The Glenorchy Rally 2006

[Fordy]

What a bloody good weekend. Whats the Burt Munroe quote...if you could spend five minutes riding this motorcycle you'd experience more that most folks in a lifetime (If anyone has the exact quote let me know please).

Despite the prospect of rain on the west coast I got more wet and cold between Glenorchy and Queenstown, refuel at the Shell, defrost hands under driers, coffee, and the rest of the day was a complete blast - over the Crown Range to Wanaka-Haast-Kumara-Arthurs Pass-Home. In all 916.2 miles in two days; ragged, knackered, sore behind the knees, but that was the fuken ride of my life!

1. Bra fence, Crown Range.
2. Lake Wanaka
3. Road past Haast - look its lovely and dry!!
4. Further on the west coast
5. Fox Glacier
6. Waimak on the way back from Arthurs Pass

As well as losing a pair of glasses I also picked up a ticket at Hokitika. Oh well, do the crime yada yada. Considering that I had been treating between QT and Hokitika as a race track $300 is a cheap, bloody long and very scenic trackday

Awesome!

[dangerous]

I got more wet and cold between Glenorchy and Queenstown, 916.2 miles in two days;

You lucky bugger... to get the weather like in your pics on the coast is just fantastic, glad ya enjoyed it...... and thats about 1500km's ya pommy biker top effort

[miSTa]

Top weekend. Good bunch of people, great ride, beautiful scenery.

Great to meet up with all the southerners.

BTW, the damage to the tinman at Tarras was accidental, honest. It was only being held on by one rivet.

[Rashika]

BTW, the damage to the tinman at Tarras was accidental, honest. It was only being held on by one rivet.

yeah RIGHT! You demo man you

[scumdog]

Sniper - your bike is a real screamer and goes like the clappers!!!

Yeah, and the zorst needs sorted mate, every time TheFlyingDutchman opened the throttle I thought me breakfast baked-beans had started to work (if you know what I mean).
Throaty rumble it ain't!!

As the rest said, awsome ride, great company (I mean we were mostly strangers who only knew each other via the net yet just 'clicked' when we met and no attitude/dickhead problems) and a lot of shit talked - at times by other than my self! - and a fair bit of sun-burn thrown around the group from sitting in our prestigous spot at the site watching the late arrivals, (what time DID you get there TonyB?) and drinking- and drinking more $5 a rtd made the beer better value.

A bit sad the pics don't do justice to my flash tassled jacket - the one the rest were so jealous of eh! but great pics from Rashika and the others to show off the great scenery - and more than one of the Scumdog-hog!!

Phaedrus mate, where did you get to? I waited at Frankton as per plan but never saw you again so had a solo ride home.

[scumdog]

Top weekend. Good bunch of people, great ride, beautiful scenery.

Great to meet up with all the southerners.

BTW, the damage to the tinman at Tarras was accidental, honest. It was only being held on by one rivet.

I WARNED you about that! I knew it would all turn to tears if you rabble were left unsupervised, sheesh! Atilla the Hun and crew don't get a look in compared to a group of KBers!

[miSTa]

Rabble? Are you calling us rabble? I think you are getting confused, have a another drink SD

[idb]

Bloody typical.
You big city types come down here and proceed to destroy the place!!!

[FlyingDutchMan]

Well had a good time. Got sun burnt (even on the top of my head beyond the hairline too!). Snipers bike worked prefectly there and back, and never got hasseled by the Plods (apart from SD) despite the very noisy bike. The wind on the way back caused some concern at times, but nothing too hair raising.

I entered Snipers' bike into the bike comp (Sniper - it was under duress - the others made me do it). But despite being the rattiest bike there, another Honda won (or is it lost?) which had a tatty seat. The owner never claimed the prize. If my bike wasn't so ratty that it's not even working, it would have cleaned up that award.

BTW Sniper - I had to stop about 4 times to do the mirror nuts up - they kept coming loose. Never lost any though.

[Sniper]

Snipers bike worked prefectly there and back, and never got hasseled by the Plods (apart from SD) despite the very noisy bike.

I never noticed any noise

I entered Snipers' bike into the bike comp (Sniper - it was under duress - the others made me do it). But despite being the rattiest bike there, another Honda won (or is it lost?) which had a tatty seat. The owner never claimed the prize. If my bike wasn't so ratty that it's not even working, it would have cleaned up that award..

No worries mate, pity it didn't win though. Did you point out the nuts?

BTW Sniper - I had to stop about 4 times to do the mirror nuts up - they kept coming loose. Never lost any though.

You stopped? Yea I know about those sorry. I need to get some loctite on those.

[TonyB]

.....that leaves TonyB
Well Tony won the Grovers choice.... in other words "Dumb arse of the day" :slap: Yeah TonyB missed the turn off up to the rally site and did a further 45km. I think he realised after the 3rd river crossing and ploughing the FZR up 4x4 tracks and reaching a DOC hut in the middle of a Glacier where he was able to view the Tasman sea from.... that perhaps he had ridden a tad too far

Ha! SLIGHT exaggeration there D
OK, here's what REALLY happened.
Left Q-Town for Glenorchy with my mate Pete in tow. We were just behind Jimmie, though he didn't know we were there. The road to Glenorchy is a goodun, so I ended up passing Jimmie and freind and leaving them all a long way behind, they were cruising I was pushing a wee bit.

Got to Glenorchy, saw the sign for the rally. Underneath was a small orange arrow on a green background (this is important to remember) I turned right down the appropriate road. There was a big BMW tourer and some other bike just sitting in the middle of their lane. They has stopped because a horse was loose on the road ahead and it was very spooked. So I pulled up along side and we spent a good 10- 15mins waiting for the horse to settle (this is also important to remember). Eventually it ran up a driveway so we rolled forward cautiously. I was ahead. As I went past the driveway a BMW car came flying around the corner ahead. I gave him a very obvious signal to slow down. He ignored it and powered past the drive way spooking the horse even more. Three more cars came around the bend. They also ignored my signal, and after they went past the horse bolted out onto the road again, blocking off the road for the other two bikes. Now at this point I should have stopped and tried to stop anybody from going around the corner, but the thought never crossed my mind.

Now then. From here the rally site is maybe 10 or 15mins away. There were no bikes on the road between where I was and the turnoff. No one to follow (this is also important to remember) So I wobbled off down the road, having a great time. The sign at the ACTUAL turnoff was white with an orange arrow, and it was FEKING small. I missed it because I was lining up a car for a pass. I passed the car and blimbeled of along the road. Every now and again I actually passed a bike coming the other way- sweeet! I also saw the little green/ orange arrows. Eventually the road turned to gravel. I remembered hearing D say something about 12k's of gravel months ago, so i carried on.

Eventually I got to a small ford. I thought that was a little odd, as D is far too much of a pussy to take his bike through a ford. But i carried on, having an absolute ball on the hard packed gravel road, easily doing open road speeds, spinning her up etc. Went through a couple more fords. Got to a spot here there were a whole bunch of people and horses. As it turned out there was a green/ orange arrow pointing up the driveway there- didn't see it because of all the distractions.

Carried on, the road was getting a bit rougher in places, but could still manage 100 plus on the straights. Eventually got to a sign saying "Mount Aspiring National Park". Was now having very serious doubts, but I thought I'd carry on- if it wasn't up there I was having fun anyway, and the scenery was simply incredible. A couple more fords. There were cars about- people stopping to have a picnic etc. None of them even batted an eyelid at seeing a big road bike on this road, so dispite severe doubts I carried on. Got to a fairly nasty ford. "There is no fucking WAY the rally is over this ford" thought I. Then I imagined the taunting on KB- saying I was too much of a pussy to carry on to the rally. "Ahhh fuckit! Lets see were the road goes!" On the other side of the actually rather deep and narly (for road bike) ford, there was a doc hut! There were vehicles here too, but they were 4WDs... I followed the road for maybe 200m and it stopped- at the Dart River. The end of the road. So I got off, took my lid off, and admired the surrounds, which were incredible. A dude in a 4WD, who may well have known a bit about bikes rolled up, and looked at me as if I was mad. I grinned and laughed.

Then it dawned on me thet no one knew where I was. Shit!

So I headed back, just behind the 4WD. He went through the last ford. Hmmm, it really is rather deep! I waited for it to clear and then powered through. The direction was slightly against the flow, so that made a fair amount of water gush stright over the fairing while the bike bounced about on the big roacks below WAHOOOO! Great fun. Just as well the FZR doesn't have a genuine perrurised air box though- she prolly would have drowned as the waater would have gone in the air vents.

Once over the ford, I got stuck behind the 4WD for a bit. Then he pulled over to let me pass on some really twisty bits, and I blasted off and left him to it. Was going quite a bit quicker than on the trip up.

Got back to where the horses were, and could see a curtain sider and some tents on a hill up by the trees. "Gotta be the rally" Stopped by the gate. Sure enough the green arrow pointed up that way, so I took off up a rough dirt/ mud track. Got to the top. Oh dear. They were filming a commercial for a German chocolate company. Wrong bloody arrows!!!

So I hussled back towards Glenorchy. Fast. Thinking my mate Pete was probably having fits by now (correct). On the seal agin I saw two bikes with gear on going the other way. Full emergency brake. U turn. Drag race back to catch up with them. JUST managed to see them turn off at the right road. So I blasted up that, and BEHOLD! There was the rally. Very OBVIOUS it was from this road. Eh Rashika/ FlyingDutchMan.

Pulled up at the gate and asked if they had a biggest dumbarse prize, then explained why. And BEHOLD! I won the grovers choice trophy (my new avatar) and a wee prize. A go on the skippers canyon big swing thingamajig. $135 worth. Oh dear.

[Sniper]

Hell Tony, look like that was fun. See what happens when you follow D's directions though?

[scumdog]

Fark! It was worse than I imagined, naked arse but that was a mission!!:slap:



Is it a gift or do you have work at it???









P.S. We all giggled as we saw you ride past!!!
(and you're the first Glenorchy Rally attender to approach Mt Aspiring National Park from the WEST while going there from Christchurch!)

[scumdog]

I entered Snipers' bike into the bike comp (Sniper - it was under duress - the others made me do it). But despite being the rattiest bike there, another Honda won (or is it lost?) which had a tatty seat. The owner never claimed the prize. If my bike wasn't so ratty that it's not even working, it would have cleaned up that award.

BTW Sniper - I had to stop about 4 times to do the mirror nuts up - they kept coming loose. Never lost any though.

BTW Sniper, you would have got the prize but FlyingDutchMan wouldn't let me drag your bike up and down the gravel road on its side behind my H-D and he wouldn't let me slash the shit out of your bike seat with me big " (Crocodile Dundee voiced: "Now that's what I call a knife") knife so it didn't end up quite rough enough for the prize..
See what you miss out on when you don't go to a rally yourself???

[buellbabe]

Great saga Tony. Top marks!!!!Nothing like getting off the beaten track eh? Sounds like you got to experience some nice scenery and interesting roads! I can fully relate cos I'm a member of a wee group known as 'the Stragglers'. Basically we take the long way round to any destination. Went from Auckland to Hamilton for a rally once and it took us 3 days to get there via Morrinsville and Tauranga! Had a ball getting there!!!