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Following my first weekend ride-out last Sunday (120km/2 hrs), today I decided to have a go at tackling a route ridden by many kiwi riders over the years -- the 200km+ / 4hr 'Auckland-Clevedon-Miranda-Auckland Loop'.
Starting on Auckland's North Shore, I opened up my CBR on a 40 min stretch of the southern motorway before heading off on the backroads towards Clevedon and then onto the coast via Kawakawa Bay (see pictures).
Then things got a little interesting on the coast road down to Kaiaua: As I rode a few km's out of Kawakawa, the road narrowed as it headed in land and offered up a heap of twisties through hilly countryside -- all good so far
. Then further ahead some stretches of the road had forest canopies making the transition from sun to near dark quite a challenge with green moss appearing on the road surface presenting a bit of a hazard in the twisties as the heavens opened up and it started to bucket down with rain .
Once I hit state highway 2 my old friend 'the wind' decided to pay a visit with probably the most severe gusts I have experienced so far. Although the gusts continued beating down for the last 80km to home, I have become much more used to it and didn't really pose a problem -- just a matter of tucking in, keeping my knees against the tank, relaxing the arms and upper body and maintaining lane position.
One of the things that really struck me from today's ride was the physical discomfort and stiffness through the thighs of my legs that I started experiencing after about 150km. By that time I had made about 2 five minute stops but I definitely needed to make another as it got to the point where up/downshifting became difficult due to leg stiffness. On this point, I would be keen to hear how other forum members cope with physical stiffness especially as many of you in North America ride some big miles. Talking about mileage, my CBR Optimus has just gone over 1,000km so it's off to the dealership service dept next week for its first oil change, VCI etc.
Auckland-Clevedon-Miranda-Auckland Loop, Google Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ll=...d=203161682953689590952.0004c93b1d887434de2a2
Starting on Auckland's North Shore, I opened up my CBR on a 40 min stretch of the southern motorway before heading off on the backroads towards Clevedon and then onto the coast via Kawakawa Bay (see pictures).
Then things got a little interesting on the coast road down to Kaiaua: As I rode a few km's out of Kawakawa, the road narrowed as it headed in land and offered up a heap of twisties through hilly countryside -- all good so far
. Then further ahead some stretches of the road had forest canopies making the transition from sun to near dark quite a challenge with green moss appearing on the road surface presenting a bit of a hazard in the twisties as the heavens opened up and it started to bucket down with rain .Once I hit state highway 2 my old friend 'the wind' decided to pay a visit with probably the most severe gusts I have experienced so far. Although the gusts continued beating down for the last 80km to home, I have become much more used to it and didn't really pose a problem -- just a matter of tucking in, keeping my knees against the tank, relaxing the arms and upper body and maintaining lane position.
One of the things that really struck me from today's ride was the physical discomfort and stiffness through the thighs of my legs that I started experiencing after about 150km. By that time I had made about 2 five minute stops but I definitely needed to make another as it got to the point where up/downshifting became difficult due to leg stiffness
. On this point, I would be keen to hear how other forum members cope with physical stiffness especially as many of you in North America ride some big miles. Talking about mileage, my CBR Optimus has just gone over 1,000km so it's off to the dealership service dept next week for its first oil change, VCI etc.Auckland-Clevedon-Miranda-Auckland Loop, Google Map:
https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ll=...d=203161682953689590952.0004c93b1d887434de2a2
