Pommie Git welcome to KB Ride - Chch

**cooneyr** · 25th July 2007, 21:41

Originally Posted by Adux

Will I need a 5L petrol can or will the DRZ make it without? What is the terrain like, the Suzuk is shod with road legal knobblies, hope these are suitable?

I just measured 110kms from Oxford to Rangiora very roughly of a map so if you have enough fuel for 150kms on one tank then I wouldnt worry about carrying extra fuel.

Originally Posted by McJim

HTFU - it doesn't even start to get cold here in New Zealand until you're halfway up Mount Cook.

You fellas should try ice climbing in -33.

Fun and spectacular.

Try building a snow cave in -20 in the Arctic (ok lower artic but still the Arctic ) or riding in the back seat of a car at -30 when the heat from the heaters wont make the back seats. Another fun experience was riding a snow mobile in -16 degrees at 75 kph. Wind chill makes it around -50 degrees but I never sweated so much on a petrol powered machine from the damn suits and hanging on over the bumps.

Originally Posted by mattsdakar

I'm a starter, Ryan shall I pick you up on the way thru?

You dodgy bugger - you aint picking me up! I'll see you round here about 0845 though if you want.

Cheers R

**_Shrek_** · 25th July 2007, 22:33

Originally Posted by boomer

did your flight get diverted..???!!!! it's farkin cold down there brother

hey boomer its warmed up it's above -10 here these days

**Quickrik** · 26th July 2007, 00:38

I'm a pomme, I'm a git but I'm not in NZ yet. So'll not make this ride, but once i'm in the coutry i'd love to tag along on a ride later in the year.

Rik

**Mint Sauce** · 26th July 2007, 08:43

Shame. As a new POM and beginner to off road I would have loved to have been there. Unfortunantely up in New Plymouth for Karen's friend's 50th that weekend.

Have a good time and l look forward to seeing pictures and the next ride posted.

**Dances With Poultry** · 26th July 2007, 16:43

I have ridden through Lees Valley about five or six times, including one very eventful trip by myself in October, on a lovely nor'west day. It was the nor'wester that was the problem. Lots of rain and snowmelt in the headwaters of the Okuku River meant the river was fairly high. I saw wet wheel tracks on the other side of the river so figured if a 4WD could get over, so could I. Beeep, WRONG... There was a short deep swift bit and stupidly I thought I could get thru that quickly and then be right. I got washed off as soon as I hit the water. Immediately downstream from the ford, the river got very deep and there I was swimming with my bike floating.... yes a Funduro with waterproof Al Jesse panniers will float... for a while. I was determined to stay with my precious, and not watch it disappear down the gorge. The problem was I was downstream of the bike and the first big rock I came to nearly killed me. My foot got trapped between the bike and the rock and then the bike started to climb over me and pushed me under. I managed to pull my foot out (fear had given me the strength of 10!!) and swimming beside the bike I slowly pulled it closer to the far bank. I pulled the bike up onto dry land with the last fading remains of adrenaline, and sat shivering. Pulling the right sparkplug out allowed me to pump out the water, but to drain the left carb needed a very long screwdriver. I got it to fire and run a few times with only the right carb cleared, but gave up and started the long walk to the nearest farm house. As I warmed up my foot started to hurt so I took off that boot and found I had crushed my big toe and ripped the toenail off that and the toe next to it. It was a long cold slow walk.
I guess what I'm trying to say is walk the river if it looks dodgy and if you ever get washed off, stay upstream of the bike.

It'll be a great ride, just wish I could come along.

Nigel in Rangiora

P.S. The Pillion In A Million and I went through a few months back and for the first time we started from the Oxford end. This time we got lost in the new logging and milling operation at the Rangiora end, and despite backtracking to the farm track three times, for the life of us, we could not find the proper road out. In the end we pulled the bike under a pipe barrier arm and came out through the forest. Still can't see why we got so lost. With all the new roads they have set up, it might pay to start at the Rangiora end.

**Transalper** · 26th July 2007, 17:15

Good story but...Man, we know that place like the back of our hands, you should not have been crossing the main river with out backup if it was high and finally the rivers are very low at the moment.

Oh yea, good tip on swimming with ya bike, i'll remember that for next time, but hopefully the mighty cooneyr will be there to save me again... see, ride with buddies.

FQ and I intend doing a scout through there Saturday anyway so i'll know if there are any unusual obstacles or slippery bits to warn novices of before this trip.

**timg** · 28th July 2007, 08:18

Hey guy's. Great to see some new faces poping up. Welcome to the nut house. Unfortunately I've got other things happening & can't make it this time. Have an awesome trip. If there's anybody else in the same situation who'd like to have a run thru there later in the month I'd be keen - need to blow the cobwebs off the big red gravel express (not!) before the Penguin. Cheers

**Transalper** · 28th July 2007, 19:51

Righty, no chance of getting lost, could not find any roads in there that i hadn't already seen before.
The Okuku River (listed as Okuku Fox Creek on the flow records web site), the big river in the middle is listed as flowing today at .22cubic meters, it was indeed very low as were the rest of the puddles, check the photos.
As for shingle, there was a bit of rolly stuff for the first 3 or 4 minutes at the Oxford end, the rest was just hard dirt, shingle all swept away, definitely a good time for a novice to go.

Well done to Mint Sauce on his intro to NZ Adventure riding.

1 Me taking a backward photo of me and Mint Sauce while on the move.
2 Far queue entering the big river.
3 Far queue 3/4 way thru the big one (.22cubic meters)
4 Mint Sauce followed by Far queue somewhere in the Okuku.

Roll on Sunday the 5th for the next one re:this thread.

**Mint Sauce** · 29th July 2007, 09:27

Well done to Mint Sauce on his intro to NZ Adventure riding.

It was a great day. Big thanks to FQ and Transalper for taking this novice out. If there are any novices out there feeling cold or wet feet about going next Saturday: just go!

You cannot be more novice than this POM git. I made the river first go and managed all the fords and stuff. The roads are generally hard with some gravel around but very rideable; you soon get the feel for it.

Transalper was very kind in that he did not mention the corner I took wide and dropped it! I'd insert the picture Transalper did of the fallen bike but I'm also a novice at that too.

Now, I wonder if any Dakar owner can help me with this brake pedal that sticks out at 90? I need a an outline of the front section of a good pedal so that I can get a metal bender to sort this one out and use the outline as a pattern.

**_Shrek_** · 29th July 2007, 10:00

Originally Posted by Mint Sauce

It was a great day. Big thanks to FQ and Transalper for taking this novice out. If there are any novices out there feeling cold or wet feet about going next Saturday: just go!

You cannot be more novice than this POM git. I made the river first go and managed all the fords and stuff. The roads are generally hard with some gravel around but very rideable; you soon get the feel for it.

Transalper was very kind in that he did not mention the corner I took wide and dropped it! I'd insert the picture Transalper did of the fallen bike but I'm also a novice at that too.

Now, I wonder if any Dakar owner can help me with this brake pedal that sticks out at 90? I need a an outline of the front section of a good pedal so that I can get a metal bender to sort this one out and use the outline as a pattern.

MS i have a have a GS... i have bent both gear & brake levers just put a block behind it & use a cressent gently... i like to call them scenic ajustments enjoy the bike you got a good 1 (am biased not that you would notice)

**Transalper** · 29th July 2007, 11:28

Originally Posted by Mint Sauce

....Transalper was very kind in that he did not mention the corner I took wide and dropped it! I'd insert the picture Transalper did of the fallen bike but I'm also a novice at that too...

Ok since you mentioned it...
1 starting to run wide
2 the parking place after running wide.
3 a good one of FQ earlier in Okuku

**mbazza** · 29th July 2007, 16:13

Originally Posted by RedKLR650

No snow here, we should be riding today !!!

It was 24 degrees here in Timvegas earlier due to the Nor Wester wind

Saw a couple of mangled road bikes at the weekend after the trecherous conditions in the McKenzie country ( Twizel had a high of -4

on friday when I went through in the car..... Check out some of the photos - Note the ice forming on the side mirror due to the foggy freezing conditions - and the trees, that's frost, not snow..... and the big ice crystals are on the individual blades of grass

Looking forward to catching up soon

Regards, Stu

Great Pics Stu. Bloody cold too! Did you see my mate Bruce in Twizel. Non bikers so he spent this weekend digging in a new septic tank. I'll soon have a base in Twizel to visit. Yeeha. Cheers.

**RedKLR650** · 29th July 2007, 18:15

Originally Posted by Transalper

Ok since you mentioned it...
3 a good one of FQ earlier in Okuku

Good pix Carl, What's FQ's fuel capacity with the DR supertanker ?

Stu

**RedKLR650** · 29th July 2007, 18:25

Originally Posted by Mint Sauce

It was a great day.Transalper was very kind in that he did not mention the corner I took wide and dropped it!

Good to see you survived the KB adventure Riding initiation there Mint Sauce

I see the incident you described in the recently released photos by Tranzalper..... And you thought those strange bars on the back of your Beamer were luggage mounts, in actual fact, those clever people at BMW

had the foresight to pre-fit the wide corner lie down rear exhaust muffler guards just for those wee incidents like you've just encountered

Look forward to catching up on a future ride

Cheers, Stu