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Page5 - QueensBirthday Weekend and a trip to the Brass Monkey 2005 By Carl. |
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Once we reached Duntroon we headed inland again to Kurow where we stopped for fuel. While there Pete and Paul caught us up. We all headed across the road for lunch and decided what to do next. The day was still young giving Paul enough time to have some more fun and get the bike back in time. I had also thought of a place for Marc and I to stay the night so we decided to follow Pete the adventurous way. So with great weather, after a relaxed lunch and yet another visor clean we rode off to the Aviemore Dam. The view there was spectacular but regrettably nobody stopped for a photo. As we crossed the dam we had the lake on our left, but I preferred the wonderful view of the valley on the right. Later Marc said he had wanted a photo but didn't want to hold us up too often. It would almost be worth returning just for the photo we never took. Once across the dam we turned left and followed the lake as it turned back into a river and finally we reached the Benmore Dam. Now instead of crossing over this Dam we turned right and went through a locked gate for which Pete had been given the combination by the guys back at the Rally. This is where the fun starts. I told Marc earlier that he will probably learn lots from this trip. As it happens I may have been right. As soon as we went through the gate the road turned in to a track that followed the Pylons up the mountain. The track quickly become quite steep and rocky as we rounded the first hairpin bend. It was just about half way up to the next plateau that Marc ran out of road and stopped with the bike finishing on its side. When I didn't see him coming behind me I parked and walked back to where I could see him trying to get the bike started again. Things did not go well and I wondered if bringing him here with such a load on his little bike was becoming a bad idea. He now had a broken side cover on the bike and wasn't looking to happy. |
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I helped him get steady and he got the bike started again. Watching him bounce up the hill was a little scary and I quickly realized what the real problem was. His load was all wrong for this kind of riding. Marc stopped by my bike and I found my tape to secure the broken side cover. Now Paul and Pete arrived on the scene. They had been having a break back at the gate giving us a chance to get ahead so that they could have a real blast to catch up. I had a little laugh as we had only gone about 500 meters. I told them what I thought the trouble was. Pete supplied a couple of extra bungees and Paul rearranged Marcs load taking some of his bags off the back and putting them over the front mudguard in front of the headlight. This made the bike a lot less top heavy and thus better balanced.
Away Marc went again climbing up the hill and around the next bend out of sight. This time he looked better. The rest of us mounted our machines and started off after him. The road condition improved a little and the hills did not seem so steep. |
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the view of the Power Station from the road just above where Marc dropped his bike. |
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Paul with bungee adjusting the load and Carl with tape |
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We followed the power pylons above Lake Benmore with some more great views. The day got hotter and I was surprised how still it was up the top of the hills with no wind at all. We started removing some of our layers of clothing. |
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The lake below us |
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Another view and Carl in his mirror |
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Marc and Pete riding, Benmore in the background |
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Along the Black Forest Road in to the Haldon Station where we paid the $5 per person toll for use of the road. Then the plan was to head out to Burks pass and head our separate ways. Paul to go home, Marc and I were going to Winchester and I'm not sure about Petes plan. A couple more minutes riding and Marc had the bad luck of getting a flat tyre right outside the Haldon School. Now I was carrying spare tubes that were the right size for my BMW and tyre leavers etc but that would be no help to Marc. Pete had some tube patches, but he and Paul were ahead and didn't see us stop. I left a message on both their cell phones about the flat. Marc went to a nearby house and found himself a farmer. The nice Farmer came to his rescue and removed the wheel, took it back to his workshop and fixed it for us. |
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the road ahead |
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Marcs bike minus a wheel |
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What a champion, what a relief.
The Farmer fixing Marcs tube. |
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I sent another message to the others saying the situation was under control but they didn't get that one until they arrived back where we were. Never mind, at least we were all ok and about to be mobile again. It went dark while the tyre was being fixed so Marcs load was redone again to unblock his headlight. Without the sun it would be colder again so I put my extra clothes back on. Pete and Paul headed off to their destinations and Marc and I headed off again to Cliff and Ingrids house near Winchester. This turned out to be a good plan. We arrived about 8:30pm and Ingrid had the fire going which was a welcome sight. Ingrid feed us and as it happened had lived in Berlin for a while herself so Marc and Ingrid had lots in common to talk about.
Monday morning came and we were in no hurry to move. Marc had the grand tour of the property visiting the animals and talking about pruning Apple trees and stuff. It must have been near 11am when we hit the road again. The traffic got heaver the closer we got to Christchurch and with a top comfortable speed of around 80km/hr for the XL I took Marc off the main road after the Rakaia bridge so we got to our homes with a lot less stress by going through Lincoln.
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It was a great little adventure enjoyed by all.
Carl. |
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