March End of Month Ride.

Last Sunday saw a good turnout for our end of month ride. It was good to see Paul De Lautour back in the saddle of his GT 750 after a very long hiatus due to a persistent cough. Driving around in that South Island air in his E Type Jag for a few weeks must have done him a world of good. We also had PC along on his cackling LC and Janet on her affable Kawasaki ER (Come on Janet, drag out the Bros for a run!). John McGegg turned up on a very smart Yamaha 650 Special and next to him at the Manawatu Motorcycles lineup was Kim on his TZR250 3XV, Ian on his semi naked GSX 600F, Michael on his award winning GSX 750 and myself on the XJ. Bruce had his BMW out for a spin and Sir Al on his Aprillia and eventually Bruce on his lovely red VFR750. We decided on shorter run as people were wanting to head off for other Sunday activities ( has that baby arrived yet John?) so a quick squirt over the Pahiatua Track and the Saddle Road had us heading into the Fusion Cafe at Ashhurst just under an hour later. The roads were in an okay condition, but we are still waiting for the promised upgrade to the Saddle Road or is this it? I hope not. It certainly called for some caution! We finished off with a good chat over tea and coffee and we were on our way to other destinations just after midday. Sir Al and I finished off our ride with a run down Valley Road to Colyton and then home.