Perfect...... (I'm a lucky lucky boy)

[Paul in NZ]

Perfect...... A couple of days ago was our 26th wedding anniversary.

Traffic was a prick on friday night but I got away early and Em (daughter #3) was with me in the car so we shared a laugh, spun a few CD's, shared a V and made the best of the hours commute.

Dinner was underway when we arrived home and daughter #2 was home with boyfriend and a mate of Em's was coming over so faced with a lounge full of the grunge generation or helping Vicki cook - I mowed the lawns and got a start on the weekend...

We had already decided sat morn was Trumpy running in time so the plan was to give her a buff up after dinner. (I have a reasonable stereo and beer in the garage). After a delicious dinner, we cleared the decks and pulling the dust cover off the bike I realised - shit thats clean... So - I went back inside and threw a helmet to the Vickster. Lets rock baby....

Quite a nice night for a ride so we wheeled down to the beach and headed north on the little streets and up to a little pavement bar at Waikanae beach where Vicki had a very nice sav blanc and I had a killer coffee. My god is there anything cooler than the way chrome glints off an old bike in the glare of a street lamp while the BMW driving mid level execs sit inside looking at you and knowing that suddenly - they aint cool..... It was a little chilly and we only had jeans on so we cruised back down to Raumati South and stopped at our local cafe'. They had a band and the place was packed with Raumatis 'smarrt not so young things' so we kept on. Barrelling through dark streets with only the headlight for company and one arm draped over the girlish thigh of my one and only.... We got an early night with a nightcap and were in bed by 10 - happy as ya can be...

Sat morning was a leisurely breakfast affair and since the kids weren't up - we just took our time - togged up and headed for heaven. Nice ride. The engines freeing up (first oil leak appeared) and taking a good bit of throttle so we had fun. Got a sore bum but thats a 40 year old seat for you...

It was windy and neverywhere but we got positive comments about the bike. I damn near ran over a german guy who was trying to take a picture of it (I didn't realise - it's just my bike to me) and I had a laugh with a HD guy on top of the hill who reckoned it should be in my lounge and it was easy worth $20K. I'm not overly vain about it - but it was nice and I felt lucky and flattered in equal measures.

Saw Mr and Mrs Hitcher in Martinborough and had a quick chat - good to see you guys - hope you had a great day. All in all - we had a great time. Rode a lot of little roads, stopped when Vicki felt the need to look at stuff I don't understand, had a beer at greytown, a coffee at the Sandbar and when we got home - the kids were all going out for the evening..... Had the whole place to ourselves.... Hot damn... Nice chicken salad and a couple of glasses of wine while Vicki watched and old movie and I grumpfed over the newspaper.

Sat in bed this morning with the french doors open while we sated our appetites for each other.

I've owned the Triumph for something like 17 years....

26 years married, 28 years together

Had a bike license for 34 years

Just turned 50.....

At this rate I reckon if things keep improving I'll die of pleasure before I'm 60...

Perfect....

now - I just need to fix the leak in the shower......

[98tls]

HA ha...great read...glad things are going well....how about posting up a pic of said bike for the rest of us old..er buggers to salivate over....

[chanceyy]

bling awarded .. great to see some ppl really enjoying life & each other congrats on your wedding anniversary & hope the next 26 yrs are just as great


my mum & dad have just past the 53 yr mark together

[Sniper]

Awesome Paul. Absolutely stunning write up. Im sure there are a few of us who aspire to be as happy as you when we are your age

[Hitcher]

Life can certainly be good at times, that's for sure.

I guess it's the times that it's not so good that makes one appreciate the good or even the great moments.

As you note, Paul, Saturday was a great day to be out riding. After yacking with you and Vicki (and feverishly admiring Trumpy too, of course) Mrs H and I headed off through Gladstone and went home "round the block" via some back roads and the Manawatu Gorge.

Some of my staff currently think that I am Cunt Of The Year, and that has being weighing heavily on my mind over the past few days. Consequently the Saturday Blow-Out has helped me regain some perspective. I have done my best for the disaffected souls over the past few years and will continue to do so. If that's not good enough for them, there's little else I can do within the contraints I have to operate.

[Macktheknife]

Cool write up Paul, cheers, bling sent for 26 years milestone.
Here's wishing you at least as many more together.
People wonder why riders are so into riding?
Obviously it's because it keeps us in perspective, together, and in love with life, what better reason could there be?

[scumdog]

I had a Perfect once, a 100E from memory.

Seriously, great write-up Paul and nice to hear you and Vicky have been a 'unit' for so long and still 'do stuff' together, good one.

Not to be outdone too much, after arrising from my night-shift sleep on Saturday and doing a couple of chores CB thought a nice ride on the bike was in order, where to go?

Decided KP (Kaka Point for the uninitiated) was 'the go' so with CB on the rear of the T-Sport (aka Tequila Sunrise) we puttered off south late afternoon.

Temp was in the low 20's, nil wind and the usual on-shore breeze was an off-shore for a change so the beach was hot.

Sat out on front of the KP bar with a handle of Speights Old Dark and CB had a Macs, watched a couple arive on a V-Max ( and in true KB fashion noted the lack of protective gear but in my usual philosophical manner thought "well, it's his skin...").

Lolligagged around KP for a bit and cruised home in a leisurly manner (managing to avoid conflict with one of those notorious Pukeko of Doom that plague roads in NZ) and got passed by the V-Max which turned off towards Owaka.

Arrived home, put bike away, a little while later it was back to the fantasy world - climbed into my work suit and toddled off to work.

Ah, some days are sooo good with you main squeeze for company and a nice bike for a ride eh?

[banditb12]

how many squeezes ya got sd.............

[scumdog]

how many squeezes ya got sd.............

Trade secret.
If I told you I'd have to 'expedite with extreme prejudice' ya!

But lets not hi-jack a 'nice' thread eh?

[topher]

Congrats on the Anniversary. Ln's and mine is today, 23 years! (Only feels like 87) She's very recently decided she'd rather be riding rather than pillion so we got her a wee CM450 and lots of bright new gear. (She has full licence - last rode an XL100 to school in 1980). So today we rode the backroads to Tirau for a mocha and a trendy pie. All those things in the glass-fronted displays do have names, but really they're just trendy pies.

She's taking to riding again no probelms - even coped with a couple or three km's of gravel from the top of Maungakawa, where the pics taken, down to the Whitehall road.

It's a fine thing to share the things you love doing with the one you love, rather than just sharing kids and meals.

[slimjim]

well said, well done, wishing you more way past 60's ,

[Paul in NZ]

HA ha...great read...glad things are going well....how about posting up a pic of said bike for the rest of us old..er buggers to salivate over....

Oh like I can resist yet another picture of the beast??? Well it just so happens I was bored while Vicki was picking up bits of polished Paua for one of her 'creations' and had a camera so....

[James Deuce]

Aaargh.

People having fun on motorbikes.

Where's that Whetstone?

[Paul in NZ]

Aaargh.

People having fun on motorbikes.

Where's that Whetstone?

Just the other side of Gladstone - hows the kwaka?

[98tls]

Was going to say very nice......thing is that very nice isnt good enough...beautiful...absolutly beautiful.........my old man was a real trumpet freak then had a few nice nortons...i have a great pic of an old 850...thing looks better than new...he took it to bits and put it back together better than they did at the factory..strikes etc as you would know....my favourite was an old 650 ss norton that lived in the lounge in bits when the parents seperated and i remember the hours he spent polishing cases by hand,,,,much credit to you................beautiful.