Colleagues think i'm working but i would rather tell you about my great 4 day ride.
left auck last saturday about 10.30ish, beautiful dry ride to new Plymouth via SH22 etc.
Short excursion just before the awakino river up Gribbon Rd to check out if the Awakino is looking good to fish.
It is a gravel road which was no problem for the V Strom or chooks ZR750, (surprises me how many sport bike riders crap there daks at the thought of a bit of gravel),anyway Gribbon road is one of NZ's best kept secrets absolutly beautiful valley where road follows the river.
Thru to New Plymouth and what a brilliant road for bikes, twisty bits were unreal.
N/plymouth bit quite sat night but had a good time in a couple of bars.
Sunday Am it was pissing down and we had a wet ride to Stratford which is a fairly boring straightish road so easy in the wet.
Cleared up beautiful from Stratford and so a good quick trip to wanganui,
(coffee bar in the old PO building was a bit crap but must not judge the whole city by one experience).
Now the best part of the whole trip was the blast up to ohakune, the V Strom handled like a dream over the hills, i usually have trouble keeping up with chook on the ZR as he has such good excelleration ,but i was determined so worked the lower gears and stuck up his arse all the way,stopped for a short break and to wave to quite a few bikes going south and i was absolutely pumped with Adrenaline, it was probably the first time i really let the old strom loose .
Stayed in Ohakune Sun and Mon night and after getting charged $8 for a Sol beer in the pub see no reason to ever go back to the thieving shit hole.
Ride up to Turoa ski field was good in late afternoon.
Chook had to work on a house in Kune on monday so i went thru to Waiouru Army museum, good to visit without the kids in tow definately one of the advantages of having the kids leave the nest.
Waiouru to ohakune must be the most patrolled piece of highway in the nth island so be warned.
Tues back home via desert road, Taupo, and across kinlock way to kihikihi,apart from a hail storm in Te Awamutu not a scrap of rain all day.
hit Sth motorway at 5pm ish and what a horrible way to finish a great ride, we never saw one wanker incident involving cars all the way, not very often you can say that.( probably a couple of cage drivers called us wankers as we let loose on the Wanga to Kune rd)
Absolutly recommend doing this circuit, after Sh 16 and coro loop all winter it's so nice to see how all the other lucky buggars live.
Finally: New plymouth has the most consitently friendly waving nodding bikers i have come across, don't know what they are on but i must get some of it.
Still grinning.
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