Chch Wednesday Evening Cruises - 2008

[JWALKER]

You mean you were on the NZSBF ride as it left from the same place as you at the same time as you... and umm yeah coppers dont give much of a shit about road rage, so which ride ya doing this week, im hoping to as long as the bloody dog dont do another runner on me.

yeah, went early to also let the guys on the kb ride how the road was and if it was worth riding over on, but, had innitally planned to ride back with the kb boys, but we left early coming back.
wont be going on any rides for awhile, due to the whole back of the bike being smashed up and in a repair shop in town getting repaired.

hope you have fun on the ride D

[Sellout]

Looks like the weather is gonna be good tomorrow, and I have repaired a few prob's with the Mighty Zong (lockwire in my breakdown kit now cheers Alex) so.....

Whos a comin', and where we goin'??

[phoenixgtr]

Liv and I are planning on being there.

Maybe a slightly shorter route - Godley House or we could finish at the Halswell pub, maybe via Dyers or Evans and over Gebbies, Old Tai Tapu rd? We haven't stopped at the Wheatsheaf for a long time. We could go out via Halswell and back over Gebbies. Theres a few options

[Deviant Esq]

Liv and I are planning on being there.

Maybe a slightly shorter route - Godley House or we could finish at the Halswell pub, maybe via Dyers or Evans and over Gebbies, Old Tai Tapu rd? We haven't stopped at the Wheatsheaf for a long time. We could go out via Halswell and back over Gebbies. Theres a few options

Whichever we choose to do, if we plan to stop and eat at Godley House or the Wheatsheaf, we should contact those establishments beforehand to make sure they're still serving food by the time we arrive.

Personally I reckon we go over Dyers Pass road and up over the Summit road towards Gebbies Pass, down Gebbies to the pub on the corner, what's it called? The Black Tulip or something? Anyway, past that, back via Tai Tapu and meet up at the Halswell pub.

Thoughts? Dissentions? Abductions? Provocations?

[phoenixgtr]

...and up over the Summit road towards Gebbies Pass...

This is the part that most people hate and won't do. That roads a shambles. Doesn't bother me, although I haven't seen the state of it for months. Last I heard it was littered with shingle and pot holes.

The rest sounds fine though

[Deviant Esq]

This is the part that most people hate and won't do. That roads a shambles. Doesn't bother me, although I haven't seen the state of it for months. Last I heard it was littered with shingle and pot holes.

I agree - you know I'm not a fan of this piece of road either, I regard it as a goat track myself - but there are people who seem to quite like it. As far as 'last you heard'... it always has been littered with pot holes and shingle as far back as my memory goes (which, granted, isn't that far). There's one particular corner descending into the forest which seems to always have a coating of sandy, gritty crap collected there - I've slid on this patch more than once. Sun and rain doesn't find its way down there, so the grit they put on the road over winter collects down there and doesn't wash away.

I was trying to think of alternatives to the route that people always seem to cry "boooring " at - up Dyers Pass Road, down the other side, through Governors Bay, down through Teddington and past the Wheatsheaf onto Gebbies, etc - though I don't find it boring myself.

Maybe we could go north this week, then?

[Spuds1234]

Wont be able to catch the start of the ride, but if I get out of work early enough I'll try and meet you guys where ever you happen to end up (assuming its not to far away).

[Rashika]

I'm one of those people who quite likes the summit road, and yes it is challenging everytime i ride it. But I love the views, and if I want a quick blowout on the nice day (even in early winter at times, tho it is slower due to the grit), it is awesome to go from one end (gebbies) to the other (sumner). Doesn't have to be quick, but if you manage to do it without crossing the centre too much (tho not many centre lines along it), then you can consider yourself a fairly capable rider, as it is NOT an easy piece of road.
ah well... i still like it

[T.W.R]

I agree - you know I'm not a fan of this piece of road either, I regard it as a goat track myself - but there are people who seem to quite like it. As far as 'last you heard'... it always has been littered with pot holes and shingle as far back as my memory goes (which, granted, isn't that far). There's one particular corner descending into the forest which seems to always have a coating of sandy, gritty crap collected there - I've slid on this patch more than once. Sun and rain doesn't find its way down there, so the grit they put on the road over winter collects down there and doesn't wash away.

how quickly one forgets what they were told less than 2yrs ago
potholes are only a problem if you stare at them

I'm one of those people who quite likes the summit road, and yes it is challenging everytime i ride it. But I love the views, and if I want a quick blowout on the nice day (even in early winter at times, tho it is slower due to the grit), it is awesome to go from one end (gebbies) to the other (sumner). Doesn't have to be quick, but if you manage to do it without crossing the centre too much (tho not many centre lines along it), then you can consider yourself a fairly capable rider, as it is NOT an easy piece of road.
ah well... i still like it

Exactly the perfect road for sharpening skills & reactions to the unknown, and it doesn't have to be ridden at pace either.
The scenery is always worthwhile

[Deviant Esq]

how quickly one forgets what they were told less than 2yrs ago
potholes are only a problem if you stare at them

One hasn't forgotten what one was told less than two years ago... but one is still allowed to regard a given piece of road as a goat track™

Now that that point has been made, I don't mind the Summit Road, but I still regard it as a bit of a goat track™. But the fact is, the point has been made that most of the group don't like it (as Rashika's mentioned, it's not exactly newbie friendly™), and since this is still supposed to be a newbie friendly™ ride, we'll take that under advisement. I'm happy enough riding it, it doesn't cause me any major issues, but we'll see what the rest say.

[dangerous]

Now that that point has been made, I don't mind the Summit Road, but I still regard it as a bit of a goat track™. But the fact is, the point has been made that most of the group don't like it (as Rashika's mentioned, it's not exactly newbie friendly™), and since this is still supposed to be a newbie friendly™ ride, we'll take that under advisement. I'm happy enough riding it, it doesn't cause me any major issues, but we'll see what the rest say.

OHHHHHHhhhhhhhh crap, look the summit rd is one of the best bloody places to learn to ride on, it has most of the dangers possible to the biker kind, harden the fark up people and enjoy an awesome piece a road... if you can handle it at speed then you will be able to tackle most roads in NZ

I say tomorow night you lot head up to the summit rd via Sumner, ride the entire road (excluding the heads) down gebbies and into the halswell boozer...

[T.W.R]

Now that that point has been made, I don't mind the Summit Road, but I still regard it as a bit of a goat track™. But the fact is, the point has been made that most of the group don't like it (as Rashika's mentioned, it's not exactly newbie friendly™), and since this is still supposed to be a newbie friendly™ ride, we'll take that under advisement. I'm happy enough riding it, it doesn't cause me any major issues, but we'll see what the rest say.

Both Rashika & I both said it doesn't have to be ridden at pace, which it doesn't to actually learn from that particular piece of road.
And as a fact it is far less populated by other users than any of the roads around the peninsula and if all things were tallied up it has claimed less victims than any other piece of road, people moaning about it are usually the ones who've tried to attack it and come away with their arses kicked.

[T.W.R]

OHHHHHHhhhhhhhh crap, look the summit rd is one of the best bloody places to learn to ride on, it has most of the dangers possible to the biker kind, harden the fark up people and enjoy a awesom piece a road... if you can handle it at speed then you will be able to takel most roads in NZ

that is almost a perfect echo of what I told the young fella one afternoon sitting up there

[Deviant Esq]

Ya done?

You're both preaching to the already converted. As I said - let's see what the rest say.

[Mr Triple]

It's a good run from one end to the other, but I would say the newer ones wouldn't like it. The view over the city on a clear night looks great.
The worst time to ride along it is the weekend when push bikes are about 65 wide and don't move over.
Would be a great ride for me on a wnr, but I'm happy to go wherever.