A reminder that the official closing date for this year’s North Island 1,600 (start date Saturday 11 October) is Friday 26 September. If you’re keen to ride, or know other people who may be keen, then please let them know that they’ll need to complete a registration form, either online or by email or by post. Those forms can be found at http://www.distanceriders.org.nz/the-north-island-1600.html along with the necessary address and bank details.

We’ve been able to score a really good deal on quality T-shirts. Originally included in the registration form priced at $40, we’re now able to offer these at $25. Any colour you like, as long as it’s black! These are also available in ladies sizes that are shaped more kindly than a normal T-shirt.

Riders who’ve already paid $40 will find $15 included with their T-shirt when they check in at Turangi.

If you’ve registered and haven’t included the T-shirt option, then please let us know by email (distanceriders@gmail.com) what your size is and we’ll have one ready and waiting for you when you check in.

In the last newsletter we advised what this year’s ride patches and badges will look like.

We’re also preparing a Distance Riders badge that isn’t connected to any particular event. The price for one of those is $15. If you’d like one, please send us an email.

We’re looking forward to seeing you at Turangi in October.

• Mike Angell
  
• John Maroulis
  
• James Riley
  
• Brett Sangster
  

Registrations close on Friday 26 September
Yes, that’s right. There’s a closing date for registrations on Friday 26 September, two weeks before the start on Saturday 11 October. So if you’re still umming and ahring about whether or not you’d like to be part of one of the North Island’s great distance rides, you’d better get skating!

This year’s ride will be a stunner! We’re covering roads untouched by previous events and have been told that the route is “beautifully flowy” and “an absolute cracker”. There are no long gaps between fuel stops, so participants with tiny tanks should be able to get around without having to carry additional fuel. 11 October is also a full moon night, so hopefully the skies will be clear for that to be enjoyed.

You can complete an online registration form here http://www.distanceriders.org.nz/the-north-island-1600.html or you can download a form a bit further down that same web page, and either scan and email that to us or pop it in the post. All of those contact details – and our bank account information – are on that same web page.

A reason for having a closing date is to help the organising team with our planning. If we know exactly how many riders are coming, we can organise badges and patches, and also get catering plans in place to meet the needs of a known number of riders.

Ride entries so far
Entries received so far are into the early 30s. The first departure groups have been filled. If you have other riders you usually complete endurance rides with, could you please let us know and we’ll make sure that you are started at Turangi together.

Could you please put the word around your biker mates and riding networks. The more riders, the merrier!

Badges and patches
Riders who complete this year’s event will receive a patch (100mm diameter), a badge and a certificate. The badges and patches will look like this (With the red and blue text ring on a white background):

Route finalisation
The route is set. It will be unveiled at 7:00pm on Friday 10 October at Event HQ at the Turangi Kiwi Holiday Park. It will also be published on our website at the same time, for those riders who plan to arrive on Saturday just prior to the start at 1:00pm.

We’ve also prepared a Riders’ Notes handbook that will be available from 7:00pm on that Friday. This is A5 size and has a set of maps and photos showing the locations of all of the checkpoints and details of what the photo reference should be at each of the photo checkpoints. It has details of fuel stops along the way, distances between and total ride distances to each checkpoint and things to watch out for along each stage. It will come with a zip-lock plastic bag to give it a bit of weather protection.

A copy of the Riders’ Notes handbook will also be published on our website (as a PDF) at 7:00pm on Friday 10 October.

Start time
The first group of riders should be ready to leave the Turangi Kiwi Holiday Park start line at 1:00pm on Saturday 11 October. There will be a pre-start briefing at 12:30pm. Scrutineering will start from midday on Friday 10 October, and will close at midday on the Saturday.

Riders planning to cut things fine by arriving immediately before the start on Saturday are advised not to leave that timing too fine and to have their bikes turned out to better-than-WOF expectations so the scrutineers aren’t given cause for concern. The closest motorcycle shop and tyre retailer is in Taupo, so a round trip will be needed if the scrutineers spot something that needs to be sorted before the start.

Bring a camera
This year’s event will comprise both manned and photo checkpoints, so riders will need to either bring a camera or have a phone or similar device with a camera built in. The photo checkpoints will either be under street lights or able to be easily illuminated by a motorcycle headlight so that a flash isn’t needed.

Event HQ staff will check each returning rider to see that they have the required photos in order to validate that the route has set has been completed. Riders will also be asked to photograph their bike’s odometer at the start and the end of the ride. This validation will also allow riders to get their participation endorsed by the US Iron Butt Association.

Volunteers
Many thanks to everybody who has volunteered to help with the organising and running of this event. We’re reasonably well covered but would still value a couple of extra folk to be part of our Event HQ team at Turangi over the weekend. 24 hours is a long time for riders and it’s also a long time for a support crew, so it would be nice to be able to give people a break.

Thanks everybody!
We’re really looking forward to meeting riders and non-riding volunteers over October’s North Island 1,600 weekend, either at Turangi or at each of the four manned checkpoints around the route.

• Mike Angell
  
• John Maroulis
  
• James Riley
  
• Brett Sangster