2008 Grand Challenge route revealed

**Beemer** · 20th October 2008, 10:28

Andy says 30 of the riders pulled out this year, which is quite a few. Looks like the back roads put the wind up them!

**Hitcher** · 20th October 2008, 12:02

Originally Posted by Beemer

Andy says 30 of the riders pulled out this year, which is quite a few. Looks like the back roads put the wind up them!

30? Seriously? This year's route appeared to have only a couple of "harder" stages in it. Were they all first-timers?

**ntst8** · 20th October 2008, 12:04

Well been there, done that, got the badge, whats next? - or - YEEHAA i survived and got the badge to prove it.

Only one low point - being passed by a bloody GN 250 on SH4, i was just pootling at 100kph, and one of us slowed for the roadworks - but oh the shame

**Beemer** · 20th October 2008, 12:45

Yes, 30 was a lot, and no (not going to give names), not all were first timers. Not sure what put them off, the route or the weather, but a few were down to crashes (apparently the first was just seven kms into the ride so I think being passed by a GN250 isn't quite as shameful!) and mechanical problems as usual. I certainly don't think it was the nicest of routes!

Hitcher, Andy wants to know if you were sitting at your desk on Saturday, wearing your full bike gear (but with fingerless gloves so you could still type) and salivating at the thought of where the riders were going?

**banditrider** · 20th October 2008, 12:51

A real doosey this year. Great route (pretty demanding in places) with some crap weather in places. Will do a write-up at some stage. Some very crappy pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/andrew.l...randChallenge#

**Hitcher** · 20th October 2008, 13:24

Originally Posted by Beemer

Hitcher, Andy wants to know if you were sitting at your desk on Saturday, wearing your full bike gear (but with fingerless gloves so you could still type) and salivating at the thought of where the riders were going?

Have you been talking with Mrs H?

**Forest** · 20th October 2008, 13:40

Originally Posted by Hitcher

[Drums fingers on desk, impatiently waiting for somebody (anybody) to post a ride report...]

I got back to Auckland around 10am this morning.

The ride report is simple: It was bloody marvelous.

Well done to all the Rustys and to the checkpoint volunteers for putting on another fantastic Grand Challenge weekend. This was my fifth GC and they really just get better and better.

The route was a bit more complex this year though it didn't seem to slow the faster riders. The instructions were pretty straightforward but there was a lot of detail and you had to keep a close eye on things. I think I'll go shopping for a decent bike GPS before next year's GC. Apparently a couple of riders got severely lost this year but hopefully they'll come into this thread and spill all the details.

There was a pretty serious bin within the first 50km. A guy on a [edited] crashed on a hilltop heading towards Taumaranui. Poor bastard was wearing an open faced helmet and smashed up his jaw pretty badly. Sobering way to start the rally - it must have been horrible to wait for the ambulance to come up from Taumaranui. After seeing this accident I took a bit more care than usual in the back-country sections.

I've seen a bit of NZ but the Ramaroa Rd (turn-off just 2.5 km north of Mapiu on SH4) was incredible. You drop down into the head of a stunningly beautiful valley and ride out through Aria before going up past the coast to rejoin SH31. I'll definitely be going back to explore the roads in that area.

The weather was generally pretty good for the entire rally. It really pissed down between Taupo and Napier, but the only other rain I saw was a few scattered showers here and there (not worth getting out the rain-suit). There were a lot of wet roads but I guess that's why they call it a challenge!

It was cold however - my bike said it was only 2.5 degrees when I crossed over the Desert Rd. I understand a large number of riders dropped out this year because of the cold. I wore my nylon rainsuit all night to keep out the cold and made good use of the heated grips and heated seat on my bike. Fortunately I had a fairing to hide behind. I expect that it would have been diabolical on a naked bike.

Almost ran out of fuel near Kawhia, but remembered there was a small servo on the road into the township. So took a small detour and filled up. The servo owner was a real arsehole. Wouldn't let me fill up until I gave him the bike keys. When I asked about it he said "Bikes are the worst. They fill up in a group, come in and look around, then piss off without paying". I don't know what the correct response to this is but I now know that it isn't "Oh well. Lucky for you that bikes have smaller tanks than cars". The owner nearly had a fit when I said that but as I'd fueled up and paid I wasn't too worried.

Daylight was fading by the time I got to the Te Kawa crossroads so I decided to open the taps one last time on one of the straights. There was a series of invisible washouts in the road which I hit at fairly high speed. Got bounced around pretty badly (both wheels off the ground) but managed to stay on and learned an important lesson about country roads. Was happy to get in to the first checkpoint.

The road through to Whakamaru was closed for roadworks. So there was a 7km detour along a gravel backroad. I got through ok but another rider must have crashed as there was an impressive looking oil stain in the middle of one corner and oily footprints leading away from it.

The first 900km (through to Masterton) was mentally draining. Especially for the grandmas like me who didn't get into the wairarapa until it was already dark. Thought up some choice insults for the rally organisers but then realised that other folks were riding the same roads on their Goldwings i.e. I had it easy in comparison! Watching the odo hit 804.5 km at exactly 12 hours into the rally gave me a small shock. The second half of the rally was on open roads so made up the time deficit easily. Missed a turn-off near the end of the section and ended up going through Eketahuna rather than Alfredton & Te Ora Ora but the mistake only added 10km to the run.

The Shell service station in Masterton was a complete farce. The checkpoint volunteers did the best they could but the old guy running the station refused to open up the shop or open up the toilets - despite the Rustys having made arrangements in advance. I watched one guy go up to the night pay slot and ask "Can you do any hot drinks?". The miserable old bastard pointed at the night pay tray and replied "What do you bloody think!". I understand an official letter of complaint will be sent to the Shell head office and I sincerely hope somebody gets their arse kicked.

As an aside Route 52 was pretty slippery and the lane markers were a bit erratic. Around 2am I came across an ambulance loading a rider on a steep downhill corner. There were a bunch of volunteer firemen there with a ute so I helped to pull out the bike out of the wire fence and get it onto the truck. Again it gave me something to think about and I concentrated on getting out of the section in one piece. I wouldn't want to go back there at night but sometime this summer I'll definitely check out Route 52 during the daylight.

State highway 54 was excellent (as usual). Didn't know my way through Palmy so followed two other riders. Unfortunately they didn't know the way either but at least they had a map. Was following a farmer in a ute leading up to Vinegar Hill. I was going as fast as I could on a wet road, but he knew the road and was tearing through the corners. Even did a couple of four wheel power slides through the corners like a rally driver. Sure am glad that I wasn't one of the dogs on the back tray!

Got onto the Desert Road around 7am and figured it would be safe to have a bit of a speed. I was sure that the local cops would be tucked into bed at 7am on a cold and wet Sunday morning. Turns out the "Any Place - Any Time" campaign is pretty much true. Was hammering along at [edited] when I pulled up to a sedan doing 130km/h. Was going to overtake but saw an oncoming car down the road and stayed behind. Lucky that I did as the oncoming vehicle was a full-dress highway patrol vehicle. The cop flashed his lights and did a U-turn behind us. I remember thinking "Shit! This will not end well". Fortunately the sedan I was following pulled over to wait for the cop ... so I kept on riding and didn't look back

Almost ran out of fuel coming into Rotorua. I have learned not to trust the fuel range counter on the R1200RT I borrowed for the rally (it's a nice idea but it needs a bit of refinement). The counter said I had 112km in range leaving Taupo but 72km later it reckoned I had 4km left in the tank. I kept to legal speeds on that road so don't know who pinched my missing 40km.

Te Kuiti was good. Will be a good year for the farmers as the grass on the hills was almost psychedelically green. Filled up with a Shearer's Breakfast at Tiffany's Cafe and, as instructed by the sign in the urinal, I took care to "Blush after Use".

Road down to National Park was good. Steam coming off the road was a nice touch - very atmospheric. Even got a tiny bit of sleet/hail at the National Park village but it was gone by the time I got to the Rangipo crossroad. The sun was shining, the road was dry, a fantastic way to end the rally.

Good to get back to Turangi. Got beaten back by the GN250 rider (and he had to stop for two hours after his battery died). Not long after I got back a very sick sounding Bandit 1200 pulled up - the rider had accidentally put half a tank of Diesel into it at the last fuel stop. But to his credit he did ride it back to Turangi and that's all that really counts.

Unfortunately I feel asleep before the real fun started later in the evening. I guess that's the one challenge that I'll need to work on for next year.

**Beemer** · 20th October 2008, 14:05

Originally Posted by Forest

Good to get back to Turangi. Got beaten back by the GN250 rider (and he had to stop for two hours after his battery died).

I understand he lost all his electrics and then took a shortcut to get back to the finish, so I don't think he actually completed the event.

Farmers are pretty bizarre to follow as they make full use of the road and I'd much rather follow one than meet one!

I couldn't believe it when Andy told me about that prick in the Shell 'service' station in Masterton. I understand the Gull a short distance away got all the business that night. Mind you, after seeing the type of customer who was turning up to buy overpriced grocery items and snacks in the middle of the night, he said he was not that surprised.

I wonder how many takers there will be for the 10,000 kms in 10 days event in 2010? Big expense, that's for sure!

**banditrider** · 20th October 2008, 14:50

Talked to the guy on the diesel Bandit this morning. He reckoned she was smoking a bit but once all the diesel was drained from the carbies, tanks etc and he put some decent fuel in all was good...

**Mystic13** · 20th October 2008, 16:20

What a great ride. This was my first time out so I had no idea of how it all worked. I managed to make it back at 11.15 am on Sunday after having a pretty good run.

A few guys commented on getting lost in the first stage. I was 35th off and passed about 10 bikes on the way to checkpoint 1 but was the 7th bike checking in. I realised then that a few riders had left the challenge and were exploring the countryside instead. A bit of a bugger when that happens. I have to admit I expected one road changing it's name looking at the map but you actually had to make a right hand turn. I almost missed that and joined them.

The light was going down when I hit Taupo almost on empty. My normal 340km range was much lower. The run down the Napier Taupo was a breeze. We turned right into Glengarry Road which was meant to be 116km's down the road. I started looking for it 10k's early and found it at 110km's. the bike in front of me in the distance missed it. We zig zagged through the back and then the State highway that went to Tikokino, then over to Waipukurau.

Route 52 and Porongahau Road was a killer. I thought the thing would never end. I also thought I was lost. I realised I needed to fill more often because running out on the back roads out here especially if it,s the wrong road would have meant a sleep till morning or a walk in the dark. For both of these sections I was solo, no one in front and no one behind so I had no idea for what seemed like 30km's of winding road whether I was going places or not. It rained for the most / whole of route 52. I don't know about goat tracks but there was a cow as black as the night strategically located on the exit of a corner. The cow stood as I came through. Later I learnt he stood for the riders before me. Poor cow, would have been woken from it's sleep and standing all night.

At Masterton there were a lot of young revellers on the street just across the road from the Shell and a couple of them jumped out onto the road as we came through. The Shell may have chosen to be closed for that as well.

The Desert Road was 1 degree when I came through and it was sleeting, but not quite snowing. Other than that the rest of the ride was pretty straightforward.

I did get lost in Palmerston North. I asked a local for directions and he said "follow me I'll take you there" so he hops in his car and we shoot across town then he stops and hops out to point me on my way. He said " Sorry mate I just realised I've come to the wrong side of town we need to go back again". So we did and I finally saw two sets of lights wizz past the end of the road and I was off after them. I stayed with them till Taihape where I gas'd.

I'll be back next year. Hopefully a little wiser and much better prepared. And next year I'll bring shorts and go across to the Tokaanu Thermal Pools and just soak for a couple of hours.

The things I learnt are;

- when following riders read the signs, it's the funniest site watching a string of bikes all stop and you turn (especially when you're me at the back watching all the red brake lights come on then turn in order - thank goodness the lead rider realised in less than 1km). I heard stories of 30km and more.
- rain-off gloves are essential for warm hands and they're made right here.
- the pin lock I installed after drilling my visor the night before was a great investment.
- never trust your friends who have read the map.
- never trust a local that has been out revelling till 4am in the morning. it would have been quicker to pullout the mapbook. And I was right near the right road when he took me across town. Nice guy though.

Thems me thoughts so far. Had a 2 hour snooze and then rode back to Auckland. Unpacked just after midnight, hot bath food and bed.

**Hitcher** · 20th October 2008, 16:59

My spies neglected to mention the Ramaroa Road bit, although that does explain why Piopio is on the list of attractions. We did that two years ago en route to New Plymouth. It's certainly a stunning ride, particularly that first bit off SH4.

Three years ago we had a few issues with the servo at Wairoa, along the lines of Shell in Masterton. To be fair though, the Wairoa stop wasn't a checkpoint, but a pretty essential stop for many trucking through from Turangi to Gisborne in the middle of the night.

**Beemer** · 20th October 2008, 22:02

Originally Posted by Mystic13

never trust a local that has been out revelling till 4am in the morning. it would have been quicker to pullout the mapbook. And I was right near the right road when he took me across town. Nice guy though.

He was probably a bloody student and you can NEVER trust them!