Saturday, June 9, 2012

Taranaki Tunnel Ride.

First Monday in June in NZ is always a public holiday as we celebrate Queens birthday.  Of course you have to live in a country that is part of the Commonwealth to get this, and to be sure I think some countries even celebrate it in a different day.  It is the last long weekend for a few months, and months earlier I had organised to attend the Gravel Riders club Taranaki ride, organised by Henry from BMW Experience.

Saturdays destination was to be Awakino, North of New Plymouth.  The route would take us through a series of gravel and sealed roads down the coast, missing Raglan and taking in Kawhia for lunch.  Some of the gravel roads were to familiar to me from when I had done the Waitomo Ride .  For me it is great to start to get familiar with some of this area, when the opportunity arises I will be able to go back and explore in more detail.

The weather played along all day on the Saturday, no rain but coolest temperatures.  As we got close  to Kawhia for lunch I went to brake just before a corner, when I realised I had no rear brake.  Later on inspection I discovered the link from the rear foot pedal to the brake was missing, I was to ride the rest of the weekend with no rear brake.  h well , just have to get on with it.




A tunnel leading down to the beach. 


Terrific view.

The Tarankai area is fast becoming one of my favourite places to visit and explore, littered with historical sites and numerous tunnels, all link together by some fantastic roads.

The accommodation at the Awakino pub for the night was excellent, and the price of just $60 including dinner and breakfast ensured no complaints from me.

Henry.

The view from just north of Awakino



On Sunday we were to continue our exploring around the "Naki".  We were joined by a few more bikes and by the time we left there was a over 20 bikes.   It was just after we left that I had the incident.

My confidence for the rest of the day was well dented.  The wet roads, lack of rear brake, and general knock of confidence saw me at the back of the pack for most of the morning.  After lunch I decided to bake away with Sue and leave the others.   We set  out and explored a few back roads ourselves.  I really enjoyed this.  I was able to relax, with out the pressure of riding with a big group and just get my confidence back.  It was a most enjoyable experience.  We discovered a few back roads and even bumped into another explorer on a KTM.  Sometimes you just have to take a backward step to move forward.





Accommodation on Sunday night was superb, and all negotiated by Henry for just $80 including dinner and full brekkie.....this adventure riding sure is hard work.  The New Plymouth international is a first rate motel and well worth the stay.

Sunday morning and the others were heading off for more exploring.  It was time for me to head back to Auckland as the kids were due to arrive later in the afternoon.

The ride home was eventful in itself with plenty of fog and wet roads to contend with.  I was having real issues at one stage seeing even a hundred meters infront of me.  It wasn't till I got to Pio Pio that it all cleared and  the rest of the ride home was quiet.





Now for those that think I abandoned Terry and went riding, well that is true, but before I left I cooked him a batch of shortbread, 2 batches of chocolate chip cookies and a tray of fudge........



17 comments:

  1. Oh, Rogey. What a great ride report, I am glad you enjoyed your trip despite the incidence. Taking it slow was obviously just the right thing for you to do.
    So, if baking madness ensues to keep Terry happy for a short away trip I wonder what magic you are going to pull if you plan on going away for longer... truckloads of cookies instead of bucket loads?

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    1. I think i inadvertently set a precedent with all that baking. NOt sure what I will do if I plan a longer trip.

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  2. I missed the BRR's visit to the 'naki a while back. I'm gonna have to get up there at some stage...

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    1. Well worth it Andrew it is a great place to explore. It has a great historical story.

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  3. So Rog why don't you go buy a bike for him and then you can both go away together.

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    1. Terry is fine on the sprint and we have done lots of miles together that way, he is not keen on the gravel. He likes it but is not passionate like me Steve.

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  4. That is area is beautiful. I love all of the tunnels. They would be so condemned in the US! Not up to code. Glad that you still get to use them. How did the linkage go missing for the rear brake? Is this something where spares would be good to carry?

    You made some wonderful treats for Terry...how much was left after a three day weekend? ;)

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    1. Lori, the tunnels are well constructed and the Naki is littered with them, you just come across them with out even trying some times. There was no short bread left, which did not surprise me, but plenty of the other.... seriously I went through about 3 pounds of butter on Friday night.!

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  5. At least ur getting out during ur Winter months, over here it's not much fun with low temps and Salt on the road..
    Looks like u had a good day out.
    Ps hope Terry liked ur cakes !!!!!

    TT

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    1. I have always wondered how I would cope not being able to ride all year round, not sure how you northern types do it to be honest. I think I would drive Terry up the wall,he did love the cakes though...I do my best to look after him!

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  6. Gravel and dirt road riding with no back brake.....how much adventure were you looking for? Daunting to say the least. Whenever we end up on gravel(especially downhill) I can always hear hubby's vice in my head saying "use your back brake, use your back brake." I say it to myself sometimes to remind me.

    At least you were prudent and backed off out of the group a bit to get your head clear after the incident and had a great weekend. That is what counts.

    And wow, that was a lot of baking, they looked tasty. At least you knew Terry wasn't going to starve.

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    1. Brandy' yep it was the down hill stuff which was the most unnerving, Certainly didn't want to use the front to much in case of a wash out. Bailing was the right thing to do for me considering all the issues I was dealing with.

      Terry never starves with me around, although I put on three pounds just making the stuff!

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  7. What? how did you manage to lose a linkage on the rear brake? I will tell you, it wouldn't happen on the Triumph :-)
    Damn German bikes ;-)
    The cookies look good.

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    1. George: I think mate when they replaced the existing brake lever with a folding one the cir clip was not in properly, as you will well know it is a bit of a pain on the dirt with out it though.

      I quite enjoy baking, it is nice to offer home baking to visitors. It just takes a bit of effort some times.

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  8. Awesome photos Rog - looks like a heck of a good weekend! Ah, the Forgotten World Highway - simply awesome, is it not? Where are those tunnels to the beach? I never knew they existed.

    Your baking looks pretty darned fine mate. You can bring some to Coro next time or better still, post some down this week :-)

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    1. Geoff: I was very surprised by how many tunnels we went through, to be fair though most are off the beaten track and some dirt riding is required to find them. The one down to the beach is not far from Awakino and is a terrific small diversion off the main road. I so enjoy riding this are, it has become one of my favorite places to explore, I find the historical stuff most interesting, as well as great roads and scenery.

      I mat do some baking for the next IAM ride....we will see. (There is 3 pounds of butter in that photo some where.)

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