What a ride! I came home Tuesday, the long way, and I didn't want to stop. I am definitely booking the next SCRR (Southern Cross Rusty Rally),  Jim and Neko, even you would have a great time!Monday 23rd, inconsiderate excited boy bikers drove me mad as we left Cape Egmont, the New Plymouth rush was nearly as bad as Auckland!John and I arrived at Awanui at 10pm via SH10 and had a great ride. My new lights work really, really well  Weather was good and we didn't want to stop. Motel arrangement was a bit suspect (no John, you cant sleep in my bed!) but was sorted quickly.Tuesday to Cape Reinga was great with 20km of gravel at the end. LESSON:  100km/hr is a lot more stable than 40km/hr on gravel!Heading South, John had a puncture of unknown origin in the front tyre just south of Kawakawa. I put a plug in it, he called Cycletread for advice and they suggested he go to Hikurangi M/C to get a proper plug in it. He finished up with a 'tyre pando' equivalent. After 100 odd km the tyre was  going down and we discovered the valve was stuffed. Replaced valve at  Waipu. Just north of Te Hana John stopped and reported the front wheel was vibrating so badly over 100k that he couldnt continue, he said he was finished and told me to push on! By now it was 4pm and I had to get to Opotiki before I could sleep. I didn't enjoy leaving my mate by the roadside. The Auckland rush hour traffic drove me mad again and I didn't wait for anyone! If  you were the guy in the white Ford Falcon who blocked me then blasted your  horn as I found the gap, get stuffed, I was on a mission!I stopped at BP Papakura for bike and body fuel then continued on via Matamata and  Te Puke, where I stopped to phone the hotel in Opotiki to say I was  running late, here I found my little bag of instructions, taped to the top of  the tank, had blown away. The MP3 player that was also in there was hanging by  it's headphone cord down the side of the bike. (I knew that hadn't gone,  ABBA was still ringing in my ears)Bugger, no phone numbers, no boat tickets..... phoned the social secretary  and issued orders to call the pub and tell them I was late. Answer came back that they would hold the bar open until I arrived. ( You lovely people at the Masonic Hotel)I moved it a bit, there were no cops on the Matata Straights. From  Edgecombe to Awakeri, then Opotiki, the fog made riding pretty exciting! I was following the white centre line at 40km/hr or thereabouts for quite a distance. Finally, 1130pm, I rode up to the pub. A smoker puffing away outside came over and asked if I was 'Dick', the guy they were waiting for, on the affirmative he unlocked the garden bar where I stored my bike and led me into the bar.Two fellow bikers who had arrived 2 ½ hours before me said “Tell us your war story!” i.e. Why are you this late? Two rum and cokes later they had the answer.The next morning it took me exactly 2 hours to get to Te Araroa from Opotiki, I didnt hoon it and I even stopped to take photos. With another 20 odd trusty souls I rode out to East Cape on gravel more unstable than the lot at Cape Reinga. The rest of the bikers stayed at Te Araroa as the fuel pump hadn't opened as advertised (ANZAC Day!) So, only 20 odd of us are true finishers!When a sports biker came out to tell us the sign-in book was in Te Araroa we suggested he was just trying to get to the front of the queue (of 134 bikers). After much crossing of heart and pointing to God we accepted his story and headed back to Te Araroa. Yep, gravel is a lot better at  speed. I was 'storming' along with the back wheel squirming around when a sports biker went past at about 140k, made me feel quite unskilled.I didn't need to refuel before Gisborne. I meet up with the DSE (DaiWai, StevenRT and Eddie) en-route and stayed with them until Napier where we took different routes South (I didn't have a ZUMO!) I was in my Ma's place in Levin at 7pm. ( You have to ask them where they were about then) The morning ride to the ferry was a bit, UM, pushy? I had totally miscalculated the Wellington morning traffic. Filtering is not illegal right?Straight on to the boat and the deck officer saying this was the first time they had ever had more bikes than cars on board.A smooth crossing was followed by a smooth ride south. At one of the road works traffic lights north of Kaikoura a shiny red Ducati pulled up alongside. “How far to Kaikoura?” said I. The answer was the same I received whenever I asked 'how far to' in the South Island “15 minutes” he said. “I filled up in Dannevirke and I'm sure I have enough fuel to get to Kaikoura, my trip meter is showing 360k or thereabouts.” He was shocked! “You filled up where?” He had stopped twice as often for fuel.I encountered rain at Oxford on the Inland Route and in the failing twilight tucked in behind a BMW car from there to Geraldine. He realised I was locked on to his tail and helped me through the next 100km. If you are out there mate, thanks a million, little taps on the brake lights when there were puddles of water on the road and the fact I could see which way the corners went was very helpful. At Geraldine I was at the loo at the petrol stop and there was a pounding on the door. A woman in distress I thought, but no, bloody StevenRT had spotted me from the gas station opposite and had come to check me out. After fronting to their gas stop it became apparent I was the new ride leader to Omarama. The weather was still crap! After Fairlie I was yelling into the radio "where the heck are you, I'm on the open road at 40km/hr with no-one in my mirrors and I  want to sleep in a bed tonight"  😡  Finally the weather cleared and we got on with it.The last day started with me insisting on a proper breakfast, If you are ever near Omarama and need to stop for body fuel, they do it really well at the cafe next to the gas station.I caught and passed the DSE riders in the middle of the Lindus Pass, 2 of them stuck with me to Bluff.At 12 noon I signed in at Sterling Point and received my badge from Lee Rusty, what a buzz! Until you've done it you don't know what it's worth, I  was offered $10 for my badge on the ferry on the way home and I laughed, she couldn't have bought it for $5000 and sexual favours!What did I learn? Ride your own ride, yes, you can agree to share a motel each evening but when you leave and arrive is up to you, you're not holding anyone up and you aren't being held up. Eat properly at least once a day, gas station pies don't contain brain food. Metzeler Z6 tyres are great. PIAA driving lights make me want to ride at night. GPS helps to get you lost. Tyre 'pando' has it's uses but long distance riding is not one of them. There is no gravel at night!What happened to John? He rode home slowly from Te Hana and phoned the Rusty's to say he was out as he couldn't get a tyre till Thursday. They told him to head straight to Bluff, as long as he was there before Saturday 1pm he could finish, he then had to ride home via East Cape and take a photo of his bike at the lighthouse. This he did, good on yer mate!So, 6028km later I'm ready to go again, I'm really looking forward to the BMWOR Annual Rally in Alexandra in January.  😀