After almost a week of heavy frosts with morning temperatures down to -6C the weather forecast for friday looked good. A northerly influence coming through to thaw the ice and should make for pleasant riding conditions. When I went to bed on thursday night it wasn't looking too hopefull as the temperature had already plumetted to -3C and still dropping. So I was very pleased to wake up on friday morning to find the northerly had indeed come through and the temperature had risen to +2C.
So it was on with the bike gear and shortly before 10:00 am I was away. The northerly was picking up in force as I went through the Cromwell Gorge and I knew that I was borderline for having enough fuel to get to Omarama so I stopped in Cromwell to top up with that liquid that motorcyles love. This also meant that I wouldn't need to stop in Omarama, or so i thought. I noted that the temperature in Cromwell was still at +2C despite the northerly wind, and it looked like the overcast would keep temps low all day.
At Tarras it felt like someone had opened the fridge door as I rode from acceptable above 0 riding conditions to suddenly being below 0C. Only 5km into the Lindis Pass road and there was snow and ice at road level and it just kept getting colder. The first pic below is taken on the long straight before Morven Hills Station about 1/3 of the way through the Lindis. While stopped to take the photo a car passed by in the same direction, and once underway i followed it for quite some distance before finally passing it just after the twisty section near Dip Creek when the car was slowed down by a stock truck. There was hardly any traffic on the road and all the way to the top I only saw one car and one truck going in the opposite direction. There were many places where there was white ice on the road and I was pleased that the grit trucks had been through
At the top of the Lindis Pass where there is normally a drop off down into the valley the snow plows had created a raised bank instead. Picture 2 below. The same car passed me again here, but there was no sign of the stock truck. (I later learned that the truck stopped to put on chains.)
Heading downhill towards Omarama I was mentally calculating how much I could expect the temperature to rise with the decrease in altitude. It wasn't enough. By Killermont Station the snow had gone from the side of the road and it was now just the ice remaining. I repassed the same car again just before hitting the black ice on the Omarama bridge. Fortunately it was only a short section and proved to be no hassle. Omarama at 11:30 am was a much needed toilet stop, and the car I'd been passing and repassing along the way made the same stop. Talking to the driver I learned that the temperature at the top of the Lindis Pass had been -8C and in Omarama was still - 4C. (The same driver told me about the truck stopping to put on chains). Perhaps not quite the balmy ride I had been anticipating.
I headed down the Waitaki Valley and could feel the air warming as I went. Near Aviemore the fridge door was closed and once again the temperature felt above 0C. At Kurow I crossed the old twin bridges to Hakataramea the headed down the northern side of the Waitaki to Ikiwaki. Suddenly I felt the bike drift slightly and saw ice at the same instant. The temperature dropped again and the road became quite slippery as I headed through the hills to Waihou Forks. Going into the Waimate Gorge I couldn't help notice the signs saying "slippery when frosty" and "ice/grit". The latter ones were quite misleading because where there was grit there was no ice and where there was ice there was no grit.
Waimate was a good place to stop and have a hot lunch and refuel the bike. Now came the real reason for the ride. There are a number of back roads in this area that need exploring, and explore them I did. I won't go into too much detail here as some of these roads may form part of an organised ride later on. Suffice it say that when I arrived in Geraldine at 2:30 pm I had a grin from ear to ear, and the day had been above 0C for the whole section of the ride. I turned around and headed back on almost the same route (with a couple of deviations) to Waimate. Fuel was needed again and looking at the time I realised that I wouldn't get back over the Lindis before dark.
Heading out of Waimate at 4:00 pm it was straight back to below 0 temperatures for the run back through the gorge and through to Ikiwai. Like earlier in the day there was no sign of ice heading inland from Ikiwai, but now came a new issue. The whole day had been overcast except for away in the west low down on the horizon had been a thin sliver of blue sky. The sun now dipped down into the piece of blue sky directly in front of me. The sun strike would be the worst I have struck for many years and it was continuous for about 15 minutes. During this time my average speed would have only been around 50 km/h or less. Fortunately the sun soon went down and so did the temperature. I knew I had to get at least through Oramama before dark or the Lindis Pass would just be too treacherous. Approaching Otematata I was tempted to call into Old Rider's for a hot coffee, but I knew if I did that I wouldn't get through the Lindis, so I just pressd on into the rapidly fading light.
It was still dusk as I went through Omarama at 5:20 pm and already I could see the occasional glistening of ice forming on the road. On into the Lindis Pass and my speed dropped lower and lower as I sucked the bike up with my arse to keep upright. Patches that looked dry were actually ice already forming, and patches that looked wet, well that is black ice and I knew to keep absolutely upright and straight when crossing them. Near the top of pass I had the unusual experience of waving a camper van through as he was going faster than I was. Once over the top it was now fully dark and much more difficult to pick up the icy patches on the road. I took it carefully all the way to tarras where once again the fridge door closed and it felt like a balmy evening. A pity the northerly hadn't moved through the other side of the Pass as well.
I finally arrived home just before 7:00 pm. 740 km in 9 hours and some of the coldest riding I've ever experienced.
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Originally Posted by scumdog
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