Worst Ride You've Had?

[Loose Nut]

The first time I did the cold kiwi... I bought a new iridium visor that morning and wore it down. Weather turned bad and a day ride turned into an unexpected night ride. Trying to keep mates brake lights in view(didn't know the turn-off) in the rain/hail/dark is not fun with an iridium visor.

[Oakie]

Tekapo to Omarama on an ST1300 in a norwesterly gusting to 120kmh plus. Fuck me. What a handful. I genuinely thought it was going to get airborne and I was even more scared to stop. STs are pigs in even moderate crosswinds. This is an experience that the dreamweavers who write the reviews never mention. Nor, I suspect, anything the engineers who design and build the things ever attempt. Mrs H managed comparatively well on a Marauder.

I did part of that road in similar winds driving a 40 seater bus once. That 8 tonner got blown all over the road and I did the part from the Pukaki canal to Twizel stradling the centre line doing about 60kph. Yep. Scary!

[madmal64]

Coming back from a Toy Run in Palmerston North to Wellington a couple of years back with my 11 year old daughter on the back. Pissing down all the way with a cross wind. Nice.
I was just before Christmas and I wore leather instead of Cordura & the Kid was in her cordura.
Well one of us got wet & cold.
Of course we hit the holiday traffic & in the rain with the daughter on the back I was taking it a lot easier than usual.
I suppose the iridum visor wasnt the best either.
Shit I was I glad to get home & off the bike. The kid was brilliant, didnt complain once.

[pritch]

Back in the days of the Castrol Six Hour, the local Suzuki dealer got an RGV in a few days before the race and it needed a lotta miles pdq. Silly me suggests a ride: New Plymouth - Hamilton - down SH1 to Bulls, and up SH3 to home. Two of us set out, me on the 250 and a mate on his kid's 400 Suzuki.

The only problem with this plan was that I didn't add up the total Kms and divide by 100 or so (always a good plan). At 5:00PM we were heading south down SH1 past Waiouru, (so I guess we should make that 1700hrs), and it was starting to snow and getting dark. We changed our plan. We weren't totally stupid.

We headed down the Paraparas. Having a dark visor I lifted it. My eyeballs, and then the rest of me, froze. There were no lined Spidi suits around then... Belstaffs weren't big on insulation.

It was a huge relief to find the Pie Cart at Eltham open. We pulled in. The owner was less than a diplomat, on viewing two relatively fat bastards he says, "I was expecting younger guys when I saw those bikes."

"Fuck you!" thinks I. "Just make with the bloody fish and chips"

As we headed away from the pie cart the belated idea ocurred to me that when the fish and chips arrived we should have ordered another scoop of chips. This latter to shove up our jacket as we rode away. I filed that one away for future reference and as you will perceive it isn't yet quite forgotten.

I offer this latter idea for your future use free of charge... (I'm aware that hand warmers have since become available but sometimes we aren't as organised as we should be.)

The rest of the ride was plain bloody freezing. One of those that is just so bad you just have to laugh.

Three lessons were learned (sort of):
1. Check how many Ks the trip involves and divide by a likely average speed.
2. If you haven't got a handwarmer, buy something hot to shove up yer jumper.
3. Never wear a dark visor on a trip.

Number 3 may seem radical to some of you but there really are better solutions.

This was the first really bad trip that came to mind, but sad to say there were others. None for a coupla months now though....

[SlashWylde]

My worst ride would have to be touring around Mt Taranaki just after new years this year.

Left Tongaporutu in fine weather but by the time I got to the visitor center at the mount it was raining pretty steadily. I convinced myself (foolishly) that it would clear up so I carried on around Mt Taranaki in a clockwise direction in a vain attempt to see that part of the country.

Arrived back at camp cold and miserable after 5 hours in the pouring rain, having thankfully avoided sliding out on the slick bare tar patches that are scattered around our wonderful roading system

Got some good photos on the way though

Second worst would have been a previous trip to my mates at Tongaporutu. Was on a Virago 250 at the time and at the last minute she developed a major electrical fault so the trip was made in a car. Good thing too, as it was pouring down with rain and strong winds and completely dark by the time we got there. There but for the grace of an electrical fault...don't seem to have much luck with bike trips to the 'Naki.

[T.W.R]

Probably the worst/endearing ride would have to be a return trip from Wanganui to home a couple of years back,just at the start of the 2nd case of severe flooding the Nth Island got.

Left Wanganui mid afternoon in overcast conditions & by the time I'd reached Feilding rode into rain which steadily got worse the closer I got to Wellington (the highway from porirua was a river & the rain was bouncing up off the road) arrived late to the ferry (which turned out to be the last crossing of the day due to the conditions in the straight). Only wearing leathers I was a drowned rat & only managed minimal drying during the crossing.

Rolled off the ferry at picton rode through to Blenheim fuelled up then headed to Kaikora just on dusk and into more rain by Seddon and hit the coast in the dark & heavy southerly rain all the way through to Kaikora, arrived there wet & cold, had a feed & fuelled up.

Left Kaikora in the pitch black and heading through the Hundalee's rode into about 4cm of snow on the top section. Lost the feeling in my hands and had to stop again at Spotswood for an hour to thaw out, got moving again and by the time I got to Waipara broke free of the cloudy skys into brilliant moon light and a cold stiff southerly headwind to Christchurch, fuelled up again and de-frosted and finally chewed up the last 70kms to home (the long straights & couple of bends looked the best they had for years).

[slimjim]

rode down to welly from roto , late 84 , was on my gsx750, and trip down bloody awesome, sunny as , got to the overal, as got tickets to aussie -kiwi's criket game one daya, parked up legal,, too!! yup , came out after game to find bike in a sad state with a family bloke and kids waiting for owner,his reason, kids been loud and he put landcrusier in resver instread of forward and as it been a bit big, tight parking spot, you the sort, she be right it fit!!!!!, and yup shot backwards and clean on top,, well it cost him $2474.oo to fix and one bus ticket for me back to roto,, four weeks waiting for it to be fixed, felt like i was the one ran over haha

[Str8 Jacket]

My most scariest ride was on my birthday last year. Went riding over to Lake Ferry with a few others. The wind was beating me up pretty badly so I had pulled over a few times and got some advice from more exeperienced riders on what to do etc. Got to Lake Ferry eventually but on the way home ridng over a dead straight and flat peice of road a huge gust of wind hit me like a wall and took me with it right into a grass bank. I had only written off my first bike a couple of weeks earlier and given a warning by the pooleece for that incident. My knee was still pretty fucked from that accident and I managed to hit it in exactly the same place on the grass bank so I was pretty sore but I didnt want the ambulnace or police turning up so I decided to ride the bike to a mates in Featherston. The ride from the accident to Featherston took FOREVER, the guy's tried riding on either side of me to make me feel more relaxed but the wind kept blowing me all over the place toward them so they stayed in front and behind me all the way (thanks guys!). I swore at the time I was going to give up riding.....

[SARGE]

What is the Worst Ride You've Had? (Without falling off).

my 3rd wife ...



not that im bitter ...

[petesmeats]

Does your worst day on two wheels of freedom beat a good day in a cage? I'm still fresh to riding so I'm loving it every time I get out!

My worst riding day(s) would be the two days I have not ridden my bike out

Well my worst was Wanganui to Paraparaumu on a early 80's CB250RS which had compression problems. 0-80km/h was fine but to get to 100 was damn near impossible...

I would much rather drive a car between Wanganui and Paraparaumu than be on the two wheels of boredom that the CB was... Worst ride of my life.

[Dai]

Cardiff to Great Yarmouth and return in one burst. 800 miles total. Middle of winter, snowing and bloody cold. Nighttime. Hands and toes were frozen. I was knackered by the end of the trip. Money wasnt that great.

Dai.

[petesmeats]

my 3rd wife ...



not that im bitter ...

Please note... WITHOUT FALLING OFF

[SARGE]

Please note... WITHOUT FALLING OFF

jumping off dont count?

[ManDownUnder]

2 up Palmerston North to Ohakune in May to a friend's wedding.

Cold as a witch's tit, miserable the whole damned way and wet weather gear that didn't work too well...

We got off at the far end and my g/f at the time (now my wife) couldn't walk. She had a hard time standing, and sort of shuffled into the house we were staying at...

Very ugly all round

[XP@]

Never had a bad ride, a ride is allways good!

some maybe "character building",
some maybe a tad embarassing.

But when it is over rest in the satisfation that you are lucky to get a ride and possiibly luckier still to have survived it. And remember what dosent kill you makes you stronger.