Touring NZ

27-30/12/16

This year saw the 90th Anniversary of the Maori Tennis Tournament …which didn’t mean a lot to me, but it did mean that I had to ride to Hamilton, then go riding around the Waikato for a couple of days, then ride back …so, as usual, I was really excited that Ann had to go to the Maori tennis tournament!

Our adventure commenced on Boxing Day with a short hop to Hawera, Ann taking the car because she was hitching a ride from there, then bringing some Moko’s ...

25-27/11/16

This year was my 11th MDA run after missing the 2014 ride …and it still hasn’t lost its charm of being a great ride while serving a great cause to see some joy brought to the lives of some children afflicted with Muscular Dystrophy.

This year my involvement included sorting a budget and coming up with a ride plan, which was to be very different from all the other years I have been attending.

Last year would have been the worst (hardest) year ...

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Well that was another nice wee fang!

Apparently I have a problem when it comes to riding and creating routes for longer rides ….I like corners!

After all, let’s face it, I’m not one to throw my arse around or hang off the seat, but the subtle shifting of weight that occurs whilst negotiating a delicious string of lefts and rights does wonders to alleviate the aching-numb-bum that manifests when sitting for hour after hour in the saddle on a boring, straight state highway. ...

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24/09/16

After much planning to produce ‘the half’, it was finally time to ride it. ‘The half’ being the ‘North Island 800’, an NZ Distance Riders offering to ride 800km in 12 hours, which is being run in conjunction with the North Island 1600 24 hour event, although for some reason, I’ve never heard that referred to as ‘the Full’.

The event isn’t scheduled until 08 October, but as one of the organisers, I had decided to ride it early to get the checkpoint photos for ...

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From: 19-20/03/16

Things have been pretty busy lately, both at work and on the biking front, doing prep work for this year’s Nth Island 1600 in October. My big job in that area right now has been fine-tuning a route, then preparing the Rider’s Guide, which was all but done except for the sample checkpoint photos, (although it did have streetview photos in there for now)… So a plan evolved.

I decided to have a big weekend away, riding both the NI1600 and the NI800 back ...

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Cagers!! …It is so easy for us motorcyclists to use this (generally derogatory) term for the other motorists with whom we share the roads.

I’ve tended not to use the term (or at least tried not to use it) ever since reading the book Mind Over Motorcycle by Kevin Williams, because as he put it, “Such use of language as a metaphor is more than a turn of speech, it really does affect our conceptual systems and thought processes, influencing how we perceive others, and in some cases, ...

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From: 15-18/01/16

Murray Gray turned 80 last week and 1st up on his bucket list was to do another 1,000 miler (ie 1,608 km ride) and naturally enough, he approached the NZ Distance Riders for assistance to achieve his goal. We were more than happy to oblige and right from the first word, I was in.

I first met Murray about 10 years ago when I started doing Rusty Nut Grand Challenges (1,000 miles in 24 hrs). My first thought at the time was, “Wow, I hope I’m still riding ...

From 27-29/12/15

It’s been three years since Ann has played in the Maori Tennis tournament, which is held annually in Hamilton between Christmas and New Year, and this year we were available again so bookings were made and we were off….although I wasn’t intending to play tennis as I had other plans.

An email to STJim, Topher and Goose soon had a ride organized, plus I had to get there and back while Ann would travel with her tennis partner.

Someone ...