Our little journey began at Caltex Rimutaka 9.30am Friday morning, with Limbimtimwin, RFC85 and myself heading off on a brilliantly fine morning. The trip over the hill was an early indication of the riding order for the rest of the weekend, LBTW eating up the corners like a kid in a candy store, racing off into the distance, followed by me and RFC at a more sedate pace.
Day 1, the plan was to ride to Rotorua. To get there we took the Pahiatua track, then over Vinegar Hill, up to Waiouru and then around the back (west) side of the mountain and lake to Rotorua. The traffic on the major highways was heavy as expected and there were a lot of cops cars around, but the alternate roads were brilliant with light traffic and perfect weather conditions – a great days ride to start the trip.
RFC had arranged accommodation for us at his brothers dairy farm, 10 minutes north of Rotorua. After negotiating the long unsealed drive way (I almost lost it a couple of times) we settled in for a night of beers, roast dinner and good stories. With a bedroom each we were really spoilt, cheers RFC.
Day 2, and we were on the road again around 9.00 am Not exactly sure which roads we were on to get to Thames, but there were some nice isolated straight roads to give the bikes a good stretch, and going over the Kaimais was good fun.
The ride from Thames to Coromandel was nothing short of stunning. I can see why doing the ‘Coro loop’ is often discussed here. The only real incident of our trip occurred on this stretch of road as RFC ran a little wide on a tight right hander and almost introduced himself to the barrier arm, I am sure I could almost here the colourful words of self encouragement being said as I followed behind.
Our first period of rain greeted us in Coromandel, which we sat out eating some fish and chips until it passed. Unfortunately the road over to Whitianga was now wet, and some of the rain followed us on the ride over as well, which was a pity as this stretch of road looked to be a damn good one as well.
The trip back to Rotorua was fairly uneventful, apart from the quote of the day from LBTW “That is the best 36km on the planet, It almost felt like my elbows were going to touch the ground.” I’m not sure exactly where that stretch of road was (around Whitianga somewhere I think) but there is a fair bit of LBTW’s rubber on the road there now.
Once in Rotorua we headed to Hennesseys for a beer with HDTboy and then back to the farm for more beers, another great meal and a well earned sleep.
Day 3 and the rain was back. We met up with r4q2, HDTboy and Goblin for our trip up the cape. Everything was going great, the weather was clearing and the roads were again fantastic. But at Te Kaha r4q2 discovered his rear tire was nearing the end of its life, so our Rotorua friends decided that was as far as they would go round the cape and we headed off with out them. I think that was a shame, because the road from Te Kaha to Te Araroa was the highlight of my trip so far. The sun was out, the road was now dry and twisty and I had that ‘in the zone feeling’, what a blast.
Topped up the gas and headed down to Gizzy. Some fairly dubious road surfaces on that side of the cape and being fairly tired resulted in a fairly slow ride, which gave plenty of opportunity to admire the costal scenes when approaching Gisborne from the north.
After an early dinner and forced sobriety (no supermarkets or bottle stores open on the Sunday) an incredibly early bed time was taken, with 12 hours sleep achieved.
Day 4 – the ride home. After a great sleep the night before and plenty of coffee and pancakes for breakfast the trip home began. The section between Tutira and Napier became my new highlight of the trip. I decided to slow down and focus on lines and smooth throttle around the corners. I felt like I had more control and was more relaxed but thought I was going slower than normal. But on arrival in Napier RFC commented that I had picked up the pace in that section – sweet.
The ride from Napier to Wellington was pretty boring, the only saving grace being the passing of all the cages stuck behind boats/campers. I don’t think I will ever get sick of doing that
So 4 days and 2120 km later we were back were it all started. Was good meeting some fellow KBers and we got plenty of waves from other bikers on the road, including some serious looking Harley riders. In fact there was a group of Harley riders at the Vinegar Hill turn off, two of which we meet again at Tolaga Bay, then a couple of times in Gisborne.
Thanks to LBTW for co-organising and patiently waiting for us at each stop.
Thanks to RFC85 for sorting the accommodation in Rotorua.
Thanks to our bikes, not a single issue with all three of them.
Thanks to Transit NZ for not straightening out all the roads, it’s just a pity we have to ride so far to get to some of them.
It really was a great trip with great people and I can’t wait for the next one.
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Originally Posted by r4q2
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You're not wrong there....just look how shiny they all are.
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