Nirvana
(November 1999)
Nirvana, that idyllic state where perfection is attained, where right and righteousness abounds and where one is at one with the world.
Nirvana is also that fabled land, the one that every motorcyclist dreams of, the place where the sides of the tyres wear to the canvas before the centre tread is below legal minimum. We all seek that place and dream of the day when we will ride that road, with the sun on our back and companions at our side to share our exhilaration as we tell and re-tell our thrills.
This weekend I found that road, that Nirvana and it wasn't just a five minute sprint through the Manawatu Gorge with no traffic. This was an hour (or so) run from Gisborne to Opotiki and it was sheer heaven winding our way through the Waioeka gorge on a glorious early summers afternoon.
It came about when I was invited to join the Hutt Valley Touring Club on their annual Iron Butt challenge. It wasn't a true Iron Butt as I understood it to be as I always thought it involved running 1,000 miles over 24 hours but this one was a little more sedate involving 1,200+ k's over 48 hours. The whole thing was set up as an economy run to see which bike was the most economical. Gary Jones (the head Shirang of HVTC) suggested I might like to join them this year so I checked with Jazzman who was real keen as was Dave Jones (no relation). I was particularly keen to see how my BUBF compared to Jazzman's in fuel consumption, particularly as he was claiming great results.
Scheduled
start was at Brown Owl, kicking off at 5:00pm so I teamed up with Dave outside
Wellington Railway Station, he on his Honda Magna, me on my BUBF (recently polished,
tuned and with new rear tyre). After battling the early part of the Wellington
rush our, we got to the start grid with five minutes to spare, gassed up and
introduced ourselves to the others already waiting for the start only to find
kick off was not until 5:30pm. Bugger, I could have worked another half hour
(not!).
There were supposed to be 18 for the event but as start time came round, we were only twelve with J' to join us up-country. It was a real assortment of scoots. A brace of Beemers, nice looking black Triumph (Daytona I think), Fireblade, Kawa' 900 and a couple of others. Our first run was up over the Rimutaka Hill and as usual there was the slow traffic to contend with but I have had worse over there. Regrouped at Featherston then away we shot. HVTC are quite a diverse bunch and the hares quickly bolted while the Tail End Charlie kept a close watch on Mikes K1 as he threaded his way northward. Dave and I were about mid-field and he sure caned it along some of the faster stretches taking great delight in having his V-Four zinging past my throbbing pair.
We had been expecting rain as the forecast was for showers interspersed with rain but we only got a light splashing going through Pahiatua so were pretty lucky I guess. Just coming out of there I blipped the throttle to try and catch the crotch rockets and was picking up speed nicely but failed to spot the slick section of tar seal which caused the rear to snake a bit. I tell you, the sphincter muscle sure clammed shut real quick at that moment.
We
arrived in Woodville for the obligatory meal and J' was patiently waiting for
us. He was early and we were late so he had quite a wait for us. What a patient
soul he is. After gassing up we joined the other guys for a feed and a quiet
beer then on the scoots again, heading for Waipukurau. This time the wet weather
gear was put on as a precaution and it was just as well as we copped a fair
amount of the wet stuff as it was getting dark. Just enough to keep you alert
but not enough to be uncomfortable. By the time we made Waipuk' it had stopped
which made unpacking the bike a little more comfortable. I rummaged around in
my bag and was fortunate to find a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc so that got shared
and it helped to oil the tonsils so lies could be told with suitable embellishment,
and enough distraction so as to completely forget to ring Mrs Toa announcing
our safe arrival. Bugger again!
Dawn saw breakfast being delivered to the room (yum) so we ushered Dawn out and sat down for a quick feed. Before long the bikes were quickly packed for the scheduled long ride. We gassed up again despite the short distance travelled as we weren't scheduled to stop again until Wairoa. From here on in we were to travel together at identical pace so direct comparison would be easily achieved.
Saturday
was to be the big one with 550k's planned, most of it over twisty hilly roads
interspersed with some flats for the speed demons. Thankfully the weather forecasters
were proved very wrong as it was gloriously sunny with only scattered cloud
and we had a great run up through Hastings, Napier and on to Wairoa. The latter
part was brilliant hill country with lots of tight corners and brilliant views.
About this point, Dave was remarking how his butt was really sore and he was
hanging out for a donut ring to sit on. Had to make do with a plastic bag stuffed
with rags but it seemed to ease his pain somewhat. He said it went back many
years to when he was a kid and fell flat on his arse while ice skating. Poor
bastard, it must have been really sore.
Gassed
up at Wairoa then on to Gisborne. This was a shorter stretch but great twisties
that only the East Coast can provide and finished off with some flat out speed
stuff to the outskirts of Gisborne for another quick refill for beast and man.
Then came the masterpiece. Many years previous, I had driven this road but have never been fortunate to ride it. This day turned out perfect and the sun was shining through the few clouds as we headed off. The initial stages were lovely, through a mixture of vineyards, sheep and dairy farms. Some nice long straight sections interspersed with sweeping corners and undulating hills. Then we started to climb. Gisborne is at sea level and Opotiki is also but inbetween we had to climb up to 725 metres which equates to about 2,400 feet over a total distance of 145kms (about 90 miles). About 25% of that is on the flat so we climbed up and back down again in the space of about 70 miles. The road surface was good, nice and clean, no road works, and dry. A lot of the way down we followed the Waioeka River which made it even more enjoyable having such picturesque scenery to view when we weren't concentrating on the road.
The
road was just made for motorcycling, great corners with most requiring third
gear and some needing second. Being nice and dry it allowed plenty of lean into
the corners to test the tyre grip and I never once had a nervous moment. Anyone
contemplating a run through here should have a real close look at their riding
schedule and reschedule the rest of their life so as to allow this trip sooner
rather than later. The last stretch in to Opotiki is one long straight away
and I couldn't resist the opportunity to twist the throttle. Plenty of clear
road ahead and only a slight head wind so I opened it right up. I soon hit 160k's
(100mph) and it was still pulling but the speedo sat on the same mark. Bugger,
that head wind must have been harder than I thought. I held it there and it
still felt like it was pulling but still sat on that same mark. Throttled back
when I saw the town approaching fast and got nervous when I saw J' flashing
his headlight at me. No big problem as it turned out. When we had stopped
earlier to take a few photo's and put on our wets, I had forgotten to do up
my saddlebag so consequently it was flapping in the breeze. Nothing of
consequence was lost apart from a few plastic bags.
While
we had lunch, Dave went scouting for some to sell him something soft to sit
on. Talk about laugh! He came back with a water wing. You know the sort, slip
your arm through it and blow it up. What a laugh. He ended up with this inflatable
thingy taped to his seat and the turtles head sticking up between his legs
Our arrival at Rotorua was uneventful but we were really grateful for the hot pool which was available to us. Most of the guys had beaten us there having chosen to travel at a less sedate pace but that leg saw both J' and I get much better economy over our previous legs. The hour long soak in the hot pool was just what our weary bodies needed.
After soaking for a good hour or so and downing a few welcome beers we wandered through the drizzle to the local Sizzlers for a decent feed with the locals. I forget who I was sitting next to (it may have been Hamish) but we talked about my perception of the Iron Butt being a 1000 miler over 24 hours, just like Rusty Nuts do every year here in NZ. It turns out he's not only very familiar with Rusty Nuts but competed in this years event, just as he had done in seven of the past 10 years. This year he did it in 17 hours. No mean feat huh.
The next day was a whole new kettle of fish. Whereas Saturday only threatened to rain, Sunday was wall to wall water all the way home. A great test for the wet weather gear. Dave did the smart thing and headed off directly home via the main route while we did a bit of a loop. It started off ok when the rain stopped just long enough to allow us all to pack the bikes. We hit the road after gassing up and the first 20 minutes had me wondering if we were going to ride around the big wet but as soon as we hit State Highway #1, so did the rain. It wasn't heavy, just consistent and made the road wet enough to ensure care was taken. The worst part I find in riding in the rain is the way water always seems to get up inside the visor. Then it starts to fog so you flip the visor slightly which clears the fog but just lets more water on the inside. Bugger!
Made it to Taupo in good time then down around the lake to Turangi. I figured we had better gas up here as I wasn't too sure if we would have enough to make Raetihi, the scheduled lunch stop. I pulled into the servo but J' putted up alongside to tell me National Park was only 50k's further on so we hit the road again. Half a click up the road I indicated to turn right and follow the sign pointing to National Park but J' waved me on further south. Huh? I followed dutifully along (gee, I'ld make someone a good wife huh) to the next right where a similar sign said National Park. Here we stopped and with the sheet of directions for assistance I convinced J' we had better head back and meet up with the others. There they were but not many of them. Looks like we were both right in that they would be waiting but not too concerned if we turned up or not. Ho hum.
On
we went and the rain eased up slightly but not for long. Made it to National
Park ok just as J switched to reserve and gassed up again. Were told temp was
about 10c (50f) but soon to drop to an expected 3c. Shit, that's cold! Hit the
road again and made it to Raetihi only to find no sign of the others. Huh? Feeling
sure they were there somewhere (this is a one horse town folks) we rode around
to find all the bikes nicely parked under a shop verandah out of the rain and
the guys spread amongst the vinyl chairs and formica tables of the local diner.
Well, diner is being a bit gracious, but it did serve food except the woman
on the till got really confused with the myriad of buttons on the till. Quite
a comedy really.
Once fed we hit the road yet again, this time to head down the Parapara's which really is biking heaven but the chill and wet made it a little less exciting than would normally be the case. J' led the way but we didn't have the road to ourselves having to tail a few 4WD's and assorted cars. I even got stuck behind an ambling stock truck for about 10k's, none too pleasant an aroma either. That part of the country is famed for it's papa rock (do I have that right J'?). It's a soft rock and slips are very common. When it hit's the ground, it just crumbles and passing traffic mashes it up making a sticky, sloppy mess unless it's cleaned up quickly so you have to be careful riding through. J' copped a bit falling on him and I had a near mess too. Nothing serious, just enough to keep you alert.
A brief stop in Wanganui while waiting for Tail End Charlie to catch up then a quick sprint through to Sanson for the final comparative gas up. Interestingly, over the whole journey, Jazzman and I very achieved similar consumption figures with me getting 16.5 km/ltr while J' got 15.9. We were very similar over the sedate portions but in the areas where the throttle was wound open I was getting 5% to 10% better result. The only difference between our two scoots is mine has after market slipon mufflers and the insert at the end of the main exhaust pipe has been removed allowing better flow. I'll post the full stats shortly.
The run home was hectic. J' had only a short jaunt from Sanson but I still had a further 90 minutes to run and by this time the storm had really kicked in with a further drop in temperature and a big increase in wind speed which was gusting up to 100kph at times. It was mostly head wind but the occasional side draft kept me alert.
By the time I got home all I felt like doing was throwing the blanket over BUBF and sliding my weary body into a warm bath. Bliss!
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