Anyone going 2 mid-north adv...

**ducatijim** · 26th November 2008, 17:22

......ride @ Trounson Kauri park this weekend?

Just off the phone to Des and it sounds like a good challenge with a pinch of fun thrown in!

I am taking the trusty DR along for her first outing since getting home from the tropics back in July....we will see how she goes in mud!

Look me up if ur there; Battered old DR beside a yellow MSR tent

Jamie

**CRM** · 27th November 2008, 07:33

Would love to but then looked at the cost - $225

Looking at their website the far north one looks fantastic but $1850!!

At least that one includes accommodation. It's pretty much where we're planning to go but we'll just do it for free (they do have access to a lot of private areas I understand).

**MXNUT** · 27th November 2008, 09:11

Originally Posted by ducatijim

......ride @ Trounson Kauri park this weekend?

Just off the phone to Des and it sounds like a good challenge with a pinch of fun thrown in!

I am taking the trusty DR along for her first outing since getting home from the tropics back in July....we will see how she goes in mud!

Look me up if ur there; Battered old DR beside a yellow MSR tent

Jamie

Isnt it just a 2 day trail ride for unregistered bikes also

Originally Posted by CRM

Would love to but then looked at the cost - $225

.

far too much $

**Bass** · 27th November 2008, 09:11

Originally Posted by ducatijim

......
I am taking the trusty DR along for her first outing since getting home from the tropics back in July....we will see how she goes in mud!

Jamie

Have you managed to get her started yet?

**CRM** · 27th November 2008, 09:43

Originally Posted by MOTOXNUT

Isnt it just a 2 day trail ride for unregistered bikes also

far too much $

It is for registered bikes only - see registration form at: http://www.adventurerides.co.nz/29-3...try%20form.pdf

Really appeals to me as there won't be crazy people on MX bikes pushing slower riders into the gorse

(as per normal trail rides) but not sure how they justify the cost of $225 when a trail ride is normally around $30 for a full day. I'd love to see more of this kind of thing up north though at an affordable cost (but maybe that's how they keep the numbers manageable).

**ducatijim** · 27th November 2008, 11:27

Originally Posted by CRM

It is for registered bikes only - see registration form at: http://www.adventurerides.co.nz/29-3...try%20form.pdf

Really appeals to me as there won't be crazy people on MX bikes pushing slower riders into the gorse

(as per normal trail rides)YOURE ONTO IT!! but not sure how they justify the cost of $225 when a trail ride is normally around $30 for a full day.NOT TRYING TO 'JUSTIFY' WHAT THEY ARE DOING, BUT; YOU GET 6 MEALS AND CAMPING + LAND FEES TO OTHERWISE UNACESSABLE TRAILS I'd love to see more of this kind of thing up north though at an affordable cost (but maybe that's how they keep the numbers manageable).

I haven't done this ride, or any other 'northland' adv rides but they come well reputed...I know Des, 1 of the organisers, and he is a TOP trails man. I have done the Mike Britten rides before they went over the grand mark, and this type of event is just the dogs knob....for real Adv riders.( ie....you have EARNED your beer at rides end!!)

Too many 'free' soft options rides competing for this weekend I think

**MXNUT** · 27th November 2008, 12:28

Originally Posted by ducatijim

I haven't done this ride, or any other 'northland' adv rides but they come well reputed...I know Des, 1 of the organisers, and he is a TOP trails man. I have done the Mike Britten rides before they went over the grand mark, and this type of event is just the dogs knob....for real Adv riders.( ie....you have EARNED your beer at rides end!!)

Too many 'free' soft options rides competing for this weekend I think

Damm

Would probably have done this ride if i had realized that this was not just another trail ride. O well, already commited to coromandel soft ride this weekend and coromandel hard ride next weekend ... so many rides ... so little time

**CRM** · 27th November 2008, 21:11

Originally Posted by ducatijim

I haven't done this ride, or any other 'northland' adv rides but they come well reputed...I know Des, 1 of the organisers, and he is a TOP trails man. I have done the Mike Britten rides before they went over the grand mark, and this type of event is just the dogs knob....for real Adv riders.( ie....you have EARNED your beer at rides end!!)

Too many 'free' soft options rides competing for this weekend I think

Yeah I phoned Des and asked him about where it goes and it definitely sounds like the real thing!! Very tempted... And yeah when you realise what you are getting and the free entertainment and the trouble they go to to set up 300km of trails

with signs etc and do sweeps etc etc it's actually pretty amazing ride. Apparently only about 10km is seal, the rest is forests, tracks, cross country, gravel etc. So I'm tempted - maybe see you there...

**CRM** · 28th November 2008, 12:48

Well we've booked - but no cabins left so we'll sleep at home tonight

and trailer the bikes out first thing in the morning (only one night in the tent should be bearable). Should be great ride - will take the camera and post some pics. Looking a little wet right now but forecast for tomorrow is good

.

**MXNUT** · 1st December 2008, 09:29

Originally Posted by CRM

Well we've booked - but no cabins left so we'll sleep at home tonight

and trailer the bikes out first thing in the morning (only one night in the tent should be bearable). Should be great ride - will take the camera and post some pics. Looking a little wet right now but forecast for tomorrow is good

.

Ride report and Photos are where ????

I want to see what i missed out on .

**CRM** · 1st December 2008, 09:51

Originally Posted by MOTOXNUT

Ride report and Photos are where ????

I want to see what i missed out on .

Pretty good time. Weather was fantastic and the camping was great. Some of the riding was more hard-core than what I was expecting - it was more of an extended trail ride than what I'd call your typical adventure ride. Fifty riders though so lots of space and everyone was really helpful.
It had been raining so there was a fair bit of mud and the river crossings got interesting at times...

This was where we camped at Trounson Park - beautiful spot by the river.

**Bass** · 1st December 2008, 10:09

Ducatijim rolled in my gate about 5:45 pm last night.

Actually, it is probably more accurate to say that a vaguely bike shaped heap of dried mud rolled down my drive and Ducatijim hatched out from somewhere in the middle.

I gather that it was rather more strenuous than he expected, but he may elect to tell you more himself, when he gets home.

**CRM** · 1st December 2008, 10:13

Saturday started with a 'challenge' section to sort out those who should stick to the main track and those who could do the tough bits. It was a forest section - muddy and rutted. The XR600 with it's new AC10's handled it fine but Matt was new to ruts and had a few close encounters with the mud so we thought we'd stick to the main track as we had to survive another 190km before dinner

With the rain even the main track had some interesting bits... This was a beautiful single track piece through native bush that was really overgrown - one of my favourites.

**CRM** · 1st December 2008, 10:27

Next was some nice open gravel road. We stopped for a photo op - chilling out and enjoying the surroundings - until the sweeps caught up and told us we needed to do the road instead of going through the farm section

. Really disappointed as open farm land is my favourite

but talking to the guys who did it afterwards there was something about a bottomless swamp and a muddy unridable clay bank they mentioned that was probably okay to miss...

**CRM** · 1st December 2008, 10:38

Finally arrived after a long gravel stretch at Twin Bridges. I spent a lot of time there in my youth on a farm owned by my sister and brother in law. He and I did a lot of hard-core riding on our TC100's

and later on my XL175 then XL350. One of my favourite places in the whole world - good memories!