WEEKLY ISSUE of Gravel NEWZ
Recapping on our DAY 1 - One VERY successful Labour Weekend - NGARNZ visit Gisborne and we explore Gisborne "The NGARNZ Way" - "OUR WAY"
Meeting at The MotorCamp and the small area was abuzz with excitement as the Gravel Riders left from our overnight stay here to commence Day 1 of our Planned Adventure Ride
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 Team Vehicle Support of JIM SUE parked up at The Motorcamp "INCOMING" on the Friday night - First to join us and right next door - John from Taranaki Incoming and on our left side parked up ------ Steve details to us "The Principals My Friends behind having that NEW FREERIDE" parked up in his shed "And to My Fellow Gravel Riders It Is All Quite Clear" |
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| Nigel joins Neil and Rachel from Auckland, John and I met them at Matawai |
It was excellent to see such a great group of Mid Rangers along for our weekend. Welcome to the many new faces amongst us. Karen, you did amazingly well. New to adventure riding, good friend and buddy ANT had been taking Karen 'Out and About', "WIRES TRACK", just ONE of the many they have been to explore. hmmm Coromandel, you know how to serve up gravel and a pretty hairey track there also.
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| Karen and Ant heading off on the afternoon ride with Ride Leader Pete - HARD to disguise a smile THAT BIG under the helmet KAREN +++++ |
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| GROUP 2 Incoming to join up with our Vehicle Support for lunch at DOC camp |
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| Newlyweds Husband and Wife Team Neil and Rachel standing nearby the local wharf |
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| John being followed into our DOC campsite by Ride Leader Pete - Talent comes in MANY forms - as being demonstrated here |
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| Disappointing for John after putting the Trail Blazer into the shop to be geared for Road Legal Riding |
Try living on RAOUL Island, https://maps.google.co.nz/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
just for openers into OUR roadside conversations. Just ONE of the many islands John and partner Karen have lived with their work commitments. Catching seal pups and tagging and taking skin samples WITHOUT being nipped by angry mums, John relayed many of these similar tales to me, and I was engrossed by it all up. I can only imagine the taste of that dandelion homebrew and the painstaking hours spent picking bucket loads to make just a small brew. John tells me of the wine they have managed to brew to date, and have been fortunate to have had several great cropping seasons. They have actually managed to brew several casks to date. You have left me totally amazed John at your Life Stories, and our many hours worth of conversing together over our first day left me duly impressed at the KIWI ingenuity of both John and partner Karen.
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| Meeting up with just a FEW of The Local GIRLS - They had a LOT to say as they met us in Their Neck Of The Neighbourhood, and they most certainly did let us know about it ~~~ |
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| John enlightens me on the Regeneration in the Area - Take a look at this LONG Dead cut down tree stump and the new growth emanating from +++ |
On reaching our campsite inside of The Ranges we shared a brief wait before the Mid Rangers, under guidance of Ride Leader Pete roared back down one of the tracks to join in for our scheduled lunch break. The silence in the area was quickly shattered as the Mid Rangers came into the clearing. Pete had taken his group further up one of the gravel tracks in this area to enjoy a little more on offer here, before joining us back at the clearing.
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| This is looking like a 'promising spot' for those ACTION Streambed Crossings |
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| The LADS and The Cameras WERE OUT and Unleashed into - "CAMERA - ACTION - ROLLLLLLL" |
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| How MANY Gravel Riders crossing THIS stream???? |
This was a test, and at least four of our bikes suffered a right dunking, and our boys were put hard to work drying out wet and soaked machines out along the riverbanks.
Success was had from a VERY joint Group Effort and all submerged and drowned bikes were once again able to continue onwards for the rest of the day. Thanks to everyone for such great assistance both In and Out of the drink. A true testament to the talent we have onboard our Ride Group members. Working together as a team effort, NO further participants Made It Along Trailer-side on DAY 1. TALENT indeed - Well done lads!!! A relief from our riders in tow.
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| Time for a DRY-OUT and just a brief spell |
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| So very Much Excitement - Meanwhile Down On The Banks Of........ |
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| "Incoming", Oliver and John, After a good workout STREAMSIDE, - therez that thumbs UP - Power to the thumb!!! |
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Mike heads in to lunch campsite - followed by Gordon
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Lunch over and the group embarks on the afternoon section of the day
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| John and Karen in discussions at EastWood Hills Arboretum |
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| Waiting to enter for Sat evening Dining |
The timing of our day went well and was right on schedule to exit out of this area for our Catered Saturday Evening Dining. Great skills as They had arranged Caterers incoming from Gisborne, and good timing was essential here. Dinner was very well received by our riders and a most pleasant experience. The Team here had organised an excellent selection of bbq meats, several salads, breads, potatoes, and even a dessert to finish it all off with. DAY 1 now at an end and another 30 minutes drive/ride and we made it into our prebooked accommodation for our planned overnight stay. It was just beginning to get dark by now, and it was a scrabble at the office for our keys, maps, directions, and of course the major unloading of the Support Vehicle. That BIG trailer of ours has certainly come in handy over the years. It did us proud once again this weekend.
Amazing, on waking the next mng the entrance to the park here did not quite seem the same. The combination of darkness on arrival the night before along with the rushing to get all of our riders unpacked and heralded into their booked accommodation units to grab some much needed shut eye made the brightness of the new mng here take on a new tangent. Another day has rolled in and I wonder what DAY 2 will bring???
"Dawn of A New Day" - DAY 2 coming shortly to all good blog sites near you!!!
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| Our supporter JOHN from Cyclespot Euro joined us this weekend John seen here Mixing It Up With The Gravel Riders hmmm Nice Looking ride There John!!! |
Heavy duty trailer in tow and getting ready for early mng Riders Briefing before the start of our DAY 2.
<<<<<<<<<<Cinema Time is upon us once again>>>>>>>>>>
Speaking of which, Vid-MASTER and extroadinaire to NGARNZ has been at work in his studio, and if you missed Bernard's TRAILER last week, he has now unleashed the Full Monty for us THIS WEEK. Yes, it is now time, pull up your favourite armchair, put those tired feet up, pour a glass of, NO, Not John's home-brew, (not this time round) John and Karen would be dry-side within a few rounds (lol) and ENJOY!!!! At the end of this clip Bernard has included just ONE of the many games featured On Tap at The Flying Dutchman on the Sunday evening.
Our Kiwi Rider mags along with our great Earn A Kiwi Rider T game went down exceptionally well and was very well received. Prospective Candidates were hauled up from the floor, and OOOOH - The Talent on Display here in this dining hall, well, you will have to view and be your own judge here. But, the gent with the SMOOOVE MOOOOVES Award went to our STEVE, yes that's right, ORATOR to .... re "New FREERIDE finds its way into Gravel Riders Shed". This gent has the MOOOOVES to go with the new ride, and duly won our award. From here moving down the TALENT LINE this simply had to be VIEWED to be BELIEVED. All duly won a much deserved t, and I suppose in looking back now, wow factor on Gravel Riders Talent lads. Well done!! I hope you all enjoy those K R t's. Yes YOUR talent was on VIEW here, and we applaude it. Gravel Riders really are one very talented bunch.
Our supporter John sitting tableside was happy to applaude proud recipients of The CycleSpot Euro vouchers. One lucky lad even thought he may wish to use his voucher for a NEW KTM come summer. Wow summer is looking great!!!!! Options aplenty should YOU be the lucky recipient of our vouchers.
Next came the great Bowl For The Spectro Oil Prize Pack. Amazing the amount of candidates looking to try their hand at an evening spot of indoor bowls. Thanks MAX for the loan of the bowling ball. The gravel riders tried their luck but alas the round went to Pat our lady KAWA rider in attendance. Her aim was ON THE MARK and duly walked away with the main prize. Additional floor prizes were also issued with the compliments of Spectro also. Tableside and Oliver was presented with an award for hanging in there after his muffler decided to exit his Suzuki also. The NUT had vibrated itself completely off. John was also presented with an award after blowing CounterShaft Sprocket Oil Seal, the oil puddle on the gravel true testament to, so we feel deserving of an Award here also. Our Valiant Charger Knight in Attendance was presented to Bill for Services to his fellow Gravel Riding companions after doubling John back to basecamp for Vehicle Support Services to collect the DR that was parked up many many km's into the Gisborne back country areas. What a very talented bunch of Gravel Riders we have here!!!
NGARNZ proudly donated TWO t's to our very NEW and talented lady adv riders in attendance Rachel and Karen. Wow you girls, you will both be riding as ADVANCED Rangers next time round. hmmmm the skills are hotting up indeed and I have a feeling these girls will be "Taking The Seat"!!!!
On a New NOTE: - We Re-Visit our Quest to ReHost an Event at Poronui Station/Taupo based:
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| Door OPENING>>>>>I have now had so many queries in relation to a revisit, I have had to add this task to my list also. |
I have a good friend who just so happens to have had the American owner of The Station stay at his home on occasion. A request was put to on our behalf as to the possibility to revisit here and enjoy the same format as previously hosted by Jim and myself - another NGARNZ experience.
How BADLY would YOU want a REPEAT of this experience??? With the RESTRUCTURE that the U.S. based owners of The Station have undertaken, new policies have now been sanctioned, this will now mean any revisit here will need to be perceived to be a Resident Activity. aka You will now need to RESIDE at The Station for Jim and I to be able to host a repeat of our Epic visit here. A planned adventure here would now run into the below format:
All meals catered for over our day along with evening dining in the North Island's BEST wine cellar, ps the bar tab is OPEN!!!! Breakfast next day also included. Our first visit I was able to bring to you a pricing of ONLY $120 per person. This I now know to have been exceptionally excellent value as I posted the link out to our riders to enlighten you all on the FIVE STAR Station that we were visiting, and the set-pricing charged to visitors.
If you wish to REVISIT the time spent at The Station that we all enjoyed so very much on our previous visit here, please contact me personally and I will forward pricing details through to you. With the small fee previously of ONLY $120 per person, I would prefer to now forward individual pricing, as RESIDENT pricing will now be MORE expensive compared to what I was able to secure for us all on our first visit here, and you will now realise my secured pricing was merely an appetiser.
Memories of good times spent at The Station, and what you could look to enjoy, maybe for that special occasion??? My blog below highlights the Ride Preparation that Team of Jim/Tim/Jess and Sue undertook to bring our first experience here. There is also a Vid Clip on my blog below:
DAY 2 Blog issued shortly
For a FEW Photo Highlights re our DAY 2 - visit our below link:
http://www.northerngraveladventureridersnz.com/east-cape---recapping-and-highlights-from-day-2.htmlWANTED:
Suzuki DR650 - If you know of anyone that has a used/second hand DR650 for sale, please contact us and we will forward details on to one of our Gravel Riders
FOR HIRE:
We have available to us a Yahama XT250cc that can be hired to attend one of our rides. If you wish to give our rides a try to decide if this form of riding is for you, you are welcome to hire our Yamaha.
Xmas is fast approaching and now may just be the time to trial an ADV bike
FOR SALE:
Size 9 Gaerne Motorcycle Boots WORN ONLY 3 times and in excellent condition - If you are looking for a very good quality pair of ADV boots - these are IT - priced at $200 through The Gravel Riders Group - if you are interested please contact with your genuine interest and I will forward you through to the owner - These will be placed on TradeMe this week at $250 (This is Where You SAW THIS AD first)
Another *****NEW Concept***** That We Have All Been Waiting For Quite Some Time Now: - JIMZ Garage has now made a more positive appearance onto our Website: yes, what we have all been waiting for - Some Tool Time Input - Good things don't happen overnight, but you know, if you wait long enough, they really DO happen!!!
http://www.northerngraveladventureridersnz.com/jimz-garage.html
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<<<<<N E W>>>>>
15th December 2012 - Xmas Breakup Adventure Ride - Tongagiro/National Park Areas
We now have available to us "SEVERAL Private Farmland Stations" based at National Park, we will be hosting our Xmas ride from here. We now also have a "THIRD Private Station" available to us also. This is looking g r e a t...... Entry forms will be available by the end of this week.
Dinner on the Saturday evening will also be part of this Ride Package. Package will include Land Access Fees to Several Private Stations, along with access to a Private Forestry Block - expect approx 8 hours of riding over this day. Our ride begins 9am from Owhango Pub and we will visit our TWO Farming Stations in the mng and then lunch at Owhango Pub. After lunch expect a further 4 - 5 hours of riding, (if you wish for it) along with Private Forestry Access and expect to cross Whakapapa Stream crossings also. Our tracks and trails will be mainly hard packed stoney pumice trails. Our Saturday evening venue will now be Owhango Pub and I have organised a package deal for us, which will include a hot evening buffet dinner. At the end of one very long day that we have planned, a catered dining option is really looking very good. With your accommodation package it is very likely we will be able to secure YOUR choice of room, First in will get FIRST dibs at bed availability.
Along with these NEW Private Land areas we will look to add additional riding on the Sunday morning for those that wish, before we depart for home (Fishers Track) and we may also go out on the Sunday mng with a spot of 42nd Traverse styles. A waiver will be signed if you wish to attend this ride as we do not wish to accept responsibility for loss or damage to bigger bikes. We have been notified that the track has been worked on as at todays date, and a dozer has been to visit the track and has fixed and repaired damage left by the recent 4 x 4 vehicles through there. Jim will pre-ride our intended course the week before also to ensure ALL track conditions are in a suitable condition. We accept the right to cancel or alter any of our courses that we have potentially planned to undertake at any time, due to inclement weather/and/or hazardous track conditions. YOUR Safety is our KEY concern. We feel that THIS ride offers it allll. This is our Xmas breakup offering to our Gravel Riders and we have worked hard to find this and to bring this to our Riders.
Entry Forms available at the end of this week to pre-register for this ride
Thanks to our Supporters and also for Spot Prizes issued over the Labour Weekend at Gisborne:
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