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davetapson

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  1. Hi Byron Try this as a start? https://www.strava.com/activities/5070686274 Braam does a lot of riding on the shore - have a look at some of his tracks...? https://www.strava.com/athletes/39332328?oq=bra
  2. Kids being let off school early because of weather. Don't these schools know why we send the kids there..?! Now, when I was a child, I had to swim 7 miles to school, holding my breath the whole way... Garage is flooding again (in rental house, thank goodness.) It's like these 1:100 year events aren't.
  3. And that's my quarterly catch up... 🙂 Current situation as per video below... cell phone camera making it look way more cheerful than it feels. My daughter, who now works for NZ Herald tells me that weather warnings have been phoned in, looks like we have some interesting times ahead of us (again)... And in other news, we have joined the property market (Rothesay Bay, around the corner from British Isles should you like a quick pint), so like a bunch of you guys, now own some of the most over-priced real estate in the world. Long may it stay that way... Wrap up, stay dry, Dave 20230509_113057.mp4
  4. We were camping at Blue Lake just outside Rotorua when they had their last big shake. If you want a visceral experience, that is one. Ironically, because we had no roof beams or mortar to fall on our heads, it was quite a fun experience.
  5. You can also hit the valleys around Puhoi. You can park in Waiwera and pretty much ride to the other side of the country and back in 80km. I'd offer, but I'm fat and unfit, and too scared of the spiders on my bike to chase them off.
  6. I'm quite impressed by NZ school uniforms - the 'golf' shirt style. They last better than you'd have any reason to expect, and the kids love their school fleeces - they'd wear them before any of their civvie fleeces - long and warm. Those get washed just about every week and after a year and half of that treatment are beginning to sun-fade on the backs, but otherwise still in good nick. School shoes (sneakers), now that's another story. Best plan is to make friends with a kid leaving the school and take over that kit, or else the second hand shop. Also school socks - they evaporate. What's up with that?
  7. Following on from this - had the suspension set, first by Dave Moss, then by Adrian at Restorace (Dave suggested I go to Adrian for a new rear spring, Adrian said the stock one is fine for my purposes.) Also made a huge diffs. Between the torquier motor and suspension, it's night and day compared to stock. Trying to decide if I should replace the header (which has catalytic converter) for a straight through. Very tempted.
  8. Yeah, agree with all. We were in PA over Christmas. All those three story mansions that should be full of vaalies causing grief with their big 4x4s, sk boats, quad-bikes and jets ski's..? Empty. Nada. Like a ghost town.
  9. I chucked a Fuelx Pro onto it. Riches up the fuelng at low revs - transforms it. Still not a 500 tho. Dave Moss was in town and had a suspension tuning session after a Shiny Side Up event. That also transformed it. It's now a lot of fun - but still not a 500. In any case, it's perfect for what I use it for (commuting), as opposed to what I'd like to think I'd use it for (touring). I did some riding around the Waitak's the other day, and North of Albany another day. The damage to the roads is extensive, and all over the place. Typically slips on the down hill sides of the road, talking part of the road with it and reducing roads to one lane all over the place. There is s lot of fixing to be done, with a lot of shoring up work needed where the slips have occurred. I think it's way worse than is immediately obvious, certainly in terms of cost to repair.
  10. Would you like a hipster boost by taking a ride of the Svartpiel? I'd be interested in your opinion. I'm slightly underwhelmed, but I think I'm used to 'old-timey' thumpers with long strokes and massive torque. Maybe I should see if they have a diesel version. I've added a ecu override chip (Fuelx Pro) which has made it much more rideable around town (is underfuelled, esp at idle, to meet emissions standards.) Maybe I expect too much of a 373cc. But all the fancy stuff, ABS etc is just AWESOME!!
  11. Yeah - my one abiding memory of our visit to SA is dark malls. A dark mall is an unpleasant place.
  12. Yeah, I think that's exactly it. Here, if you are not academic, there are other options - trades, police, army, stuff that is no longer an option in SA. And, as they say, chicks dig Tradies... 🙂
  13. Kiwi education is just different. They seem to absorb knowledge rather than have it 'beaten' into them. I was beginning to despair about times tables etc. but know at beginning year 8, they know their times tables well enough. When and how they learned them, I do not know. I think Kiwis think that the kid will do as well as the kid will do. They do have quite a lot of extra support in the classrooms (that as long as they are not overwhelmed, depending on who's in the class) that helps your kid where they are struggling. They don't do pressurizing thing, which is what drives Saffa's mad. We feel kids should be driven to exceed and when the schools here don't do that, get all upset. Personally I'm not completely convinced the Kiwi's are wrong. Which is not a popular opinion.
  14. Same for us - not much damage, just a puddle in the back of the garage where water seeps through the cinderblock wall which is set into the hillside. No drains or waterproofing, because why would you in a country that turns to mud for six months of the year...?
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