Adventure Riding New Zealand Style
Thompson Track, Te Aroha
It started as a couple of hour ride up from Te Aroha and turned into a 2 day bush bash in mud and rain.
The bikes were a Gas Gas 700SM, Honda CRF300 Adventure and my Montesa 4Ride.
The rough road up to the summit was pretty easy for all of us. Big rocks and potholes on a clay bed but no real problem. That took about 25 minutes.
Then I found a track going down the other side and we decided to follow it.
Within 500 metres was the first slip; that should have warned us off but no, we soldiered on...........and on and on a on! For hours we battled bogs, bush slips and trees.
Finally, we decided we were not going to make Katikati on the other side. The bogs were too big and the GasGas and Honda too heavy.
We turned around and started back up but the rain set in and made it harder.
We decided to leave the two heavy bikes behind and come back the next day for them. Between the three of us, we rode and hauled the little Montesa 4Ride 260cc trials based bike to the top and I rode on down to get help. On the way down, I lost the front wheel on a slippery rock, fell and tore my hamstring. It was a lot of pain but I got up and rode on.
I found a couple in town with a double cab ute who agreed to come with me to the base of the trail so we could drive the other two back to town; they finally walked out around midnight!
The next day we went back to get the bikes left behind.
I waited at the bottom with my torn hammy and acted as the emergency system just in case. The other two took my Montesa back up to cut 2-3 hours off their walk then walked into the bush to rescue the other bikes with a winch, folding spade and tree saw.
2 expert hard enduro racers had contacted me offering help so I said yes please!
They turned up abpout 2.30pm and rode in to help. Then half an hour later, 2 more riders turned up to help.
The 2nd two riders didn't go far enough to find the others and came back. They'd seen my Montesa just over the top but that was all.
By 6pm I was getting worried and ready to call emergency services (the boys had a satelite rescue device so I knew they may have set that off).
They hadn't and, just before I called emergency; they all came back down some 5 hours after entering. Our 2-3 hour adventure ride had turned into a 2 day balls out test of skill, endurance and planning. On the way up, we didn't just ride, we stopped and planned our way through every obstacle.
Nobody was hurt at all until I fell off on the way down in the rain and we all had wet weather gear and plenty of spring water.
Staying in the bush for the night would have been cold but not a life or death issue.
What a ride! What an experience a what a great bunch of people Kiwis are to drop everything, drive hundreds of km with bikes on the back to help us!
Adventure Riding New Zealand Style
Thompson Track, Te Aroha
It started as a couple of hour ride up from Te Aroha and turned into a 2 day bush bash in mud and rain.
The bikes were a Gas Gas 700SM, Honda CRF300 Adventure and my Montesa 4Ride.
The rough road up to the summit was pretty easy for all of us. Big rocks and potholes on a clay bed but no real problem. That took about 25 minutes.
Then I found a track going down the other side and we decided to follow it.
Within 500 metres was the first slip; that should have warned us off but no, we soldiered on...........and on and on a on! For hours we battled bogs, bush slips and trees.
Finally, we decided we were not going to make Katikati on the other side. The bogs were too big and the GasGas and Honda too heavy.
We turned around and started back up but the rain set in and made it harder.
We decided to leave the two heavy bikes behind and come back the next day for them. Between the three of us, we rode and hauled the little Montesa 4Ride 260cc trials based bike to the top and I rode on down to get help. On the way down, I lost the front wheel on a slippery rock, fell and tore my hamstring. It was a lot of pain but I got up and rode on.
I found a couple in town with a double cab ute who agreed to come with me to the base of the trail so we could drive the other two back to town; they finally walked out around midnight!
The next day we went back to get the bikes left behind.
I waited at the bottom with my torn hammy and acted as the emergency system just in case. The other two took my Montesa back up to cut 2-3 hours off their walk then walked into the bush to rescue the other bikes with a winch, folding spade and tree saw.
2 expert hard enduro racers had contacted me offering help so I said yes please!
They turned up abpout 2.30pm and rode in to help. Then half an hour later, 2 more riders turned up to help.
The 2nd two riders didn't go far enough to find the others and came back. They'd seen my Montesa just over the top but that was all.
By 6pm I was getting worried and ready to call emergency services (the boys had a satelite rescue device so I knew they may have set that off).
They hadn't and, just before I called emergency; they all came back down some 5 hours after entering. Our 2-3 hour adventure ride had turned into a 2 day balls out test of skill, endurance and planning. On the way up, we didn't just ride, we stopped and planned our way through every obstacle.
Nobody was hurt at all until I fell off on the way down in the rain and we all had wet weather gear and plenty of spring water.
Staying in the bush for the night would have been cold but not a life or death issue.
What a ride! What an experience a what a great bunch of people Kiwis are to drop everything, drive hundreds of km with bikes on the back to help us!