Chateau - Whangamomona - Egmont

[ynot slow]

Saw Chris & yourself at Stratford - apologies for not stopping (we're snobs) as we were quite keen to get home.

No worries mate,we went to plateau around 1.30-2pm,weather was ok till we hit park boundary,halfway up could feel the change in temp.Arrived at the mountain house in drizzle,the plateau is approx 3km further,this was in heavy drizzle but also mist,had my sunnies on and at the plateau carpark couldn't see jack shit,took them off and with visor up could see stuff all lol.

Turned around and gingerly went back too mountain house,stopped in shelter there for about 15 mins,left and after about 3km or so the showers had stopped and was quite nice,even the road was dry,park boundary and was like a different place.

We stopped for subway and coffee,you guys were the first to come through although a couple of guys on off road bikes were just ahead of you.Was surprised the amount of bikes stopping for gas,we probably waited about 30 mins in Stratford till you came through,spoke to a few guys about the road and conditions up the mountain,they were sure amused the quick change of weather from town to mountain.

All in all a good cruise with Chris,even though he had to wait for us,at least he knows were to meet for coffee,bloody wind was getting up as we got home,complete change from 6.00am.

Thought you were in a hurry to get to the other petrol station,don't blame ya for carrying on the weather was threatening and at least you'd be home before 6 ish,quite a few guys went through town at 6.30 -7.00 so a long day for them.

[banditrider]

Yeah windy on the way back for us too. Got petrol in Wanganui. Home by about 20 to 5. No rain - sunburned again!

http://banditrider.blogspot.com/2008...o-plateau.html

[ynot slow]

Good blog,the pics were good once they loaded bloody dial up.

Was not bad economy for your beast if you got from Taumaranui to Wanganui,the amount of gas sold at shell would've been amazing.

[banditrider]

Was not bad economy for your beast if you got from Taumaranui to Wanganui,the amount of gas sold at shell would've been amazing.

Only put 16.6L in it - would have got back to Palmy...she's pretty economical in cruise mode.

[ynot slow]

Cruise mode you guys fly lol.Get better economy at 100-115km than 80km or so with the power spread of the bike,mind you it is a slowish ride from start from Whanga to civilisation,except for the straight bits.

Then it just gets better after about 20kms from Whanga.

[HornetBoy]

Ha yea awesome day today for me ,i actually was able to meet tony this time and not get lost lol ,blood hell the run from bottom to top of the lookout was very challenging but incredibly fun even tho the fog was so bad you couldn't hardly see 5 meters in front of yourself,brought a smile on my face that i made it up and down without an episode ,still amazed me how tony could carry a pillion up and down without much trouble also made me think i want the hornet back as it was such fun t ride on that beaut . all in all great day for me finished off with a coffee at Tony's ,although i heard their was a bit of an off somewhere along the forgotten highway ,what happened their ?

[HornetBoy]

she's pretty economical in cruise mode.

lol made me laugh when i saw your concours arrive like 20mins before everyone else

[banditrider]

lol made me laugh when i saw your concours arrive like 20mins before everyone else

We just left first - maybe those other guys waited another hour or so...

[HornetBoy]

We just left first - maybe those other guys waited another hour or so...

yea just read in ya blog ya left early, so that would be why then ,

[ynot slow]

Apparently the rider was airlifted from Whanga with chest injuries,as reported in the daily news today.The lady marshall in Stratford said she thought it was near Toko when talking to her at the roundabout.

[nadroj]

Apparently the rider was airlifted from Whanga with chest injuries,as reported in the daily news today.The lady marshall in Stratford said she thought it was near Toko when talking to her at the roundabout.

The injured rider is believed to have a cracked rib. One bike (ZZR1100) ran off the road when being passed by faster riders at the start of the straight after the Whangamomona saddle. The other 2 'offs' were a Trumph Daytona before the Tangarakau gorge and an older rider who forgot to put his side stand down before dismounting in the Chateau carpark.

[pritch]

It was a great ride, didn't see any KBers much except Nadroj, and Sensei when he passed me just after Whangamomona. It's a shame I didn't get to meet those of you I haven't met but we don't all get around with KB tattood on our foreheads.

I think the Toko Lions were a bit worried as to how many would turn up, I heard various figures but 130 to 150 would seem to about cover it.

Having the ride on Auckland Ann. weekend was a good idea. Aucklanders could attend the the whole affair in leisurely fashion and ride home on the Monday.

Assuming they can find their way down the motorway past the Bombay hills...

[ynot slow]

Ironic that ride was to raise funds for rescue chopper,good cause.The Toko lions are using the NZstockcar champs in Stratford this weekend to raise funds,carparking at $2.00 car,so over 2 weekends a good haul of cash.

Didn't realise more than 1 off,bummer.

What was the ride to plateau like in a group,hopefully it cleared up a bit,can change quickly to detrement to trampers.

[ynot slow]

Assuming they can find their way down the motorway past the Bombay hills...

Ya think.

Was like the rest of NZ ends at Bombay,especially for SKY TV,when I asked to be connected about 15 yrs ago,the nice lady asked me "and which suburb in Dorkland is Hawera?" told her do you have an idea of Nth Island,yep she said.I then replied you know where that area jutting out below Auckland with a mountain in the middle.Oh she said by NELSON.

[nadroj]

Rumour was the injured rider rode from their off to Whanga then helped load their bike on the rescue trailer & got choppered to base hospital 'because the chopper was there' (taking lucky draw winners for a 20 min ride). Most left Whanga in small groups so was single file up the hill where the road got wetter & visibility less. No rain on my visor, & made the plateau just after 3pm.
Most feedback was excellent with improvements along the lines of a bigger bbq at Whanga & sending bikes off in 'like' groups so the quicker weren't stuck behind cruisers & trail bikes groups for long.