What can I say? It didn’t go to plan. This was my third TT2000. I had done well the previous year and was hoping to do as well, if not better this time around. Perhaps that was where my problems began. I chose to do the South Island leg. I never get tired of the […]
I ride a 2005 BMW R1200 GS – it has a range of around 300km before the fuel-warning light flicks on – a lot less if I’m forced to use 91 octane. When the light comes on I might have another 75km before I’m running on empty. In a small country like New Zealand, you […]
I get very excited at the prospect of a long ride. It’s therapy for me. Time away to smell the fresh air and think about – well – not much at all. Each time one of these rides comes along I vow to be well prepared. Every time I seem to leave preparation until the […]
I have always made a habit of buying the best gear I can possibly afford. The old Summit shirt byline “No-one ever regretted buying quality” is a maxim I try to live by, but quality is expensive. In the case of wet weather motorcycle gear, it’s worth every penny. I soon discovered how much it […]
I survived. You will have seen the map from Part 3, and also the weather forecast which predicted rain. Both of these things were accurate. I followed the track (with some slight GPS variations), and it rained like a bastard for 20 something hours. Long John had planned an interesting ride – a series of […]
So the route has been revealed. This happened last night at 7pm. Bit of a weird one this time. Seems Turangi is the ‘hub’ from which four rides emanate, each around 300-400kms long. And as expected I’ve woken to a miserable drizzly day. Thankfully there’s no wind, yet. And the rain is set to intensify. […]