I almost missed out on this event as I had another event planned for the original date . Thanks to Covid the event was postponed , so I ended up being able to do it . It was going to be my first rally ! I got on with planning . Accommodation was booked , new tyres put on my Tiger 1200 , everything all checked on the bike , ready to go ... some two weeks earlier than the event ! Oh well , I just had to hurry up and wait . I had no idea what it was going to be like having never done one before . Thoughts started racing through my head , so I contacted a mate to come and do the rally with me - we could get lost together !. He said “ hell yes !”, so Don and I started making plans . Both of us ride Tiger 1200s , and the mighty Tigers were raring to go . At Friday night registration it was time to meet other riders and catch up with Don . The rain set in overnight and thoughts of greasy , muddy , gravel trails put a big grin on my face , I was so looking forward to it . Saturday morning it was still raining , so we set off for breakfast at the bakery across the road , with a good old steak and cheese pie hitting the spot . The ride briefing was followed by a big selection of bikes firing up . We set off out of the gate , followed by Ian and Sean ( from Pukekohe ). The rain had stopped so visibility was good . I had loaded the route on my GPS , but unfortunately it was having a glitch ( I actually loaded it wrong , doh ...). So I set about following the tyre tracks on the gravel , but I knew this wouldn ’ t last when we got to tar seal . I was hoping I would see other riders and that they were going the right way . I turned around at one point as I saw Don turn down a road off to the right , so I headed that way and caught up to him . After a quick review of his Rever map , we headed off again hoping we were headed in the right direction . We came across other riders heading off from an intersection and decided to follow them as the app was playing up . Basically we were just winging it ! The gravel was wet , but a lot of fun . I headed out of one corner a little too hot , having dropped a gear and given it too much throttle ... into the ditch I went , no harm or damage to the bike , had a bit of a laugh . Thankfully a couple stopped to give me a hand to lift it out of the ditch ; damn , I couldn ’ t figure out why it was so hard to push ... ah , sorry guys , it ’ s still in gear . After a few more laughs , we were off again . What a fantastic day . We started out at 08:40 and got back at around 17:30 , with only half an hour for lunch . The day was spent riding the fantastic course that was laid out by the organisers , and we got back in time for dinner and prize giving with a few tall stories .
AMAZING SPOT PRIZE The major spot prize of the TTAR was a month ’ s use of the new Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro , which I won ! This is what I think of it after my time with the Rally Pro . It ’ s a big improvement on the previous Tiger models , both of which I have ridden .
KIWI RIDER 99