A year that wasn't all bad

 

From home - first light 2021

My first inclinations were not to write anything about 2020 for obvious reasons.  I also felt a bit of guilt because NZ dodged a bullet compared with most of the world, thanks to prompt and decisive action by our authorities following good science advice which allowed us to resume a pretty much normal life from mid-year.  Nonetheless, there was much to be quietly thankful for and in hindsight, it did provide an opportunity for a mental re-set with respect to the things which are truly important in one's life.  There were actually a surprising number of positive things which make for good memories.

Thinking back, our story started in mid-2019 as we found ourselves in Wuhan to start a boat trip up the Yangtze river as part of travelling through China (HERE).  No hint of things to come of course although we both developed head colds shortly afterwards.  

Moving through to February, 3 mates and I did a 2100 km "Green Badge" tour of the north island, combining it with attending the Institute of Advanced Motorists  annual conference  (Part 1).  What a grand trip that was, sticking to the back roads as much as possible with minimal other traffic about.  The Duke 790 proved to be a competent tourer with minimalist luggage and its light weight and razor-sharp steering really reduced riding fatigue.

The Forgotten World Highway - Moki Tunnel with Tony, Lloyd and Rex

It wasn't long after the tour when all hell broke loose.  Jennie had just flown halfway round the world to visit her sister in the UK when NZ announced the intention to close its borders, then go into lockdown.  A couple of days of panic ensued to get her home.  It was extremely close but thanks to our travel agent, she got home with no dramas, apart from it being a very expensive 6 days away from home! 

Lockdown itself wasn't particularly difficult as I behaved myself and Jennie didn't end up sticking a knife in my vital organs!  The main project was to digitize 35mm slides, negatives and old photos that we've had sitting about in boxes for multiple decades.  We bought a high quality scanner and some imaging software and have digitized about 2000 images to date.  It's been great fun although some of the fashions were cringe-worthy and have provided endless merriment for our kids.  The only consolation was that we all looked fairly similar in those days!  

1976 - Jennie expecting our first child.  Least said about the fashions the better!

1971 - me (right) at a mate's wedding in Wales.  Oh dear.....

There are still undiscovered slides lurking somewhere in the house which I'm very keen to find. One set is from the 1969 Isle of Man TT and the other is from the 1970 UK-USA Transatlantic Match racing series with legendary names like Cal Rayborn, Gary Nixon and Paul Smart taking part.  Those photos really will be a blast from the past!

Post-lockdown, it was back into fishing from our runabout with Jennie still catching more than me!  Motorcycling also resumed but interestingly during lockdown, I wasn't jumping up and down waiting to get on the road again which was slightly worrying.  However, when the time came, the first long solo ride in sunny winter conditions was absolutely wonderful and great for the soul.

Jennie waiting for the big one just outside Coromandel harbour

Unfortunately, a cataract in one eye had developed, arising from emergency surgery I had at the end of 2019 for a retinal tear.  It wasn't bad but was distracting when riding the motorcycle.  Further surgery to replace the lens was necessary.  It took just 20 minutes with no discomfort at all and I now have great vision again.

Part of our garden was in dire need of attention and we took to the foliage with saws and slashers.  That part sloped quite steeply and was also pretty slippery so we decided to get a tradesperson in to build steps.  That plan backfired big time as it was impossible to get one so we did it ourselves.  The downside was that took a solid month of hard work to do all the landscaping and put in new plants, plus being completely stuffed every evening!  The upside was that we saved money by doing it ourselves and it was really satisfying to learn new skills!

The first photo below is before we started the rebuild, having just cleared some of the foliage.  The second photo is how it is now.

Before the landscaping

How it is now

Back into regular riding, the slightly "snatchy" KTM front brakes which had manifested themselves from almost new had got worse and made slow speed handling rather tricky.  Some measurements were taken and both disc rotors had warped.  Fortunately, both my dealer and the KTM importer supported them being replaced under warranty and they're now as they should be. Actually, better than they've ever been because the EBC HH pads fitted in lockdown really give them some bite!

Brand new rotors being bedded in

Taking out a couple of serving police officers for their advanced assessments was a personal riding highlight.  One was a car-based Highway Patrol officer who was an ex-UK Class 1 bike cop.  Following him "making progress" on his big Honda ST1300 down tight country lanes was an utter privilege.  He'd lost none of his skills and made riding at pace look easy, which it certainly wasn't.

Officer Trevor having sailed through his Advanced Test

Another delight was that our 15 year old Jacaranda tree has flowered for the first time.  Patience had worn a bit thin and the bloody thing was edging closer to the chainsaw every year.  Perhaps trees can pick up the vibes as one morning, there it was covered in blue blossom - amazing.  A new gardening technique - waving a chainsaw at plants that aren't living up to expectations!

Jacaranda in full bloom

With Christmas having come and gone, it's worth mentioning a "Santa" present I got from Jennie which typifies her wicked (warped?) sense of humour.  I spent much of my working life as a professional engineer.  Jennie thinks that all engineers are socially awkward, bordering on AS or OCD.  Indeed, in her more exasperated moments, she has remarked more than once that it's like living with a 5 year old.  Personally, I think that says more about her school ma'am background than about me but however....

Anyway, unwrapping one of the Santa presents, this is what appeared:

The Engineers Activity Book for Children

It's from a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics series encouraging young people to follow one of the sciences as a career.  She clearly thought that it was pitched at my level and that's why I love her to bits - she doesn't take prisoners!

Overall and despite the horrors that Covid has inflicted on the world, there has been a good amount of normality and high points for us.  Hopefully, a travel bubble will soon open between NZ and Australia, allowing us to catch up with our daughter and her husband.  They moved to Melbourne at the start of 2020 and she now holds a senior psychologist position in the Department of Justice.  Not bad in less than 12 months.

Wishing everyone everything that you'd wish for yourselves and may 2021 be a whole lot better for all of us!

Jennie, granddaughter Molly and me, Christmas 2020

The Green Badge Tour, pt 2

Early breakfast at the Whangamomona Hotel and get packed.  The heat of yesterday has caused a bit of low-lying fog but we should break through that as we climb up the ridges and saddles.  The plan was to head west to Stratford and gas up.  By the time we get there, it will be close to 230 km since the last fill which means that Tony's MT10 SP will be down to the last litre or two.  After that, head to Whanganui and on to the conference destination of Porirua, just over 350 km away.

View from our balcony

Go West, young man!

From Whangamomona to Stratford, the road surface improves markedly.  The road remains highly technical with twists and turns at varying altitudes.  Throw wandering cattle into the mix and there's no time to let the brain go into neutral!  In fact, the first cattle on the road were encountered a few minutes after leaving but having climbed out of the fog, there was sufficient time to scrub off speed.  Stopping at the Strathmore Saddle for a few minutes, there were some great views of the rugged country we were passing through.

View from the Strathmore Saddle - not much flat land

Big skies on the Forgotten World Highway (photo: Tony)

A quick refuel in Stratford and then on to Whanganui for brunch.  The road along the south coast of the Taranaki province and down to Porirua is a major arterial route and relatively straight.  Fortunately, traffic was light so we could make reasonable progress without it getting too boring.  Our interest was kept up for a while by following a guy on a Moto Guzzi who was really putting himself at risk by following vehicles in front too closely.  Not only would he have had difficulty stopping if someone anchored up in front, his positioning meant that he couldn't see clearly for safe overtakes.  A really poor display of roadcraft.

I was the lead bike coming into Whanganui and at slow speed, Lloyd who was directly behind; could hear a lot of chain noise from my bike.  A quick check when we stopped for a bite to eat showed that it was drum tight and also a little dry from the gravel section of the Forgotten World Highway.  This was a puzzle as I'd checked the chain tension before leaving home.  The only thing I could think of was that I hadn't checked it with the touring load on the bike, even though the load wasn't particularly heavy.  The KTM swing arm geometry and suspension makes it somewhat trickier to set up than many other bikes and I was found wanting!  

I wasn't carrying the big socket and torque wrench required to do a proper job so a quick internet search revealed a motorcycle repair shop not far away.  I called the owner who was initially reluctant to take the job on because he was so overloaded with work but then told me to bring the bike round.  This is an unashamed plug for Brian Thorley Motorcycle Repairs in Whanganui!  As soon as we arrived, he moved a bike off the hydraulic table and put mine on it.  There followed a series of adjustments for half an hour or so until he'd got it spot on, followed by a splash of lube.  Brian was a really nice guy who went out of his way to help despite his workload so I gave him $50.  He wouldn't have a bar of it and said I was welcome.  I didn't feel at all comfortable about his generosity and finally managed to press $20 on him for a few beers.  At the time of writing, I also have a motorcycle book on order for him (THIS) by way of a proper thank you.  A probable solution would have been for me to put a couple of clicks on the rear shock preload and I'll have to experiment when I have time.

The rest of the trip to Porirua was uneventful and we checked into a comfortable motel later that afternoon after spotting some local IAM riders heading north on an observed ride.

A gaggle of bikes at the motel

That evening, we met up at a local eatery with IAM motorcycle and car members from around the country and it was great to catch up with friends old and new.  Fellow central north island member and Senior Motorcycle Observer Rob happened to be travelling in his company vehicle so he was the designated sober driver - thanks a million mate!  The conference/AGM on the following day was a great event with something in it for everyone.  Some vehicles with the latest safety technology were available to test and I took a 2 litre Toyota Corolla with adaptive cruise control for a spin.  Pretty impressive with its autonomous braking technology and the next few years should see some real safety advances.  A conference dinner that evening, and then ready to resume the tour the next day.

The Wellington IAM team had arranged a series of rides on the Sunday for non-local members involving either road or gravel routes if they so wished.  We chose a ride over the Rimutaka mountain range to the coastal community of Castlepoint as that was the direction we were heading in anyway.  Unfortunately after fine hot weather so far, the forecast was for a front to pass through, delivering rain and wind!  Sure enough, the forecast was spot on and we all assembled at a local gas station in the appropriate gear.

Looks like ride leader Paul is trying to summon the dry weather gods... or the Devil!

The plan was for the northbound groups to meet at the summit of the Rimutakas, then onto Carterton for coffee and then split into their respective routes.  Despite the rain, the twisty ride up to the summit was stress-free on account of a pretty grippy surface (lean sensitive rain mode traction control also helps!) although some of the wind gusts around bends needed a bit of vigilance.

The first arrivals - in cloud and rain at the summit of the Rimutakas

Wellington-based mate Davey's wicked Husky 701 - massively high seat at over 900 mm! 

Looking back down the Rimutaka road we'd ridden up

A quick peruse of the local rain radar showed largely dry roads where we were heading with an improving forecast so wet weather gear could be shed at Carterton.

Satisfied smiles from Tony and Lloyd after great coffee in Carterton

Soon, it was time for the groups to head off in different directions and our group headed over to Castlepoint on the east coast in minimal traffic.  Sadly, Rex had to head directly home from here so we said our goodbyes and wished him a safe ride.  As an amusing aside, I found myself in the company of Mike, an ex-UK class 1 cop (cars and bikes) and now a serving officer in NZ with special national driving and riding police training responsibilities.  He's also Director of Testing for IAM.  Despite my own qualifications, it felt like I was back in primary school with Mike looking on and really had to concentrate on delivering a highly professional ride that he would look favourably on. In reality, Mike was probably taking no notice whatsoever, nice guy that he is.  I don't think I did anything too dumb.  A great road with a mixture of sweepers and tight stuff.

Some of us hadn't been to Castlepoint before and it was great to view the area in windy conditions. There's no safe berthing in the often rough conditions and the commercial fishing boats are launched and retrieved off the beach with weird and wonderful contraptions.

A self-launching cradle (photo: Lloyd)

The lighthouse and fishing boats

Peppered by flying sand whilst taking this photo

It was soon time to resume our journey northward.  Goodbyes were said to the IAM members from other parts of the country and special thanks to Paul and the Wellington team for such a special weekend - massively appreciated.   We needed to head back to Masterton first to refuel in readiness for the back roads to Napier - a little under 500 km since leaving Porirua first thing.   Tony's bike is good for around 250 km at a brisk(ish) pace, mine a little more and Lloyd's a lot more.  Sure enough, almost within sight of the gas station, Tony's bike ground to a halt.  A quick word over the comms and Lloyd and I carried on to the gas station.  Lloyd filled up a small soft drink bottle to return to Tony whilst I chatted to the attendant.  He was a really nice guy and gave me a complimentary coffee while I waited - great customer relationships!

Refuelling having been completed, we headed to Napier (the Art Deco capital of NZ) via the Wangaehu Valley (Thanks for the tip ANDREW)!  Virtually no traffic, spectacular scenery and technical roads, we were in paradise.  No time to take photos!  Arriving at our cabin in Napier's main camping ground, we were surprised to see lots of old vehicles.  We didn't realise that it was the annual Art Deco Festival weekend.  The town dresses up in period costume with lots of events and vehicles of a bygone age.  It was great chatting to the vehicle owners and it must be said that many of them were of a "certain vintage" too!  Here are some vehicle examples.

Not a speck of dust anywhere

Handle with care.....  1903 Oldsmobile (photo: Lloyd)

The days of chrome - Plymouth of uncertain vintage (photo: Lloyd) 

Part 3 to come.....

The Green Badge Tour, part 1

This year, the annual conference/AGM of IAM NZ (http://iam.org.nz/) was due to be held in Porirua, just north of Wellington.  Several of us from the central north island were keen to attend and fellow observing team member Tony suggested that we should turn it into a "long way down, even longer way back" tour.  Great plan and 4 of us gradually hatched a route covering some of the north island's iconic twisty bike roads.  The Green Badge Tour gets its name from the badge that's awarded when a rider passes the Advanced Police Roadcraft Test.  All 4 of us had passed that long ago and had also passed the Observer (mentor) test too.

This is a map of the route, covering some 2100 km of fabulous riding roads.  With the exception of the Wellington area, it was expected that traffic would be pretty light in late summer, especially keeping away from major arterial routes where possible and so it turned out to be.

A route made in heaven

My 790 Duke isn't really set up for touring so travelling fairly light was the order of the day.  The regular small tailpack containing a few basic tools and puncture repair kit, with a 10 litre yachting dry bag strapped to it with a cargo net over the two.  I don't like wearing a back pack when riding but in this instance, I figured that I could put up with it.

Loaded and ready for action

Setting off from Coromandel early in the morning,  I stopped 70 km further south to pick up Tony (Yamaha MT10 SP) and we then met up with Lloyd (Yamaha TDM 900) and Rex (BMW 1200 GS) in Hamilton.  The end point of Day 1 was the Whangamomona Hotel on the famous Forgotten World Highway, some 380 km from home.  The general arrangement was that we'd swap the lead at gas or coffee stops and all 4 of us were linked with SENA comms.  It was quite amusing that on the open sections of road with fast sweepers, there was a fair bit of comms traffic, mickey-taking and so on.  However, when we got to the technical tight stuff, it went pretty quiet over the air waves - just warnings from the lead bike about potential hazards.  Between Te Kuiti and the turn-off to Ohura,  we came on fresh road works - wet tar overlaid with fresh gravel.  We picked the tar-coated stones out of the various nooks and crannies later on but a 1% er on a noisy H-D had to stop by the roadside and pick them out of his drive belt before it got shredded.

First stop after lunch was Ohura.  A small settlement with a massive main street which was once a coal mining centre.  Current population is less than 150 and the settlement is in a state of genteel decline.  No-one was about and a wry comment was made that the locals must still be in their coffins during daylight hours.

Rex, Geoff and Lloyd at Ohura.  A hot day and needing shade

The busy metropolis of Ohura - locals still in their coffins

A fully functional mailbox

The Forgotten World Highway is something of a rite of passage for riders.  A twisty, narrow road with an indifferent surface at the bottom of a valley and over saddles with a section of gravel 15 km or so long.  The scenery is spectacular but it's wise to either stop and look or keep your eyes on the road if moving.  There's minimal cell phone reception and if you make a mistake, you're a long way from help.  It pays to hold a fair bit in reserve.  Tony shot a bit of video on the more open part of the Forgotten Highway which I'm leading on.  His MT10-SP with crossplane engine and uneven firing order sounds fantastic with the speaker volume turned up and on full screen:

Courtesy of Tony

Stopping at the Tahora Saddle, the active volcanoes of Ngaruhoe and Ruapehu were visible on the skyline.

Wild country

Tahora Saddle with active volcanoes in the background (photo: Lloyd)

Yours truly at the Tahora Saddle (photo: Lloyd)

A quick photo stop at the Tangarakau river bridge.  The logs in the river show the power of nature when it rains!

Tangarakau river bridge - spectacular scenery

Logs in the river

A happy rider on tour grin (photo: Tony)

Before arriving at our destination for the night, a further stop at the entrance to the Moki Tunnel was warranted.  It was constructed in 1935/36 and is some 180 metres long - one direction at a time for traffic over a rutted surface.  We didn't see any wildlife on this occasion although on a previous trip, there was an extremely large feral billy goat with an impressive set of horns standing at the tunnel mouth.

Tony, Lloyd and Rex at the Moki tunnel mouth

Arriving at the small settlement of Whangamomona late afternoon, we settled into the hotel and enjoyed a cold one as temperatures were in the early 30's C.  The place was fair jumping with locals and some South African contractors who were laying more reliable power lines to the settlement.  A most excellent feed was had later that evening. We asked the owner about leaving the bikes behind the hotel as per past practice but he hadn't got room this time and said they'd be perfectly safe outside.  Robyn, the lovely lady who lived next door agreed, apart from the possible risk from a local driver who had too many under his belt running into them .  She offered space at her place which we gratefully accepted.  Rural NZ'ers are awesome!

The iconic Whangamomona Hotel - Lloyd and Tony

Chilling on the upper deck of the hotel - Tony, Rex and Lloyd

Hotel owner having a wash during a quiet spell

A walk to help dinner to go down was taken to get a few photos before it got dark.  Here's a selection.

Colourful shed in the main street

Chilling at the hitching rail - Tony, Rex and Geoff (photo: Lloyd)

Yep, it's rustic all right! (photo: Tony)

A wonderful day of riding, knowing exactly how your riding partners are going to react in any given situation.  Completely takes the stress out of group riding.  Another hot day forecast tomorrow for the ride down to Porirua.

Part 2 to come....

The Bay and Banjos Tour, day 2

Approximately 400km

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear.  I have that delicious stomach-churning anticipation of a day of fast riding in sparsely populated and largely wild territory.  A couple of the lads have stomach-churning due to overdoing it the previous evening and are looking forward to a big fried breakfast to settle things down (ewwww...).

Andy, praying for a hangover cure

Big John - makes the VStrom 1000 look like a toy!

We head off to the suburb of Taradale for gas and a pavement breakfast at a cafe.  Eggs Benedict for me and plenty of water as the weather is scorching hot.  Easy to get dehydrated on a long, hard ride in these conditions.  

 A lazy Sunday breakfast in the sun

 The next part of the route is deceptively called Gentle Annie.  The reason for its name isn't known to me, but it was probably named by an early settler with a perverse sense of humour!  Gentle it is not.  Approximately 150km of continuous bends through a bit of farmland but a fair percentage of it is through forests and native bush in really hilly country.  The road itself was only completely tar sealed earlier this year and there are big altitude changes as it dives down to valley floors and then over ridges in the Kaweka Mountain range. 

John leads off and sets a great pace as we climb away from the coast.  The road consists of continuous sweepers with a smooth, coarse chip surface, perfect for taking any chicken strips off a rear tyre - this is motorcycling Paradise!  Further up into the hills, the road surface is generally good but to maintain a decent pace in safety, good forward observation is critical to spot scatterings of gravel on the riding line and frost heaves in the high country.  It's hard to think that on such a beautiful day, this road is regularly closed because of snow in the colder weather but even now,  the temperature drop is quite pronounced at altitude.

Nearly 150 km of continuous twisties

 Kaweka Range high country - lonely out here

 We stop at a mountain river bridge to take some photos as the broom is in full flower and looks absolutely stunning.  There are big trout down below in the crystal clear waters.  After nearly an hour of riding, we've only seen a couple of vehicles and riding solo on this road with only patchy mobile phone coverage at best, having an accident or a breakdown becomes a serious matter; especially in marginal weather.

John, encouraging Andy to dive off the bridge and catch a trout!

 Crystal clear mountain river

Richard takes over the lead for the second half of Gentle Annie and the countryside slowly turns into high country farms.  The road is as twisty as ever and gravel patches diminish but everyone is still keeping a wary eye open for them.  Reaching State Highway 1 and up to Waiouru for gas, everyone thinks it's one of the best biking roads in the north island, but requires huge concentration if it's going to be traversed at pace.

Tongariro National Park active volcanoes taken from Waiouru

It's quite cool here in the high country and we head north west towards Taumaranui with John picking up the lead.  Everyone is on full alert as the Highway Patrol are pretty keen in this area and sure enough, the radar detector goes off and there's a cop a long way up the road booking a car driver.  We stop shortly afterwards near National Park village for some photos of the volcanoes.  Cloud cover is fairly well down, but that makes for a moody atmosphere.

Arty-farty shot of the volcanoes with red tussock grass

and an old cart in the foreground

A 3 metre high Kiwi made from gnarled branches - terrific!

We all refuel at Taumaranui and stop for a bit of rehydration.  We say our goodbyes to Richard who has to return home for work tomorrow which is a real shame as he's great company and a darned good rider too.  The next leg of the journey down the Lost World Highway needs full tanks as no fuel is available for the best part of 150 km.  This stretch is rather different from Gentle Annie.  The same tight bends but the road surface is more uneven, the road itself is at the bottom of a gorge and pretty narrow after the first 10km or so.

I lead off and we're immediately reminded that it's a road to be respected by the sign below.  There used to be another sign saying "Public Road - This Is Not A Race Track"  but it seems to have disappeared - more on that later.

A sobering reminder to take care

About an hour away from our stop for the night, it gets gloomy and light rain starts to fall.  The gorge walls are clad in bush and tree ferns and it's eerily beautiful.

Andy singing in the rain

Remains of trees swept downstream during heavy rain

Rivers rise fast in hill country

Wild, steep country

We travel along in light rain which has turned the 10-odd km section of unsealed road into brown slush.  All but one of the bikes are on sport touring tyres but there are no anxious moments.  The bikes are totally covered in mud and look like they've had a day at the moto-X track!  We're soon back onto tar seal and a bit further on, we stop at the Moki Tunnel which was built in the 1930's.  An impressive bit of engineering.

The narrow Moki tunnel

At least you can see daylight!

A few minutes later, we're rolling into the tiny, isolated settlement of Whangamomona and our stop for the night at the iconic Whangamomona Hotel, having seen precisely 2 other vehicles down the whole length of the highway.  Not a place to run into trouble.  The Hotel is a mecca for bikers, car enthusiasts and intrepid travellers and maintains its old world charm.  The current owners, Penny and Geoff Taylor are bike enthusiasts and currently own a brand new Super Tenere.  Every year, they hold a number of special events including Republic Day with all sorts of events including elections.  From memory, the last elected President of the Republic was a goat - I love it!!!!

The iconic Whangamomona Hotel

After being welcomed and shown our rooms, we have a well-earned locally crafted beer or two.  Nearly 400 km of continuous twisties brings on a real thirst, not to mention being half-stuffed!  We chat with a colourful local who gives us some interesting history of the people in the area and we tactfully don't ask about banjo ownership.  The local has his well-used utility vehicle (called a ute in NZ and Australia) parked outside.  It's clearly done stirling service for a couple of decades or so and is a perfect photographic subject in the remote surroundings.

A true country vehicle

Another patron rocks up on a gorgeous KTM 690 motard.  I've never seen one up close before and the engineering is superb.  Must be the perfect bike for a blast on these twisty roads. The owner is a really nice guy and as we chat, it turns out that he's the cousin of an old workmate and also worked for my old boss in another life.  The thing about NZ and it's 4.5 million population is that virtually everyone knows someone in common!

Superb KTM 690

Arty-farty shot in KTM mirror

After another beer or two and a superb meal, the eyelids are beginning to droop and 4 keen bikers are tucked up and sound asleep by 10pm, dreaming of the next day!

Day 3 soon......