Further to discussion on
this thread...I hereby announce the first EPIC CRUISE of the year!
Where: SH22, Auckland to Raglan
When: Sunday, March 7th
Meet: BP Solar, Drury. 8:30am
Fuel estimation: 1/2 tank for N/A, 3/4 tank for turbos - full tank safe bet
Here is a map. Click for a HUGE one.
The CruiseSo a few of us had an EPIC, EPIC cruise out into the middle of nowhere last Sunday; it was good enough that here we are again, doing it properly!
The cruise will start early-ish in the morning (unless everyone prefers to go later!) so we can make the most of the day. We should land at Raglan for an early lunch - apparently the fish & chip shop there is pretty mint.
The road is long and twisty, and the surface can be a wee bit unpredictable in places. Keeping this in mind, this is not a Scenic Dr run; we will be pacing ourselves, especially for those of us with 1st gens and 'sporty steering'
It will take up most of the day, depending on how long we stay at the beach. The route home will be via SH1 - the motorway.
Notes:- The road is very twisty in places, and the surface changes a lot. Beware of gravel traps.
- It's a long journey; 250+km.
Fuel up appropriately.- Pace: moderate. As above it's a heck of a journey
- Leaders: swapped throughout the day. Give a hoy over the radio if you want a shot leading (NO SPEED RACERS thx) - if the pace is too fast for you, you will be happier leading.
- Those with radio: switch to channel 07. It gets interference every now and again, but is far clearer than the higher frequencies. (On that note, can we please have no singing and hogging the radio with music this time - it's there for communicating, particularly under urgency. Not deafening the entire cruise
You know who you are.)
- Car pooling: EPIC WIN. Especially if you don't want gravel rash on YOUR car, or want to share fuel costs
- Please keep a safe distance between you and the car in front. Some of the corners come up by surprise (most are unmarked) and the last thing you want to do is discover that traction + surprise gravel = no.
- I'll be bringing extra water and something to nibble on - you may wanna do the same
- If you don't want fish & chips, we shall hunt down alternatives. At any rate, picnic blanket by the beach could spell a winner!
- Cameras! If you have one, breeng eet!!
The last cruise took 2.5 hours south with frequent stops and a casual pace. This one may take far less. As long as we are heading north at 3pm or earlier, there'll be little traffic worries
Who's in for the tail end of summer cruise then au?!
(Ninja edit: I set the end point on the map as Greenlane East - Maccas carpark. Head there if ya want, but obviously if you're peeling off home then ignore it
)
