gijoe1313 and Gremlin invade the Mainland!

[Gremlin]

As he has clearly stated... yep, he has sent some stuff back to Auckland...

It looks like he can't hack this touring stuff... something I never thought I would say

[Gremlin]

As has been previously mentioned, we planned to ride the Catlins. Meetings were arranged with today's guest bikers, Daffyd and Jantar was riding down to meet us as well... (are we a popular side show or something? )

GiJoe had made his usual sacrifice to the gods and we only left 10 min late, and heading towards Papatowai and Daffyd. Initially we doubted McJim's statement of awesome roads, with straight after boring straight. But then we turned off onto another road... and came across a rather nice road sign... There had been a few spots on the visor, and the clouds were threatening to make a bath look dry, but hardly another drop touched our visors for the rest of the day.

From there, it was pure fun. Papatowai came much to early, and when we got there, I couldn't even send a txt to Jantar... there is no mobile reception. After meeting and chatting to Daffyd, Jantar appears on the road, and comes down the drive.

We are then treated to a South Island escort, to meet the most famous of KB cops (along more fantastic roads). After swapping stories (they know of a traffic light a few towns over, and their one roundabout was removed a few years ago) we are warned about the traffic, recommended a place for lunch, and Daffyd leads us there.

After lunch, Daffyd regretfully announces his departure, as he had other things to do, and Jantar decides he better just show the tourists some more roads, as we simply can't just go back the same way, now can we? Thanks to his local knowledge (gravel roads, and too many normal roads to count) the 150km trip from Balclutha to Invercargill is turned into 220 odd km of fun.

We ended up travelling back via Florence Hill anyway, as we couldn't bypass that without a photo, and tootled to Daffyd as we passed, as he had already got home (Unfortunately couldn't stop again, as we had promised to be making the dinner - ok, fine, GiJoe was making the dinner).

Home after another trip, more than 3100km has passed since I left Auckland, and coming into invercargill I realised with shock, that we are basically half way through the trip (end of day 6, of 13)

The sniveller pootler is still crying about the minimal distance travelled... he obviously isn't very sociable. I mean, how often do you see people from the other end of the country? (GiJoe shouldn't answer this ).

This post has tried to compete with GiJoe standards, and we need to leave at 5am tomorrow for the Milford Sound trip (which means an even more stupid waking hour) so to bed I go.

Enjoy the pics.

[TOTO]

Oh my god , you guys are having good fun. cant believe I discover the thread just now.

Happy pootles, and I'm interersted in that pack rack of yours GiJoe when you get back in dorkland.

Shiney side up and happy pootles again.

[Jantar]

...The sniveller pootler is still crying about the minimal distance travelled......

Its his own bloody fault. I did offer to show you both a totally different way home that would have added another on 100 kms or so, and taken you over another of the famous routes in the Motorcycle Atlas. But the sniveller pootler wanted to get back in time to cook tea.

Anyway it was great riding with guys and by the time I travelled 7/8 of the way to Invercargill to meet up with you, I did manage a moderate 540 kms for the day.

[zeocen]

it gets worse, I suspect he is going to try and get rid of it all while in Invercargill (courier it back to auckland, along with the gear he "doesn't need"), and get himself a backpack instead. Ironic then that I am usually carrying some of his gear

Yup, everywhere him and I go together it's "Can I put my helmet in your top box?" "We have to take this over to xx, can I put yy in your top box?" "Man why didn't you bring your top box? We so could have used it right now!"

Maybe if *I* get rid of *my* luggage he'll see the importance of it!

[Daffyd]

It was great to meet up with the guys, (and gal,) had a good ride over to Balclutha, the wee Virago had the best workout it's had in a while.

Unfortunately, I had to leave them in the Riviera of the South as I had some pressing engagements, but did see them as they passed on their return trip.

Despite expressing my surprise at them not tearing each others' throats out, they really do seem to get on quite well.

Ride well, ride safe.

[trump-lady]

WWWWhhhere areeeeeeeee u guysssssssssssss

[gijoe1313]

Well, the usual feet dragging and slackjawed reaction by Gremlin yesterday was par for the course. Gremlin has done a spiffing job relating all the main points from yesterday!

I think I only yelled and blamed him a half dozen times instead of the hundred or so times as per normal.

For a change of pace I will now turn this post into a cooking episode and relate the carnage performed in Chickadee's kitchen (which she so nicely relinquished to me for the evening!)

McJim, Gremlin, Angel and I had previously went and purchased supplies from a supermarket and I got to preparing the ingredients for the dinner yesternight.

Basically the bill of fare was :

Stir fried beef and veges (garlic marinade, soya sauce, sugar, salt & pepper, paprika)
Deep fried wontons
Stir fried noodles
Rice
Seashells and mixed veges for the wee 'uns
Beef bolonaise

Gremlin was made useful in the kitchen by being an extra pair of hands and doing the bum boy chores. Chickadee, a domestic house goddess already had plenty of the culinary skills to help prepare the base materials.

Angel, befitting her culture and background made wonton after wonton ready for the deep frying. The wontons were very popular, the two batches I prepared from the hot oil resulted in only 5 left before the meal even started! Goes well with sweet thai chilli sauce.

Things were boiled, sauteed, fried, panstirred, drained, steamed, chopped, diced, mixed and all the other techniques associated with providing a full stomach.

My upbringing means I actually miss cooking when I don't get to do it for a while, also it was a good chance to repay back Chickadee and McJim for the kindness and open home they have always provided me! (and at this point Gremlin)

Dessert was a delicious banana chocolate cake made by Chickadee and French Vanilla ice cream.

I've given up posting about riding, since we seem to do so little of it on this trip! I do recall gravel, some twisties, meeting Daffyd and Jantar and Scumdog ... I think Jantar is the SI equivalent of Ixion and the awesome plans Daffyd wants to do later is inspiring! Scumdog proved that the Police do have more interesting work stories!

Was awesome meeting a few of the colourful characters of SI KBers! As for me killing Gremlin, I have decided to await for an opportunity to increase the pain he will suffer before it happens!

[McJim]

Well the intrepid travellers made their merry way to Milford sound today - I have seen the pictures.

[Ixion]

Ah so. AngelKwan eh?. Asleep on Mr Joe's back. Practically, that is to say, in his arms. The news of this Angel binti will promptly be relayed to Mama San. It will be a great relief to her.

Full (meaning FULL) details of said Angel will be required ASAP for due consideration by the mah jong group. (And does Trump Lady know about AngelKwan ?)

I must go spread the gossip. Sounds like Mr Joe's carefree pootling days may be numbered.

[Gremlin]

The sparrows were still in lala land, when my alarm went off at 0400 this morning. Lying in was sooo tempting (but altogether predictable).

Haste was made to get ready, a quick breakfast of toast and spaghetti/eggs, and on with the gear. We were under strict instructions to leave at 0500, don't bother if you leave at 0515 (one has to ask, just how crucial is riding huh? ). We were finally ready at 0510.

It seems like our luck has decided to go on holiday like us, so while it was perfectly natural for GiJoe to don his rainsuit for the first portion of the trip, even I did so, and a good thing it was indeed, as it only stopped raining around 1100. Gas was purchased in Invercargill, leaving a non-stop run to Te Anau, and because of the bad weather and slightly delayed departure, we took the main route. This was a bad decision for one wascully wabbit, who didn't get out of my way, and literally got a boot and footpeg up its arse when it tried to race me. GiJoe reported seeing it limping/wobbling to the roadside and falling into a ditch. Making good time, we arrived in Te Anau shortly before 0700 (when the gas station opens) and were able to take the last two premium pumps while we waited for them to open.

The trick for doing Milford Sound is to be the first vehicles on the road so you get a clean run. Coaches and buses are not allowed prior to 0900 (when the homer tunnel lights start operation) so you get out before everyone else, get your pics etc, and then head back while everyone is going there. It didn't stop raining. The roads were slippery. Just north of the homer tunnel, the roads were ridiculously slippery, I can only imagine it was diesel and small stones, as we were tiptoeing through, and the bikes were still sliding.

The obligatory photos of clouds and rain were taken, and we realised we sorta fitted in with the rest of the tourists, as our rainsuits didn't differ too much from their jackets and gear I counted I had 5 layers on my upper body, and 3 pairs of gloves. Warm as toast (bit too warm for the visor) and dry as a bone. Not too bad, better than being wet right through.

Heading back to Te Anau, the weather started playing ball, the roads dried up, and we wanted to take our rainsuits off. Lunch was Miles' Pies (delicious ) and then it was back to Invercargill via Manapouri and Tuataupere (pootler wanted sausages, then he bludged space in the top box for them... typical). I discovered the value of chest armour, when a bird presumably commited suicide head on into my chest (all I saw was an incoming bird, then feathers, then quiet again). Chest armour took the entire hit, and all I had was the impact pushing me back a little.

Upon entering Manapouri, I even managed to avoid a cyclist trying to carry out their death wish. Heading towards a blind right hander, I could see cyclists ahead, so positioned myself very close to the centre line and slowed a little. This left me room either way (cyclist or oncoming car). Or so I thought. The cyclist decided they wanted to quickly steer to the centre line (only god fucken knows why), which meant I had to brake rather abruptly. Said cyclist then perhaps had a change of heart on their position in life, steered back to the side of the road, and sure enough, there was an oncoming car as well.

McJim had decided to ride out to meet us coming in, and once he came across us, we all headed back to Invercargill together. Good thing we did, as the Europeans had to stick together, with the KTM coming to the aid of the Ducati's loose sidestand in the form of a 6mm allen key (once I had dug beneath all the custom wiring to get the toolkit).

We have now covered approximately 3600km with tomorrow being a bit of a rest day to do maintenance and see Bluff. The pootler even needs another rear tyre, and he has the audacity to blame ME for HIS tyre wear He is actually satisfied to do minimal kilometres tomorrow, and.... WE ARE SLEEPING IN!!! (times to wake may differ)

[EJK]

Why is he kicking his bike? Did it break down?

Ah the great Milford sound... One of very few 5 Star rating on the Motorcycle Atlas...

[Gremlin]

Here's the last 3 pictures... and now my bed beckons, and who am I to refuse?

[Gremlin]

Why is he kicking his bike? Did it break down?

Ah the great Milford sound... One of very few 5 Star rating on the Motorcycle Atlas...

Ah yes... the milford tunnel is to blame, or so he will tell you. Actually, come to think of it... can't remember the last time he admitted he was to blame for anything

We were going through the tunnel, and I was rather enjoying the sound of my twin (as y'do) and he was enjoying the sound of his nautilus? (whatever floats your boat). That was until he managed to overload the circuits, and blew the fuse for the dash/horn. That was a quick fault find and a spare chucked in, at Milford Sound.

Road wise, the Catlins is a better route than Milford, but the scenery to and from Milford is outstanding (if the cloud hasn't made it go away).

[gijoe1313]

Well, yesterday was a great days riding. The return back to Milford from my own solitary sojourns four years prior by cage was counterpointed by the precipitation engulfing the region. Apparently Gremlin said it rains two out of three days and is the wettest region in Godsown green and fecund land.

I love the early morning starts, the chill of the morning and the darkness presages great riding and exploration ahead. Even if it was raining I still go out and ride ... having a rainsuit is mostly a novelty for me! Gremlin lead us out as per usual and we made great time to Te Anau, the portal to the gates of magnificent Milford.

With liquid fire coursing into the receptacles of our mobility purveyors of explotation we danced with the trio of road, weather and the denizens inhabiting those lanes to freedom.

With the sparse and vast areas of South Island beckoning, as dawn broke (amazingly it wasn't Gremlin's fault for it breaking) it revealed the splender and soul bewitching beauty of this rugged land. Soaring heights of hills beneath the ever eternal eyes of the mountains looked down on fields of green and gold, patches of flat plains undulating through were traversed by long roads, the occasional curve to remind us what bikes were actually bred for.

The clouds above, roads below accompanied the sound of rushing wind, the note of engines pulling us to our destination.

With the wet roads, we took our time and glided our way through the sheer slopes of weather-beaten rock faces, crusted with the foliage unique to NZ. Every so often the tantalising view of a waterfall with its withering rush of its liquid cargo would give hints of what was to come.

Traffic was very light and the comms that Gremlin and I employed enabled me with my precious pillion cargo to overtake in safety. The mouth of Homer's tunnel beckoned and we made our way down, a stygian gloom I remembered now dispersed by the addition of lights, I remembered how a greek story told of a hero descending into the pits of Hades to retrieve something dear and precious to him.

To me, it was a return to the place where I had previously been a mere cager. I had always promised myself the next time I visited the South Island I would be riding a motorcycle. The sharp turn to the left as daylight flooded the end of the passageway emerged into the lower area of Milford Sound.

The synapses of my memory were fired off by the soaring heights as we descended to the lower area, fields of rocks were surrounded by the towering heights of the mountain walls around us, rivulets of water cascaded down their faces and the rugged life of plants clung pecariously to their anchors.

It was a short and twisty route to the end of the road, twin bridges with room for only one came and went, the forlorn and sad sight of a small yellow car with its front stoved in told of a woeful note in someone elses journey, the debris strewn here and then on the roads was a reminder of nature's power - we are the interlopers here.

Paradoxically, the natural beauty of the area was occluded by the artificial constructions that humans are wont to lay on the land. Gremlin has related the details and I will only add that after kilometres of travel with water, falling rain, waterfalls ... only served for us to want to hurry to the bathroom!

Obligatory photos taken, Big Ol'Hornets fuses were looked at and replaced and all was well with the world again. The clouds aboved looked down and were pleased and decided to ease up on their gifts to the parched land below.

The return to Invercargill was dry and quick, the distance eaten up quickly by our conveyances of experience. A surprise guest came in the opposite direction in the shape of McJim. He was riding his duchess with gusto and panache as he powered through the hills on his red lady of locomotion.

A quick turnabout and we were now riding as a triumvirate. It has been a long time since I have ridden with McJim and it brought back many a happy memory of our riding together. Angel was taking many photos from her position and it was great to see the antics of Gremlin forever enshrined as a picture for infamous posterity.

Getting back to McJims and Chickadee's place revealed the startling realistion that I needed a new tyre I was gobsmacked by the fact that it was 3000km too early for me to require a tyre at this stage in the tour! The only factor I could think of ... was loudly chortling ... in his black leathers, KNOX armour and gleeful chidlike-schadenfreudian overtones.

Gremlin pointed out in detail the characteristics exhibited by non-nana riders. Cupping. Pitting. Lack of tyre nipples. Edge of tyres being used. And other squid-like behaviours. I blame Gremlin. His style of riding is so far and away from my pootling style, that it wasn't until I was riding with Jantar just how much I had tried to adapt to the way Gremlin flings his Katoom o'doom through the mainland!

Well, as there is a new day beckoning, with not much riding, I will turn to mundane matters. Like hitting up Gremlin for the lend of some moola to put the new tyre on (my planning budget blown apart by the destructive force that is Gremlin personified)

I know there is a lesson in this tour for me, I'm still not sure whether I am being blessed or cursed by the biking gods. All I know is that I am riding on roads untravelled by me on two wheels, with great company in some of the most stunning scenery in our God's green land. And at least that's enough for me!