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Thread: 2016 TT2000 Ride Reports

  1. #1
    Join Date
    20th April 2007 - 22:06
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    Concours 14, S10
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    Palmy
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    3,490

    2016 TT2000 Ride Reports

    Post links here!

    I'll start: http://banditrider.weebly.com/2016-tt2000.html

  2. #2
    Join Date
    10th September 2008 - 21:23
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    Yamaha XV250
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    te awamutu
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    I enjoyed that. A good write up.
    " Rule books are for the Guidance of the Wise, and the Obedience of Fools"

  3. #3
    Join Date
    28th May 2008 - 07:48
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    he's back !!!
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    where ever I may roam
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    A great write-up Andrew as per the norm great to see a new crew has picked up the reins for what can only be called an "Epic Ride" damn gutted I couldn't join the other " Nutters" for this years ride BUT I'm damn well set on doing next years
    I Used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass

  4. #4
    Join Date
    28th February 2016 - 18:18
    Bike
    2008 Yamaha FZ1
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    Christchurch
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    5
    Great review there.

    Here's our experience on our first TT2000:

    Day zero -1, Thursday 18th Feb 2016:
    Yamaha fuelled, chain lubed, panniers attached, wife on the pillion seat and we’re off departing Christchurch destined for Mosgiel, our overnight accommodation. The weather’s fine and warm with a gusty nor-wester .
    A refuel at Timaru, then on to Oamaru for a Jimmy’s pie and a toilet break. Back on the road, then down comes the rain from the bottom of the Kilmog all the way to Saddle Hill above Mosgiel. As we cleared Saddle Hill, so did the weather, fine and warm again.

    Day 1 - Friday 19th:
    Lubed the chain and out of the motel at 9:00am for a drive-by of McIver and Veitch to check out the start – there were probably 20 bikes there already. Breakfast at MCDonalds on Andersons Bay Rd, then back to the start around 10:30am to await the briefing. Weather remarkably fine and quite warm.
    12:00pm and we’re off – we chose the normal route over the motorway to the first checkpoint at Lee Flat – we were the last to arrive. Total 5000 points.
    On to Balclutha (refuelled) then off to Clutha Ferry for 2000 points. Our thinking was to do this checkpoint before the one at Lawrence to separate us from the pack and clock up a few extra kms. Only one other biker at the checkpoint and only a couple of others spotted around the area.
    Turn right at Beaumont and back down to Lawrence for checkpoint three – didn’t see another bike.
    The temperature was starting to get really warm now – I'm cooking in my cordura pants and jacket.
    We stopped at Roxburgh for Jimmy’s pies and fuel. A few Kms past Roxburgh, a stop for Mystery #4 (Snow Cats) and 4000 points.
    Off to Alexandra, hang a right and on to Lauder Hotel – the wind now hot and howling near Chatto Creek. Total points 15,000. Dianne’s not so comfortable with the wind, so dropped the speed a bit. Refuelled at Omakau, bypassed Alexandra and headed for Lyndis Pass and our accommodation at Omarama. We checked in at the Top 10 Holiday Park at about 7:45pm (was really nice here), dropped off the panniers, refuelled and cruised down and across the Aviemore dam for our final checkpoint of the day.
    A funny thing happened here. We stopped at the checkpoint sign, whipped out the tee-shirt, photo taken and we’re on our way, then 300m later there’s another sign that’s identical. What to do – stop the bike, out with the tee-shirt and snap another photo with the 2nd sign. Still not sure which one was correct.

    Back to Omarama via Benmore Dam for more fuel, another couple of Jimmy’s pies and some patchy sleep. Totals for the day, 600km and 17,000 points and in by 9:00pm – exactly what we had planned.

    Day 2 – Saturday 20th:
    There were two riders staying next door, who were up and gone at 5:00am.
    Lubed the chain, then we were out the gate and heading to MtCook at 6:10am. The road kill along the Mt Cook road was pretty bad with some near-miss bird strikes as the sun was coming up. Nice photos at MtCook, then back and on to Tekapo for fuel. Cruised down to Pleasant Point for 2000 points, coffee and cheese rolls for breakfast. A couple of other riders turned up and asked us for directions to Clandeboye – they never found it. Just down the road was Mystery #3 then on to Clandeboye. The GPS threw a wobbly here, but I knew the way and ignored it.
    We decided to carry on and refuel at Ashburton before heading on to Pudding Hill and clock up a few extra kms by going this way.

    A funny thing happened at Pudding Hill – there were three riders there already, but they didn’t speak to us. As they left we clambered onto our bike and dropped it. It was a slow motion over-balance as we rested the Yamaha gently onto the ground. No harm done and nobody saw it happen.

    Off now to refuel ourselves and the bike at Springfield. It was getting really hot now, and we both needed plenty of fluids.
    As we turned into the Cave Stream carpark we found it was full. We got a bit creative with the photo.
    Next was Klondyke after following three women in a rental Prado who took “Keep Left” to the extreme, they would brake every time a car went past and headed for the safety of the white line to the left before kicking up stones everywhere before eventually clipping their tyres on the Waimakariri bridge. I can't believe they didn't roll it somewhere along the way. We caught them up at Arthurs Pass when we took a short break. Dianne kept telling me to hurry up so we could beat them over the top of the pass. The road was damp here as usual, but by Otira was perfectly dry.
    We hung a right at Jacksons and looked for the letter boxes at Inchbonnie. I had to U turn after a few hundred metres before identifying the letterbox(s). The Clandeboye riders arrived just after us. We headed off together but they were quicker on the twisties so we let them go. We refuelled at Dobson. The temperature was getting really hot now and stayed fine all day. A quick stop at Punakaiki to rest our sore butts then on to Fox River then Carters Beach. It was a really pleasant ride up the Buller Gorge to Inangahua Fire Station before doubling-back to refuel at Reefton.
    You’re probably thinking I’m getting crap mileage out of the Yamaha, but it was us that needed the breaks more than the bike. The bike has standard pillion pegs and Dianne was getting a bit cramped in the knees.
    After the Reefton stop it was a quick photo shoot at Victoria Forest and the Lewis Pass sign just as the sun was setting. We hadn’t seen another rider for hours. Total points now 44,000 and we’re heading to Christchurch for a night in our own bed. I’d made a rookie mistake with my headlight adjustments and they were set a bit too high for pillion riding – quite tricky when you can’t see the exit of corners. We arrived home at 10:50pm. Approx 1100kms covered for the day. I checked the bike mileage against the GPS and Google Maps and knew we’d be short a few kms on the last day. A few months earlier I’d fitted a Speed Healer to calibrate the speedo/odometer, and was now paying the price.

    Day 3 Sunday 21st.
    Lubed the chain, then we were off at about 5:30am to refuel, before performing an out and back along the old West Coast Rd to burn off the 90kms we would need later. I worked out that it was the quickest way to get those kms out of the way. Next stop was Culverden Airport before heading to Mystery #3 at Lyford Lodge, then a U turn to pickup Dellas Heights and the last of our 50,000 points. We had a nice relaxing ride back to Christchurch, but as we neared the Airport I knew we were still a few kms short, so we turned right and zig zagged down Pound Rd and Ruapuna before finishing at Hampton’s at 11:15am with 2001km on the clock and 50,000 points bagged. Not a record some would be proud of, but we were stoked that our planning had gone so well with all our checkpoints photographed in daylight.

    A strange thing happened on our way back home just after the finish. We left Hampton’s at about midday, headed down Shands Rd before turning right into Seymour St. I didn’t quite pick up on it at the time, but there were two riders on the north side of Shands Rd looking at what was probably a map. They followed us up Seymour St and then turned right back towards Hornby and were nearly cleaned out by straight-through traffic with horns honking etc. In hindsight I have a feeling that if they were TT riders, then they were a bit lost and probably missed the 12:00pm deadline by mere minutes.



    I’ve also got to say that the TT2000 organisation was top notch.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    20th April 2007 - 22:06
    Bike
    Concours 14, S10
    Location
    Palmy
    Posts
    3,490
    Nice. Pillions should get a special award for sitting on the back for so long - I know I couldn't do it!

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