A wee bit of culture

I turned 73 a week ago and when Jennie asked me earlier what I wanted for my birthday, I struggled to think of anything apart from a Lotus 7 replica.  Got "THE LOOK" so that was a non-starter.  I then suggested an overnighter somewhere interesting and left it to her.

Well, she came up with a cool idea and the first stop was the city of Hamilton, some 160 km from home.  I know it best for being where our eldest son and his family live plus where I have the KTM serviced but it's also known for its World class municipal gardens .  It's been years since we visited them and everything has changed since then.  It covers around 54 hectares and is split up into various themes.  It's also absolutely free to members of the public.  Too big to get round in one go, we settled on a couple of  hours and will go back again in the coming months.  Funnily enough, Flyboy has just posted some magnificent photos and a drone video of Jacaranda trees in bloom on his blog which are well worth seeing.  Onya Dave - who knew that Oz and Kiwi bikers could be sensitive, nature-loving types ;-).

First stop was through the tropical garden.  We have a number of the plants in our own garden such as bromeliads and Bird of Paradise and although Hamilton gets frosts, this garden has its own microclimate.

Lush is the perfect description

Some of the tropical blooms

Next stop was the Surrealist Garden and at the entrance were some characters, cups and saucers from the Mad Hatter's Tea Party; beaten from copper sheet.

Seriously nice work

Walking through what was a labyrinth of corridors, we were suddenly faced with huge tree-like structures covered in creepers.

Weird tree-like structures

Looking outwards from the weird trees, we immediately felt dwarfed with a massive gate  and an equally massive wheelbarrow and fork - seriously impressive construction efforts!

Honey, you've shrunk!

Just the thing for serious garden maintenance

Next two areas were an old-fashioned English country garden packed with annual and perennial flowers and a huge kitchen garden full of herbs and vegetables.  All the produce is given away to the needy.

Packed flower beds

Next up was a replica of an English Tudor period garden.  Very formal with all sorts of mythical beasts on tall poles.

Formal Tudor garden

One of the real delights of this place is that each garden is shielded from view by tall hedges so there's no advance warning of what you're going to find.  In this instance, it was a tethered helium-filled balloon with a boat suspended below - how cool is that?  Looked like something from a children's fantasy story. 

An unexpected find!

The next garden was in tribute to early 20th century Kiwi writer Katherine Mansfield.  The setting was from her short story "The Garden Party".

A transplanted bit of early 20th century society

Cucumber sandwiches and cake, anyone?

By now, it was getting hot and we were in need of sustenance.  With only half of the gardens covered, we decided to enjoy the rest at leisure and come back another time rather than rush things.

More copper statuary (based on the Magic Flute opera I think)

NZ native flax flowers

After lunch, it was time to travel to the nearby town of Cambridge and check into the new apartment/hotel complex that Jennie had booked, then head out and explore all the back roads and other sights that we hadn't seen for years.  We were originally going to walk into town for an evening meal but within 100 metres of the hotel, there was a Malay/Indian fusion restaurant which had only been open for a few months.  The food and service was absolutely outstanding and the range of craft beers  and single malt whiskies was as good as I've seen anywhere.  Being close to the hotel was a bonus after such a heroic meal!  I may have let the side down a bit dressed in jeans with Jennie looking a million dollars in her chic casual gear :-) .

Mrs James looking super-elegant at Koi restaurant

After breakfast, a visit to the local farmer's market was in order.  It's always great to buy fresh local produce at great prices. Cumberland spiced sausage and black pudding from an English butcher were a real find.  It was time to gradually head home and being a national holiday weekend, sticking to the back roads was a good plan.  This is where my motorcycling knowledge came into play as it's an area where my mates and I occasionally come to play for the twisty lanes and stuff-all traffic!  First stop was a little-used park and hill lookout which used to be the site of a tuberculosis sanatorium around 1900.  It gives fantastic views across the Waikato province on a clear day.  There was a bit of low cloud about but the views were still pretty good.

View from Maungakawa Hill

Another short stop was made half way along another superb motorcycling road at reservoir supplying a nearby small town. It's also the home of the Te Miro Mountain Bike Park , maintained by the local authority with trails to cater from experienced MTB'ers through to small children.  A great asset in beautiful surroundings.

Part of picturesque Te Miro Mountain Bike Park and reservoir

A lovely couple of days away exploring.  I've now had the hard word put on me to do the same for Jennie's birthday in 6 weeks so I'd better put my thinking cap on!

A bit of variety

There's been plenty going on in our neck of the woods over the last fortnight.  With national school holidays, pretty nice weather and no lockdowns, families have been flocking into our area which is a popular tourist region.  Good for the economy, even if the number of stupid people on the road also increases.  There have been a couple of events too.  One was the annual Illume festival where the village is lit up at night, as indeed are the locals together with a lovely firework display.  Pretty darned good for a static population of around 1600.  The photos are ones I took a couple of years ago as I didn't bother this year.  The fireworks were taken from our deck, about 1km away from the action.

Family fun with an umbrella

Local H-D's festooned with LED's

Shane, the local butcher on his bike

Village shopfronts

Trees in the village

Awwww.... pretty!

It was also the commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the visit of the Royal Navy ship HMS Coromandel, after which the village was named.  Naval vessels visited Coromandel and other northern locations on a regular basis to harvest Kauri trees which were knot-free and made wonderful spars for their sailing vessels.  You could call it rape and pillage of natural resources but we won't go there!

Kauri trees near our place

Anyway, to mark the occasion, there was an unveiling of a seriously cool commemorative sculpture.  A young local artist made a representation of HMS Coromandel with a ceramic hull and stainless steel sails.  It was housed in a glass case made to look like a ship in a bottle and the timber surround was made from floorboards from the 1800's local settlers hall when it was recently refurbished.  Pretty darned nice!

HMS Coromandel representation

 

A really nice commemorative work of art

The climate in Coromandel is benign and the number of (slight) frosts we get in winter can easily be counted on one hand.  It's a perfect climate for growing semi-tropical Bromeliads in the garden.  Two large examples which we planted 5 years ago as just small plants have just developed flower spikes for the first time.  They haven't opened yet but I'm worried that they might turn out to be killer Triffids as per John Wyndham's 1950's post-apocalyptic horror story!  That aside, they're looking pretty cool.

Flower spike 1.5 metres tall

Flower spike 1 metre tall

Motorcycles haven't been forgotten though.  Just over a week ago, I took out a serving Highway Patrol Officer for his Advanced Roadcraft Test.  Trevor drives a patrol car in NZ but in the UK, he was a Class1 motorcycle cop - the best of the best and it showed!  It was a near-flawless ride with a running commentary to match and boy, could he make his ST1300 shift down twisty, narrow country lanes.  Made it look easy, which it wasn't of course.  A really nice chap and a joy to spend the the day out with him - it's a tough life!  He just rides in his spare time here and owns several modern "classic" cars and bikes.

Trevor and his ST1300

Saving the best until last, yesterday was supposed to be an IAM monthly meeting where we do some coaching or go for a spirited social ride in the back blocks.  I should have smelt a rat when Jennie asked me a couple of times during the week whether I intended to go!  

Rocked up at the meeting point cafe some 100 km away and not only were there members from our local group there but a bunch of them from Auckland too.  The common thread was that over the past few years, I'd either coached them directly or had a hand in coaching them to pass their advanced qualifications.  STILL DIDN'T CATCH ON!  It wasn't until my good mate Tony stood up and said that we were all going to have a social ride together on the 200 km Coromandel Loop as recognition of our long association.  Apparently, my face was a sight to behold!  I felt pretty humbled and we had a wonderful time riding one of the great north island motorcycle routes together.  We even stopped at the Coroglen Tavern for lunch.  Not for a beer, but so that I could enjoy my all-time favourite scallop burger!  The ride finished on Coromandel Town wharf, only a few hundred metres from home which was just perfect.  What an incredible day and I'm really privileged to have mates who would do something like that.  Must have a bit of dust in my eye or something..... 

Memorial to Sir Keith Park, a Kiwi who played a major role in the WW2 Battle of Britain

Arriving at the Coroglen Tavern

Some of the team next to a mussel boat - Coromandel Town wharf

Great variety of machinery on Coromandel Town wharf

Some old geezer front and centre with great mates

 

The KTM 790 at 18 months - a progress report

 

A hooligan machine if  ever there was one!

An IAM friend of mine who has owned multiple European and Japanese bikes recently said, "There is a special corner of Hell reserved for MV and Moto Guzzi owners who can expect the full dealer workshop maintenance experience".  It was a tongue in cheek retort to someone he knew questioning the reliability of KTM's.  Indeed, several of my friends formed the shape of a cross with their fingers when I announced the intent to buy a Duke 790.  I guess that it's a widely held belief with some substance that Japanese bikes are generally more reliable than European or American ones but what's it really been like to own the 790 since March 2019?

Let's start by saying that I was aware that KTM's had a bit of a mixed reputation before I bought one but the test ride was so exhilarating (HERE) that I just had to own one.  I've rarely laughed out loud inside my helmet but I did multiple times on that day. 

RS 10 hypersport tyres on the demo bike taking a hiding on coarse road chip

The 1500 km review with all the early accessory purchases is HERE and there have been multiple other posts about various bits and pieces.  However, after 18 months ownership and 15,000 km, I thought it might be useful to pull together some thoughts about real life ownership over that time.  The distance covered ought to have been nearly twice that, but that's what C-19 and two eye surgeries do for you!

I needed a bike which had good performance plus excellent handling more than outright power and speed because of where I live in the countryside and also my IAM work.  It needed to be light because of my age - 73 next month for a bit of future-proofing and it's filled the bill perfectly.  Leaving aside all the rational reasons, I also wanted a bike which had a bit of "mongrel" in it! 

HANDLING. In a word, outstanding.  Light weight and steering geometry makes cornering effortless.  It's not called The Scalpel for nothing.  It's very forgiving too.  If corner entry speed is a bit too high, just lean it some more - no drama. That's all that needs to be said apart from noting that good handling also noticeably reduces fatigue on a run.  Ditto for ergonomics with respect to fatigue - my ageing body needs all the help it can get and the KTM is close to perfect for me.  Tyres naturally have a bearing on handling and the OEM Maxxis pure sport tyre get a black mark.  They were fine in the warmer, drier weather when I first bought the bike but as soon as it got colder and wetter, grip reduced dramatically.  A front end slide saw the Maxxis removed at a little over 3000 km and replaced with Bridgestone T31 sport touring tyres.  An excellent all round tyre with plenty of grip in all conditions.  However the front hoop was badly losing its profile at 6000 km although the rear was fine. I suspect that countersteering to maintain good progress on the twisty roads where I live contributes to that. At 8000-odd km, they were replaced with Michelin Road 5's which have been genuinely outstanding, no matter what the conditions are like.  They have currently covered 4000 km and are in great condition.  The other great feature is the turning circle.  Immeasurably better than my last 2 bikes and ideal for narrower roads without having to do a 3 point turn or even worse, having to step off it due to a misjudgment!  (Ummm...... I did this a few years ago on my 2009 Street Triple which had terrible lock.  Almost made it.....)

Rear Michelin Road 5 @ 4000km

BRAKING. The stock brakes and pads were ok (the word "adequate" springs to mind) but I fitted EBC HH pads during lockdown as I knew from fitting them to previous bikes what sort of performance gain to expect.  They delivered the expected performance but I suspect they exacerbated an issue which I'd noticed before they were fitted.  At low speeds (say <20 km/hr), gently applying the front brake creates a slight snatch like the pads are grabbing then slightly letting go.  This becomes more pronounced if more lever pressure is applied.  Sticking a magnetic dial indicator on the forks and checking disc runout revealed a couple of things.  The front right hand disc has a runout of 0.07mm.  This is within the manufacturer's tolerance of 0.1mm but the difference between high and low points is only just over 90 degrees.  The front left hand disc has a runout of 0.13mm which is outside tolerance and the difference between high and low is approximately 180 degrees apart.  

RH front disc with dial indicator

A trip to my dealer a few days ago led to the service manager describing the slow speed braking performance as "aggressive" and he is following up with KTM to get the disks replaced under warranty. I should add that at higher speeds, the brakes perform perfectly and I automatically compensate for the deficiency at the lower speed.  It still needs addressing though. 

THE ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION.  An absolute delight and proof that you don't need a big capacity bike to go fast in most road conditions as it's the power to weight ratio that has a lot of relevance until aerodynamics takes over.  The 790 has plenty of torque but the quickshifter is a really useful tool for keeping the bike in the right rev range.  I use the quickshifter on downshifts all the time for engine braking in combination with the throttle to keep things smooth as opposed to relying on the brakes.  It gets used less on upshifts as it requires reasonably large throttle openings to make smooth changes and I tend not to wring its neck on most occasions.  With the stock muffler, the engine sounds great too with a decent bark and a few pops on a trailing throttle.  No intention to fit a louder muffler as I prefer not to draw attention to myself.

The only slight downside experienced to date is a very slight misting of oil from the cam cover rubber seal at the camshaft ends.  It's nowhere annoying enough to have it fixed properly until a future service requires the cam cover to be removed.  A temporary fix has been to paint flexible sealant along the join at those points and it works perfectly - no more misting.

Sealant painted on part of the cam cover joint

Setting chain tension is complicated by the fact that I have an ABBA stand which lifts on the swingarm pivot rather than a rear paddock stand that lifts on bobbins.  The KTM method is to measure clearance between the underside of the swingarm and the top of the chain whilst on the paddock stand.  I can't use the official method so I do it with my neighbour sitting on it.  In his everyday clothes, he weighs about the same as me fully kitted in riding gear.  All a bit complicated but it works out ok.  Not that impressed with the Chinese OEM chain but will probably change it for a DID brand fairly soon.  It gets lubed with either Maxima Chain Wax or Tirox teflon spray every 500 km or thereabouts using the excellent GREASE NINJA.

ABBA stand with attachments to lift both wheels at the same time

FLEXIBILITY.  The multi-option rider modes/traction control have been particularly useful for the mix of country and town riding.  Sport or Street modes are my preferred options on the open road and the performance increase and throttle response is particularly noticeable compared with rain mode as you might expect.  However, apart from its obvious use, I find rain mode useful for making the bike less snatchy on low throttle openings for city work in dense traffic.  I've never even bothered to use track mode with all the sub-options such as anti-wheelie and launch control.  I find that 6th gear is almost superfluous for the conditions I ride in.  The national speed limit is 100 km/hr apart from some rare stretches of expressway.  At that 100 km/hr, 6th is almost like an overdrive and I only tend to use it on long, straight roads where a constant speed can be maintained.

FUEL CONSUMPTION.   How long is a piece of string?  You don't buy a 790 for economy.  However, because of the relatively remote location where we live and that much of my riding involves 500km+ days, I wanted a decent range out of a tankful.  On an average ride, the instrumentation shows around 4lt per100 km.  Checks against my GPS suggests this is a little  optimistic.  I've never pushed my luck in the name of getting an absolute reading but think that a range of 270 km is pretty safe on most occasions.  Maybe 300 km if you're taking it really easy.

LUGGAGE CARRYING.  Touring on the 790 wasn't a significant criterion when considering the purchase.  There are accessories available involving bolt-on steel racks etc but I wanted to keep the minimalist, clean lines of the standard bike.  A slim rear seat pack is all I use to carry tyre repair equipment, a medikit, a few tools and documentation for my role as an IAM Examiner.  For a 6 day tour last February (HERE), I added a 10 litre yachting dry bag and a backpack which were perfectly adequate.

Travelling light for a 6 day tour

CYCLE PARTS.  The standard of finish is quite impressive.  The paintwork is as bright as the day it was bought and there's no rusting on any of the bolts or other steelwork.  I installed R&G anti-slip film where my knees touch the tank for additional protection.  The bike gets washed using an ordinary car wash 'n wax or the excellent Muc-Off  motorcycle cleaner.  I find cleaning the bike is quite therapeutic and if I'm in need of extra therapy, the paintwork might get a coating of Mother's carnauba wax on the odd occasion.

R&G  grip/paint protection kit

HEADLIGHT.  I thought it would be adequate for nighttime riding where there was ambient light such as street lights.  It's actually much better than I supposed and is fine for maintaining a decent speed in the unlit countryside.  The spread of light also lights up a wide angle which is good for spotting things off the road.  I've done 5 Iron Butt (NZ equivalent)1600 km in under 24 hour rides on various bikes and would have no qualms about doing one on the 790.

No complaints at all!

Lighting up the countryside

SERVICE COSTS.  First service at 1000 km involved an oil and filter change, diagnostic computer check and a general check round the bike.  It cost NZ$279 (260 AUD, 183USD, 134GBP).  Second service at 11000km involved an oil and filter change, check and clean air filter, software upgrade, replace frame bolts under warranty, and a general check round the bike.  It cost NZ$314 (292AUD, 206USD, 161 GBP).  This was a little less than my naked GSX-S 1000 and think that it was pretty reasonable.  The dealer I use involves a 320 km round trip.  They're aware of the travel time involved and always go out of their way to turn the bike around as quickly as possible.  (Boyds in Hamilton for Kiwi riders). 

IN SUMMARY.  I've banged on about it before but to get a match made in heaven, a bike has to meet the technical needs of the prospective owner and appeal to to their emotions.  I found this out first hand when I bought the GSX-S 1000 almost on a whim.  Great performance but surprisingly, I found it bland and a bit lacking in character.  Perhaps that's a slight pointer to the differences between the majority of Japanese bikes and those from elsewhere, particularly Europe.  The 790 gets patted when I walk past it in the shed.  The Gixxer didn't.  It's worth repeating what someone said to me when I had narrowed the choice down to the Duke 790 and the 765 Street Triple R.  "It's not the way the coin lands that decides for you, but your reaction to the way the coin lands that will tell you the decision you want to make".  Those words actually made the choice a lot easier than it would have otherwise been.

Having set the scene, the KTM still makes me laugh every time I ride it and it more than meets my specific technical needs.  The relatively minor issues (call them "character traits") listed in this blog post in no way significantly detract from the immense enjoyment I've had from owning it. Most of the time, l can ride it fairly sensibly, but it really does encourage immoderate behaviour *grin*.  Trying to be dispassionate, if I was looking at a new bike today, it would still be the KTM 790.  Can't express it any better than that.

Coromandel Peninsula where I live - riding heaven!

Busy, busy, busy!

With spring having arrived and relatively few C-19 restrictions in NZ, it's been a busy week with more to come over the next few weeks.  Regular readers know that a lot of my riding is as an Examiner with IAM, taking civilian riders for their Advanced Roadcraft Test - a system developed by the UK police and used internationally.

This week, I've knocked up just over 900 km in combined travel and the actual testing of two participants, both of whom rode to a high standard and passed with flying colours.  I don't normally mention much about the individuals concerned on the blog but in this instance, it's worth commenting.

Activities such as riding, driving, flying and sailing all require high level training, good judgement and situational awareness to perform at an exceptional level.  Much of this comes over time and in the case of the younger age group with lots of testosterone sloshing about (said by an old geezer!), it's no surprise that they are over-represented in road accident statistics.

I was recently approached by another region of IAM to test one of their members as they were temporarily short -handed.  Happily agreed and arranged a meeting some 140 km away from home.  The only things I knew that he was relatively young, and had passed his pre-test check by another Observer/Instructor whom I knew and respected.  Arrived early and watched as another rider came into the service area on Auckland's southern motorway.  The rider was wearing leathers with the number 46 on them and a replica Rossi helmet.  He was also riding one of Honda's best ever sport bikes, the VTR1000 SP1, equipped with noisy end cans.  This was Cameron, the young man I was due to test - turned out that he was just 19.

The SP1 and the Duke 790

Having spent months being tutored and being recommended for the formal test, it was obvious that he wasn't going to be a complete squid but I wasn't sure what to expect when Cameron mentioned that he raced a 250 Hyosung in club circuit racing.  First thing was to put him through a theory test covering advanced roadcraft and the NZ road rules.  Pass mark was 80% and Cameron scored 95%.  Really impressive.   

The riding test covered about 100 km of motorway (freeway), city and twisty country riding, lasting for between 1.5 and 2 hours of solid concentration.  During each of the environments, the candidate is expected to give a continuous 10 minute commentary over the comms with respect to what he is seeing all around him, what he can't see but can infer and how both are impacting on his riding in terms of position, speed, gear and throttle sense.

In summary, he delivered the best running commentary of anyone I've ever seen at test level, picking up a driver on the motorway who was probably texting (confirmed moments later), drivers who were likely to manoeuvre without indicating and so on, leading to smooth, good progress in an utterly safe and courteous manner.  On the tight back roads, Cameron was in his element and all I can say is that I'm glad I was on a bike that really handled!  He was a joy to watch and made it look effortless.  He aced his advanced test and is the youngest motorcycle member of IAM NZ to do so.  He'll get even better as he trains as an Observer and it will be exciting to watch his progress.  Just goes to show that it's not inevitable that young people have questionable skills, even if I was one of the dodgy ones at that age.  It's all a question of society's expectations and I'm sorry to say that politically, NZ's expectations of the standards required to obtain a licence are not particularly demanding.  I must say that the required standard has increased a little in recent years though.

A delighted (relieved?) Cameron and his SP1

The rider I took out yesterday is a career firefighter for NZ Fire and Emergency.  We went through exactly the same process as Cameron and unsurprisingly, the end result was a good pass.  Riding an immaculate Suzuki GSX 1250 FA, Damian brought the same level of skill to the ride as he would in his career - professional, unflustered, unhurried.  The level of skill made it look easy, which it certainly wasn't.  

Damian and his immaculate GSX 1250 FA

Both candidates were modest and you wouldn't expect either of them to be loudly trumpeting their success.  As with any worthwhile accomplishment along these lines, the level of preparation required tends to generate a quiet inner satisfaction and pride rather than big-noting the achievement.  

Apart from the pleasure I get from seeing the success of riders and drivers who want to continuously lift their game, it makes me keep my standards up too.  Turning 73 next month, it's probably getting close to the time I should be looking at retiring as an Examiner, although not necessarily altogether from riding.  Maybe I should be looking at a light adventure bike to explore all those dirt roads on the Coromandel Peninsula and get that nuisance Bandit Rider out of my ear, eh Andrew? :-)

The elephant in the room

Well, it came sooner than expected but we've just addressed the elephant in the room.  Going back to late last year, I suffered a torn retina whilst riding the bike.  My eye filled with blood and riding home some 140 km was quite a challenge.  To fix it, I had a vitrectomy (watch it on YouTube if you're not squeamish)!  It was totally successful but the surgeon warned me that one side effect was a cataract which would form sooner or later.  In my case, it was sooner than expected. 

All was fine on the February bike tour then lockdown kicked in during March.  Stuck around home doing jobs, I didn't really notice anything but as soon as lockdown ended and driving/riding started up again, the partial loss of long sight in one eye became noticeable.  Not a good position to be in, especially when conducting advanced riding tests. A right royal pain in the arse to use a technical term.

A check with a local optometrist confirmed the onset of a cataract.  Still legal to drive and ride but it was pushing the envelope at the higher performance end of the spectrum.  So it was back to the surgeon.  Not bad enough to qualify for an operation on the public health system but going privately was fine as it was starting to drive me nuts.

Turned up for the procedure a week ago and Jennie and I were ushered into a lounge adjacent to the operating theatre.  Drops were put into the eye to dilate the pupil and the surgeon came in and drew an arrow over the appropriate eye.  Wives aren't noted for dishing out sympathy because they think that their husbands are big wusses. "Pain?  You want to try having 3 kids, blah, blah......".  In this case, the lack of sympathy manifested itself by her wanting to write something on my forehead above the arrow.  Those words were "Insert Coins Here".  Smartarse.  

"Insert coins here" in the fairground dummy

Anyway, cataract removal and replacing the lens only took a few minutes and was completely painless.  The only downside of being fully conscious was seeing instruments of torture hovering near my eye, albeit not in clear focus.  Whatever instruments the surgeon used made noises like something from an episode of Dr. Who when he was battling the Daleks.  In fairness though, I was warned so didn't panic when it started up.  Although I could talk during the op, the surgical team bizarrely gave me a small squeaky yellow rubber duck to hold during the procedure.  They said to give it a squeeze if I felt uncomfortable, wanted to sneeze or whatever and they'd stop.  Didn't actually need to put it to use although when they wheeled me back into the theatre lounge, I made good use of it to announce my arrival to all and sundry.  Jennie's eye-rolling suggested that she'd prefer to be someone else's wife at that point in time.  Sort of evened things up for her earlier smartarse remark.  

With vision having been restored, it actually felt a little odd, like I was slightly drunk.  Guess it takes the brain a little while to recalibrate.  With running a formal IAM assessment ride coming up (taking out a police officer, no less!), it was sensible to see what it was like back on the bike with no pressure.  A short trip to the local gas station went absolutely fine and put me at ease.

Setting off from home for the meet-up some 160 km away, it was an absolutely glorious day with spring only a few days away. We all need days like this after the trials of this year. The eye was fine, the sun was out and the prospect of meeting up with other riders that you know and trust was eagerly anticipated.

Getting ready for a full day in the saddle

Officer Andy and trainee Observer (mentor) Bruce had ridden over from the Bay of Plenty province to our meeting point where we had a mix of city, expressway and tight country lanes all within easy reach for an assessment ride.  As well as road riding, Andy takes part in competitive trials riding so balance and slow speed riding weren't going to be an issue.  With Andy and Bruce on adventure bikes, I felt like the runt of the litter - I'd need a stepladder to get on them! 

Some photos taken by Bruce's on-board camera during the ride - thanks Bruce!

Andy and yours truly in town

Lifesaver (shoulder check) before making the turn

Life at its best - a deserted back road

Tall timber - Honda Africa Twin (Andy) and Triumph Explorer 1200 (Bruce)

As you might expect, Andy was extremely professional in his riding but there was a complete absence of ego and very happy to receive suggestions for fine tuning.  It won't take long at all before he's ready to take his Advanced Roadcraft Test.  Bruce also did well in his observing capacity and will make a great Observer in the near future.

Aren't days like this what riding motorcycles are all about?  Great weather, riding partners who you trust implicitly and a great mix of road conditions over some 450 km  - nirvana!