TENERE 700
42ND TRAVERSE The first adventure was north to tackle the 42nd Traverse for the Kiwi Rider Christmas party - we do parties right here at KR , that ’ s for sure . Anyway , on the way up , I thought it would be rude not to go via the Forgotten World Highway . The T7 felt amazing as I wound through the valleys and over the saddles , and transitioning onto the gravel , I got my first real taste of the bike ’ s gravel manners . I met up with the rest of the KR crew in Taumaranui . We headed down to National Park via a few more gravel roads , to our accommodation for the evening and the next day embarked on what was to be a truly epic ride through the 42nd Traverse . Twin track dirt roads , winding through native bush , peppered with stunning views of the central north island volcanoes , a few good river crossings , many , many ruts , and one solid hill climb . Due to a mixture of the OEM tyres ... and ... err ... possibly a slight lack of talent and experience on the bike , I required a bit of help to get up . We finished the day on Fishers track , which was a narrow snake of grass up the side of a cliff , with yet more stunning vistas . Once back in National Park , I said my goodbyes and got back on the bike to smash out another 300-odd kilometres back home . You know it ’ s a good bike if you can do nearly 1000 kilometres in two days and still be keen to get back on the bike the next day .
MOLESWORTH AND RAINBOW ROD A few weeks later and adventure number two for the T7 . Mat Day-Gillett and I jumped on the ferry to the South island
KIWI RIDER 105