DAY ONE DAY TWO
This is always an early start. After coffee
and a big breakfast were were on the road
for 06.45am. The air was fresh and the roads
were wet. After a night of rain the first farm
sections were fun but slippery with bikes
heading every which way. It wasn’t long
before we were riding in the clouds and
the rain was getting heavier – vision was
becoming a challenge. The thought of this for
500km wasn’t pleasant.
A couple of hundred kilometres down
the road at the first fuel stop the rain had
stopped but the process of drying out was
taking a while. Ticking off the kilometres on
the Africa Twin is an easy process, there’s
plenty of comfort and enough power to get
yourself into and out of trouble, keeping me
on my toes.
The challenge section of the Awakino Saddle
was coming up next. Let me paint you the
picture of climbing a rather large mountain
range that has more rocks on it than one
could possibly imagine, plus the fact that
some of us were taking a 250kg motorcycle
up there… and back down the other side.
Luckily, we had no dramas but the view of the
Clyde Dam and Alexandra in the distance was
a great sight to see after a long day. Checking
into the hotel at 6.30pm, that long awaited
shower felt so good. That night we caught up
with everyone else over a few beers and a
well deserved steak. It rained heavily most of the night so it was
going to be a ‘fun’ day. Being able to travel
light as we were ‘just’ doing a 400km loop
south and back to Alex’ again for the night...
the race was on. The low cloud and damp
conditions made for a breathtaking ride with
no dust.
It wasn’t long before we were climbing up
high and the temperature dropped fast.
Then came the surprise of getting to a
gateway with fresh snow everywhere, even
icicles on the gate. The following section
before heading to Piano Flats was one of
my favourite sections of the ride. With some
slippery rocks and clay downhills I was just
along for the ride as the Africa Twin made its
own way to the bottom at its own speed…
After Piano Flats the roads were open and
flowing. The balance of this day is hard to
put into words as you really have to be there
to see the sights and ride in such perfect
conditions.
98 KIWI RIDER
Being able to travel light
as we were ‘just’ doing
a 400km loop south and
back to Alex’ again for the
night... the race was on