Round 2 for a 3 day ride

[VladTepes]

Wow !  What awesome scenery.. and a beautiful boat !

[KiwiCol]

Thursday, home day


Franz Joseph to Christchurch


Not many pic's of this run as it started to rain just after I left, thought it would probably die out, nope & so 160k later I was wet through with my rain suit nicely tucked away in the bag.


1, 2 & 3) Couple of pies for brunch at Kumara, just ahead of the wet, but it caught me again for a few miles.
4, 5 & 6) The dirty girl when I got home - these are for Lord Barmy


I gave her a wash & dry & polish & oiled the chain before I tucked her up for the night.  She's looking lovely again & ready to roll on the next adventure.


My new ram mount for the GoPro arrived the day I left - poo, It's on there now & works a treat, but if I'd had it just a day earlier & could have videoed most of the trip.  Never mind, I have a similar trip saved on video anyway.


I must say, the roads down south, especially round the tourist areas are very good indeed.  I'm not taking the mick here either, it's the tourists we can thank for these good roads, as without them, they wouldn't have been upgraded to the extent they have been., so thanks tourists, but stay on your side of the road aye!!

[Kiwifruit]

Great photos Col. Thanks for sharing.

[Red Biker]

Inspiring stuff Col,
every shot looks awesome (apart from the TWO pies) no wonder you need all those ponies to lug you around

Great scenary though and not a jam in sight! Not sure how you are going to follow that.

Cheers
Red

[Kiwifruit]

Inspiring stuff Col,
every shot looks awesome (apart from the TWO pies) no wonder you need all those ponies to lug you around

Great scenary though and not a jam in sight! Not sure how you are going to follow that.

Cheers
Red

Perhaps Col's Org name should be Tu Pai 

[Red Biker]

Inspiring stuff Col,
every shot looks awesome (apart from the TWO pies) no wonder you need all those ponies to lug you around

Great scenary though and not a jam in sight! Not sure how you are going to follow that.

Cheers
Red

Perhaps Col's Org name should be Tu Pai 

Does he wear a wig Kiwi? 

[KiwiCol]

Inspiring stuff Col,
every shot looks awesome (apart from the TWO pies) no wonder you need all those ponies to lug you around

Great scenary though and not a jam in sight! Not sure how you are going to follow that.

Cheers
Red

Perhaps Col's Org name should be Tu Pai 

@Kiwifruit  @Red Biker

Now that's funny!!   Nice Col.

Aaaaand, it was breakfast & lunch, It'd been 14 hours since I ate something, so my tank was running on reserve.

Tu Pai?  could fly.

[KiwiCol]

The roads were amazingly un-cluttered.  I was most often traveling alone, no-one in front (or not for long!) and no-one following.  Had the roads to myself.  I couldn't believe it myself.

Def got more traffic near the towns, but I always managed to get a nice 'hole' to travel in.

[KiwiCol]

The bike went very good & strong for the whole trip. I did fuel comparisons (95 & 91) over the journey, and from what I can see, it makes no difference whatsoever to economy or power. (Dave says it just cleans the insides a bit more than 91 though)


Highlights of the ride, in the order I did them.


Omarama to Tarras (The Lindis Pass)
Awesome road, much improved since I last was over it years ago. Just an awesome ride on a bike when you want to push hard into the bends.


Queenstown to Glenorchy
A very nice piece of road. Wide, good seal, fabulous vistas and some good twisties if you want. First time I'd actually been down that piece, it won't be the last either!


Arrowtown to Wanaka (via The Crown Range)
Waaaay improved over what it was last time I traveled that road, 25 odd years ago!!  All sealed now, used to be a dirt road with lots of 1 lane bridges & rutted to buggery!   Now, it's bloody awesome! Wide, great seal (it's a theme this great seat in central!) an 15k switchback at the start are a blast! Love those bits.  There is a shot of some of them above in the 2nd lot of photos.


Haast to Jacksons Bay
First for this piece of road too, map showed long straight roads & so it was.  Some of them are bumpy, quite dramatically so, but others are fine, you can let the girl stretch her legs a while on those, not traffic, no population, no side streets, just dead straight & empty road, hmmmm, what would you do?


Cook Saddle & Omoeroa Saddle
Between Fox Glacier & Franz Joseph Glacier
This is a tight & 'technical' ride if you want to do it at pace (which I do of course) and is quite a challenge at the end of a tiring days ride, but a bloody blast & adrenaline rush as well!  Just finishes off a fantastic days ride.


Franz up the coast towards Hokitika
Some great scenery & fantastic vistas on this road.  Gotta watch the moss growing on the road surface along here (well from Haast really) it's right where we want to ride. Also have to watch the corners, you start round one & it's a dry corner, ½ way round it changes to a wet one with moss growing right where you're riding!!   Keeps you on your toes.


Must also say, in this thread too, those new tyres I put on prior to this wee trip did fantastic. Right from new they handled everything I did to them, and in a manner befitting the lady on which they were mounted. 
I did 400 - 500K of wet riding & never the slightest hint of let go or slip. Lines in the road, no prob, painted lines & arrows, all taken in stride & without fuss (or slippage).  I think they have the compound right on these Angel GT's. A big tick from me.
I'm not bagging the Michy's, just they do have some quirky traits, and, at this stage, the Angels do not appear to have these.


Cheers Col.

Wow, I managed to stick this bit on to the thread, belongs with these pics.

[owen426]

Good work Col, love reading travel threads.

[Kiwifruit]

Same Owen, travel threads are a great read.

[Red Biker]

Brill stuff Col, love all the little details you give 👍

Red