Ride Log 05/01/2021 Kerikeri - Mangamuka - Rawene - Kaikohe and back

• Distance: 423 km
• Roads: Sealed (some gravel on my ride to the meeting point)
• Weather: Sunny, hot
• Buddies: Camilla, Dave Willis, Dave, Steve, Marcel Duchale
• Comments: First ride with this group, bike still has electrical issues but doesn't affect riding (much), lost my front light protector 😒

I left at around 8:15 am from home to meet the group at the Waipapa BP Station. There was some fog at some places which cleared up as soon as the sun rose higher. Peria Road which is in the process of being tar sealed is still in its worse condition. Which proves that something has to get worse first in order to get better.  Very deep gravel at some places and big corrugation at the uphill parts. It is a pleasure to hit the new sealed section. Not that I mind a good  gravel road but only if it is my chocie to ride it. This one I have to ride. 

I had a nice ride to Waipapa. Little traffic that early in the morning, some sun strike but not too bad. I arrived in time at the meeting point. I met Camilla (Susuzki Bandit), Dave (BMW GS), Dave Willis (BMW 1150 GS), Steve who was my Passmasters instructor for the ride forever silver course (Triumph Tiger) and Marcel Duchale who I know from the market (Suzuki VStrom). The initial plan was to ride the short distance to the Blue River Orchard for some coffee and Blueberry treats. But this was abandoned since we were early and the place doesn't open until 10 am. After a brief discussion in frot of the sevice station we decided on the route. Waipapa to Okaihau, onto SH1 heading north, crossing the Mangamuka Gorge and Range, Kaitaia, Ahipara, Herekino, Broadwood, Kohukohu, Ferry to Rawene, Kaikohe, Waimate North. 

After the first couple of kilometers I realized what a great pleasure it is to ride with a group of people who are experienced and who have the same riding style as you have. The speed was cruisy, you didn't have to worry about anyone doing something stupid and could just enjoy the ride. Perfect. 

Our first stop was at the Mangamuka Village Store for some ice cream and a break. Then we headed towards the Mangamukas. SH1 was closed after a massive storm and huge slips which damaged the road quite badly at 11 places. To get updates on work progress visit the NZTA Web site. Most of thee slips are repaired and the road was restored. At some places it had to be moved further into the hill. But the biggest slip at the Northern end of the road is still not fixed. The hillside dropped about 300 meters down and half of the road was hanging in the air. The road is open temporarily until the 10th of January 2021 for light traffic using a one lane traffic light setup. 

The ride over the range was perfect. We had no cars in front of us and could enjoy the tight corners and the scenery without any challenges caused by those Big White Sleeping Boxes on Wheels. We regrouped at the old Pamapuria Store and decided to have a lunch break in Ahipara. 

Marcel and I (Photo courtesy of Camilla)

We stopped at the North Drift Cafe  which was extremely busy. Which is not surprising at this time of the year. Everybody enjoyed a more or less light lunch. Dave almost had to eat two massive Angus Burgers but to his disappointment the second burger was for someone else. 

Next section of the ride was from Ahipara via Herekino, Broadwood to Kohukohu. I took the lead with Dave Willis following me on his 1150 GS. The others fell back a bit. The road is not the best quality with a lot of drops in the tarmac. But as Dave said "We are adventure riders" so we didn't mind. And the scenery made up for it many times over. A short regroup in Kohukoho. I had to press people on and there was no time for a coffee because the Hokianga ferry left in 15 minutes. The ferry was extremely busy. They couldn't even fit all cars onto it. But the good people who run those ferries are always good to bikers. We jumped the queue and could squeeze onto the boat. Otherwise it would have been an hours wait for the next one.  

On the ferry I chatted with a couple from Dunedin. I saw them passing by on their 1200 GS when we had lunch in Ahipara. The did a whole New Zealand tour and just came down from Cape Reinga. They loved the Far North and were looking forward to their ride through Waipoua Forst to Dargaville, their next stop.  

(Photos courtesy of Camilla)

We disembarked in Rawene and parked the bikes on the front deck of the Boatshed for another coffee
break. Most went for the iced coffees they do. I had a Coconut and Banana cake which was excellent. I was very impressed by the service and the quality of the food as well as the presentation. 

The ride to Kaikohe was eventless - well almost. Our "coffee cruise" got rudely interrupted by a hoon on his bike which featured a rear tire as wide as a Formula1 race car slick. His pipes were so loud I guess he wanted to save as many lives as possible. (Loud pipes save lives - yeah right). 

I don't k now what it is but some roads just don't "speak to me". The Rawene - Kaikohe road is one of them. We had a brief stop to say good bye to Camilla who is from Whangarei and headed home via Twin Bridges (one of my favorite roads up here). Steve kindly invited us to his place for a cuppa. We enjoyed Steve's and his wife's hospitality, hot and cold drinks were much appreciated. But I felt the pressure of two dogs being locked in the house sine 8 am so I headed back home soon. 

After a nice ride home, a petrol stop at Kapiro,  mastering that dreaded gravel road again I arrived home safe, tired and happy. A perfect riding day.

Please note, the end of the video is quite abrupt because of a flat camera battery

Kaitaia - Kerkeri - Matauri Bay - Whangaroa Harbour - Doubtless Bay

Weather: Mainly sunny and dry, one big shower
Road: Sealed, some unsealed
Rever Link:


I left home at around 11:30 am. There were lots of tourists on the road but manageable. Most drivers are happy to let you pass. I enjoyed the Maungamukas as I do most of the times. Followed by an easy ride along State Highway 1. Just one numbnut who thought he had to prove he can drive as fast as a bike and didn't bother with his following distance. I left him behind on the twisty bits and he eventually gave up. I lost him in Okaihau when I turned left towards Kerikeri and I was happy to leave him chasing shadows on his way back to the big city in the south. Idiots like him push the road toll upwards.

I stopped at the Old Packhouse Market for a coffee and a catch up with my stall holder friends. I was thinking of having a swim and my friend Julie gave me her secret favourite beach location in the north. I'll keep it secret for now.

I popped in to New World for the hunt for some coffee filter papers for my nice customers Antonie and Rolf. They are German tourists and struggled to find the right sized coffee filters. When I came out of the supermarket the lights on the bike were at full beam. Hang on, what? Me idiot left the key in the ignition. My excuse: my mind is busy at the moment with a "personal situation". I am at some times totally incapable of concentrating on the real life. Got to get it out of my system. 

Hopped on the bike and decided to skip swimming at the beach and do the Matauri Bay - Whangaroa Loop instead. I did that road in 1998 when visiting New Zealand as tourists with a motor camper. Back then the road was all unsealed. I took that road again a while ago with the car when there was a car accident on SH1 and they used the loop road as a detour. I then learned it is now all sealed and always wanted to do this beautiful part of our Northland roads on the bike. 

So I turned right from SH1 towards Matauri Bay. This is a lovely road. Long straights, high speed corners, some twisty bits with tight corners with speed recommendations of 35, 25 and even 15km on the yellow signs. The sun was shining, the landscape is stunning what more could you want. You come to a T-junction and turn left towards Whangaroa Harbour. The road winds up a hill and to your right lies Matauri Bay and the Cavalli Islands. There is a lookout after about 1 km. I stopped there to enjoy the view. 

Matauri Bay was busy. You could see boats zipping around in the bay, cars looked like toys from up there and the campgrounds were packed to the limit. 

A couple of people stopped to enjoy the view and I got to talk to a couple. Liam was from Paihia and rides a Harley. He was accompanied by Carmen a German girl from Frankfurt being on holidays. It is a funny thing with Harley riders. He introduced himself like "You might hate me already but I am riding a Harley". Why can't we be all just bikers? I don't really care what you ride as long as you are a nice guy or girl. You obviously love that kind of bike as much as I love mine. That's all what matters.  

Liam asked if he could sit on my bike and he was really interested. We were chatting about Ewan McGregor and The Long Way Around
 and stuff. Then he pointed to my rear tyre and said "That's not looking good". I was shocked to find the rubber gone and the thread coming through. How could this happen? I checked the tyre before I left. It was definitely ok. I wiped down the rims at home and would have seen any damage. There was none. Shit. Not good. I said goodbye to Carmen and Liam and
started limping home. A shit feeling if you know your tyre might give in any moment now. Knowing it was on the right side of the tyre I took right hand corners with a feeling like driving on raw eggs (A German saying, "Wie auf rohen eiern"). I couldn't really enjoy the ride from then on. I will have to do that road again. 

I got into a heavy shower just before Mangonui but dried out again during the ride. I stopped briefly at Antonie and Rolf's Holiday Unit and they were over the moon that I got them their coffee filters. I then had to make the decision whether to take the shortest route home via Peria which has about 20 km of unsealed road or if I take "The Long Way Home" via Kaitaia which is all sealed. I decided I'll go past Peria. If I get a flat on that road I know enough people where I could leave the bike. Luckily I made it without incident and was glad to have her back in the garage. 

Now I have to find some new tyres and organize them being put on the rims. We don't habe a bike shop up here which would provide the whole service. I will have to remove the wheels myself, organize tyres to be sent to me and then I can get them mounted. Put the wheels back in and I should be sorted. Still, not something I would want at around this time of the year. Most businesses are closed. Crap!

    

First ride

Sunday after a function we had at the hall I couldn't wait any longer. So I put on my full knights armour, got the bike out and off we went. First mini-challenge, drive a heavy bike you've never really ridden before down a washed out driveway. I was so nervous and tense my adrenaline shot up with every small slip of the tires. Stupid really. I had to force myself to relax. That was the situation for most of the ride anyway. "Relax!" The first curve, "Am I too fast? Whoa does she lean too far into the turn.Am I too fast/slow? Coming too far to the road shoulder..... just relax!"

It took about 20 km for me to settle down and enjoy the ride. I went up north, through Kaitaia, Awanui, Waipapakauri to Waihara. There I turned around and went back. My nerves settled and the grin got wider. Overtaking slow cars? Whooohooo. Flying past. This is great. I got a feel for the curves and bends. Just before Awanui on my way back AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH a warning light on the dash. What now? Oh, oops, low on petrol. This shows how nervous I was.

Turned into BP station in Awanui, filled her up, felt great to walk into the shop as a "biker". Paid for the petrol, hopped on the bike and after the attendant brought me my key I left inside and after I figured out that a bike doesn't start if the kill switch is turned to off I was on my way again.

Back home (up the driveway wasn't as bad as down the driveway) I felt really good.

Next task: sort out a way to attach my action cam to the bike and to do some videos when riding.

The Beginning or "Midlifecrisis? What Crisis?"

So here I am, owner of a motorcycle. How did this happen? Well, changes mainly. Lots of changes in my life. Good, bad, all of the above. It's called life. Is it midlife crisis? I don't know, Don't care.

It took me some 2 - 3 months to make up my mind, gather enough courage, buy the riding gear and be ready for the big step. And it became a big step i.e. a big bike. I came to a crossing on the road to bike ownership where I had to make the choice between reason and what some might call unreason. between a light bike and a heavy one. Between 40 HP and 100HP. Between 650CC, 800CC and 1200CC. Unreason won. I felt I am too old to be reasonable all the time.If that makes any sense at all.

I bought a 2005 BMW R1200GS. 1st of May 2017 was the day for pick up.

I was so excited that I stuffed up the ties of the bike onto the trailer. Drove out of the driveway of the seller and the bike shook and the ties came off. Shit! If that would have happened when on the road ..... don't really want to think about it but I did think about it a lot. A 200kg bike falling off a trailer. Right! Cool! No!
The rest of the trip was uneventful, I unloaded the bike myself, another unreasonable activity but all went well. That was on a Monday and I didn't have time to go out on it until Sunday. So there was a lot of petting, stroking the seat and sitting on it in the garage,