Classics 2019 BBQ Run

Ross with his Trophy

You don't see many of these around these days

JBs Rotary in all its 70s bling splendour

Stanway is always a good stopping off place

Karen seems to like the XR Brett!

John enjoying grahams BSA

It was a good turnout

Great venue

Great food!

It was a great day for a spin out in the country and arriving at Memorial Park at eleven saw a similar group of like minded individuals who were going to make the most of a great summers day or maybe it was the promise of a great BBQ meal at the conclusion of the ride? A few Blue Hazers were out for the ride as well. It was neat to see JB on his Suzuki Rotary after an 'extended' amount of time in the workshop and Ross C out on his Triumph Trophy. Road Captain Clive outlined the route plan with a run out around the back blocks of the Rangitikei with a final destination being Mikes in Feilding. We made our way out to Bunnythorpe and through to Colyton, Cheltnham and  to our first stop at Stanway Hall. After a natter we then carried on into Halcombe and made our way to mikes place in Feilding. He and his wife Brenda put on a great feed with ample supplies of food and beverages. We all enjoyed his spacious shed/s with a diverse range of cars and motorcycles to look at and enjoy.

Warrens Lucky Strike RGV makes it to the track

It has been a while since Warren has been on the track on an RGV. Back in the day the Production 250 class was fiercely fought and one year he won the New Zealand Grand Prix. It must be really interesting getting back on the track after all those years to find out where you now stand. The track day was an opportunity to become reacquainted with an RGV and watching Warren from the stands it was interesting to ponder how times have changed with the RGV being the only two stroke amongst all the 'rest'. It must be doubly satisfying for Warren as he has been fettling his RGV for many months for this occasion and watching him circulating, the bike sounded nice and crisp as he accelerated through the esses and powered down the grandstand straight. Dion and Kim popped in with there stopwatch to see how things were going and Dion especially interested with his NSR 250 having spent the previous weekend circulating around Manfeild. Nothing like a bit of healthy competition between the lads. The R6 also got some time on the track and Warren was concerned that he had better stop before he got to carried away with it and damaged something! Revisiting old activities can be a fraught thing at times. It was great to see Warren leave the track with everything intact and already adding to his 'fettling' list for the next time the RGV makes it to some tarmac.

December 2018 EoMR to Pongaroa

 Pongaroa was the chosen destination for our final ride of the year. It is always a popular run as there are some great roads with a nice mixture of curvey bits and tighter curvey bits with a great feed half way through the ride. You certainly get a good work out and as Gary A said "I could have been just as quick on my Scorpio". His VFR would certainly look more comfortable on an autobahn rather than Route 52!  Caution is required as some sections are still suffering from four year old earthquake damage with some impressive slumps. It was interesting following Graham on his modern Bonnie as it sidestepped on a particularly nasty one. Nice having Ross along for a ride on his Bandit after the big shift from Paekakariki and Ian giving his recently acquired Kawasaki 650 a good workout. A great road for it. Also good to have John and Graham from the Classic club. Johns BMW 600s long legged suspension handled the slumps with ease with Graham giving his Bonnie a good workout. Bruce A and Sir Als adventure bikes certainly seemed ideal for the conditions with there lovely long suspension.
With Sir Al leading the way, we certainly didn't dally around at our usual stops at Mangamaire and Tiraumea. The timing of our arrival at Pongaroa coincided with the opening of the kitchen for lunch. In short order we all had a drink and plate of food in front of us with talk finally around the return route home. By this stage the wind had increased markedly, and the more direct route through Makiri and over the Puketoi  Ranges was deemed to be a bit to blustery. Our next stop then was going to be Dannevirke and then back through Woodville to home. By this stage the temperature was getting up, so caution was required on the shinny tarry bits of road. After a petrol stop in Dannyvegas, a visit to the Windfarm Cafe rounded out a great day on the bikes. We covered well over 200kms and were back in plenty of time to mow the lawn. We are certainly lucky to have such a range of great rides in our area and with summer warming up nicely, it looks like we should be able to fit a few more in before the seasons change.