Touching Cloth!

NC · 29th May 2006, 09:46

Coming home yesterday from a great weekend in the old Reefton (spelt Reeftoun if it was Welly) Was absolutely bucketing down as I was coming onto the Awatuna one lane railway bridge, shurely the most stupid idea for a bridge it has monsterously deep tracks in the bridge that you don't dare to cross in fear of eating road, and writing you bike off.
Doing that whole non-thinking shit I do, I tapped the front and rear brakes at the same time, when I was just coming onto the bridge. All of a sudden the armcove and river was infront of me I had spun a good 90 and was trying to control a 190kilo bike with no traction.
But I have to say, adrenalin comes in handy! I managed to stop the bike without hitting the river or laying it down along the road.
But clap clap to the bitch it the cage behinde me that tooted for me to hurry up and move my bike so she could get on the bridge

**Str8 Jacket** · 29th May 2006, 09:59

Jesus christ chick, im glad your OK! I think I would have shit myself, then got of my bike and punched that lady in the face

**Two Smoker** · 29th May 2006, 10:20

Geez NC you hooligan.... what were you thinking?????? I MEAN COME ON!!!! Impeding the traffic.... surprised you didnt get a ticket....

Glad you and the bike are alright

**HenryDorsetCase** · 29th May 2006, 10:20

good effort. I know a guy who decked a ducati there in similar circumstances. busted up fairing total damage bill $3500!

It amazes me that bridge (Awatere) is still going on SH1!

**T.W.R** · 29th May 2006, 10:32

Originally Posted by HenryDorsetCase

It amazes me that bridge (Awatere) is still going on SH1!

Good save NC, old railway trenches can be a bitch. stuff the impatient haggis the car

HDC the Awatuna bridge is halfway between Hokitika & Kumara Junction

**Lou Girardin** · 29th May 2006, 12:15

Two of our rentals and several other Harleys went down on that bridge early this year.

**madboy** · 29th May 2006, 12:24

It's not SH1. It's on the West Coast. Roads a very different over there. As is the traffic. And I must say I'm surprised at the tooting cow, they're usually a nicer crowd over there too.

But it's a pretty cool bridge when it's not trying to kill ya! Got some pics somewhere of a train punting a police car onto the bridge.

Well done for not rooting the bike.

**Kickaha** · 29th May 2006, 13:19

Originally Posted by HenryDorsetCase

It amazes me that bridge (Awatere) is still going on SH1!

They're just in the process of building a new bridge there at the moment, I think it's meant to be finished next year

**Hitcher** · 29th May 2006, 13:19

Those road-rail bridges between Greymouth and Kumara are murder on bikes in the dry, let alone when it's raining. Margin for error = zero. You got off lightly, NC.

**Switch** · 29th May 2006, 13:52

Good to hear you saved it didn't go down

Hope they fix that bridge because it sounds rather dangerous

NC · 29th May 2006, 17:51

Originally Posted by madboy

It's not SH1. It's on the West Coast. Roads a very different over there. As is the traffic. And I must say I'm surprised at the tooting cow, they're usually a nicer crowd over there too.

But it's a pretty cool bridge when it's not trying to kill ya! Got some pics somewhere of a train punting a police car onto the bridge.

Well done for not rooting the bike.

Yeah it's SH6...

**erik** · 29th May 2006, 18:31

Good to hear you saved it.

**Oakie** · 29th May 2006, 19:13

Yep. I had an "oh shit" moment there last month. Went down the middle of the tracks because it seemed like a good idea at the time then got to the end with a waiting car facing me and realised that I'd have to negotiate the rail at about a 20 degree angle rather than a nice 90 degrees. If that wasn't tricky enough, the gap between rail and road looked about wide enough to swallow a front wheel and then just for the cherry on the top... it was raining of course. Managed to negotiate it upright though.
Talking to a woman in a shop on the outskirts of Greymouth a couple of days later revealed that a biker had tipped his bike over there a week earlier for a repair bill of about $1000.

**merv** · 29th May 2006, 19:24

I think you are talking about the Arahura bridge, and that too is up for a new road bridge shortly.

The funny one I thought was a few months back when the policewoman tangled in her Commodore with a train on the Taramakau Bridge, the one on the Greymouth side of Kumara Junction.