Covid has certainly had a big effect on all our lives over the past couple of years with many routine activities taking a back seat to Covid concerns. Whilst our daily and weekly Covid concerns have been front and centre it has also had an effect on many annual activities. Concerts, festivals, family gatherings and rallies have fallen by the way side as uncertainty reigns. Amongst all of this Judy, Angela and Ross managed to pull off the next best thing to a Rally, a gathering. Whilst it was done at short notice, it certainly struck a chord with a good number of people who booked into motels in Feilding from far and wide for a VJMC get together. From all accounts a great Friday night warmup saw the 'The Gathering' off to a good start. A ride was organised for the Saturday morning with thirty or so individuals meeting at the Feilding Railway Station carpark at 11am ready for a ride to a lunch date at the Apiti Tavern. The route taken was a familiar path for the locals which was up through the Pohangina Valley following the Manawatu Scenic Route and then a slight detour to the tavern. The only casualty was Roger's lovely little Benelli 2C's pistons that needed a rest from going up and down and it ended up in a farmers shed for collection the following day. The joys of running classic bikes!
The Apiti Tavern was a very busy place and money could have been made from the parking meters if they were in working condition! It has become a destination in its own right since being taken over a year or so ago with a chef now in charge. Lunch was followed up with a ride around the rest of the Manawatu Scenic Route and then back to Feilding to prepare for the evening activities. By all accounts The Strongroom Restaurant provided a fitting gastronomical finale to the day and some discussions went on well into the later parts of the evening.
A big thank you to Angela, Judy and Ross for organising 'The Gathering' and let's all hope things get back to normal for the 2023 VJMC Rally.
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