I've been bikeless since the 1KC because, as it transpired, I cooked the clutch racking up hours of slow riding in carparks and the bike has been up at Hastings Honda getting repaired. So the MDA ride turned out to be a convenient way to get to Hastings on Friday to get reunited with my baby! We had a great forecast and it looked like it would be the first time in about four or five years that we wouldn't need the wets and at 0900 on Friday we were heading to our first two stops in Carterton. It was quite relaxing to be a passenger in the car with Mark and we had soon 'shared the love' with lashings of lollies at a school and pre-school. From here the riders would go straight up SH2 then deviate after Dannevirke, so we decided to have lunch there. We passed the bikes as the cruisers (and Santa's ST – he must have been having a senior moment 90Km into the ride??) were filling on the Masterton Bypass. We pulled into the Dannevirke BP to wait for the bikes, only to find, as we were half-way through our coffee and pie, that they had passed unnoticed and were up at the cafe, so we finished up and joined them. From here we went straight to Hastings Honda while Steve took the bikes for a Tiki-Tour and $1300 later we went to the Silky Chocolate Cafe and programme my GPS while we waited because it had been left in the bike. At this point, Santa had another senior moment and got lost waiting for Steve & Cheryl, who had gone to a bike shop for new boots, but eventually we all got reunited and made the two kiddy-stops on the way to Bayview. We arrived at Bayview at about 1730, settled, prepared to meet the rest of the children who have Muscular Dystrophy, had a feed, gave them their presents, then retired for the evening, which for me meant programming the Day2 route into the GPS while the others had a few drinks. I awoke about 0500 and tried to relax to go back to sleep, eventually giving up and getting up at about 0615, scrubbed, packed, gassed up, went to breakfast, then settled the account and hit the road. Saturday is a big coast-to-coast ride day with only three visits and all the riders opted for the Gentle Annie while Mark took the Napier-Taupo & SH41 to Taumarunui. That was a pleasant ride where I sat at TEC and just puttered along at an easy pace at the rear until the cruiser refill at Z Waiouru, then I travelled in the middle of the group to our brunch stop in Ohakune and same for the stint through to Taumarunui Although I was only down to half a tank, I opted to fill while Santa kitted up as that would leave me with half a tank to start Sunday, (I got a bit of a surprise when it cost nearly $34 for half a tank but!), then I led down to Max’ place. Max is a bit of a sad wee case because the first time we visited some years ago, he was running around while his older brother Sam was chair-bound and so weak that their dad had to hold-up Sam’s forearm up so he could wave goodbye. Since then, Sam died a couple of years ago and now we are seeing Max at that same level. The effects of MD can be so sad to witness. ….But now we had got to the fun part!! I led out again, with Santa behind me (so a mini SHITA {Sporting Hondas International Touring Army) if you were, was leading the charge) as we embarked on SH4 at a semi-crisp pace (ie. at the top end of the tolerated limit) for Ramaroa Rd, which we then took via Aria and onto Totoro Rd to get back to SH3. The Aria road is one of those delightful back country, narrow roads, that doesn’t get enough traffic to wear it out, but can have scatterings of loose shit, so one can get along at a good roll-on – roll-off pace ….as long as you leave enough margin for a change-of-line mid-corner or dealing with some other emergency change of plan or line. Totoro Rd on the other hand has always been crap and where it had several Km of thick, loose, new seal two months ago when we did the NI1600, now it had several Km of constant, but sparsely littered loose crap and I’m not sure which was worse?? ….and then we got to the Awakino Gorge ….and this has to be one of the best motorcycle road the North Island has to offer!! On this occasion it was dry, clean and we only encountered two or three cars to pass as we headed south ….and they seemed to be strategically positioned, so they were encountered at a convenient passing spot. God was with us as it were …and so it came to pass that we took a few minutes of our day to navigate the delights of the Awakino Gorge ….within the tolerated limits ….most of the time ….and Gillian didn’t complain ….and then we were at the Awakino Pub ….but the cruisers rolled on by ….so we hopped back on our bikes and made our way to Urenui. We finished the day with visits to a brother and sister in Waitara, and two brothers in Bell Block before making our way to the Marae at Sentry Hill for a feed and pleasant night relaxing over a few beers. Once again I awoke early and once again tried to relax and doze before once again rising at 0615 and we got on the road at 0830 for what would turn out to be a special day. Muscular Dystrophy is a relentless disorder where we see children’s health and mobility deteriorate year after year, but it is wonderful to see the joy that Santa can bring and witness the spirit of these unfortunate wee souls. On this day, our second visit was to Sophie, a four year old who was in a wheelchair when we first visited her in 2015, so she has been afflicted early. On our first visit, she was obviously awed and excited to see Santa, but also daunted by the invasion of the big hairy biker elves that accompanied him …and when she unwrapped and found her ‘Frozen’ book, …well say no more. On this occasion she was positively beaming from the moment I rode up the driveway and waved, until our departure and the special moment occurred when she took about 30-40 seconds to get out of her wheelchair and stand unaided. It turns out that she is off to school next year and had decided that she wanted to be able to walk at school. The fact that a four year old would think to set a goal like that is cool, but the grit and determination required to follow through is astounding! That special little girl really made my day!! From there we continued with visits in Inglewood, Stratford, Kaponga and Whanganui …which ended up to be 10Km up the Whangaehu Valley and we finished off with a late lunch at Viv’s Kitchen in Sanson ….well, almost finished. I finished off with an effort to set a record for the ‘most cars passed’, because I passed lots, especially coming into Otaki where the queue was several kilometres long. I made good time doing it though, departing Sanson with an ETA of 1705 and arriving home at 1700 ….then collapsed in a heap on the couch.
What a great weekend!! PS. Special thanks to my fellow Attitudinous Elves and Santa for the weekend and all the Distance Riders that ride the 1KC events out of Hamilton and Wellington, because those events fundraise to buy the Christmas presents for this trip with any surplus accumulating to eventually be given to the Muscular Dystrophy Association, who I perceive to be very much a Poor-Second-Cousin when it comes to charities.
2 Comments
29/11/2017 18:49:38
Nice one John! Better put the price up on next year's 1KC.
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David
29/11/2017 21:20:56
Well reported John. A great weekend indeed.
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