Port Waikato day ride (Sun 19 Oct)

[tri boy]

Glad you guys had a cracker day.
Got to kick a couple of hung over Aussies outa the door soon.
Will be there next time.

[MXNUT]

Met up with Dean & Tim at whatawahta and 3 of Japans finest ( DR 750 - DRZ400 X 2 ) headed off to our 1st gravel test Old mountain Rd. Back onto the main Rd then right in Ohautira Rd. Turned left into Ruakiwi Rd for more gravel and then down to the Te Akau boat ramp for our 1st stop. Headed back to Te Akau south Rd still on gravel and through to Te Akau. Tim bade us farewell at this stage as we then headed onto the Te Akau coast Rd.Weather and Scenery were stunning so we stopped for More photos. On to Pukerewa Rd with the best scenery so far .

[MXNUT]

After a quick meeting with the ' locals we continued on north. Came to the end of Pukerewa Rd and we turned left onto Waikaretu Rd for a short stint on tarseal before the road gave way to more glorius gravel. This was the only section of road that we encountered any traffic on, about half a dozen cars on their way to the Nikau Caves. Stopped at Limestone Downs for a couple of quick pics and then on into Port Waikato for burgers & chips for lunch.

[MXNUT]

After lunch we headed off to check out the beach and watch a couple of surfers having fun in the waves before heading around to have a play on the sand dunes. Met up with a few of the Port Waikato locals having a play on their quads. Their idea of safety gear extended to jandels and shorts/singlets .
Headed off towards Tuakau via the supurb Klondyke Rd.

[MXNUT]

Stopped at the top of Klondyke Rd for a quick couple of photos in both directions before heading down the other side. On into Onewhero and down towards the Tuakau bridge over the Waikato River.The DRZ hit reserve at this stage after 170 kms, so an improvement of 20 kms tank range with the new gearing. Into Tuakau for the DRZ to gas up. The DR750 Super Tanker gave the petrol pumps a Wry smile , and we headed back though Onewhero again to our next destination Ponganui Rd. Travelling along here quite nicely thinking i was MARCUS GRONHOLM in a WRC car i found a lovely straight where i saw 138 kmh on the DRZ speedo. What i did not have however ( apart from his talent ) was the co driver sitting next to me to tell me that just over the brow of the hill the road did not carry on straight ahead but went sharp left . An anxious moment had the DRZ all locked up before finally stopping half a meter short of the fence. Carried on at slightly more sedate pace ( for about 1 km ) until the road became Brien Rd then Wairamarama Rd

[MXNUT]

At the end of Wairamarama Rd, Dean turned left and headed for home . I had not had my full gravel fix yet so i turned right onto the tarseal of Waikaretu Rd and back to Pukerewa Rd. Stopped for 1 more Photo of Mt Kariori at Raglan in the distance before turning left onto Matira Rd.This road had been recently graveled so was quite challenging. Turned right at the end onto Dixon Rd then Waimai Valley Rd. A final nature and snack stop at the intersection of Te Akau coast Rd and the on to Te Akau to ride the other end of Ruakiwi Rd through to Ohuatira Rd again. Hit all the traffic returning back to Hamilton from a day out at Raglan, so this was a good excuse to ride Old Mountain Rd again but in the other direction. Back onto the black stuff and a short 10 minute run to home saw me having my 1st beer of the day at 5.45pm. 330 kms round trip with more than 200 on gravel, a great way to spend a sunny Sunday.

[Bass]

just over the brow of the hill the road did not carry on straight ahead but went sharp left .

Ah yes - I know that corner well.
I'm a bit cautious about blind brows, so it's never caused a major undy stain, but the first time I went round there I was straight into a flock of sheep that the cocky was driving up the hill - at least, they were going up the hill until I suddenly arrived out of the blue. Shortly after that, they were heading down the hill FAST and the farmer was slightly less than appreciative.

[dino3310]

nice pic's bro, cant post mine at the moment i'm having issue's with the pc.
after i left you i headed down to glen murray road and tried to get those chicken strips a little smaller and get some confidence back
got to the express way, eased on some power to pass a few cages then
bang went the chain,rang a mate in huntly he came to the rescue, i got going again and then 5mins from home the fuel line come off.
its a bugger to put on cause i gotta take the tank of so i pushed her into my work depot and got the missus to pick me up. bit of an anti climax but i still had a fab day. will have it all sorted for the coro ride

[marks]

thanks for the report

its never as good as being there but at least it gets the old imagination going

[dino3310]

your DT would have eaten these roads up mate