Cold Kiwi 2006

1 - 3 Sept '06

Unfortunately, most of the photos I took on the way to and during the Cold Kiwi were ruined as the film was heat damaged. Anything remotely bright (such as sky and snow-capped mountains) came out bright cyan. Many thanks to "Sels1" and "Lias" for supplying me with photos they took.

The preparation:

Preparing for the Cold Kiwi began well in advance.

First I had to pay for my ticket, which entailed getting a bank cheque for $30 and mailing it, the completed registration form (downloaded from the internet) and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the Ruapehu Motorcycle Club. By registering in advance I guaranteed my badge and saved myself $5 (the gate fee was $35).

I also wanted to make my bike identifiable to fellow members of the "Kiwi Biker" on-line forum so I ordered a Kiwi Biker sticker from the site administrator.

Despite about four or five shifts over the last few years and not having been camping for more than six years, finding my tent, sleeping bag, pack and camping gear was no problem - all were within easy reach.

I was concerned about leaving my bike out in a potentially cold and wet environment as a previous owner had chipped the paint on the tank and it had quite a bit of rust on it already. I decided that repainting the tank would be in order and, since I was going to have the tank off for a couple of days, I might as well paint the plastics to match. I bought paint, sandpaper, methylated spirits, a wire brush and masking tape and prayed for fine weather.

My ticket and the Kiwi Biker sticker arrived within days of each other so I put them away safely.

On the Saturday of the weekend prior to the event, I removed the tank and the "plastics" (front and rear fenders, headlamp cowl, side covers, air scoops, and disk brake cover). I then stripped the stickers from the tank and side covers, wire-brushed and sanded the rust from the tank, thoroughly masked the filler hole and the foam and holes for the fuel cock on the underside and used an entire 400g spray can of rust-inhibiting primer on the tank.

Roger ("Roj") turned up to discuss preparations for the Cold Kiwi while I was part way through priming the tank and said I was worse than him: he also had his bike in pieces, performing maintenance on his engine prior to the big trip.

We discussed preparation and he gave me advice on painting the tank.

I got the tank primed and moved into the garage just before the rain started.

I took the plastics inside and washed them in the bath with copious quantities of dish washing liquid to remove all the grease - married or otherwise-attached bikers please note: when performing this stunt it pays to have a spouse/partner that is into motorbikes as well.

It rained all Saturday night and I had visions of attempting to finish the painting in the garage but the Sunday dawned fine and sunny.

I sanded the tank while I waited for the day to warm up and used a rag soaked in methylated spirits to remove any traces of detergent and finger marks from the plastics.

In between applying layers of black enamel spray-paint to the tank, I sprayed the fenders and headlamp cowl with black plastic paint. The plastic paint dried very quickly and the fenders and cowl were soon finished. It became very obvious from the weight of the can that I was not going to have enough paint for all the plastics so I elected to paint the disk brake cover rather than attempt to start on the side covers or air scoops. As I did not have enough money for more plastic paint, I realised I was going to have to leave the side covers and air scoops until later.

While waiting for the tank to dry I started reassembling the bike, putting the fenders, headlamp cowl and disk brake cover back on. I put my Kiwi Biker sticker on the front fender and checked that the tail light and brake light still worked.

Ever since I had bought the bike, the indicator switch would stick to the left rather than returning to the centre and the switch assembly was not very secure on the handlebars so pressing the horn button could cause the entire switch unit to rotate downwards. I had tried taking the unit off but one of the bolts was jammed and a previous owner had chewed out the head of the bolt with a screwdriver.

This time I attacked it in earnest, spraying the bolt with CRC penetrating lubricant and gave it a couple of sharp blows with a hammer to hopefully jar the "corrosion-weld" loose. It worked - I managed to loosen it enough that I could turn the bolt head with the pliers of my trusty Leatherman Wave pocket tool.

With the switch unit apart it was easy to see the cause of the problem. There was a metal cover plate inside the unit that had been bent out of shape and whenever the indicator switch was moved left it jammed against the plate. I removed the plate and reshaped it with my Leatherman until the switch no longer stuck then reassembled the switch unit.

Before mounting the switch unit, I wrapped a folded strip of aluminium cooking foil around the handlebar to make it slightly thicker at that point then secured the switch unit over it.

Finally my indicator switch worked properly and the switch unit was more securely fastened.

When the tank was dry I stripped the masking tape off, screwed the fuel cock back on and mounted the tank on the bike. With the tank in place I was able to mount the air scoops and side covers.

The bike certainly looked striking and distinctive with the back-and-white colour scheme and the yellow-and-black Kiwi Biker sticker on the front fender.

It suddenly occurred to me that I might have enough black plastic paint left to cover the lower chain guide so I quickly removed it, wiped it with methylated spirits to clean it, painted it and put it back on the bike.

That night I learned from Roj that his bike was still in pieces as more work needed to be done.

The following four days I spent packing my gear and trying without luck to find where the kids had hidden the digital camera.

Day One: Friday 1 September '06

We met at my place: Roj on his Honda CB750K (finally back together and running), Andrew ("Lias") on his Suzuki VZ800 Marauder and me with my Yamaha XT225.

Roj's CB was loaded up with tent, pack and pannier bags, Lias had his Ventura packs, tent and sleeping mat on his newly-fitted pack frame and I had my 45-litre pack, tent and a bed roll bungee-strapped to the back of the bike.

Despite the rain of the previous night, the weather was fine and clear - perfect for a ride. The weather report for the next few days was for scattered clouds on Friday and Saturday and scattered rain on Sunday.

As we were heading for the chilly central plateau and Mount Ruapehu, I was wearing thin polypropylene thermal socks and thicker work socks under my boots, polypropylene leggings and jeans under my Dririder "Alpine" leggings, thin polypropylene t-shirt, sweatshirt and quilted sleeveless vest (containing cigarettes and lighter) under my Dririder "Alpine" jacket and winter-weight, Thinsulate-lined motorcycle gloves. I decided against wearing my polypropylene balaclava under my helmet and shoved it into an outer pocket of my jacket along with a pair of polypropylene gloves, just in case the weather turned nasty on the way.

In my pack was more polypropylene thermal wear, a thick fleece jacket, extra shirts, thick socks, balaclavas and a sleeping bag rated at -10 degrees Celsius. If the "Cold Kiwi" lived up to its name, it would not find me wanting...

We left at around 10am after saying farewell to my wife, "strayjuliet", and children (a.k.a. "the cubs"). The weather was fine and sunny so I was wearing my $2 sunglasses perched on my nose in front of my prescription glasses.

As Roj and Lias had already fuelled-up on their way to my place, I was the only one who needed to stop and fill the bike at the service station some 400m from my home. It cost me $10.20 (rounded up from $10.19) for 6.29 litres. I had done 141.6km since my last fill - mostly commuting to and from work within Hamilton.

With no further ado, we set off down Kahikatea Drive to Ohaupo Road (State Highway 3) and out of town. Roj set the pace at around 100km/h and, as the road was dry, well maintained and not too hilly, the little XT225 had no difficulty keeping up with the CB750.

At one point we were passed by a group of bikes and I assumed they were just out on a day ride as they were unladen. We exchanged waves as they passed.

We passed through Ohaupo, Te Awamutu, Kihikihi and Otorohanga and made our first stop at Te Kuiti. We stopped long enough for a toilet break, a drink and a snack and for Lias and me to have our cigarettes.

Roj noticed that his bike was spraying oil out of the seals on the cam covers - it seemed that the aged seals were no longer up to the task. The engine, right side of the bike and Roj's right leg were all covered in oil. There was not much he could do at the time other than top up the oil and wipe the bike clean as best he could. I mused that it was a pity it hadn't been the left side that had failed - it would have at least kept his chain lubed.

We encountered a bunch of women with well-laden Harleys and a Suzuki Marauder who were also on their way to the Cold Kiwi and discovered that the bikes that had passed us were also stopped at the same café. We learned from the riders that they were also heading down to the Cold Kiwi but their gear (including chairs, large tents, braziers and other creature comforts) was in a support vehicle. They explained that every second year they load all their gear into a van and ride down unencumbered to live in luxury, the other years they lug down less stuff on their bikes and rough it. By chance, this was their year for luxury.

We then continued on to Taumarunui, again with Roj in the lead. The road was good with lots of twists and turns through rolling hill country. We stopped and fuelled up at the first service station in Taumarunui at exactly 12pm. My trip meter read 159.1km and I had not yet gone onto reserve. It took 6.33 litres to fill the tank and cost me $10.20 (rounded [b]down[/b] from $10.24). Roj and Lias each paid closer to $17 to fill their tanks.

Fully fuelled again, we rolled down the main street of Taumarunui and parked up for a proper break. I bought a mince-and-cheese pie for a dollar at a local superette and that, a couple of swigs from my water flask and a cigarette made up my lunch.

I mentioned to Roj that I wanted to stop and take some pics of the bikes and the scenery so he suggested I lead and set the pace as I knew the route.

We set off, this time with me in the lead.

From Taumarunui, the road starts to climb in earnest up towards the central plateau and Tongariro National Park. It was twisty and hilly but the little XT proved to be unstoppable. I had no difficulty keeping the speed between 100 and 110 km/h even up the steepest hills in 6th gear. The bike even climbed the steep, long hill near Raurimu in 6th and did not drop below 100km/h. I was stunned: I had expected the little bike would have had difficulty on the really steep hills.

We stopped at National Park village to get a shot of the bikes with the mountain in the background and again about 10kms later to get a shot of the bikes against the Makatote viaduct, the third-highest rail bridge in New Zealand (78.6m above the Makatote River).

The next stop was at Ohakune. The town was full of motorbikes of all descriptions, most loaded up with gear for the Cold Kiwi. Roj met up with one of his friends who was travelling with his wife as pillion, their gear piled so high on the back of the bike you could not see her from the rear.

There were a number of bikes with sidecars that were filled with provisions and it was suggested we should do the same next time so we could carry more alcohol. I said that a sidecar would slow the XT down and Roj said, "that'd be the only thing that would", so I gather he was as impressed as I was with the little bike's hill-climbing ability.

Roj led from Ohakune as he knew where the actual site was. We passed the site of the Tangiwai Rail disaster and the timber mill and saw the sign "Cold Kiwi 1km". Not long later there were "Bikes Turning" warning signs and a sign pointing off to the left: "Cold Kiwi".

We turned onto a narrow two-kilometre-long gravel track that wound up and over the hilly terrain. Roj's CB750, with its narrow tyres, had little difficulty on the rock-strewn gravel path and the XT handled it well but Lias, on his Marauder with its wide road tyres, found it difficult going.

Part way along the track we stopped to present our tickets and get our badges and then continued down into the camping area.

There was a large number of bikes and tents already. Roj lead us across the grass to where he thought there might be a good camping site and Lias managed to get his Marauder up the grassy hill. Unfortunately there was not enough room up there so we went back down again. Lias managed to get his rather large cruiser back down the grassy, pine-needle-strewn hill intact.

We went looking for the area where members of the Kiwi Biker on-line forum said they would camp and I spotted the Kiwi Biker sticker on the top box of Sels1's Triumph Tiger 900 and signalled Roj and Lias to join me.

Sels1 introduced himself and Phantom who was camped nearby then we set to work pitching our tents within the stand of pine trees. The ground was liberally dotted with huge piles of dung and I wondered aloud if the herd that had occupied the area had perhaps been water buffalos.

I managed to find a clear enough area to erect my tiny one-person tent, Lias pitched his three-person tent nearby and Roger erected a huge tent that Lias quickly dubbed the "Taj Mahal".

A woman strolled over while we were setting up and introduced herself as "Goblin" from the Kiwi Biker forum and told us "krash69" was camped nearby.

My bike and tent.

Regrettably, this was one of the photos that was damaged and I had to crop out the top of the pic which was a nearly uniform cyan, instead of the snowy slopes of Mount Ruapehu against a clear blue sky.

By the time our tents were pitched and our packs stowed, it was only about 3:30pm so we had made good time. We decided to ride into Ohakune to buy provisions. Roger decided that he would also get some gasket sealant to repair his bike rather than spend the entire journey home topping up the oil.

Lias took Roj on the back of the Marauder while I followed on my XT and we headed back past Tangiwai into Ohakune. The town was still full of various bikes on their way into the Cold Kiwi.

We bought food and alcohol supplies at the local supermarket and on the way back out of town we stopped at the service station so Roj could get a tube of "Gasket Goo".

When we arrived back at the camp site I met another of the Kiwi Biker guys, Zukin, briefly - he was parked on his XR250 near our camp. Unfortunately he was gone by the time I got my bike parked.

We cooked and ate dinner while it was still light enough to see.

The event was very well organised. Braziers and piles of chopped wood were dotted about the place to provide warm fires for the campers, two huge piles of wood were in place ready to be lit as bonfires, portable toilets were set up everywhere and there were caravans and tents where you could get free coffee and tea or buy food and alcohol.

After nightfall one of the bonfires was lit and a band played in the big Entertainment tent. I don't know the name of the band but they were good and did covers of a wide range of music.

Unfortunately, I was feeling tired and had a headache because of my helmet is both heavy and noisy so I retired to my tent early after only a couple of beers. I fell asleep very quickly, despite the loud music, loud motorcycles and cacophony of partying bikers.

Day Two: Saturday 2 September '06

I awoke refreshed the next morning, despite this being the first time I had camped out for over six years. I unzipped my tent, looked out over the tents and bikes at Mount Ruapehu gleaming in the morning sun and dug out my camera to capture a shot of "the view from my bedroom".

Lias had not fared as well during the night and woke with an extremely sore back.

The weather during the night had been so mild that we hadn't even had a frost. In fact, we didn't even get dew - the bike, the grass and my tent were all dry.

I breakfasted on canned pineapple, chocolate and a couple of cheese slices and washed it down with a coffee.

A Great Day For a Ride. Taken from the vicinity of our tents looking towards Mount Ruapehu. Photo courtesy of Lias.

Sels1 came over and asked Lias, Roj and I if we felt like joining him, Phantom and Bonez on a ride up Mount Ruapehu. Roj, of course, was planning on repairing his bike so he couldn't go but Lias and I were keen.

The five of us set off - Sels1 on his Triumph Tiger 900, Phantom on his Honda GB400, Bonez on his Honda CB750Fc2 and Lias and I on our bikes. We stopped at Ohakune to top up on fuel then carried on and turned towards National Park, rode past the Makatote viaduct (where Sels1 slowed to make sure everyone had caught up before progressing down the steep hill to the funny little curved road bridge over the Makatote River), to National Park village and turned onto the road that leads to Taupo. We turned off that road onto the road to Whakapapa, the Chateau and the Ski field.

This road was beautifully maintained and smooth - better than sections of State Highway 1 - as it is a major route for tourists visiting the ski field or staying at the Chateau.

We stopped at Whakapapa for a rest and then continued up the mountain on Bruce Road. A minute after leaving Whakapapa there were patches of snow on the ground either side of the road. We wound our way up slowly as the road was packed with cars and tour busses. At one point we came to a complete stop while people were trying to park their cars so a policeman waved us on past the queue.

We ended up at the end of the road and some parking attendants directed us to park over by the buses in a "No Parking" area.

We wandered up to the café by the ski lifts and Sels1, Bonez and Phantom had a coffee while Lias and I looked at all the tourists wandering around.

After the others had had a coffee we went to get photos of our bikes parked up by the snow.

Sels1 enlisted the aid of a tour bus driver to take a photo of us all beside our bikes. He took photos of us using Sels1's camera and then Lias's and then we found ourselves surrounded by Thai tourists all wanting a photo with us and the bikes. One Thai woman was saying we all were the men of her dreams. The driver then had to take photos of us using the tourists' cameras.

From left to right: Bonez, me, Phantom, Lias and Sels1. Photo courtesy of Sels1 and an un-named tour bus driver.

We headed down again, planning to stop at a point where we could get a good shot of the bikes against the mountain. Sels1, Bonez, Lias and I got there ahead of Phantom who then missed seeing where we had stopped and he continued down the road.

The previous year, this area had been a gravel lay-by where Sels1 had been able to park his bike and give the impression of being off the road. Now, it was sealed and had parking areas marked out on it.

Sels1 wanted a decent shot of his bike and decided to take his Tiger off the parking area onto the mountainside. To do this he had to traverse a fairly deep uneven channel that was not quite as wide as the wheelbase of my XT. He rolled through the obstacle with no problems so I followed on my XT and we each took photos of our bike parked on the scoria-strewn mountainside with patches of snow around and the snowy peak in the background.

We continued on our way down the mountain with Bonez and Lias in the lead and Sels1 rolling down the road with the engine off. I followed, occasionally pulling in the clutch and coasting down sections of the hill with the engine idling. When Sels1 and I finally caught up with Bonez and Lias they were talking to a police officer who had asked them if it was our mate who had fallen off. Apparently someone fitting Phantom's description had come off his bike going down the mountain.

We asked another biker if he had seen a Honda GB400 go past and he said he'd seen one heading towards the main road. We carried on and got back to National Park village where Sels1 asked another group of bikers if they'd seen Phantom's bike. They hadn't so Sels1 directed the rest of us to head back to camp while he went to search the road.

I really enjoyed riding with Sels1 and would happily go on any group ride he organised, his dedication to making sure Phantom was safe is to be commended. We had a good, supportive group of riders that day.

Lias and I stopped in Ohakune while Lias located an air mattress (for a better night's sleep) and some pain killers (to recover from the previous one) then he decided he would have something to eat so he could take his medicine and I continued back to camp alone, Bonez being long gone.

I stopped at the Tangiwai memorial, hoping to get a photo of the cenotaph with my bike and the river in the background but I was out of film. I met and chatted with a bloke called Neil who had ridden down to the Cold Kiwi from Auckland on an old Vespa. We headed off back towards camp and I had only just managed to get my bike past the new tents that had sprung up around our area during our absence and get my helmet off when Lias rolled in.

I had a look at Roj's bike and noted the signs of gasket goo around the seals and thought, "Good, he's got it fixed," then Roj strolled up and told us the bad news: he had called his father-in-law to bring the trailer down to take the bike back - one of the bolts had bound halfway in and snapped off while he was reassembling it; the bike was out of commission.

We then encountered Bonez who confirmed that it was indeed Phantom who had crashed - fortunately at low speed and he was relatively unharmed except for very sore ribs - and showed us the damage to the bike. The left foot peg had snapped off, as had the clutch lever, the gear lever was bent and the mount for the left mirror had broken away but the mirror itself was fine. Fortunately, Bonez was carrying a spare clutch lever that fitted the bike and he managed to remount the foot peg using a stick as a "splint", some wire and duct tape. He also straightened the gear lever.

Bonez then asked Roj how the repairs had gone and Roj showed him the broken bolt. It turns out that Bonez has a spare bolt and seal like that back at home and told Roj he'd send it to him when he got home. Bonez rapidly gained a reputation of being extremely helpful.

I had a snack of cheese slices and chocolate washed down with Coke and Roj and I wandered off to watch the burn-out competition, having arrived back too late to catch the Hill Climb competition.

The Burnout Competition. What's a biker event without burnouts? Too bloody quiet! Photo courtesty of Lias.

In the background of the above photo is the hill used in the Hill Climb event.

We then wandered over to where the scooters were clumped and I caught up with Neil again. By this time the organisers were having a competition whereby a frankfurter was hung by a string and teams - a rider and a pillion - tried to grab the sausage. The pillion stood on the seat, holding the rider's shoulders, and attempted to grab the sausage with his or her mouth. As most of the pillions were female and they were trying to bite the sausage, the commentary was rather suggestive.

The announcer then said there was quite a "herd" of scooters and I queried the scooter riders if that was the correct collective noun for a group of scooters. Neil first suggested "gaggle" then "fag" then "handbag" and finally "faggot". Had anyone but a scooter rider made those suggestions, I'm sure violence would have been perpetrated.

Roj and I wandered off in search of interesting bikes and I was looking around to see if I could spot Zukin's rather distinctive XR250 but with no luck. We finally wandered back to our tents and I found Zukin standing by my bike waiting for me - he had tried the same tactic with better results. We had a good chat and he, Roj and I discussed ways of setting up additional heat shielding around the exhaust of my XT and mounting pannier frames and a tail rack to improve my load-carrying for future tours. Clint then cruised up and Zukin introduced him to everyone. We chatted for a while and then people headed off to get dinner.

Phantom was a bit sore when I saw him but otherwise in fine shape - amazing considering he had had a quadruple heart bypass operation four months earlier and his ribs had not yet healed from that.

After dinner the second bonfire was lit and the second band started up. Like the first, they were exceptionally good and did quite a mix of music. We gravitated to the bonfire and caught up with Zukin, Sels1, Phantom and Bonez again.

We chatted for a while and drank beers and then the fireworks display started. It was really good, the clear mountain air made the colours that much more clear than similar displays in Hamilton.

After the fireworks we met up with a couple of people from the Ruapehu Motorcycle Club who had hosted the event. From them we learned that they had been running working bees all year to set up for the event and that there were only 17 financial members of the club - such a small club to host such a large event. Many of them didn't live in the area, either, which meant they had to travel a fair way to the site to get things organised.

At around 10:30 I felt a bit tired so I wandered off to my tent to go to sleep. A little while later I decided I was too hot so I opened the flap of the tent and lay there listening to the music and the laughter of people in the distance and wished strayjuliet was there to share the experience with me.

After a while I decided I wanted a coffee and strolled off to the catering tent. The night was so mild all I did was throw my jacket on but not fasten it. Coffee in hand, I strolled over to the bonfire and engaged in conversation with a bloke who turned out to have come from Morrinsville. Another bloke joined in and I learned he was involved with the Hamilton chapter of the Ulysses Motorcycle Club. We talked about bikes and events for ages and he invited me to turn up at one of the club nights.

I eventually wandered back to my tent at around 1:45am and fell asleep.

Day Three: Sunday 3 September '06

The loud revving of motorbikes woke me early and I left my tent to find many people had already struck tents, packed up and were leaving. Sels1, Phantom and Bonez were well into their packing and bikes were flowing by at a steady pace.

I ate breakfast, had a cigarette and drank some Coke then began to pack up. I was finished packing long before Roj was so I helped him with his tent.

Sels1, Phantom and Bonez said their farewells and left, Zukin stopped by to say goodbye on the way out, Goblin came over and I finally got to meet krash69 as she and her friends were packing up to leave.

We were packed and ready to leave by 9am but we were waiting for the trailer to arrive to collect Roj's bike. Roj ended up having to borrow my bike to ride out to the road and guide the trailer in as his father-in-law, Bruce, had missed the gate. He returned presently with Bruce following.

We got the bike onto the trailer and securely lashed down and helped put Roj's gear in the car. Roj and Bruce left first in the car with Lias and I following on our bikes but they lost us quite quickly once on the road.

We stopped once again in Ohakune to fill up and headed on our way into darkening clouds. About 48 kilometres from Ohakune the rain started, light at first but getting heavier. We drove out of the rain onto dry roads and back into rain again as we continued vaguely North. It was a fairly slow trip as the road conditions had become slippery in places.

We arrived at Taumarunui again around noon and I bought another $1 mince-and-cheese pie for lunch. Lias bought himself something rather more wholesome at a local café.

We topped up with fuel as I knew that I could make it at least as far as Hamilton on a full tank and continued on our way, this time with Lias setting the pace.

The rain came and went a few times and we ended up stuck behind really slow buses and trucks on the winding roads between Taumarunui and Te Kuiti.

In Te Kuiti we stopped at the same café as we had on the way down. Lias got food and a drink but all I wanted was a cigarette, something to drink and a visit to the lavatory.

The ride home from Te Kuiti was uneventful and the weather stayed dry. We reached my house a little after 3pm to a warm welcome from strayjuliet and the cubs. Lias stayed for a coffee and a cigarette and then returned to his own home and family.