22nd March 2017
I sleep well and wake fairly early. I make some calls home and generally stumble around the room until I decide to have a shower and get kitted up. I load the bike and am disappointed to see that it is a cloudy day, with a misty rain on a soft breeze. It's warm, at 62°F, but I'm riding the Forgotten Highway this morning, and I'd been hoping for good weather...
I decide to let the weather sort itself out a bit, set off at 0850 and then stop for breakfast at a café on the main street...
That'll do...
Sorry about the image quality - after missing breakfast yesterday, my hands were shaking as a result of malnutrition...
I step outside at 0945 to find that my plan has worked - the rain has stopped
I start the bike and follow the signs for Highway 43 towards Stratford, some 100 miles away. This road is variously called the Forgotten Highway, the Forgotten World Highway and Edna...
Things look pretty grim from the outset. There is a thick layer of cloud obscuring the tops of the hills - it looks like a partially downloaded photo...
Thankfully the Adv's tank is full...
Let's go then. Apologies for the quality of some of the pics - the light levels were crap and the shutter speeds consequently slow, so you'll get at best some motion blur and at worst some camera shake...
There were dire warnings about stopping in front of this bluff - and clear evidence at the bottom of it why...
The misty rain has materialised again. The problem is not getting wet, it's doing no more than dampening the front of my gloves, but more what it is doing to the road surface. You cannot tell whether it's wet, or whether that patch is just shiny tar. It's always shiny tar, but the one time you make that assumption - it won't be...
I came across this chap in the middle of nowhere - he waved me by, but I stopped to check he didn't need help. I figured he'd have no mobile coverage where he was, but he said he'd walked to the top of the hill, got a signal and that they were sending someone out. Looks like one of the chains broke - the concrete pipe survived the fall, at least...
This is a great road, and would be fun to ride in good weather. As it is, it's a bit of a pain to be honest...
I go over several sets of switchbacks - called 'Saddles' on this road for some reason...
...but much of the road follows the river valleys between the low hills - their peaks still shrouded in cloud...
Clearing the third (I think) saddle, the weather clears considerably and the road surface is now dry...
So I start putting on a little speed. You're doing well to exceed 100kph safely for very long on a road like this, but I'm pretty sure it's a while since a patrol car bothered with a road this quiet...
With the road surface dry, it's a good, fun road. I just wish the weather would clear up so that I could take full advantage of the scenery...
Unfortunately, if anything, the weather's getting worse...
...and sure enough, after a few minutes, the rain starts again...
Haven't had a barn in a few days, have we?
The road surface is very often mottled with mud and bits of debris - if anyone has forgotten this highway it's the Highways Dept...
Bettie tells me we'll be climbing another saddle into that lot - hey-ho...
I manage to avoid entering cloud - which is good. Eventually I reach the Tangarakau Gorge, the walls of which are just under 200ft - but lost in cloud...
Huzzah!
Actually the change in surface makes little difference - my speed doesn't alter much at all...
This is the Tangarakau River. It snakes like a main circuit cable through the National Park, leading me straight to Kurtz...
Well it could have been a set from Apocalypse Now, couldn't it?
A couple of kilometres further on is this tunnel...
Which had a floor made of dirt, Lego bricks, rocks and other stuff you'd not want to tread on...
The other side, the weather was dire...
Right on time, the Whangamomona Hotel appears - Huzzah!
I decide I need a bowl(!) of Nachos to sustain me...
Whangamomona is an interesting place. They unofficially declared themselves a Republic in 1989 and hold a celebration of this every year. I make a $2 donation to their fund and receive a passport stamp in return...
Seems I parked in a metered zone...
Onward - I suppose...
A soft drizzle has now started, but I seem to be avoiding most of the effects, as the road is so often sheltered by trees and bluffs...
...but there's no denying that roads like this are two different animals dependent on the weather you are riding in...
Quite suddenly it's dry again (it's varying from one valley to the next) and I'm able to get some speed on...
This reminds me very much of roads in the West Highlands of Scotland (but without the sodding West Highland Midge!)...
The high overcast remains, but I become optimistic that the last of the bad weather is behind me...
But after ten minutes, I'm proved wrong again...
With about ten kilometres to go to Stratford, the weather clears completely...
...and I enjoy the last twists and turns of the Best Forgotten Highway...
I'm going to see if I can't schedule a return ride - going the other way - if the weather works out in the time I have left...
Stratford is a busy little town, with an odd Tudor-style clock tower...
...as well as a grand looking theatre, apparently the home of 'Talkie' movies, way back when...
Looks like they still show films occasionally...
Bettie turns me towards North Palmerston, where I have a room booked this evening - and I get the first sight of blue sky today!
In the town of Normanby, my attention is drawn to the custom car shop...
...which has some very nice tenants at the moment...
Inside, Greg is hard at work with a sanding block...
I can remember having a car stripped down to that state. Scary as Hell - could never believe I'd get it all back together...
Interesting choice for a custom car - can anyone identify it?
The one Greg is working on should be easier...
Not sure about this one...
Any guesses?
That's lovely, though, isn't it?
Back out onto the main drag and the misty rain is back. It's never been so hard as to make me consider getting kitted up and covering the tank bag, just enough to be a niggle...
Yes! I've at last found one parked - all the others I have seen have been travelling on the opposite direction...
I think this was my favourite of all the cars my parents owned when I was a kid - theirs was a dark green Zephyr Four...
Onwards!
At the approach to the splendidly named town of Bulls is this life-sized statue...
Realistic in every detail...
I spot this beauty filling up with fuel further down the road. Convertible with suicide doors (awful wheels, though)...
I ask the owner and he confirms he's going to the Beach Hop this week. Any guesses for Make/Model/Year?
Hey - it's my old pal Dorri the Morrie!
But she seems to have some distinguished company today...
No prizes for guessing this one, with that registration number...
Further down the road is a very presentable MGBGT - from 1971 according to the plate...
OK - final leg...
After filling up at 1530, I check into my very pleasant room at the Braemar Motel.
Good day, but the weather could have made it so much better...
PS My second LED front light has failed. Predictably...
I suppose it's more symmetrical to look at now...
I sleep well and wake fairly early. I make some calls home and generally stumble around the room until I decide to have a shower and get kitted up. I load the bike and am disappointed to see that it is a cloudy day, with a misty rain on a soft breeze. It's warm, at 62°F, but I'm riding the Forgotten Highway this morning, and I'd been hoping for good weather...
I decide to let the weather sort itself out a bit, set off at 0850 and then stop for breakfast at a café on the main street...
That'll do...
Sorry about the image quality - after missing breakfast yesterday, my hands were shaking as a result of malnutrition...
I step outside at 0945 to find that my plan has worked - the rain has stopped
I start the bike and follow the signs for Highway 43 towards Stratford, some 100 miles away. This road is variously called the Forgotten Highway, the Forgotten World Highway and Edna...
Things look pretty grim from the outset. There is a thick layer of cloud obscuring the tops of the hills - it looks like a partially downloaded photo...
Thankfully the Adv's tank is full...
Let's go then. Apologies for the quality of some of the pics - the light levels were crap and the shutter speeds consequently slow, so you'll get at best some motion blur and at worst some camera shake...
There were dire warnings about stopping in front of this bluff - and clear evidence at the bottom of it why...
The misty rain has materialised again. The problem is not getting wet, it's doing no more than dampening the front of my gloves, but more what it is doing to the road surface. You cannot tell whether it's wet, or whether that patch is just shiny tar. It's always shiny tar, but the one time you make that assumption - it won't be...
I came across this chap in the middle of nowhere - he waved me by, but I stopped to check he didn't need help. I figured he'd have no mobile coverage where he was, but he said he'd walked to the top of the hill, got a signal and that they were sending someone out. Looks like one of the chains broke - the concrete pipe survived the fall, at least...
This is a great road, and would be fun to ride in good weather. As it is, it's a bit of a pain to be honest...
I go over several sets of switchbacks - called 'Saddles' on this road for some reason...
...but much of the road follows the river valleys between the low hills - their peaks still shrouded in cloud...
Clearing the third (I think) saddle, the weather clears considerably and the road surface is now dry...
So I start putting on a little speed. You're doing well to exceed 100kph safely for very long on a road like this, but I'm pretty sure it's a while since a patrol car bothered with a road this quiet...
With the road surface dry, it's a good, fun road. I just wish the weather would clear up so that I could take full advantage of the scenery...
Unfortunately, if anything, the weather's getting worse...
...and sure enough, after a few minutes, the rain starts again...
Haven't had a barn in a few days, have we?
The road surface is very often mottled with mud and bits of debris - if anyone has forgotten this highway it's the Highways Dept...
Bettie tells me we'll be climbing another saddle into that lot - hey-ho...
I manage to avoid entering cloud - which is good. Eventually I reach the Tangarakau Gorge, the walls of which are just under 200ft - but lost in cloud...
Huzzah!
Actually the change in surface makes little difference - my speed doesn't alter much at all...
This is the Tangarakau River. It snakes like a main circuit cable through the National Park, leading me straight to Kurtz...
Well it could have been a set from Apocalypse Now, couldn't it?
A couple of kilometres further on is this tunnel...
Which had a floor made of dirt, Lego bricks, rocks and other stuff you'd not want to tread on...
The other side, the weather was dire...
Right on time, the Whangamomona Hotel appears - Huzzah!
I decide I need a bowl(!) of Nachos to sustain me...
Whangamomona is an interesting place. They unofficially declared themselves a Republic in 1989 and hold a celebration of this every year. I make a $2 donation to their fund and receive a passport stamp in return...
Seems I parked in a metered zone...
Onward - I suppose...
A soft drizzle has now started, but I seem to be avoiding most of the effects, as the road is so often sheltered by trees and bluffs...
...but there's no denying that roads like this are two different animals dependent on the weather you are riding in...
Quite suddenly it's dry again (it's varying from one valley to the next) and I'm able to get some speed on...
This reminds me very much of roads in the West Highlands of Scotland (but without the sodding West Highland Midge!)...
The high overcast remains, but I become optimistic that the last of the bad weather is behind me...
But after ten minutes, I'm proved wrong again...
With about ten kilometres to go to Stratford, the weather clears completely...
...and I enjoy the last twists and turns of the Best Forgotten Highway...
I'm going to see if I can't schedule a return ride - going the other way - if the weather works out in the time I have left...
Stratford is a busy little town, with an odd Tudor-style clock tower...
...as well as a grand looking theatre, apparently the home of 'Talkie' movies, way back when...
Looks like they still show films occasionally...
Bettie turns me towards North Palmerston, where I have a room booked this evening - and I get the first sight of blue sky today!
In the town of Normanby, my attention is drawn to the custom car shop...
...which has some very nice tenants at the moment...
Inside, Greg is hard at work with a sanding block...
I can remember having a car stripped down to that state. Scary as Hell - could never believe I'd get it all back together...
Interesting choice for a custom car - can anyone identify it?
The one Greg is working on should be easier...
Not sure about this one...
Any guesses?
That's lovely, though, isn't it?
Back out onto the main drag and the misty rain is back. It's never been so hard as to make me consider getting kitted up and covering the tank bag, just enough to be a niggle...
Yes! I've at last found one parked - all the others I have seen have been travelling on the opposite direction...
I think this was my favourite of all the cars my parents owned when I was a kid - theirs was a dark green Zephyr Four...
Onwards!
At the approach to the splendidly named town of Bulls is this life-sized statue...
Realistic in every detail...
I spot this beauty filling up with fuel further down the road. Convertible with suicide doors (awful wheels, though)...
I ask the owner and he confirms he's going to the Beach Hop this week. Any guesses for Make/Model/Year?
Hey - it's my old pal Dorri the Morrie!
But she seems to have some distinguished company today...
No prizes for guessing this one, with that registration number...
Further down the road is a very presentable MGBGT - from 1971 according to the plate...
OK - final leg...
After filling up at 1530, I check into my very pleasant room at the Braemar Motel.
Good day, but the weather could have made it so much better...
PS My second LED front light has failed. Predictably...
I suppose it's more symmetrical to look at now...
