After basically being off the bike for 6 months ….and still being on blood thinners, I figured I better work my way back into the biking, so with Saturday being a nice day I started out by scrubbing all the dust and stuff off the beast, then after lunch, I tapped my toe on the seal by going for a restrained scoot over the Paekak’ Hill, back via Haywards, then over to Featherston and back.
It’s quite some time since I’ve been on the Paekak’ Hill road and although it’s posted with a 60kph limit, it was a good place to start, being narrowish, curly’ish, with a generous smattering of loose crap and tar snakes. Yes, well one could say that it kept me on my toes, the view at the top was spectacular with it being such a nice day and although I didn’t feel ‘in the groove’, I didn’t really feel out of it either. The Rimutakas was more good riding, with a clean surface, wider lanes to use and there wasn’t too much traffic. Coming back I caught a chappy with ‘Instructor’ emblazoned on the back of his jacket and he was herding four …? ….students I guess. They eventually let me through on a passing lane, then a few of the cars eased over for me to slip through, but there were a few ignorant prats after that, that left no room at all and since I was in conservative and behave-yourself mode, I just pootled behind them until I was off the hill. Nice wee re-intro outing though, doing around 175km. Sunday was the Wellington Ulysses ‘Local’ MDA Ride to take Christmas presents to the children in the city and Kapiti areas. The day was absolute crap ….but it was supposed to clear around 1000 and although I wasn’t particularly keen to go, I felt I needed to as it was likely that many others wouldn’t bother. (I suppose I should note that I’ve been involved in these rides since 2005 and have had a lot to do with the fundraising and ride-planning that goes with it). It didn’t make it any better when someone residing with me demanded that I didn’t go ….but she sort of relented in the end, so off I went, suitably attired for the conditions ….except for Rain-Off gloves, because they decided to fall apart, I threw them out, then forgot to buy more. I was a little late getting away from home but spotted some familiar bikes at BP Mana, so I pulled in and ‘waved’ to the boys who were seated along the window (a bit like those clones that one used to get at the side-shows!!) Anyway, I needed to take the opportunity to go in and apply anti-fog stuff to the visor and clean the specs and inside of the visor as both had a liberal coating of water droplets since I had to continually crack the visor open to clear the fogging. I did that and as soon as I was back on the bike, the visor was fogged again within 10 seconds!!! I pulled into the Plimmerton Weigh Station to find one car and one bike waiting, plus the other three, so figured, ‘lucky I came!’ Another reason I figured ‘Lucky I came’ was when I mentioned to the car peoples that there was an error on the GPS file, to which they replied, “it’s alright, we don’t have a GPS”. Then I mentioned it to the riders and there answer was, “We couldn’t download the file!” *Sigh* …I guess that meant I had to lead! So we pootled off to the Ohau area about 0900, through more miserable weather, made the drop and socialised with the family ….for about 5-10 minutes too long, then we headed back to Wgtn. I say 5-10 mins too long because when we got to Pukerua Bay and the traffic was stopped. We waited for a bit, then I shuffled back next to the car and said, “Ring me, I’ll just filter up to see what’s going on.” They rang as I got to the top of the rise, I pushed go (on the GPS) and I hit stop! Didn’t matter because the police had closed the road so I went back and indicated to the group to turn around, waited to regroup by the shops, then headed back to take the Paekak’ Hill road ….and that was closed to ….so we made our way to a Paekak’ Café. Traffic eventually started to move (after about an hour and a half) so we made our way to the bikes to resume the ride (after previously turning it off and letting the parents know). It was one of those occasions that one was glad to be on a bike as we filtered past kilometer after kilometer of crawling traffic, then put the waders on to get through the Plimmerton round-about, then we ended up waiting in J’ville for the car (with Santa) to arrive. By this time the day was brilliant sunshine and soaring temperature, we managed to complete three of the four remaining children, then finished up at Jim & Colleen’s for a coffee and snacks. I can’t say that the ride was particularly pleasant or fun, but visiting these children with Muscular Dystrophy and their families is special, so it was all very much worth the effort.
0 Comments
After missing last year’s MDA ride due to a bike issue, I nearly missed it again this year, but in the end, things panned out and I ended joining 17 others (15 bikes, two with pillions and two more in the support sled) for an 0900 departure from Brown Owl on Friday. I first attended a Muscular Dystrophy Ride in 2005 and it continues to be a highlight of my year with the combo of a great ride and a good cause. We actually did the local Wellington children last Sunday and where we normally buy presents for 25-30 children, this year there were a few away and another change over the last couple of years is for the new Plymouth families to join us at the marae for dinner, which has made the Sunday morning section of the ride a bit easier. It is also good as bringing the families together helps them connect and form networks. I had planned 3 route options for Friday, 2 for Saturday and 1 for Sunday, so after a late notification that a couple of the children weren’t up to the Friday evening get-together, we embarked on option 4. I left a minute or two early to set up and take photos of the other riders on the Rimutakas, then had to play catch-up, however, there was 5 or 6 of ‘those’ cars tripping back and forth over the hill and they appeared to be training new recruits in the vagaries of pursuit driving. Well, I caught one of these cars at the summit, then witnessed some of the worst and most inconsiderate driving I have experienced on the Hill. One could easily identify the instructor in the passenger seat, waving his arms about as he tried to explain the finer points of driving and the poor young trainee was obviously trying to blend the IAM principals with maintaining pace …which just wasn’t working at all (at least, not in my humble opinion!!) He was all over the place, erratic and not really very quick …hard to tell if he didn’t see my lights filling his mirrors, was so focused on making progress that he didn’t see the passing bays …or he was just a prick! …*sigh* We had soon made our first stop at a school in Carterton, then diverted via Mauriceville, Alfredton, Tane, Mangatainoka, along the eastern side of the Manawatu River, onto Hopelands Rd and back out to SH2 at Oringi, then had a lunch and fuel stop at BP Dannevirke (we had a cruiser and a sprotty that were only designed for trips to the local dairy). From there we were met by the next family’s Biker-Dad, who led us to their place just north of Dannevirke, then our programmed trip from Waipawa up the eastern side of the Tuktuki River was changed to a scoot up Middle Rd, School Rd, onto the Napier Expressway to couple of visits in town before coming back to the Matahiwi Marae in Clive. After being joined by the families and some Hawkes Bay Ulyssians, we were welcomed on, went through our Santa formalities and enjoyed a great feed, then later relaxed over a few drinks.
Saturday was another nice day and after enjoying a cooked breakfast at 0730, we were away a bit after 0800 to head to Bayview for fuel before attacking the Napier-Taupo Road, which I haven’t done for a few years. However, when one of the chaps tried to put air in his tyre, the machine sucked it out and because it was already quite hot, Steve led the team out while I stayed to help as he went over to the Mobil to get the air he now desperately needed. We had a fairly relaxed romp over to Z Tauhara, but were a little behind schedule when we got there, so flipped from the Option 2 route (via Marokopa) back to the direct option 1 via SH30, many enjoyed a coffee break and we had to go up the Expressway to take Spa Rd into town because it was all closed off for a big Ironman Event. I wanted to go through town because I haven’t done Poihipi Rd for a few years and it was nice to re-acquaint. We then paused at Bennydale for lunch before taking the turn at Kopaki to cut across to SH4, on to Eight Mile Junction, down to another fuel stop at PioPio, then a jolly good fang through the Awakino Gorge (I couldn’t help myself) …then another relaxed refreshment stop at the Awakino Pub. Down to the last leg for the day, we stopped to get supplies at Urunui and got to the marae at Sentry Hill at 1630 again for a repeat on Friday …ie Santa doing his thing, having another great feed, then relaxing later before hitting the pit. Sunday’s weather was flagged as being the pits and during the night, a couple of guys had awoken and mentioned seeing quite a few lightening flashes (no thunder) and Ann sent a text first thing saying how bad the weather was in Wgtn ….and that we shouldn’t be riding. We reviewed the weather reports, then decided that it might be better to return via SH2 through the Wairarapa …then heard that SH2 was closed ….then decided to make a decision when we got to our lunch fuel stop in Whanganui. After another cooked breakfast we got away at 0900, fueled, did our two visits, headed for Whanganui, (with next to no rain) decided to return via SH1, only struck heavy rain as we approached Wellington and I got home at 1415, relieved, a little weary, but quite satisfied that we’d done our bit to help a few children afflicted with Muscular Dystrophy. (Amd on that point, many thanks to all the riders that support the 1KC rides which raise the funds to buy the presents for this event, plus the VTNZ who provide sponsorship to help bring the families together). 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. |
about
This blog is pretty much just about motorcycling ...but every now and then I might rant or dribble on about other things. Categories
All
Archives
August 2021
|
Proudly powered by Weebly