We made it!!! - A BIG THANK YOU

[Zukin]

Well it’s all over now, and what a ride!!!
Just over 6000km in 14 riding days on our little DRZ 250’s
We just about made every corner of New Zealand, and to get to ride some of the best roads in the country, and to meet some of the best people in the world.
Why do so many New Zealanders take holidays overseas, when there is so much to see and do in our own backyard?? :confused:

I just wanted to say a HUGE THANK YOU to the hundreds of riders and their families for their encouragement prior to and during the event.
In particular the Hawkes Bay Riders that had to endure our slower riding style when we were starting out!! MSTRS and Gixxer 4 ever for their mentoring and for allowing us to follow their riding lines and styles (even they didn’t know about it, we were watching their every move), it must of paid off as we didn’t have any incidents, the advice they gave was reflected on a lot during wet weather etc.
To Yungatart, what a lady!! She was loading all our info onto KB whilst we were on the road, something that we could not have managed without her.
Also to Suzuki NZ for allowing us to use the DRZ250, they went and went and went, through freezing weather, torrential rain, 30+ dusty regions, they endured everything you could throw at them and they kept on going!!! We had no mechanical problems, not even a blown bulb. It will be very sad to see them go!!! We have become quite attached to them.
To my Mum and our daughter Lany, they were the support crew, and whilst in the relative comfort of a van, they did the same miles as us each day and made sure everything was in order.
To all the other entire trip riders, Wayne and Jill in the Ural, Dave on the Suzuki Boulevard, Gavin on the DR650 and Pam on the KTM 450, it was great to have your company on the trip as it would have been rather lonely by ourselves.

To our other sponsors – Motomail, Dririder, Interislander, Mus Design, Twin City Motorcycles and ISG Signs
There will be more info posted soon in regards to Product Reviews for your information. But overall excellent guys to have on board

The biggest congrats must go to my best friend and wife, Carissa for her expert riding throughout the duration of the trip, after all she is still on here learners licence and has only been riding for 4 months now!
The only problem (believe it or not) is she is missing it more than me now.
So depending on what Suzuki says, we will be shopping for a bike for her now once our very depleted savings are back in order.

To all the KBers we met throughout our journey (there was too many to mention individually)
We had the pleasure of meeting a lot throughout the country, and the same thing applied
They were all very good ambassadors for bikes here in NZ, and they always made a contribution to our ride, whether it was monetary or just advice.
It did not go unnoticed.

See ya next year (but hopefully sooner) when we do it all again!!!

P.S I will post some photos soon, I promise

[Gixxer 4 ever]

As I followed you home, yesterday, I noted I had a lot to learn. The trip has given you lines and riding skills we long for. I have always said practice practice and then practice again. You jumped in and did plenty of that. You are the ones that rock and we are proud to have had the chance to ride with you. Thanks for letting K/B in on the action.

Could go on and on but it was great to ride with you and meet all the people.

Missed you yesterday Moko. Hope all is well.

[yungatart]

As I followed you home, yesterday, I noted I had a lot to learn. The trip has given you lines and riding skills we long for. I have always said practice practice and then practice again. You jumped in and did plenty of that. You are the ones that rock and we are proud to have had the chance to ride with you. Thanks for letting K/B in on the action.

Could go on and on but it was great to ride with you and meet all the people.

Missed you yesterday Moko. Hope all is well.

Yeah, guys, what he said!
Where do you get off putting us up as wonderful - sheesh, all we did was sit at home, post about ya, talk about ya, and think about ya.
You people did the riding, walked the walk... so to speak.
Any accolades belong to you!

[Nasty]

You guys did awesome .. more power to ya .... was great to be allowed to support you in any way we could :yes:

[MyGSXF]

You guys ROCK!!!!! :Punk: Bloody well done!!!! :first:

Jen :rockon:

[Crisis management]

Well done you lot!!

As yungatart says, we were the choir, you lot were the main act and a fantastic act it was!

Congratulations. :Punk: :Punk:

[Nasty]

Scott, Carissa and Pam - hands in victory
Lanny on Beemer

Lap of honor starting
Scott and Carissa
Pam and Lanny

[ynot slow]

thanks for giving us all the chance to join in the ride,great cause,proud to have been honored with your presence,will remember for ever chasing you guys back to hawera lol

[sels1]

Congrats on your awesome effort guys. It was a pleasure to meet you and ride with you a while

[Lissa]

Well done guys.. it was great riding with you for a little while. An awesome effort for a worthwhile cause. I hope Carissa enjoyed her own bed, I know she was looking forward to it. Rest up. You fully deserved that lap of honor!!!! :rockon:

[Grub]

A couple of pics that I liked...

1) Scott & Carissa leading the Rely for Life walkers and the Ride fo Life around-nz riders

2) The obligatory pic at Mangitanoka. (BTW - All the gorgeous women were on the ride)

[86GSXR]

Thanks guys, it was a real pleasure to be able to do the last few miles with you for such a good cause! Take care:yes:

[Guitana]

Why do so many New Zealanders take holidays overseas, when there is so much to see and do in our own backyard?? :confused:

I can answer that! Because it's cheaper to have a holiday overseas than it is to holiday in NZ!

[SDU]

Well it’s all over now, and what a ride!!!
The biggest congrats must go to my best friend and wife, Carissa for her expert riding throughout the duration of the trip, after all she is still on here learners licence and has only been riding for 4 months now!
The only problem (believe it or not) is she is missing it more than me now.
So depending on what Suzuki says, we will be shopping for a bike for her now once our very depleted savings are back in order.
It did not go unnoticed.

See ya next year (but hopefully sooner) when we do it all again!!!

P.S I will post some photos soon, I promise

Congrats to all of you doing the ride / drive You are all awesome & unselfish people:first:

Totally understand Carissa's itchy feet & wanting her bike, hopefully will get it soon & I hope she gets her licence soon, pity she isn't given her full out right after the huge learning curve and the experience she has gained.:rockon:
Look forward to seeing the photo's & write ups

[Zukin]

Congrats to all of you doing the ride / drive You are all awesome & unselfish people:first:


And it was very nice to meet you and put yet another face to the name :)
I really appreciate you showing me the way through Chch to see Inlinefour

Cheers Scott

[Hawkeye]

Congrats Scott and Carissa. Great to meet you
You have done an amazing journey that very few get to experience. Take a well earned rest.

The only problem you have now Scott is that you won't be able to go out for a quiet ride anymore. Carissa will be right behind you....:yes:

[Zukin]

Congrats Scott and Carissa. Great to meet you
You have done an amazing journey that very few get to experience. Take a well earned rest.

The only problem you have now Scott is that you won't be able to go out for a quiet ride anymore. Carissa will be right behind you....:yes:


Thanks Hawkeye
It was our pleasure to meet you on more than one occasion too :)

It is great that she enjoys it as much as me now too, so now problems when I want to go for a ride now :laugh:

[yungatart]

The only problem you have now Scott is that you won't be able to go out for a quiet ride anymore. Carissa will be right behind you....:yes:

I heard that more likely she will be in front of him:zzzz:

[Zukin]

I heard that more likely she will be in front of him:zzzz:

:nya: :nya:

[Wolf]

Congrats on an awe-inspiring achievement.

:rockon:

[ceebie13]

Congratulations on your achievement!! How's your bums??

I trust you got your free pint at Franz Josef. :rockon:

[Lissa]

Got a couple of pics.. will post them here.

Pic One is in the morning at Dave Anderson's. The flamed Ginny is mine!!
Pic Two is in Danniverk. From left to right is - elle, grub, hawkeye, nasty,.... clarissa and scott in the background. :sunny:

[Zukin]

Here are some of our trip photos on our trip :yes:

1.The Heavy rain in the Far North, this photo was taken at lunchtime!
2.Carissa on Ninety Mile Beach
3.Us on the beach
4.Dusk
5.The Clan waiting for the ferry to cross Hokianga Harbour
6.Waipoua Forest - Magic!!

[Zukin]

1. At Suzuki NZ in Wanganui
2. Scooter Pus in Levin - Great BBQ Dave :)
3. Westport
4. Punakaiki
5. Cardrona Pub
6. Invercargill

[Zukin]

1. Bluff
2. Catlins
3. Molesworth

That will do it for now :yes:

[nudemetalz]

Awesome stuff,...well done !!!

[SlipperyOZ]

Hey Scott... Well done mate! Say Hi to Granny for me won't you mate :love: And give my regards to Lany and the missus. Had a great time catching up with you guys and the KB and ADV boys down in Franz Joseph and Picton. Thanks for the lift home from the pub at FJ. If you guys do decide to ride OZ in the future... Please look me up mate. Certainly I will have accommodation sorted for you in Sydney.

Cheers Steve

[Deviant Esq]

Congrats. :) Nice pictures there mate - good job. Glad to hear she's still keen on riding after such a long time in the saddle!

Why do so many New Zealanders take holidays overseas, when there is so much to see and do in our own backyard? :confused:
Ever been to Scotland or England? No? It's quite different to New Zealand. People visit New Zealand for the beautiful scenery, lakes, mountains, forests (Lewis Pass), and generally unspoiled natural beauty... but you visit the UK for entirely different reasons. The sense of history in the UK is pretty amazing, people have lived in these isles for 5000 years. Visiting ruins that were once proud castles, and complete castles, abbeys and other monuments... takes you back in time. Cities like York, for example, with its complete and intact city defence wall - over 6 feet thick and 20 feet high and 800 years old - are amazing places to visit. You get a small piece of how history has shaped England and humanity.

Don't get me wrong - I'll always consider New Zealand home, and tell people off over here when they say they only made it as far as Australia ("Do NZ first, you idiot! You haven't lived if you haven't seen it!"), but I'd do this trip all over again in a heartbeat. We've done so much, and still there is more we haven't seen.

Sorry about the thread hijack! Just trying to convey a bit of feeling as to why Kiwis go overseas. :niceone:

[Wolf]

Ever been to Scotland or England? No? It's quite different to New Zealand. People visit New Zealand for the beautiful scenery, lakes, mountains, forests (Lewis Pass), and generally unspoiled natural beauty... but you visit the UK for entirely different reasons. The sense of history in the UK is pretty amazing, people have lived in these isles for 5000 years. Visiting ruins that were once proud castles, and complete castles, abbeys and other monuments... takes you back in time. Cities like York, for example, with its complete and intact city defence wall - over 6 feet thick and 20 feet high and 800 years old - are amazing places to visit. You get a small piece of how history has shaped England and humanity.

Don't get me wrong - I'll always consider New Zealand home, and tell people off over here when they say they only made it as far as Australia ("Do NZ first, you idiot! You haven't lived if you haven't seen it!"), but I'd do this trip all over again in a heartbeat. We've done so much, and still there is more we haven't seen.

Sorry about the thread hijack! Just trying to convey a bit of feeling as to why Kiwis go overseas. :niceone:
That's precisely why I want to tour NZ and Europe - NZ first but also want to see the historic sites dating back hundreds, even thousands (in the case of Stonehenge), of years.

Great tour and great pics, Zukin.

[elle-f]

What an amazing effort. Thank you for allowing me to ride with you on that last little part. I was absolutely impressed at how jovial you two and your family were after all that riding.....you guys ROCK! and what a great cause. OH, and the pix are great as well :)

[SDU]

Fantastic pics.
It was good to meet you, even though brief. Maybe next time you are this way I can show you some good roads around the hills.

[Daffyd]

Great report, great trip, great pics and great people. Sorry I couldn't join you. Saw you pass from a distance. Maybe next year.

[Zukin]

Thanks all for your good wishes!!

Except *******!!!!
Gave me red stuff for posting this post in the wrong forums!!!!:nono:
Hmm I thought it was a General Bike Raving, but no it should of been in the Ride/Tour Report

Still thanks :)

[yungatart]

No doubt about it, Zukin, you are a BAD boy!
Have some green to make up for it!

[GurlRacer]

I'm a bit late aye guys... but heres my little rant.

I want to say a huge big thank you to my two amazing parents, Mum (Carissa) and Dad (Scott) for letting me have a few weeks off school to join you in this ride. (Even tho I was in the van hahaha - still managed to get wet in that rain tho! Stupid leaks!!) I am soooooo proud of you, and not afraid to say so. I think what you two did was just so special, and it still puts a smile on my face when I think about what you did and what you achieved. Even tho I'm off overseas in August, I will always come home to you two... hopefully one day with my own bike :D Or poor Dad will just have to buy a bike with pegs... teeheehee....

Another big thank you to all the KB'ers that I met along the way. Thanks to everyone that let me pillion too... even tho Mum and Dad aren't thanking ya coz now I got the bike bug :D haha. It was just awesome to meet you guys, and it was so much better with fellow bikers that I could learn stuff from! (Only new to the bike scene) Just as long as Bruce doesn't massage my thumbs anymore, I should be fine :D

Just a couple of pics I would like to share....
1. The group.... quite a cool shot :) Mum and Dad leading :D
2. Mum and Dad (Carissa and Scott) on top of the world in Queenstown :)

[Wolf]

even tho Mum and Dad aren't thanking ya coz now I got the bike bug :D haha.
Welcome, GurlRacer. Good on ya for braving a leaky van to give your "olds" some moral support.

Nowt wrong wi' havin' the "bike bug" - some of us have had it for years and never felt the need for a cure...

just frequent "fixes"...