A Bouquet for Transit New Zealand

[David]

#1490

My apologies to the Coollist riders who have already read this but I wanted to share it with the wider audience.
I'm off to Levin via New Plymouth early tomorrow morning, between 2-3am. I need the night flying practise for the Grand Challenge. I checked the AA Road condition report but thought it quite vague.
I found this website which gives almost realtime updates on icing conditions at the known trouble spots in the North Island. It gives road and air temperatures and relative humidity% ( need higher humidity for ice to form ).
http://arthur.inspire.net.nz/top_map.php
I phoned the Transit NZ 0800 number and they gave me information on known road works on SH3, the part I'll be travelling at night. They cant give me data on small fix-its as the contractors go out and set up their 'bike traps' whenever they feel like it 🙂
I commend Transit NZ on this initiative, I think it's brilliant!

[David]

#4963

and so to continue:
I was up at 2am to check the Transit website and found that all 3 'ice sites' had the 'ICE' warning signs on with road and air temperatures below zero. There was now definitely no way I was going down the centre of the North Island so New Plymouth via the Awakino Gorge I went.
It was bloody freezing! The heated grips on the RT kept the palms of my hands warm but the tips of my fingers were so cold they hurt. My left thumb was freezing as the headlight dipswitch is not heated......where my thumb had to live.
Even though I was staying under the 'speeding' limit I could see the constabulary from a long way off. They had trucks pulled over and their disco lights hard at work at 4am.
For some of the trip the stars were out, not a cloud to be seen and not much traffic either. It was a great feeling! (Well, those bits that I could feel)
An errant contractor had set his 'bike trap' in the middle of the gorge. I was nearly caught out when blinded by a truck coming toward me and didnt see the roadworks signs and cones until nearly too late. I countersteered around the centreline cones just like they teach at RRRS Day, wrapped the throttle open to straighten up on the gravel and got back to the hard surface before the sphincter muscle had time to come into play.
Then the fog set in! It was crawling pace to Awakino itself then a quick run to NP down the coast, slowing again for the fog patches inland. I now have a clear visor with the 'pinlock' system to hopefully make life a little easier in these situations.
So, thanks Transit NZ, great warning system you have. now if we can only control the rogue contractors 😕

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