South Auckland gravel bash..take 2?

[Motu]

I seem to have a problem with my visor,and in the light rain at Onewhero I was riding almost blind,so turned back.It has an antifog coating on the inside,but the outside is a problem too - the rain won't flow off,I was having to wipe it off with my glove.

I headed back down SH22,and just past Naike it cleared up and the road was dry.I had thought of going down Waikaretu Valley Rd to Nikau Caves,but it looked like rain down there.I went down Waimai Valley road and stopped at the intersection with Te Akau Coast Rd for awhile.I met the two riders on the orange KTM 950's....they said they were going down to Marakopa.I figured I was a long way ahead of the rest and it would be a long wait,so carried on down Te Akau Sth Rd....no tyre marks,so I think the KTM's must have missed the turnoff and gone out to SH22.It looked like rain at home,so headed back up SH22 and over Otorohaea Trig Rd.

Once over to Rotowaro Rd I met light rain again - and this time my visor was normal...I could turn my head and see the water streaming off.I don't know what is going on here,why sometimes I can't see though and other times I can.I can understand problems with the inside fogging (even though it is antifog) but why the outside won't clear water,and will other times I don't know.I'll have to get another,no antifog if possible and see if it's any better.

Anyway - I had a great day in the end,the roads,both seal and gravel south of Naike were perfect.Heavy rain just after I got home,and I got soaked walking around the lake.

[tri boy]

Saw ya on 22 mate. (me and mark went by).
The ol air head sounded nice.

[Cary]

Cheers Iain, good mix of roads today. The Raglan Lager tasted good

Hardly a drop of rain, dust was a bit of a problem huh!

Looking forward to #3.........

[Motu]

Saw ya on 22 mate. (me and mark went by).
The ol air head sounded nice.

I saw the flash of Scrambler pipes out of the corner of my eye,so figured it was you.

[MXNUT]

Got pretty wet getting out of Raglan, really bucketed down coming through the ranges before Whatawhata. Nothing to do but charge onwards.

Went home via old mountain Rd over the top of the Raglan deviation. Started to rain going up and by the time i hit the top it was torrential.

Hardly a drop of rain, dust was a bit of a problem huh!

Looking forward to #3.........

Torrential rain lasted for about 15 minutes untill i was home then it stopped.
Her indoors said it had been doing that all day so i guess we were pretty lucky with the day that we got .. cheers guys

[ttrkiwi]

Great day and thanks guys...

Managed to miss the rain all the way home. The TTR needs some more ponies so off to the dyno tomorrow night...

Fed up with going backwards down hill.

[Crazy Steve]

Thanks Bass and to everyone else for helping me with my flat...

Was kinda tired sooo we left before heading into Raglan..

Had a REALLY good day....

Will miss the Dr650 when it gone....

Thanks again.

Crazy Steve.

[ttrkiwi]

[Bass]

Will miss the Dr650 when it gone....

Where's it going?

[dino3310]

ya found my kids fishing spot,
good to see you fellas had a good day.
Iain

[johannvr]

Yip - thanks to Crisis for arranging the ride - was good again. (Nuvi only misled us once )

To the guys who did SH22 on the way back - my apologies for all of a sudden scooting ahead into the blue yonder just before Pokeno wihout too much in the line of formalities - had to start getting along to the north to sort calves & stuff out before it got too late, what with the bad stuff creeping up on us ...

[.chris]

Did anyone with a GPS manage to get a complete route they could attach for me?

Mine only kept track of the route home, need to save routes as long as that ride parts, or it just overwrites.

Much appreciated.

[Lula]

What a wicked ride and perfect conditions to try out the new WR250R, which I loved - we worked out it did 177kms using 6.9 litres per tank, not too bad I thought.

After this ride its got me thinking about getting a dual purpose bike...that was so much fun. I could also learn a lot off you guys in regards to adventure riding...some of that kit you guys had was unbelievable.

I'd also be keen to know where some of those roads are...Baker Road was it? That one was definately my pick of the day

Thanks for organising a great ride crisis and you boys where great company, I look forward to the next one!

[Waihou Thumper]

After this ride its got me thinking about getting a dual purpose bike...that was so much fun. I could also learn a lot off you guys in regards to adventure riding...some of that kit you guys had was unbelievable.

How about a nice Husaberg 450e with a tank that will get you 340km or a KTM that will get you 600Km....
welcome to the fray....!! Baker Rd....I will let you know...yes, runs Waimarama Onewhero Rd to Limestone Downs North...OR to Pukerewa Rd South....to Te Akau..

[Bass]

After this ride its got me thinking about getting a dual purpose bike...that was so much fun.

Uh oh......she's been exposed and has caught the bug. There is no cure, nor any vaccine. The only treatment is remote places and unsealed carriageways of widely varying widths and grip levels.
Since I got back into bikes, I thought I had seen most of NZ, but then I left the seal behind and found out how wrong I had been. I had missed 2/3 of the country and the best 2/3 at that.
The maturity and cooperation levels are much higher over here on the dark side too - especially the maturity bit and it has little to do with age. This may also be part of the reason why the serious accident rate is much lower over here, although minor "offs" are commonplace.
Getting off the seal also allowed me to spend 2 months doing outback Oz. That was the trip of a lifetime literally - one of my defining events so far. http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...=340074&page=5
To get some idea of where this can take you, the ride reports section of www.advrider.com is a door to the rest of the world with some stunning photography.
Rave mode off. Out.