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| Map of Travels |
| 2005 - Journal 3 |
| First ride, and on a Harley at that… "All right, mate. Let's get cracking." "I've got the Harley all warmed up and I want you to take it around the block to see if you've forgotten how to ride a two-wheela." "Yeah, one thing yah have to remember . . . The bike's a bit squirrelly at slow speeds. It's the raked out forks ya see, gives it a kinda a racy look, yeah" That racy look was almost my downfall. Like most motorbikes, it's a bit top heavy and making slow turns, if on a strange bike, in a new country with new road rules and you're used to three wheels, it demands total concentration on the task at hand or by Harry, you'll find the street hard and unforgiving. I suspect the embarrassment would be worse than bruises. So legs fully spread, a bit of throttle and the bike moves ahead slowly, very slowly as the turn is made. It did get easier as the day progressed I must admit. I've never been a Harley fan for a number of reasons . . . But Kevin's 2001 Wide Glide changed my mind. It was an epiphany to be sure. The bike was a joy to ride. The gear box was as quiet and slick as a knife through warm butter (I can't say that about my Gold Wing!). Plenty of torque meant it pulled smoothly in any gear. I'm not a fan of twins or forks that proceed the bike by a large margin. It wasn't as responsive in turns as the bikes I've ridden in the past and that took some getting use to. As it turned out after riding almost 300 miles, I was a believer. Little or no vibration . . . The Harley folks worked that out satisfactorily . . . Yeah, mate, a whizzer of a ride. It's a really personal thing; the bikes we love to ride and the bikes we love to hate . . . Fueled by our sometimes silly prejudices. Well, I've moved across the aisle. Isn't often in life we can push our prejudices aside but it does free us up, yeah! Kevin and Faye, aboard Kevin's Gold Wing, led a merry chase through the streets of Hamilton on our way north to the little village of Coromandel, where we would stay over Saturday night, returning Sunday afternoon so Kevin could catch the televised Formula 1 race meeting from Melbourne, Australia. Kevin is absolutely mad about motorcars, racing, rugby and cricket but it seems Formula 1 stirs his blood. He's also passionate about motorbiking. He gets his kicks riding, not sight seeing. He thinks nothing of a 1000K (620 miles) day's run. He also rides fast. I worked hard to stay with him but the 1001 curves on the journey to Coromandel led us through some of the loveliest country I've seen. There were moments when I though I was in Wisconsin, New England, Kentucky; the countryside was so familiar. The roads are terrific, I mean every road we rode was smooth, free of tar snakes (there are no snakes of any kind in NZ, real or imagined) and uniform in composition. There were no concrete roads on our journey so I can't say it's used as a road surface. Top speed is 62 mph (100kph) and speed signs are large and frequent, lining both sides of the road. We stopped several times to take in the panoramic views. Absolutely breathtaking. My photos won't do it justice. Coromandel is an interesting seaside village but the real treat was the lodge (villa) we engaged for the evening. The first motel had no vacancies so the manager sent us on to a B&B run by Chris Lyons, a charming fellow and his Thai wife. They served a full course Thai dinner on a cozy patio with candle light, winking stars on a delightful shirt sleeve evening. The villa, circa 1869, was moved a few hundred feet and refurbished. Another building was moved alongside and joined together. The results are most pleasant. The luxury accommodations include five bedrooms and two spas (I had one) a large indoor dining room, two kitchens, three lounges and a helipad for the well heeled. All this for $96US. Our ride south along the eastern coast was the twistiest I'd ever ridden. I lost count of the number of Kilometers that had no straight sections. And of course the views are spectacular as one can imagine. Deal's Gap in North Carolina has a section of road that has 316 turns in 11 miles. It might come close but the narrow road we traveled had no guard rail and opposing traffic on the inside lane. One really pays attention. We arrived back in Hamilton in time for Kevin's race. |
| FOLLOW THE YELLOW LINE Motorcycle Touring with Stuart Davis and His Side Car www.followtheyellowline.com |