-
I've just read Garry W's ride report about his trip to the Kaipara adventure ride, and it's shamed me in to posting this little ride report I posted on one of the UG GS sites recently.OK, so it's not a three day epic like Garrys, but hopefully it'll remind one or two folks why we enjoy riding our bikes. Here goes ...Saturday 8/10, me and a couple of mates managed to slip the bonds of our respective responsibilities, filled up the GS’s, checked the oil, kicked the tyres and went out for a play ...The last time I'd been out for a “play� with these guy's I'd ended up at a track day at Pukekohe, and for a time ... well most of the time, I was the slowest bike on the track, but Gav and Wayne were on ZX's of one flavour or another and I was on the 1150. On that day, I was well down on talent and power, however on this expedition I'd turned the tables in my favour.Gav had traded the ZX-9 because there aren't too many side car adaptations that would accommodate his enlarged family, and Wayne had decided that the ZX-6 had to go because ... well let's just say he's sensible enough to realise that he want's to keep his licence, and his bike. As a result he'd picked up an F 650 GS Dakar the weekend before our trip. With that bit of history, the scene's set. Three blokes, three adventure bikes, and an opportunity ... what more could you ask for?After the obligatory photo stop at the top of the street, and because time was limited, we headed up State Highway 10, at the gentle pace, and hopefully we’d timed it right to get to 90 Mile Beach just before low tide.
After half and hour there was our first real photo opportunity at Tipa, and a chance to make sure that all was well, because my airhead hadn't seen much use recently, Wayne's bike was new to him, and it was Gav's first experience of BMW's indicators 😀
After a brief “reality check� moment for the two daft Geordies (Geordie (N): Born within sight of the River Tyne in the north east of England), me and Gav, standing with the blue sea in front of us, the bikes behind us, and the blue sky of a Kiwi spring day above us, thinking ... “this IS real� ... we headed north to Kaitia to top up with fuel.... to say that disaster struck might be over stating the case, but I was somewhat taken aback when the airhead seemed to have given up the ghost after refuelling. Fortunately, the problem turned out to have been caused when the rider got off the bike and inadvertently flicked the kill switch ... doh.On the run into Kaitia, the massive sand dunes at the southern end of 90 Mile Beach are clearly visible on the horizon, and that's where we were headed. Ahipara, and the most southerly access to the beach.Our brief stop in Ahipara was our last chance for a photo stop before we turned our back on the tar-sealed roads for a while.
Getting the bikes onto the beach was a piece of cake. The beach access is clearly marked and well used.So, we rode onto the beach and headed north. All three of us had heard and read that it was a long way up the beach, and that there were areas of soft sand, and river crossings to be dealt with so the pace for the first stretch was very steady.Once we could start to “read� the sand, and identify the local soft spots and stream crossings, the speeds began to creep up, and quite quickly we were all keeping to a steady 100 kph, easily avoiding the soft sand and deeper sections of stream crossings.The only other obstacles to be wary of were the occasional 4x4’s, and they were few and far between and also the sand was wide enough for everybody to have plenty of space. One other slightly more serious problem was that riding on the wet sand kicked up the spray which covered your visor which in turn meant that, at times it was a little difficult to see where you were going. However, by this stage our confidence was building because, at worst, the soft sand only got the bikes slightly out of shape, and the stream crossings were all very shallow.About 40 km up the beach is a little rocky outcrop called The Bluff which becomes an island at high tide, and as we approached it, we saw another couple of guys on Adventure bikes heading south, so we gave them a wave, and looked for somewhere firm enough to park the bikes for quick break.
After a quick chat to compare notes and a quick couple of photos, we headed north again, full of confidence and a feeling that all was well with the world. Gav even decided to try his hand at taking some action shots as we started up the second half of the beach.
However, once he’d put the camera away, he decided that it really was play time, and took high delight in trying to kick up rooster tails of sand at every possible opportunity, not to mention tucking his 6’-5â€? frame in as tight as possible, and “giving it the berriesâ€?.For some reason, we covered the northern end of the beach far more quickly than we’d covered the southern end 😉At the northern end of the beach you turn up the Te Paki Stream Road to reach some slightly more conventional roads.The one thing that you should be aware of with the Te Paki Stream Road is that the road is the stream, and the stream is the road, by this stage we were all having so much fun that we all took high delight in riding up and down through the water for the obvious photo opportunities, and also to wash as much salt off the bikes as possible …
After turning our backs on the 66 miles of 90 Mile Beach we carried on heading north on the 25 kms of gravel track up to the lighthouse at Cape Reinga.Do you recall that I mentioned about the tables being turned in my favour? Well this was the section where my cunning plan came to fruition.I was riding the 80 with some decent Gripsters on, Wayne was on the F650 with pretty well stuffed TKC’s, Gav was on the 1150 with completely stuffed Tourance’s … note to forum, over gravel, an 80 on Gripsters will romp away from an 1150 on Tourance “slicksâ€? 😉
Unfortunately, the Cape was as far as we could manage within the time constraints, so we headed back, but instead of returning down the beach, we followed the gravel until we met the tarmac … this is were the tables turned against me again … on the flowing road south to Awanui, in the hands of a track day hero, an F650 with pretty well stuffed TKC’s can hang on to the coat-tails of an 1150 on Tourance “slicksâ€?, however both of them will romp away from an 80 on Gripsters, 😀 
… one quick “comfort stop� back at Tipa on the way back, and we were home just after 6:30, in time for a swift beer whilst we jet washed the three bikes and talked a suitable amount of … nonsense.440 kms in a little over 7 hours … not a bad little run out to start the season.Keep it safe guys
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.