Pete‘ Vege’ McPhee giving his usual unfiltered morning briefing
wouldn’ t be nearly as memorable. By lunchtime our small group had hooked into The Fat Pigeon Cafe in Piopio, where we caught up with some of the other riders. After a wet morning on the gravel roads, we were looking forward to a hot meal, coffee, and a decent break before heading back out for the afternoon. Helmets and damp riding gear were scattered around tables and chairs while riders swapped stories about muddy corners, slippery sections, tyre choices, and near misses from the morning’ s ride. It was also a good chance to catch up with some of the stalwarts of New Zealand adventure riding, many of whom turn up every year to support events like the KR350. It also seemed like just about every rider on the event had converged on Piopio at the same time. There were bikes everywhere and riders spread throughout the cafés and footpaths around town. With considerably over 80-odd riders entered in the event, it felt like the whole ride had rolled into town together. Before long we were back onto the King Country backroads for an afternoon of gravel
roads, rain showers, mud, and plenty more adventure riding.
FISHERS TRACK FRONT OF MIND One of the important parts of this KR350 was that it was to help support awareness around Fishers Track near National Park. There’ s been quite a bit of controversy around the possibility of motorcycles losing access in the future and the track becoming mountain-bike only. A lot of riders feel pretty strongly about it because Fishers Track has been an important part of New Zealand adventure riding for many years. Hopefully events like this help remind people that motorcyclists value these areas too and want to keep access open while still respecting the environment and other users.
BACK TO THE COSSIE CLUB Back at the Cosmopolitan Club riders looked tired but pretty happy with themselves. The bikes weren’ t caked in mud, but they definitely looked like they’ d been ridden. Most people’ s riding gear had done a reasonable
40 KIWI RIDER