Bill Muneio

No work today so I took the GS out for a ride in the mountains behind Santa Barbara. We had gotten a little rain last night but that was all cleared up by this morning and now the sun was out and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky although the wind was kicking up pretty good. Between the 154, where it crosses the San Marcos Pass, and Refugio Road, where it rises to the ridge out of Santa Ynez, there is a section of West Camino Cielo Road that is dirt.  You’re on a sharp high ridge with the sea on one side and Lake Cachuma down in the valley on the other. It eventually terminates into numerous dirt roads which descend either to Gaviota or the Santa Ynez Valley .or a paved road down to   The road provides access to locations such as the popular climbing area Lizard’s Mouth, the Winchester Gun Club, and most notably Ronald Reagan’s Rancho del Cielo.

West Camino Cielo

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It’s been a week now since I got back from New Zealand and it’s good to be home with family and friends. But I have to be honest I really miss New Zealand, life there seems just a little simpler,(ok a lot simpler) granted I was on vacation so everything was simpler but still when you consider that the entire country of New zealand has only a slightly higher population then the city of Los Angeles and that their unemployment rate is almost half of California’s it’s easy to see why life might be a little simpler. Traffic over there is when you see 3 other cars and or sheep on the road. And the people really don’t seem to care about their material possessions like we do here. Read that as there’s not a lot of people (actually I didn’t see anybody) driving fancy cars and ridiculously over sized SUV’s while talking on their cell phones, drinking their Iced Single Vente, 7 pump Peppermint, Caramel Sauce Top and Bottom, Light Ice, No whip, Mocha beverage and making an appointment for their dog’s aromatherapy massage. None the less I’m not moving quite yet, I still have $10 left on my Starbucks card. But I do miss the New Zealand life. When I got off work today I went for a short ride in the mountains behind Santa Barbara and was reminded of one of the benefits of living here, the weather! So I guess if anyone want’s to get me another Starbucks gift card for Christmas I’ll be around here for awhile to enjoy it. Although I did see a Starbucks in Christchurch hmm.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE

The end is near! Actually the end is here, I got home today before I even left (departed Christchurch Friday @ 10:30am and got to Los Angeles on Friday @ 6:30am ). Thursday was my last riding day and I left Lake Tekapo in the morning under sunny skies but they were short lived. I had rain pretty much all the way into Christchurch and the scenic inland route 72  through the Canterbury Plains is primarily flat and straight. I passed through  a number of small towns in route thinking of all that I had experienced in that last 12 days  not ready for it to end. By the time I got to Christchurch the rain had stopped and I found some lunch and had a nice time walking around the city center.  Then it was time to get back to South Pacific Motorbike Tours to return the bike. It was like leaving an old friend turning in the keys. I thoroughly enjoyed New Zealand and highly recommend the good folks at South Pacific Motorbike Tours. I hope to get back soon as 13 days was not nearly enough time to cover the South island and I have yet to ride any of the North island!
Cheers Bill

Was awakened this morning by massive thunder. A large storm had rolled in during the evening and it is now pissing down rain. A guy in the hostel tells me the TV weather report is calling for “violent thunderstorms” and up to 100mm of rain! Now of course I really have no idea how much 100mm is but it sounds like a lot. The fun is about to begin, but first I have a chain to replace. I made my way over to the mechanic’s after breakfast and both he and the chain were there waiting for me. He assured me that by the time he was done the sun would be out and all would be good. About an hour later the chain was on and the rain was still pouring down, oh well what ya gonna do hard to find a good mechanic and miracle worker. My plan had changed once again as I had little hope of actually being able to see Aoraki / Mt Cook the satellite images on the internet showed the center of the storm basically directly over it. So the new destination was Lake Tekapo just West of Mt Cook. After a couple of hours of riding in the pouring rain I arrived at the Aoraki / Mt Cook turn off but there was no way in hell I was going to be able to see the mountain today I was lucky to see the sign. I choose to keep going about 10 minutes later is when the gale force winds kicked in just to make the riding a little bit more challenging as it gotten so mundane earlier going over Lindis pass in the pouring rain I arrived safely in Lake Tekapo just as the sun broke through, some sort of sign I guess if you believe in that stuff. All the cheap sleeps were booked solid so I’m in a real motel tonight with an awesome lake view. Christchurch tomorrow.

Ok well I changed my plan instead of heading South to Dunedin I headed North to Wanaka. It was just going to be to rushed and a lot of riding to cover the far South of the island. I felt like I needed to slow down the pace a little it was starting to feel like all I was doing was riding sleeping and riding. Not that there’s anything wrong with that but I wanted to chill a little. So I back tracked a little from Te Anau to Wanaka which is a cool little town situated on lake Wanaka, no surprise there. I found a good backpackers hostel checked in and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. I had been noticing a little noise from the rear end of the bike and now had time to check it out a little closer, I discovered that the chain oiler was no longer working and the chain itself seemed really loose. I emailed the rental company and described the situation they thought possibly I could just get some chain lube and everything would be cool. In talking with some local motorcyclists I found that there was one mechanic in town and I could go by there if need be. In the morning I packed up and was ready to head to Mt Cook. Got gas and chain lube at the petrol station and all was good, that is until I started to lube the chain and discovered that it was worse then I thought “o” rings were coming out and there was a kink in it. To make a long story short I went to the mechanic he confirmed the obvious and the chain had to be ordered should be here tomorrow morning. So another day in Wanaka and when in Wanaka do as Wanakians do, visit the trippy amusement park called Puzzle World. with any luck will be at Mt Cook tomorrow afternoon.

Had a great time in Queenstown and the ride to Te Anau was great. Had no internet last night and the days are starting to run together so it’s becoming more and more difficult to remember when I did what, good thing I have pictures. Went to the Glow worm caves in Te Anau last night and visited Milford Sound this afternoon the ride to Milford sound is really almost as spectacular as Milford Sound itself. It was sureal really as I traversed over the mountain with the clouds hanging over the peaks, 100′s of waterfalls pouring down everywhere and ice fields coming right up to the road in the pouring rain. It’s funny but everytime I think I’ve seen the best New Zealand has to offer the next day it gets even better, this cant go on forever, It has to peak out somewhere doesnt it? At the chance of sounding redundant,The roads here are what every motorcyclist’s dreams of, miles and miles or I guess Kilometer after kilometer of scenic, twisty and relativly empty roads. I’m Headed for Invercargill the Catlains and Dunedin tomorrow.

It’s Saturday morning here internet was down last night so posting this now. Well the good weather has held. Yesterday my day to visit the glacier at Franz Joesph, the weather was perfect so I decided to do the short Heli tour it’s quite spectacular really landing up there and standing in the snow field pictures dont do it justice. After visiting the Glacier it was time to ride to Queenstown about 500 kilometers South and away from the coast. I was great riding with a huge diversity of amazing landscapes, the biggest downside to riding in New Zealand is that it’s hard to keep your eyes on the road and off the waterfalls, rivers, rainforest etc. The glacier fed rivers are such a bright vibrant blue it’s hard to believe it’s real! Arrived in Queenstown around 5pm found a nice backpackers hostel within walking distance of the city. Queenstown is by far the busiest city I’ve encountered outside of Christchurch. There’s a lot going on here bungy jumping, jet boats, paragliding you name it. And lots of restaurants and shops not sure what the plan is for today but I will keep you posted.

One word…WOW!
What a day left Nelson under cloudy skies but could actually see mountain tops in the distance. Not a single rain drop had hit my face shield, something seemed odd, no rain and I can see the horizon? About 30 minutes later I was out of the city and on the open road. Once again it was scenic, deserted and twisty. But this time it was dry and as every kilometer flew by the road, scenery and weather seemed to improve. Soon I could actually see blue sky ahead not just a small patch but actual big blue sky and I was headed straight for it. The bike was performing flawlessly and with the dry roads and spetacular landscape I was in nirvana, what was unfolding in front of me was the perfect motorcyling day. Maybe I was just giddy over the sunshine but it just kept getting better and better. We’ve all seen lots of pictures and movies on New Zealand showing how beautiful it is, but let me tell you I was blown away today with New Zealand it may have taken 5 days to reveal itself to me but it did so today in a big way! This has got to be some of the best motorcycling in the world, it really is spectacular.

The locals keep telling me it never rains this much. Day 4 was another rainy day I got a late start this morning, it’s had to get motivated to get on the bike when it’s wet and cold out. But after some coffee and breakfast I headed out for today’s adventure, visiting Abel Tasman National Park. There’s a small town Kaiteriteri about 1.5 hrs from Nelson that most of the tour boats leave from to tour the Abel Tasman coast. You can Kayak or hike as well but I opted for the boat, I’ve had enough exposure to the rain for awhile. I kinda wished I had done the hike but the boat ride was good and worth doing. Also found the road between Kaiteriteri and Marahau further up the coast to be very fun. Deserted, scenic and twisty roads seem to be common around here unfortunately so is the rain! And of course as I headed back to Nelson the rain picked up in intensity until I finally got back to my motel. Walked downtown went to the pub got some food a few beers. Going to head out early tomorrow for The West Coast maybe it will be sunny?

Well it’s day three and I finally saw blue skys today! Hung around in Blenhiem until about 11:30am for the rain to let up which it never did. So I left for Nelson in the rain. After getting slightly lost on an awesome country road I found my way back to the highway which here is basically an awesome country road also. I arrived in the port town of Picton where the ferries come and go between the North and South islands. I didn’t do much looking around but again it was still raining and I can feel a sore throat coming on, I wasn’t in the mood to explore. Found the Queen Charlotte Rd to Havelock which I was told is comparable to the dragon with hundreds of tight turns & switch backs over the moutain. It was awesome! even in the rain and with the multiple road repair zones. It has great views, scenery and as advertised plenty of twistys. After reaching Havelock the road turns into to long sweepers though beautiful rolling green hills with the mountains in the background this is where I saw my first blue sky in NZ it was also the first time I turned off the heated grips; thank god for heated grips! Arrived in Nelson found a reasonable motel and went to explore the city. It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do for an attitude adjustment, that and a few cold beers at the local pub. Tomorrow will probably go check out Abel Tasman National Park.