We arrived for sign on at Mt Cook, to a sea
of KTM bikes, and I could sense the restrained
excitement of over 100 riders. Everyone was
friendly, but a bit tense too. It was great to meet
Rosie Lalonde from KTM, who had been so helpful
making it possible for Karen to enter as a pillion.
Rosie made everyone feel very welcome.
I had been looking forward to meeting the
couple from the 2016 video, only to find out that
Richard had tragically passed away in a skiing
accident (RIP Richard). This made me want to
do some break out routes in his memory, when
previously I had told Karen that we would just
stick to the main routes. It was hard to figure
out how big a challenge these might be.
I realised how well the KTM
handles two up, and how
relaxed Karen is as a pillion
Friends of Edd and Karen,
Heath and Karen Botica,
also took on the Adventure
Rallye as a rider and pillion
24 KIWI RIDER