Pilgrims Rest Return

The last Sunday of January saw the first Club ride of the year. The very blustery but precipitation free morning saw a group of seven meeting at Manawatu Motorcycles ready for a wander around the district. They were
John Rushton - BSA 500
Paul De Lautour - Kawasaki H2750
Dion Tornquist - Kawasaki KH400
Bruce Andrews - Yamaha RT350
Kim De Lautour - Yamaha RZ250
Gavin Foster - Suzuki RG250W (arrived later)
Gary Whiting - Yamaha XJ750
Alan Clark - Kawasaki A7350
 It was great to have John Rushton join us on his 1952 BSA 500 and we all enjoyed checking it out before the run. You can certainly see the lineage of our contemporary adventure bikes and motards let alone the Bobber custom movement! Also good to see Bruce giving his RT an outing after its latest recondition. With only 100kms on a new piston and rings he was very cautious but it seemed like a good day for this running in with a very moderate air temperature. Word came through that a very keen two stroke fan was making his way down from Hawkes Bay to join us on the ride so after a waiting for a while we decided to meet him on our way up to Pilgrims Rest. Gavin and Dion turned up at the Raumai turnoff with Gavin on his lovely Suzuki RG 250W. He trailered it down from Hawkes Bay and parked up at Ashhurst where Dion caught up with him so he could rendezvous with the group.  After watching a full on bicycle race go by we then made our way up the Pohangina valley to enjoy the company of John and Margaret at the Pilgrims Rest. Bruce had phoned through earlier to let them know we were coming and Margaret had the scones and cream ready to go with the coffee and tea. This is one of our favourite destinations and recommended if you want a morning tea with a difference. Where else in the world could you meet a a half blind deer that likes scones and answers to the name of Chicken? After a very pleasant cuppa and a few photos the bikes were pointed south and we made our way back down the valley. A brief stop at Raumai had us saying our farewells as we headed off home. Whilst many have been complaining about a lack of decent summer, those of us with old aircooled two strokes have certainly appreciated the cooler temperatures that these motors like. Lets hope we can get a few more such rides in before we start complaining that its to cold!