trip through the Manawatu Gorge was a mindfuck, The combination of fatigue and the conditions just screwd the hell out of my perception and the shapes of the corners seemed to be changing as I encountered them.

Onwards and onwards, Fuel stop in Bulls, on through the dark.Towards home

Finally rolling into Wanganui at quarter to ten, what a fucking day. I pretty much idled my bike the last few km's through the suburbs, down my driveway and into the shed. It almost didn't feel real now that it was over.

Wearily I walked into the house, discarding my gear as I went, Sank in to my favourite lounge chair,closed my eyes, took a load off....My darling wife enters the lounge, Good thing your home she says, The dishwasher needs to be emptied.

**Headbanger** · 7th April 2010, 00:35

This pic was taken about 2km out of Matawai.

As we went to leave the oldboy got his leg hooked on his tail bag, The bike started to roll forward (its quite a steep hill) and as he hopped alongside it on one leg the stand folded up and the bike came crashing down, precariously close to a straight drop into a 6 foot culvert.

Oh how I laughed.