https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/32199-The-Singing-Chef Kiwi Biker - New Zealand motorcycle community en Sat, 16 May 2026 09:11:43 GMT vBulletin 20 https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/images/BP-Brown/misc/rss.jpg https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/blog.php/32199-The-Singing-Chef https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2327-The-journey-ahead-and-the-beaten-path-travelled Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:26:55 GMT It's been over a year now that i threw my leg over my ZZR and went off happily into the inner city traffic that Auckland has to offer. I look back with a smile, admiring how far I have come and what I have learnt along the way. I remember when nearly everyday i would be bitching about some car driver cutting me off or doing something stupid and nearly killing me etc.. and it's dawned on me that it hasn't happened in a long, long time, I have learnt to be aware of the situations around me and anticipate the moves of others, whistle placing myself in the optimum distance between me and those big lumps of metal and stupidity.

I remember how i used to take corners and scare the shit out of myself when i wasn't prepared for one, now i fly through those same corners and the unknown ones (though not so much flying through those ones luckily) and learning about setting myself up with set's and touch points and turn in points etc..

I have learnt valuable slow speed handling and emergency braking skills, and every week i went along to the classes with a bunch of cones and experienced riders. And then being able to help newer riders with their techniques and watch them grow, or crash if they didn't want to listen..

I have done a ART day, and have signed up for another one in a wekk, with my new track bike, the mighty SV650 which will be another learning curve.

I have had wheels sliding out on me through corners, crashed a few times (or more), had a fair few close calls, and any number of things happen to me but i have gladly learnt from my mistakes and moved on and I look forward to the next many long years of biking to come. ]]> The Singing Chef https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2327-The-journey-ahead-and-the-beaten-path-travelled https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2018-My-first-ride Fri, 01 Apr 2011 05:18:09 GMT The moment i sat on my ZZR250 i knew i was at the beginning of a great adventure, as i pushed the starter button and my bike roared into life, a large grin appeared on my face. It was at that moment that the hunger took hold, my mind forming large possibilities of the rides ahead and of the... The moment i sat on my ZZR250 i knew i was at the beginning of a great adventure, as i pushed the starter button and my bike roared into life, a large grin appeared on my face. It was at that moment that the hunger took hold, my mind forming large possibilities of the rides ahead and of the sweeping corners and tight bends. As i lightly twist the throttle my bike growled into the still air around me, I kick her into first and away i go. Riding around the block for hours on end till i build up the confidence to ride into moving traffic. Eventually i grow the balls and venture off to Red Baron to pick up some gear for my anxious skin.

A few days later i am riding down the Manukau motorway heading to my old home in Tauranga. The windblasts through my ears, and the forces of the world gently ebb into a constant vibration that is running through my veins, large metal boxes all seem to fall behind me as my wrist seems to follow the excited feelings that i am feeling so deep. It's kind of a deep, deep sense of satisfaction and accomplishment and it didn't seem to die, it still hasn't left me.

Man and machine tear down the road as my concentration is at a peak, focusing on all the possibilities that could arise and taking in the world as it appears before me, the afternoon sun is slowly working it's way into it's slumber and the visibility is disappearing with it. The guttural roar that is coming from my bike is a welcome sound as i make my way down the lonely road that i am becoming one with, i attack the corners and lean into them freely, my brain telling m that it is suicide and i must most certainly be leaning too far, though i swing through the other side and brace my self for the next corner before me.

I approach the Karanahake gorge and the daylight has almost fully descended into oblivion and the stars begin to light up the sky, the moon lazily making it's way up into it's throne above the world. My anticipation and fear take over as i begin my journey through the gorge, corners come and go, as do I, weaving in between the tight corners. I escape, alive and breathing, albeit heavily and the most scariest but most fun part of my trip was over.

At this point it is where i realize that you can see absolutely fuck all when a car is coming in your direction and unfortunately it was on a corner when i learnt this, my heart is racing and blood and adrenalin mix together making me feel pumped up and damn scared as i pull on the brakes and slowly turn through the corner.

I made it through the rest of the trip, stopping for a glorious smoke in every town i arrived at, hitting the road again, eagerly awaiting the end of my journey. I arrive in Tauranga just before my curfew and pull up to my house just after that. i stiffly work my way off my bike and stretch like i never have before, my body is dog-tired and i am looking forward to my bed and a hot cup of anything really, as long as it's hot.

My head hits the pillow and i am out like a light, and that is where my first journey ends and another begins. ]]> The Singing Chef https://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/entry.php/2018-My-first-ride