OP
@pigletpilot avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
 
Molto Verboso
@pigletpilot avatar
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
UTC quote
A story in several parts.
PART 1
This is a story of my adventure. It isn't of Cannonball proportions, but it was a great adventure for Gabriella and me with a couple of friends along on the big day. But that's getting ahead of myself.
This may take some time, so settle in - or scroll on by.
I live just outside Hamilton, Kirikiriroa to local Māori. Hamilton is the largest inland city in New Zealand and is the most populous city of the Waikato region. It sits on the banks of the Waikato River and as of June 2023 had a population of 185,300. It was primarily a centre for the surrounding agricultural activities but has grown into a diverse city that continues its original purpose but is also a strong commercial centre. Not far from our home is the Tainui owned inland port being developed rapidly as a freight terminal and distribution centre as part of "The Golden Triangle" of Auckland, Hamilton and Tauranga, the former and later being seaports. We are a little over 100km south of Auckland, and 150km north of Taupō, which will feature shortly.
A friend from Napier was keen for an overnighter trip on his scooter, and for a few years I have been involved in a Napier organised long weekend. This isn't happening this year as some of the participants have sold their scooters or other activities have taken a more front seat. So Jonathan and I were keen, and a new friend Alan was to join us. I have a niece and her husband who live in Napier so I organised a bed with them for Wednesday 3 January and sorted my self out for being on the scooter for three days.
I packed a bag to fit on the front rack, put together a bit of a tool pack, made sure my first aid kit was relevant, packed the puncture repair kit I got for Christmas, checked the scooter over, adding about 150ml of oil, and gassed her up on Tuesday afternoon.
Wednesday morning at just after 10:00am I hit the road, heading initially for Taupō. Now, State Highway 1 (SH1) comes through Hamilton and goes to Taupō on its way to Bluff at the bottom of the South Island. I wanted to avoid that as much as possible, so I used SH1B to Cambridge, spent a short time on SH1 to skirt Lake Karapiro and turned onto Horahora Road at Piarere. This road follows (roughly) the Waikato River, the longest in New Zealand, towards its source, changing to Old Taupō Road along the way. About 85km (53 miles, 46 nautical miles, 4225 chains . . .) south of home near Tokoroa I turned right onto Whakamaru Road (SH32) which leads to the Whakamaru Dam, one of 8 dams on the Waikato River with 9 hydro electric power stations associated with them. At Whakamaru township I stopped for a cold drink, and while I was there the best truck in the world turned up. See the photo below.
I carried on SH32 towards Kuratau, turning off about 12km (7.5 miles . . . I'll leave you to convert to your preferred units) south onto Poihipi Road and in to Taupō for my first fuel up. That was about 160km (actual 161 from fill up to fill up, 100 miles). While there I contacted an old friend who is also my sister-in-law's brother to meet for lunch. We spent a very pleasant hour catching up before I needed to get back on the road. Scooter emoticon
Continued tomorrow.
Loaded, almost ready to go.
Loaded, almost ready to go.
Photo taken by Mrs. pigletpilot just as I was about to leave.
Photo taken by Mrs. pigletpilot just as I was about to leave.
Mileage before I left.
Mileage before I left.
Stopped at Whakamaru for a cold drink and the best truck in the world turns up - Tip Top ice cream delivery.
Stopped at Whakamaru for a cold drink and the best truck in the world turns up - Tip Top ice cream delivery.
OP
@pigletpilot avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
 
Molto Verboso
@pigletpilot avatar
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
UTC quote
PART 2
Taupō is a town situated on the shore of Lake Taupō, the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. It is the second largest urban area in the Waikato region behind Hamilton, with a population in June 2023 of 26500. Lake Taupō is the caldera of the Taupō volcano. It is an extremely popular town for tourists, both local and international with many attractions for visitors to take in. Amongst those is the Taupō Motorsport Park which has the highest FIA safety rating in New Zealand of the 7 public motor racing circuits here. Not quite good enough for F1, but just about anything else including trucks and V8 Supercars from Australia; - but I digress.
From Taupō to Napier in the Hawkes Bay region there is really only one sensible route, SH5. This route is a major link of about 140km (87 miles) with a couple of decent climbs to negotiate. It is a road used by many trucks transporting goods to and from Hawkes Bay including logging trucks taking loads to either the Napier Port or Pan Pac pulp mill at Whirinaki. Care is required. Oddly, despite the road being designed to high standards there is an 80kmh speed limit covering a large section where the road configuration is a much better judge of an appropriate speed than a random number. (Our general open road speed limit is 100kmh). Bureaucrats in Wellington decided it would save lives!
So, off I went, the weather was great, the traffic relatively light. I was immediately behind a truck and trailer unit which appeared to be at our maximum legal size of a 4 axle truck with 5 axle trailer legal at 54 tonnes. The speed limit for those is 90kmh so I just slotted in behind and sat back. On the flat sections at the start of the drive he tended to get away from me as he was travelling at about 94 - 95kmh (checked on my GPS) and I was cruising at 90kmh (100kmh indicated). I was still behind him when we reached the 80kmh area beyond the Rangitaiki Tavern and I soon caught up sufficiently to need to hold back a little to avoid the buffeting. We soon got into some twisty stuff with gradient and the driver made passing easy. I scooted on, aware that the road was devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle around Valentines Day 2023 to the point of it being closed completely for a time, then intermittent openings to let trucks through before a complete reopening - to everyone's relief. The repair crews have done an amazing job, but there's still clear signs of the damage done. There's a steep pinch just before Tarawera but it's pretty short.
The first steep climb takes the road to Te Haroto, a small settlement based around the local marae called Te Hāroto marae, a meeting place of the iwi (tribe) Ngāti Hineuru. There used to be a "kiosk" there and trucks would stop there regularly but it's been closed for a number of years, before Covid even if I remember correctly. The road soon heads downhill to cross the Mohaka River on a really nice sag bridge which has a pin joint in the middle. It sits on two very tall concrete (up to 39.6m) piers making it a three span steel truss bridge with two short land spans from the abutments. (Sorry, geeking out on a lovely bit of engineering). The road then climbs and twists through to the top of Titiokura, the last summit before running downhill through Te Pōhue, a tiny settlement with a primary school roll of 15. I stopped just past the summit of Titiokura for a couple of photos and carried on. The road comes down into the Esk River valley, the area that suffered the most damage during last year's cyclone. Entire crops of grapes were just washed away, houses were totally destroyed, "munted" being a colloquialism commonly used. I stopped at a beautiful little church in the valley that looks undamaged from the outside, and yet just across the road is a house that has been moved off its foundations, cladding is missing in places, windows are broken - it's heartbreaking. The church is the Eskdale War Memorial Church, built in 1920 of limestone, commemorating a local who was killed in WW1. The land was donated and money was also donated by the lost soldier's sister in law. I posted the below photo on Facebook and my brother-in-law informed me I had been there EXACTLY 18 years previously for his daughter's wedding. Spooky coincidence.
It appears that there was some damage internally, but on 25 April 2023, 2½ months after the devastation the locals held an ANZAC Day service honouring Kiwis and Aussies who have lost their lives in various conflicts, but primarily WW1. On December 13 2023 the first full service was held again, exactly 10 months after the church was inundated.
I rode on to Napier, refuelled not far from my bed for the night, visited the local supermarket to buy wine and beer for my hosts, then settled in with Garth for the evening as Jennie, our niece, was working. She's one of the absolute heroes of the world, looking after elderly people who can't look after themselves - very special people. A total of 304.8km (189.4 miles) that took 4 hours 23 minutes travelling time. Average speed was 72.3kmh (45mph). Total time - much longer, regular stops ensured that. Maximum altitude reached, Titiokura I believe, was 766m, (a whisker over 2513 feet). Fuel consumption was 3.32l/100km, 85.08 imperial mpg, 70.85 US mpg.
A good day's riding.
Scooter emoticon
From the top of Titiokura looking towards Hawke Bay. (The province is Hawkes Bay, the water is Hawke Bay).
From the top of Titiokura looking towards Hawke Bay. (The province is Hawkes Bay, the water is Hawke Bay).
Harapaki Wind Farm, will have 42 turbines on 85m (279 feet) pylons with 60m (197 feet) blades giving a 120m (294 feet) diameter.
Harapaki Wind Farm, will have 42 turbines on 85m (279 feet) pylons with 60m (197 feet) blades giving a 120m (294 feet) diameter.
Proof that Gabriella and I were actually there.
Proof that Gabriella and I were actually there.
Eskdale War Memorial Church - I attended a nieces wedding there exactly 18 years previously.
Eskdale War Memorial Church - I attended a nieces wedding there exactly 18 years previously.
The "munted" house across the road from the church.
The "munted" house across the road from the church.
OP
@pigletpilot avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
 
Molto Verboso
@pigletpilot avatar
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
UTC quote
PART 3
The BIG Day
Napier, Ahuriri, is a city on the east coast of the North Island and is the administrative seat of the Hawke's Bay region. It is a beachside city with a decent port, and is known as The Art Deco capital of the world. The city was substantially destroyed in an earthquake at 10:47am on 3 February 1931. 256 people were killed in the 7.8 magnitude quake that lasted for 2½ minutes. It was centred 15km (9 miles) north of Napier at a depth of 14km (8.7 miles) and remains New Zealand's deadliest natural disaster. 597 aftershocks were recorded by the end of February 1931. The city was rebuilt largely in Art Deco style and remains a unique concentration of 1930s Art Deco and to a lesser extent Spanish Mission architecture.
Woke up in Napier on Thursday 4 January 2024 at 6:30am, host Garth had gone to work on his truck (maximum size logging unit with 580?hp Cummins engine) preparing it for a truck show, so I ate my breakfast alone as Jennie, niece, was still asleep having got home after midnight from a tough shift. I soon had my bag repacked and I got Gabriella out of her overnight stay in the garage, checked her oil, and started getting my bag on the front rack and other bits and pieces stored. Jennie had got up hearing the garage door open so we caught up on news, hugged and said goodbye and I was off to meet Jonathan at a local café for a quick drink before we headed more or less west. He was a little tardy arriving, he had filled his scooter, a Yamaha X-Max 300 and carefully put the fuel cap somewhere safe. As he headed away from home he could smell fuel, checked the cap and went back home to pick it up! We had coffee/tea then headed towards Omahu to meet up with Alan, who lives at Tikokino, a small settlement of 230 people 65 km (40 miles) southwest of Napier. I got introduced to Alan, we took the obligatory photo and headed towards Waiouru on a road known as The Gentle Annie. It's usually described as the Napier Taihape Road, but we didn't need to visit Taihape so that was the reason for heading for Waiouru. The Gentle Annie is an absolute must do road for any PTW rider, it has everything a sealed road can offer up; sweeping country vistas on flowing roads, steep, narrow winding sections that demand absolute concentration, lovely hilly twisties to keep you sharp, and an ever changing landscape from open pasture to forestry right beside the road. Great riding country! We decided we would stop at an historic bridge over the Rangitīkei River, there's public toilets there, and interesting history for bridge geeks (me). Our break there was great, we were ready for it, and we wandered around the rest area taking in the information provided. The bridge is a 61m (200 feet) long with 7m (23 feet) high concrete towers at each end suspension bridge with a 2.4m (8 feet) wide deck. It struck me again how young our country is in terms of European history, the bridge we stopped at is historic, but was only opened in 1925, replaced in 1970 with a more modern steel truss bridge. While we were there, a logging truck we had encountered earlier and who had made passing an absolute breeze, passed us as he pressed on. Of course we caught him again, but, he again made our passing easy and safe on a narrow winding section. We pressed on to Waiouru, a small town in the central North Island best known as home to the New Zealand Army Museum and associated army camp. It's at 792m (2598 feet) above sea level, and a common stopping point for people travelling the length of the North Island. We wanted fuel - not desperately, but nice to have. We were disappointed! The whole town was without power, don't know why, but that was the situation. We pressed on to Ohakune, 28 km (17 miles) to the west. We all topped up and decided a coffee was in order. The café we headed for was - CLOSED! Fortunately there was a Kombi coffee cart next door so we ordered our drinks and the owner said the café went bankrupt, the owner was trying to run 2 food businesses in a small very seasonal (ski season) town and wasn't prepared to merge the two and both went under. Sad. After our refreshment we headed to Taumarunui, 78 km (48 miles) away. Decided we would have lunch there, and somehow McDonalds won. It was suitably disappointing.
More to follow.
Scooter emoticon
Mileage before I left Napier.
Mileage before I left Napier.
Waiting for Jonathan at the café.
Waiting for Jonathan at the café.
The team together at Omahu, 2 X-Max and the beautiful Gabriella.
The team together at Omahu, 2 X-Max and the beautiful Gabriella.
The historic suspension bridge.
The historic suspension bridge.
And its replacement.
And its replacement.
OP
@pigletpilot avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
 
Molto Verboso
@pigletpilot avatar
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
UTC quote
PART 3B
Taumarunui to New Plymouth.
With lunch consumed and remaining inside us we left Taumarunui. Taumarunui is a small town of about 4800 people in the central North Island. It sits on the banks of the Whanganui River very close to the confluence of the Whanganui and Ongarue Rivers. The Whanganui is the 3rd longest river in New Zealand and was an important trading route from early Māori days right until the North Island Main Trunk Railway negated the need for paddle steamers to ply the river.
We set out on The Forgotten World Highway, SH43, our second "Must Do" road in a day. It runs for 148km (92 miles) from Taumarunui to Stratford in Taranaki. It is the only New Zealand State Highway with an unsealed portion. There's about 12km (7.5 miles) of unsealed road.
We left on good roads that follow the river for a good distance winding with the river until reaching the Tangarakau Gorge. This part of the road narrows into a gorge with sides up to 60m (197 feet) high, and it is in the Gorge that the unsealed portion remains. The gravel was relatively fresh, and therefore thicker than I am happy with, but the three scooters handled it well with the riders taking appropriate care. Eventually we rejoined sealed road until the Moki Tunnel, known as Hobbit's Hole. This is a hand hewn hole in the rock, tall and wide enough for road legal trucks, but single lane only. Here I had my biggest moment. I entered the tunnel forgetting that I had my inner visor down and suddenly I couldn't see anything and the surface under me was clearly soft and slushy. Yes this short section is also unsealed. I managed to bring Gabriella to a halt without falling off and regained my composure - and retracted my inner visor! We all stopped once through the short tunnel and took photos while discussing our various adventures on such a short section of road - we had all been caught out. Phew 😮‍💨
We carried on to Whangamōmona, an area that declared itself a republic in 1989 in protest to being declared part of the Manawatu-Whanganui region in a redrawing of Regional Council boundaries. They wanted to remain part of Taranaki so held a Republic Day on 1 November 1989, and have continued to do so ever since. A President is elected by the residents, all 120 odd of them, and over the years they have been presided over by various locals, including the first President who presided for 10 years to be succeeded by a goat for 2 years, then a poodle for the next 2 years, then people again including the first female President Vicki Pratt in 2015 to 2017. We had a cold drink and took the necessary photos, chatted to others passing through or camping nearby before hitting the road again.
The road is well known for having three saddles to negotiate being, in the order we tackled them, the Tahora Saddle before Whangamōmona, the Whangamōmona Saddle almost immediately on leaving town, and finally the Strathmore Saddle closer to the end of the road. Not long past Toko and a few km short of Stratford we turned north on Beaconsfield Road that took us through to Midhurst then it was SH3 into New Plymouth and to our accomodation for the night The Auto Lodge Motor Inn. I have history with this place. I was transferred to New Plymouth for work in 1990 and spent 3 months living here during the week, returning to Hamilton during the weekends. The same family continue to own and operate it, and they have carried out suitable updates along the way; it was nice to be back.
We parked the scooters for the night, got changed out of our riding gear and walked into town along the Coastal Walkway to the Len Lye Wind Wand, (Google it) then found a suitably noisy Irish pub for dinner. For me, bangers and mash with a lovely Oban 14 year old Scotch to reward my efforts.
Total distance was 466.7km, 290 miles, 252 nautical miles . . . pick your own preferred units of measure. Maximum altitude was 967 metres, 3172 feet. Average speed was 66.2kmh, 41.1mph and we were running for 7hrs 8 mins. The total trip again took longer because of stops along the way.
Went to bed Thursday night a tired little camper.
Scooter emoticon
All safely - just - through the Hobbit's Hole tunnel.
All safely - just - through the Hobbit's Hole tunnel.
Looking back at the darkness.
Looking back at the darkness.
Totally necessary photo at the Whangamōmana Pub, in the Republic of Whangamōmona.
Totally necessary photo at the Whangamōmana Pub, in the Republic of Whangamōmona.
Parked for the night at our accommodation.
Parked for the night at our accommodation.
Mileage at the end of the day.
Mileage at the end of the day.
OP
@pigletpilot avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
 
Molto Verboso
@pigletpilot avatar
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
UTC quote
PART 4
Going Home.
New Plymouth, Ngāmotu, is the major city in the Taranaki region. It is named after Plymouth, Devon where the first English settlers to New Plymouth set out from. The population of the city is about 59600. Whilst still a centre for the region's agricultural industries, it is also the centre of a large energy industry with oil and gas being found both on land and off shore.
We reconvened at 7:00am on Friday morning for breakfast at the in-house restaurant, all three of us choosing continental. Over our breakfast we discussed our plans for the day. My ride home could be relatively straight forward, home up SH3. There was the temptation to turn off near Awakino and go home through Marakopa and Waitomo. The others had a longer trip in front of them and several options. They decided on the northern route which followed the same route as me to north of Pio Pio where they turned off SH3 and worked their way cross country through Benneydale to Taupō then on to Napier. We agreed that we would split up as they were likely to want to travel a little faster than I. We went and packed our scoots, met at reception to return keys and said our goodbyes. I was off to gas up, they were off to hit the road.
After filling the scooter I pointed her towards home, still a little undecided on whether to take my more scenic route or not. As I headed north I got close to Mt Messenger where there's a major bypass being built, and there was a little moisture in the air. Not enough to worry about, but annoying. Worse, it appeared that something had been dribbling diesel onto the road, again, not a lot, but annoying. As I headed down from the Mt Messenger summit behind a truck and with an impatient BMW right behind me I was contemplating stopping at Mōkau to put the lining in my jacket, have a drink and let the BMW get away. Of course he scorched past me and ended up behind the truck and I followed him for kilometres until there was a passing lane.
I got to Mōkau and it was still drizzly and diesely. I pulled into The Whitebait Inn and found a nice little cake to have with my drink. As I was getting my jacket off, two X-Max 300s pulled up as well - my friends Jonathan and Alan. I had been sure I was behind them as they were headed straight away while I needed fuel. It turned out they had stopped at a different fuel station for Jonathan to buy an adaptor for his 3D camera and it had taken time! We all had morning tea and said our goodbyes again while I put my liner in my jacket and put my bag on the seat behind me to protect it a little from the drizzle. With the drizzle continuing I decided to just follow the road home to Hamilton, Marakopa will have to wait for another day. Part way through the Awakino Gorge the drizzle lightened considerably then stopped. I passed through Pio Pio with no sign of the others, I guessed they were pressing on. By about there I would normally be keeping a close eye on my fuel level but it was looking good and I carried on. I got to Te Awamutu and wasn't game to try to get home another 30km so stopped, put the bag back on the front rack, gassed up and headed home. I got here at 12:25pm having left New Plymouth just before 8:00am and made two stops along the way. A good day riding despite the drizzle.
After I had some lunch, which Mrs pigletpilot and bought as a treat while she was doing the grocery shop, I took anything easily removable off Gabriella and gave her a very thorough wash - 3 hours good. Then I took some pictures and decided I was a bit slack on cleaning the rear tyre.
So, three great days of riding, in particular the middle day with friends on really interesting roads. Gabriella performed flawlessly, I only tried to dump her the once in the tunnel and avoided that with immense 🤔🤦 skill and even more immense luck. Note to self, get the inner visor up BEFORE you enter the tunnel.
Day 3 was 243 km (151 miles) at an average speed of 70.2 kmh (43.6 mph). Maximum altitude was 238m (781 ft).
Overall I covered 1014.2 km (630.2 miles) at an average speed of 67.6 kmh (42 mph). I used a total of 32.39 litres (7.21 imp galls, 8.56 US gall) of fuel to cover 990km (615 miles) Last fill was before I got home - just. Overall fuel consumption was 3.27 l/100km (86.39 imp mpg, 71.93 US mpg). Can't complain about any of that.
Scooter emoticon
Look who found me at Mokau.
Look who found me at Mokau.
Stripped ready to clean.
Stripped ready to clean.
From the other side.
From the other side.
Mileage at home.
Mileage at home.
Tucked up in the garage.
Tucked up in the garage.
@bob_copeland avatar
UTC

Ossessionato
2013 Vespa 300 Super, 2022 Kymco AK 550
Joined: UTC
Posts: 3805
Location: Minneapolis USA
 
Ossessionato
@bob_copeland avatar
2013 Vespa 300 Super, 2022 Kymco AK 550
Joined: UTC
Posts: 3805
Location: Minneapolis USA
UTC quote
Great ride report. You are so unique because no one knows the names of those towns. Thanks for bringing your world. It is not like your riding in Italy were everyone knows traveling between Amalfi and Naples.

Great report.

Bob Copeland
OP
@pigletpilot avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
 
Molto Verboso
@pigletpilot avatar
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
UTC quote
Bob Copeland wrote:
Great ride report. You are so unique because no one knows the names of those towns. Thanks for bringing your world. It is not like your riding in Italy were everyone knows traveling between Amalfi and Naples.

Great report.

Bob Copeland
Thanks Bob, I guessed very few on the forum would have a clue about our place names and where they are.
There will be more rides, we are already planning next year.
Campbell
@bobbyoakes avatar
UTC

Member
Vespa GTS300 SuperTech (iScoot); Vespa GTS250ie
Joined: UTC
Posts: 49
Location: New Orleans, LA
 
Member
@bobbyoakes avatar
Vespa GTS300 SuperTech (iScoot); Vespa GTS250ie
Joined: UTC
Posts: 49
Location: New Orleans, LA
UTC quote
Thanks for the visuals... it sounds lovely... obviously you like different measurement systems, so... total distance 17343 arpents.

A side observation about language and terminology... you give your distances in kilometers, but still refer to it as your mileage!
@bob_copeland avatar
UTC

Ossessionato
2013 Vespa 300 Super, 2022 Kymco AK 550
Joined: UTC
Posts: 3805
Location: Minneapolis USA
 
Ossessionato
@bob_copeland avatar
2013 Vespa 300 Super, 2022 Kymco AK 550
Joined: UTC
Posts: 3805
Location: Minneapolis USA
UTC quote
pigletpilot,

It really helped out that I actually pulled up a map of New Zealand to follow your exploits. So, the total distance was 1,018 Kilometers or 633 miles?

Thanks again for your travel log. Nice to read as it is freezing here in Frostbite Falls Minnesota. In my bachlor days, I actually met a very charming young lady from New Zealand. If she is any reflection of ladies in your fine country - you are very fortunate.

Bob Copeland
-5 Degrees Fahrenheit here (-20.6 Celsius)  The scoots are sleeping a long Winters Nap in my garage.
-5 Degrees Fahrenheit here (-20.6 Celsius) The scoots are sleeping a long Winters Nap in my garage.
OP
@pigletpilot avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
 
Molto Verboso
@pigletpilot avatar
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
UTC quote
bobbyoakes wrote:
Thanks for the visuals... it sounds lovely... obviously you like different measurement systems, so... total distance 17343 arpents.

A side observation about language and terminology... you give your distances in kilometers, but still refer to it as your mileage!
Are we talking Parisian argents or North American argents? 🤔

You are correct, my mixed language usage concerns even me. I know it should be kilometrage, but it just seems a bit odd. I am old enough to remember miles so I reverted to type and used that terminology.

A couple of times when I have been in the States the whole Imperial distance thing has quite thrown me, despite growing up with inches, feet, yards and miles. Seeing a road sign that says 800 yards meant nothing to me the first time as I tried to recalibrate my brain, and nowhere seemed particularly far away as miles are fewer than kilometres to the same place.
OP
@pigletpilot avatar
UTC

Molto Verboso
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
 
Molto Verboso
@pigletpilot avatar
Gina, 1965 Vespa 180SS, Bella,1968 Vespa 150 Super, Mia, 2017 Vespa Primavera 70th Anniversary 150ie, Gabriella, 2017 GTS300 ABS
Joined: UTC
Posts: 1941
Location: Hamilton/Kirikiriroa, NZ
UTC quote
Bob Copeland wrote:
pigletpilot,

It really helped out that I actually pulled up a map of New Zealand to follow your exploits. So, the total distance was 1,018 Kilometers or 633 miles?

Thanks again for your travel log. Nice to read as it is freezing here in Frostbite Falls Minnesota. In my bachlor days, I actually met a very charming young lady from New Zealand. If she is any reflection of ladies in your fine country - you are very fortunate.

Bob Copeland
Bob, we are the opposite this week, 28˚C to 30˚C (82˚F to 86˚F) during this week, and barely under 20˚C (68˚F) at night. We are looking for respite.

Of course you met an absolutely standard beautiful New Zealand woman, they are all like that. ROFL emoticon
@bobbyoakes avatar
UTC

Member
Vespa GTS300 SuperTech (iScoot); Vespa GTS250ie
Joined: UTC
Posts: 49
Location: New Orleans, LA
 
Member
@bobbyoakes avatar
Vespa GTS300 SuperTech (iScoot); Vespa GTS250ie
Joined: UTC
Posts: 49
Location: New Orleans, LA
UTC quote
pigletpilot wrote:
Are we talking Parisian argents or North American argents? 🤔
I'm in New Orleans, so North American arpents. One arpent = ~192 feet, so approximately 27.52 arpent per mile. You'll still see historical references used in south Louisiana, but please don't assume we use it conversationally.

I think "mileage" rolls off the tongue better, but the way words are reused across cultures fascinates me.
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