A fairly stressful evening

[kiwifruit]

Last night at 5-30pm my flatmate and i departed for Wanganui to collect his first bike, which he was very excited about.
I myself was looking forward to the ride back, i love riding just about anything (talking motorbikes) and the chance to ride a peepy wee RG150 was right up my alley.
Halfway there (national park) i realise i havent changed my (mirror) tinted visor! Feck! oh well, i thought it would be fine, i could handle it. Hmm.

After the swapping of details etc we were off, back to Taupo via National park etc. I was wearing thermals and as many layers as i could, must have looked pretty funny. 2 pair of socks plastic bags then another pair of socks, all the gear! lol
All that kept me warm enough, just.

It was very cold and the roads were pretty icey/snowy in places.
The worst thing was i couldnt see a bloody thing! Id worn my glasses instead of contacts to compound the situation, adding another layer of glass to flog up/freeze. The ride from Wanganui thru to Ratahei was one of the most stressful ive had in years. Luckly i had my flatmate infront of me in a car whos tail lights i followed as i literly couldnt see the road from the sky at times.
A few times he got around the corner away from me, Yikes!, had to slow down to walking pace to see what was going on :s
It seemed to go on forever, not knowing what the road surface was like, not knowing where the road was going and all the time getting colder and colder.

We made it to Ratahei, where i ran on the spot for 5-10min to try to get feeling back in my feet. The chosen footwear was doing bugger all to stop the cold. On to national park, more slippery stuff, but at least familar roads.

National park to Turangi and on to Taupo was a joy compared to the rest of the ride, road was mint and the temp was increasing, slightly.

The RG150 was great! What a bike
I found it very ammusing to ride, they way it delivered what power it did have was cool, it made a great noise too. Its a friendly feeling bike, if that makes sence. It made me smile everytime i opened the throttle. Turns too, very well. Perfect bike for a learner.

In conclusion to my poorly setout record of events i recommend you never try to ride with a mirrored or tinted visor with glasses on at night on icey roads. If you do choose to do so, the Rg150 is a great bike to do it on

[Limb]

Good a happy ending . Had me worried for a moment.

[DemonWolf]

Yeah same here.. Glad it worked out.. and yeah, riding at night with tints and icey roads.. just not fun at all

[Ixion]

And after that, your flatmate is still keen?

[sAsLEX]

At least is didnt rain, what doesnt kill you .....

[kiwifruit]

And after that, your flatmate is still keen?

He sure is!
He had a day of tinkering around on it today, cant stop talking about it... springing out of bed at the crack of dawn to ride it. Oh yeah, he's got it bad

I actually just got back from a blat on it, bloody good fun to ride that thing

[Mental Trousers]

Shame you were heading away from Wanganui, the Paras would've been a hell of a hoot on the RG going downhill.

[justsomeguy]

I once had a ride like that - no feeling in my toes and finger tips, had to take breaks to stop and put my fingers on the exhaust and jump up and down.

Was riding to Tauranga at 4 in the morning bloody fog was a real headache.

Really makes you appreciate riding comfortably in the sunshine .

[saul]

He sure is!
He had a day of tinkering around on it today, cant stop talking about it... springing out of bed at the crack of dawn to ride it. Oh yeah, he's got it bad

I actually just got back from a blat on it, bloody good fun to ride that thing

Nice one mate.

I agree riding just about anything (bikes) is great fun.

Well done getting home Next time, plan it better

[sAsLEX]

Was riding to Tauranga at 4 in the morning bloody fog was a real headache.

On a cold winter day sometimes you get fog as you go over the bombays, sitting in the hole that is the Waikato, quite spooky riding down in to it and bloody freezin to boot

[scumdog]

Had the odd 'terror' ride like that - you feel really alive after it's all over though!

And I remember literally crying with the agony of my fingers thawing out en route to the Brass Monkey many years ago, not nice!