DB1k 2010 ideas thread

[jezzaNZ]

eah thought about Crown range but it is all seal but interesting, other option might be Skippers as a detour? Jez

[cooneyr]

As Jezza said the Crown Range is now completely sealed otherwise it would have been perfect. Still a fun road but not gravel.

Skifield are possibly not so bad but skippers is from the perspective of two way traffic/bikes. Any of these routes would be in and out and I recon that keeping heading forward i.e. no back tracking, helps your keep your head in the right place (mentally) when doing a 1000kms ride.

I've got two good starting routes, being Daves and mine/Jezza's ideas, to investigate for the time being. Keep the thinking hats on though!

Cheers R

[warewolf]

I recon that keeping heading forward i.e. no back tracking, helps your keep your head in the right place (mentally) when doing a 1000kms ride.

Couple of years ago the Rusty Nuts did a 1000 miler route like a starfish: out and back to the basecamp 4 or 5 times, returning along the outbound route. It is known that stopping at home for a restful kip is a showstopper, too hard to get back on the bike again. This route mind-fucked LOTS of people, including the experienced. This effect was expected, and was avoided then done because ppl thought the event was getting too easy.

[cooneyr]

Couple of years ago the Rusty Nuts did a 1000 miler route like a starfish: out and back to the basecamp 4 or 5 times, returning along the outbound route. It is known that stopping at home for a restful kip is a showstopper, too hard to get back on the bike again. This route mind-fucked LOTS of people, including the experienced. This effect was expected, and was avoided then done because ppl thought the event was getting too easy.

Interesting comment WW. Seems I'm not the only one who notices this. This is one of the reasons I don't like the Murch/Springs/Murch leg.

Cheers R

[Underground]

dont get hung up on this in out on the same road thing ,I'm always riding the same route -French Pass to nelson via Maungatapu or Wangamoas and roads are completely different in the opposite direction .
I never think 'oh no ! now I have to ride home on the same road again'
I found the double leg on the last DB to be a good chance (and the only chance ) to orient ourselves with the front runners - ie who's still going ,and how far ahead of us are they ?
I must admit it was most gratifing to catch a bunch of them recovering the GS at the top of the Porika , after having met them in the opposite direction so long ago (slow and steady wins the race)

[Padmei]

I agree with UG. The there & back parts were great. a good ride is often even better when you get to see it form the other way. Porika was intersting to ride both ways & the braeburn & Maruia was fantastic.

We on the 2 day slowed down on the way back thru Maruia to take in the scenery that we missed focussing on getting thru there quickly the 1st time.

The only thing I'm working out is how to arrive at the accomodation at the lake earlier than 9pm for nachos. I'd personally like more chill out time at the end of the day - however that's my prob to find a solution to.

All in all I think the DB rules!

One thing that I'm unsure to bring up is that many motoing Nelsonians I've talked to after the DB have never heard about it & would have been keen to do it (I know that is the usual response after hearing about an event with out having to deal with the logistics & planning of actually doing it)

My long winded point is, do you want to advertise it more or keep it reasonably quiet within the KB community. I can see the pros & cons of both sides but interested in your veiws Ryan

Mmmmm nachos....

[NordieBoy]

I must admit it was most gratifing to catch a bunch of them recovering the GS at the top of the Porika

And I didn't even get any photos

[NordieBoy]

The only thing I'm working out is how to arrive at the accomodation at the lake earlier than 9pm for nachos. I'd personally like more chill out time at the end of the day - however that's my prob to find a solution to.

Easy. No accidents or punctures or drownings or rain allowed.

[Transalper]

...
The only thing I'm working out is how to arrive at the accomodation at the lake earlier than 9pm for nachos. I'd personally like more chill out time at the end of the day - however that's my prob to find a solution to......

I heard there was a lot of long coffee breaks on the two dayer, more and longer than in previous years.
Fact is the two dayer is still a biggish ride for each day and you still have to push on a bit to get to the destinations at a reasonable hour.
Having seen how late you all passed us broken down ones in the middle of the rainbow we were saying to ourselves wow you guys are going to be late arriving at the lake knowing how far you still had to go and realising what kind of overall pace you must have been doing to pass us then.

I'll be in to the two day events from now on. If things are going too slow I'll break away with you to make up a bit of time.
Punctures and drownings don't help, but they are all part of it and you just have to treat them as rest stops and make the rest of your stops a bit shorter or push on a bit to compensate.

[cooneyr]

dont get hung up on this in out on the same road thing ....
.... I found the double leg on the last DB to be a good chance (and the only chance ) to orient ourselves with the front runners - ie who's still going ,and how far ahead of us are they ?....

I'm not "hung up" on removing the there and back completely but we need to be careful about which tracks are there and back. I'm not particularly happy about the two way route via the Mariua saddle because of the limited visibility but because of the low speeds it not too much of an issue. A two way route with high speeds and not sufficient sight distance is not a good idea. I'm probably over engineering this a little but better to think about it than not I recon.

Your right though it is a good way of figuring out how far ahead those up front are.

....All in all I think the DB rules!...

Thanks for the comment. It's good to hear that it's worth the effort.

...My long winded point is, do you want to advertise it more or keep it reasonably quiet within the KB community. I can see the pros & cons of both sides but interested in your veiws Ryan

The DB1k started as a small bunch of KB'ers and has slowly grown over the past three years. First year was a failure (in that we didn't finish but it was a good learning experiance), second year all finished which proved it could be done then a whole heap more gave it ago last year. I think now the concept is proved and I expect that the numbers will grow. I'm not planning on promoting the ride cause there is no money to do this and if numbers get too large things like the pre ride BBQ and accommodation become an issue. If people hear about it by word of mouth etc they are more than welcome to come along. There was about 3 or 4 non KB'er that came along this year.

Re the money thing if people were to start paying an entry fee I could promote the ride, have organised catering etc but I'd also have more liability issues i.e. I'd have to obtain insurance. It seems to me that the way it is now there are just a bunch of mates going for a ride not expecting anything in terms of first aid support, safety issues resolved (though signage or otherwise), support if a bike brakes down etc so I perceive (rightly or wrongly) there to be no liability issues for me. Also the "on your own"ness of it all makes it much more of a challenge I recon. It also makes riders more inclined to make sure they and their bike are up to the task rather than thinking "she'll be right".

What are others thoughts on entry fees, promoting the ride, liability (have I interpreted the situation right?) entry numbers etc. Be aware that if this becomes too much hassle re insurances, promoting etc I'm not that inclined to spend the time as it would involve significantly more time than it currently does.

Thanks for bring this stuff up cause it is exactly what I'd like feedback on.

Cheers R

[NordieBoy]

Smaller/shorter breaks would make it at least an hour earlier at the end of the day.

It could quite easily go the way of the 1-dayer with a couple of groups of similar speed riders.

I heard there was a lot of long coffee breaks on the two dayer, more and longer than in previous years.
Fact is the two dayer is still a biggish ride for each day and you still have to push on a bit to get to the destinations at a reasonable hour.
Having seen how late you all passed us broken down ones in the middle of the rainbow we were saying to ourselves wow you guys are going to be late arriving at the lake knowing how far you still had to go and realising what kind of overall pace you must have been doing to pass us then.

I'll be in to the two day events from now on. If things are going too slow I'll break away with you to make up a bit of time.
Punctures and drownings don't help, but they are all part of it and you just have to treat them as rest stops and make the rest of your stops a bit shorter or push on a bit to compensate.

[junkmanjoe]

for my self, ex Rakaia farm worker. ( bankside station)

for me, most of the top of south island is, and will be new country to me.
so i wish to take in as much secenry and watch the road as well.
i can set a good pace if i have to, but if i feel i have to rush to get to the other end, other than set a tidy pace, it will become unenjoyable.
im happy to pay an entry fee, we pay for coast access up here, from $10-15 per head, thats ok, because its land not avalable to joe blogs..

ive heard all the stories about this ride.
and very keen to ride it my self.

so keep up the good work.
im looking forward to the day.

[BMWST?]

I say make it much more complex Ryan.Then someone may be able to take a certain bike for a test ride!

[Padmei]

Smaller/shorter breaks would make it at least an hour earlier at the end of the day.

It could quite easily go the way of the 1-dayer with a couple of groups of similar speed riders.

I personally don't think I would like to ride any faster on the 2 day as I thought we had a good brisk safe pace whilst moving. We did stop a lot early on the ride tho - maybe leave at 5am?.
I will prob drop out after coming back from Maruia on day2 but not sure what to drop on day1... onamalutu?...

[buggsubique]

I heard there was a lot of long coffee breaks on the two dayer, more and longer than in previous years.
Fact is the two dayer is still a biggish ride for each day and you still have to push on a bit to get to the destinations at a reasonable hour.
Having seen how late you all passed us broken down ones in the middle of the rainbow we were saying to ourselves wow you guys are going to be late arriving at the lake knowing how far you still had to go and realising what kind of overall pace you must have been doing to pass us then.

I'll be in to the two day events from now on. If things are going too slow I'll break away with you to make up a bit of time.
Punctures and drownings don't help, but they are all part of it and you just have to treat them as rest stops and make the rest of your stops a bit shorter or push on a bit to compensate.

Agreed. Best thing to do is set your own ETA's and expected / planned breaks. Planning. Then adjust during the ride as needed to keep close to the intended plan.