Gremlin's Tall Stories

Some may have noticed Toto becoming a star in print, around August, in an issue of KiwiRider (thread here: http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/sh...o-in-KIWIRIDER), as one of those regular NZ riders, and featuring his profile. Of course, he’s far from normal, but I digress.

Apparently people talk about me, and my name came up several times as a candidate for being profiled, due to the long distance riding I enjoy doing. Hanne makes contact with me back in September ish, asking if I would mind being interviewed, some photos taken etc. I say, the chance to be a star? Of course!

There are some clear technical glitches though. Naturally, she would like a photo of me and my bike, except it wasn’t anywhere near Auckland, let alone NZ, still on the boat from the USA. Fast forward to this month, she messages me again on Monday, asking if it was still possible to do the interview. I’d had the bike back about a week, and had just returned from Turangi, after completing the Rusty Nuts Grand Challenge (yes yes, I’m in the process of writing those blogs).

We set a date for today (not the romantic sort gazing longingly into each other’s eyes etc etc blah blah – just talking shit about bikes). I had planned to get the final drive seal replaced on Friday, due to it leaking, but the part hadn’t arrived and Sebastian at Experience advised me to ride only for essential purposes. So just round the block then? Hence, I shoot off to the office in the early afternoon, after checking something in Penrose (even saw Hanne in Sylvia Park – oh the irony) and collect the BMW.

I arrive at Musick Point slightly late, due to idiots thinking they are on a Sunday drive, and make my humblest apologies to Hanne. Fashionably late perhaps, but I don’t say anything like that to Hanne. It turns out it’s good timing. She’s off to Christchurch next weekend, then Antarctica the following for several weeks. I’m in the midst of a 6000km month, riding last weekend, and then the following 2 after this weekend. With the final drive seal also needing replacing, it’s the best time, even though I had to decline an offer from GiJoe to ride through Waipoua Forest today.

She starts with the usual questions, name for the bike, model, then why I enjoy doing it, longest ride, best ride etc. I’m sure my demi-god illusion some think I have was quickly discovered as a lie, and instead I was simply a raving lunatic that rode far too much Still, we’ll see what magic she can spin out of my ramblings when the interview appears in a forthcoming edition of KiwiRider.

As we made to move to a suitable picture snapping location an ex-pat British gent can’t help but cast an eye or two over the GS and we start talking. He has a Kawasaki cruiser, also loves riding and will head to Europe early in the new year to do some riding. He wants to ride from Cape Reinga to Bluff, so just last week rode the northern section between Cape Reinga and Auckland. I’m not quite sure why I imagined he meant to do it all in one ride (what, a week should be sufficient), but evidently not. Still, he’s a rider, getting out there riding. That’s what it’s all about

Hanne takes a few snaps, amazingly enough the camera doesn’t break at my ugliness, and then it’s time to turn the tables on her (like the interview was ever going to go according to her plan with a Gremlin around huh?). She knows I have a blog and has read some of it… and what better than to blog the start of my immense fame? Ok… so the interview is probably the longest part of my free-fall dive called fame, but I sit anxiously watching my phone for the sponsorship calls to come flooding in. I also take a few pictures of her loan scooter with Jessica, making sure Jessica didn’t eat the poor wee thing.

An enjoyable afternoon, then back into chores at home, finding and cataloguing the loose/missing bolts and preparing my gear for another weekend of riding.