Waitangi Day wanderings... (6 February)

**Transalper** · 5th February 2007, 15:32

Curses $#@$ it !!! Another ride where i have to get up earlier than a working day. Oh well it's a worthy cause (all in the name of fun)

**Skinny_Birdman** · 5th February 2007, 16:13

Originally Posted by PLUG

... it's a YA for tomorrow

Alright!! See youse 7:45 ish at the yaldy. I'll probably try to leave ahead of you on the road stuff so that I don't have to screw the ring-piece off the poor wee bike on the road. Oh and TA, I guess we'll see you at about 9

Cheers
A

**timg** · 6th February 2007, 20:16

Hey guys, Thanks for a great day. I had a ball with my new toy, and best of all I didn't damage it or me! But learned heaps. Thanks for your tips and advice. Great to meet you and I look forward to catching up again. Cheers, Tim.

**cooneyr** · 7th February 2007, 07:21

Yep great day. Need to drink like a fish today - sweated out most of the fluid yesterday. Home you Timaru fullas enjoyed the tail wind on the way home. Was a bit of a haul going up SH1 with no fairing.

Looking forward to the pics - hint hint

Cheers R

**RedKLR650** · 7th February 2007, 07:28

Originally Posted by PLUG

Weathers looking good for Tuesday ... bring it on ...

OK guys, I know that taking a photographer on a ride can be tedious at times, but hope you like the attached shots of yesterdays Waitangi Wanderings Ride...... Cheers, Stu

**RedKLR650** · 7th February 2007, 07:32

Originally Posted by cooneyr

Yep great day. Need to drink like a fish today - sweated out most of the fluid yesterday. Home you Timaru fullas enjoyed the tail wind on the way home. Was a bit of a haul going up SH1 with no fairing.
Looking forward to the pics - hint hint
Cheers R

Good timing Ryan..... You even feature in a few of the shots

Fantactic Ride, good to meet you all

Stu

**RedKLR650** · 7th February 2007, 07:39

Originally Posted by timg

Hey guys, Thanks for a great day. I had a ball with my new toy, and best of all I didn't damage it or me! But learned heaps. Thanks for your tips and advice. Great to meet you and I look forward to catching up again. Cheers, Tim.

Hey Tim, good to see a guy with a 2007 bike with heaps of fairing and only 1000km on the clock is still prepared to take it on a real adventure ride like that. I think we all had a few scares in that really deep shingle ( more like small rocks on a road ) and I know of at leat two on the trip that gave there bikes a wee lie down, so you did very well. Hope to catch up on further rides..... Cheers, Stu

**RedKLR650** · 7th February 2007, 07:44

Originally Posted by PLUG

FINE WEATHER ONLY

Have got land owners permission ($10 per bike) to link through from the upper reachers on the Rakaia river, into lake Heron. In behing the Mt Hutt range. This opens out into an alpine platue that encompasses lake Clearwater & goes as far down to the north bank of the Rangitata river. This is all Lord of the Rings country, vast & majestic.

Who's up for it ???

Well Pete, on behalf of everyone from yesterday, I'd like to thank you for the invite, and I'm pleased I accepted the challenge ( and managed not to have too many ' Moments ' on the KLR

Anyway, thanks again and hope everyone enjoys the photos

Cheers, Stu

**cooneyr** · 7th February 2007, 07:46

Originally Posted by RedKLR650

OK guys, I know that taking a photographer on a ride can be tedious at times, but hope you like the attached shots of yesterdays Waitangi Wanderings Ride...... Cheers, Stu

Like you said - great to see the pics afterwards even if a bit of a pain at the time (order barking bloody photographer

). Thanks for all the effort, really appreciated and much better than what I would have got on my 2mp camera phone

Cheers R

**Transalper** · 7th February 2007, 08:15

Good ride, the wind at the end wasn't much fun comming home even with some fairing.
Nice photos Red.
Thanks Plug for getting this together and thanks for the help guys with my little 'forgot to check tyre pressures before i started and spun my tyre on the rim issue'.
Now looking foward to the next day out and the dusty butt adventure (although i'm going to start complaining that i've had enough by the 750km mark)

**PLUG** · 7th February 2007, 08:32

a 400k, 12hr day, 50% loose surface with water crossings along the way, new to me venture riders, plenty of sun, good company & vast views... soulful fun

9 of us meet up at Blackford Rd, just up the road a bit from Mt Hutt ... after riding through a band of fog to get here, the warmth of the sun felt good ... saddle up & away ...

meandering our way in towards the upper reachers of the Rakaia River, roads end the destination, then the good stuff ... say gidday to the farmer & offer up our koha ... off we go ... riding farm tracks & clambering over, through & across numerious shingle fans that cascade down from the tops ... mountain springs flow freely across our path, careful with front wheel placement so as not to end up on me arse ... the mighty Rakaia river down to our right looks only a creek, layed out on its vast shingle brades ...

gate after bloody gate we inch our way around & down into the upper Lake Heron valley ... adjourn for lunch by an insect free river ... a paddle for some & a swim for the keen, all nicely dried by the sun ... evadance of mother nature abounds, high tide marks of the glaciers that use to inhabit this valley scare the hills around ...

on down to Lake Heron & its quaint 50's styled camp ground ... long may it stay, probably unlikely if the PC squad have their say ... Hakatere is next, a right there, the Rangatata river is 30 odd k away ... past Lake Clearwater where water craft play, children splash & squeal the day away ... the kingdom of Edoras (LOTR) was built on Mt Sunday, only locked gate, tourests & wheel tracks remain

retrace our steps back down this dusty no exit rd ... Mt Somers Village for fuel & alcohol ... with bikes gassed up & dust washed down it's that time of day to leave this adventure wonderland ... back on the canty planes time to ponder where next to make dust ... long may we wander ...

over to you foto1 Stu ...

**PLUG** · 7th February 2007, 08:49

Wicked camera work there Stu ... help the memories live on

**Skinny_Birdman** · 7th February 2007, 18:02

Hey guys, thanks very much for a great days riding. I particularly enjoyed behaving like a larrikin going across the big shingle fan early on. The TTR though it was a unicycle by the other side, so brief were the front wheel's trips to terra firma! There certainly is some gorgeous country up there, and there can't be many better ways to see it than adventure rides. The ride home into the easterly with the bike maxed out at 90 wasn't all that pleasant (fill 'er up mate, and another 10hp while you're there), but you take the rough with the smooth.
Cheers especially to Plug for jacking the day up, Transalper for saving me the trouble of watching the forum

and Stu for the awesome camera work.
I'm already looking forward to the next one, although I may have to give this 1000km bash at Molesworth and Rainbow a miss; if I do 1000km in one day on the 250 my arse will be so tender I won't be able to sit down for a week.
If anyone has little Pete's (the other TTR owner) email address can they PM it to me!

Cheers
Alex

**Transalper** · 7th February 2007, 18:33

i got his hotmail address... he spends as much time logged on to MSN as I do.
PMing now

**timg** · 7th February 2007, 18:53

Originally Posted by RedKLR650

Hey Tim, good to see a guy with a 2007 bike with heaps of fairing and only 1000km on the clock is still prepared to take it on a real adventure ride like that. I think we all had a few scares in that really deep shingle ( more like small rocks on a road ) and I know of at leat two on the trip that gave there bikes a wee lie down, so you did very well. Hope to catch up on further rides..... Cheers, Stu

Thanks Stu. Great pix, a great reminder of where we've been & a great ride. Sorry I didn't think of getting behind your camera and getting a few shots with you in, well, the posed ones anyway. Next time... Cheers, Tim.