Terawhiti Trail Ride 1 Oct 2006

[upshift]

Just a few random pics of a great ride, many thanks to Horowhenua Motorcycle club for organising this. The trail was in great condition, though got a bit greasy toward the end which was hard work for me on a set of rather worn road legal knobblies. After a very wet Desert Storm and Pines at Foxton the rest of the family are now very rain shy so stayed home, a pity as there was a good kids track and despite the low cloud the rain held off and it was a nice mild day. Only spotted one other "adventure rider" who rode to the event, but of course we have to compromise on tyre choice to do this. Hazards to watch for was one particularly deep water hole which drowned some of the smaller bikes, and fencing wire. Looking forward to doing it again some time.

[Brian d marge]

how did you go up that hill .....

Stephen

[F5 Dave]

That was actually a shortcut, it was pretty clayee in that area.

I preferred the river areas, Terawhiti is peculiar in that the rocks are quite small & even sized so rideable, a challenge but not a total prick. All the stream crossings are devoid of big rocks. Unlike Karapoti if left ungraded gets big rocks over the crossings & can be a real bear if there has been a lot of rain.

[Fryin Finn]

Dunno about you but I found plenty of rain out there after lunch. Had a great time though. Crossing the concrete pipe was highly entertaining. My mate got stuck going down the bank to the pipe and I forced myself to watch him trying to get out. My gas Gas with 3 event old rear knob handled the gloop with aplomb.

[F5 Dave]

Are you trying out the rain setting on the GG?

I'm finding after the engine work if I am careful with the GO handle that it is quite managable in the mud.

Yeah I set off on the third loop with cold gloves but started to warm up & decided the best policy was not to stop. Think I actually managed to stay on the 3rd loop. That clay got me every other time, but that Mitas tyre is the best I’ve used despite being on the bike for ages.

That damn drainpipe was distracting, I managed to bounce over it every time, but my efforts were no doubt awkward looking in nature.

[upshift]

Must admit I shot through early so obviously missed the rain. Didn't mind the goopy stuff as in photo 5 but the slimy clay on the uphill sections after that had me on my arse a few times. Yep, that concrete pipe in the middle (photo 5) was the undoing of a few, even the quad bikes.

[Fryin Finn]

Are you trying out the rain setting on the GG?

I must admit to completely forgetting about the slimy mud setting - maybe it was on and the reason I didn't crash all day (couple of close ones though) but I think it was on full power and the 12kg in weight I've lost was the biggest factor in keeping it upright.
I didn't try any of the A bits as its only 2 weeks since the op and I wanted to avoid ruining myself.
I rode the river section the other way last March and found it much easier then - I think it must be something to do with the way the rocks lie on the downstream side.
Next time HMCC have a trailride there I'll stick my oar in and we could get some really gnarly bits included.

[F5 Dave]

I followed you over the 1st A section on the 3rd loop, but you went past the A+ section which I figured I'd do if it got a bit drier. It didn't so I didn't. Andrew & Stephen gave it a try but was too slippery.

[okill]

was that ride the same as earlier this year ? looking at the pics u posted it looks different ?

[upshift]

First time for me so sorry don't know. Anyone else know?

[F5 Dave]

Its a pretty big area in there, only problem is there is so much transport sections. The gnarly stuff is pretty cool over the west side, (or maybe that should be south?) but that would be silly to run this time of year.