Personal entry

Today I experienced something out of the ordinary…..or perhaps more correctly…something I haven’t encountered for about 20 years.

Our normal week these days is for the Moko’, (Avania) to be dropped at the office at 0800 so she can entertain us before I have to walk her to school, which is all of a couple of hundred metres up to and around the corner. We brought her a scooter for Christmas (ensuring it could cope with 100Kg) and she scoots to school (uphill) then hands it over so the ...

We had a reasonable ride this week which was supposed to go up SH1, avoiding Sanson and Ohakea to get to Bulls, then head off through Santoft (a road I haven’t done for 30+ years) then cut across to Ashhurst via Halcombe (204Kms) for lunch at the Fusion café…...but the best laid plans!

The weather forecast wasn’t great for Sunday but I figured, since I haven’t done much riding lately I would see who turned up and go for a ride anyway.

I gave the bike a quick check over ...

This weeks ride was an overnighter to Raetihi. The main push for this destination came from the Dirt Trackers who wanted to sample the Whanganui River road, but of course a road option was also required, so that meant I had to come up with some circuitous route to get us there and with Raetihi not really being on the radar as far as destinations go, I felt we needed to get there via ‘The Road Less Travelled’.

I had the 90K service done on the bike during the week, did a bit of planning ...

I lay around for awhile, mentally running the day’s route through my mind and finally gave-up and got-up to shower and pack. As I went to drop the key at the office, there was Lance so we chatted for a bit before I went to check-in for the ride.

The first section was to Takaka and back and this was more unsampled road for me, from Mot’ onwards. I was a little slow getting ready so we were about 5 minutes late getting away, but then, others were still arriving to check-in. This proved ...

3 Strikes for the TT2000 and we were ‘In’!
Strike 1 – We got to do a 1,000Km ride
Strike 2 – We got to do 2 of them back to back
Strike 3 – It was in the South Island and we were due for a treat!

Sailings were organised and accommodation was booked for Christchurch and Nelson, tyres were good, the bike is always ready for a decent ride, we decided that a Bronze Flyer would suffice so we could approach the ride in a more relaxed manner and come Friday at 0725, ...

Today was flagged as a ‘Dawn Ride’ whereby we were off to Riversdale to see the sunrise…Yeah Right! Good idea??!! ….but to see the sunrise one has to be there by 7’ish! (at present)....and have an uninhibited view of the horizon and sky!

No problem, we pick Riversdale, we set a date and start early… and if God doesn’t want us to see a magnificent sunrise as Maui’s orb rises from the sea….who gives a toss!....we already had a great ride and we’re booked for breakfast so still have ...

This week heralded the first ‘Annual’ Apiti Scamper….although it’s not so much a scamper as a dawdle, thanks to the multitude of Harleys that wanted to partake….but that’s a good thing as this was a charity ride to raise funds for Ronald McDonald House and Motorcycle charity events are only ever successful if the Harley riders get behind it, as they provide the numbers.

Personally, Charity Runs aren’t my favoured type of ride but I don’t mind fronting if it’s a good cause and in this ...

……...
Now Dead-Eye Dick & Mexican Pete were camped at Deadmans Creek,
And they’d had no luck by way of a fu(n) for nigh on half a week.
Save a Moose or two and a Caribou and a bison cow or so,
But as Dead-Eye Dick was king of the prick, they found this f(rightfully) slow!

They could well have been camped in Porangahau….that’s where my mate Murray grew up and a lovely lady we know, by name of Miriama….but apart from that, what is there to say? One wouldn’t ...