September 2015 Recent attendees at the St John s Presentation in Amberley

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "September 2015 Recent attendees at the St John s Presentation in Amberley"

Tamsin Thornton
5 years ago
Views:

1 September 2015 Recent attendees at the St John s Presentation in Amberley

Club of New Zealand Inc but are those of the contributing or original writers.

Liaison 358-7494 021-127-3363 Canterbury@ulysses.org.

sec@ulysses.org.nz Treasurer: Chris Groube 343-4919 027-201-1213 groube@xtra.co.

t@paradise.net.nz Rallies Coordinator: Thea Turner 027-232-3193 Thea.t-r@hotmail.

co.nz Rider Training Mentor Coordinator Chris Carey 348-4153 Carol Smith

com Non Committee Rides Coordinator: Carol Smith com Website: Brent Yaxley

nz Sheriff Terry Stevenson 03-312-7722 027-452-6676 stevensonfam@xtra.co.

2 Note: Opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Editor, the Canterbury Branch of Ulysses Club of New Zealand, or the Ulysses Club of New Zealand Inc but are those of the contributing or original writers. Committee Contact Details Position/Person Phone Mobile Coordinator/ Branch Liaison Steve Orpwood Secretary: Bob Tanner Treasurer: Chris Groube Welfare Newsletter Editor: Carolyn Falkenberg Rallies Coordinator: Thea Turner Social Coordinator Russell Williams Rider Training Mentor Coordinator Chris Carey Carol Smith Non Committee Rides Coordinator: Carol Smith Website: Brent Yaxley Sheriff Terry Stevenson Deputy Sheriff Vacant Archives/Property: Terry Stevenson Quartermaster (Gear Sales) Joanne Earle

3 Welcome one and all to another notation from the hot seat. Yea Ha Spring has sprung, bring on the warmer weather. Rides to do and rallies to attend. So now is the time to start filling your calendar with your favorite ones and arranging some travelling companions. September is important to the branch as it is the anniversary of when we formed, so to celebrate we will have cake with our tea and coffee. So come on down and have a chat with old and maybe make some new friends. It was a bit of a letdown not be in our normal venue for our last branch meeting and it was really tight for our guest speaker, Rachel and her assistant Lynda they handled it very well and with their up front style just got on with the task. Some of the ladies comments afterwards let me know we hit the spot with this one. The branch mailing list has had an increase with members from South Canterbury Branch, being without their own branch they have been added so they at least will know what we are doing and also gives them a contact point along with a representative so to speak with the national committee. Welcome to you and hopefully we will all catchup in the near future. Take note people this is what happens to a branch or club when people become so apathetic and full of the can t be <<, it is something I cannot understand. How can you join a club/ branch and watch while it folds. This club of ours is for people of a like mind and an interest in motorcycles. So I won t say welcome to the branch but if rumor is anything to go by communication among you has increased. All you had to do was stand up and be counted. I am very sure I am not the only person who thinks this. I am also sure this will be discussed country wide. Enough said, not really but it will do for now. Just heard that the Kaikoura Hop is on again and there is a shortage of 2 wheeled vehicles registered for the show. As this is a full weekend activity accommodation maybe a bit tight to find. We should add this to the what s on list. Dates 18 th -20 th September. You all should have received your copy of your Ulyssian and if you have had a read please bring your feed back to the meeting so we can discuss and give feedback for the coordinators meeting in October. In the meantime Ride safe and keep your eyes up. Ride Safe Stephen Orpwood 2119 Co-ordinator 3

monthly meetings for me. Things have changed and I no longer need the bags.

4 BREAD BAGS. Many many thanks to all the members who have so kindly collected up bread bags and brought them along to the monthly meetings for me. Things have changed and I no longer need the bags. I have really appreciated all the support that s been shown and the bags were certainly put to good use. Thank you again. Chaz #7996 To purchase please contact Maureen Dew on or Happy Birthday to our September Members! Tony Davies #8348 Nicola Ebert #8397 Karen Revell #6919 Peter Robinson #7926 Rex Searle #7128 Graham Sherrell #7282 Lesley Stolt #6754 Kerry Swanson #2193 Robert Tomkins #4562 Roger White #8855 Garry Woods #9153 Russell Worlow #9285 Kerry Yaxley #8110 Kevin Hansen #8792 Leigh Hodgkinson #8926 Frank Hooper #7882 Barbara Hunton #2809 Ken Jackson #8705 Debbie Killick #8578 Andrea Ladbrook #6711 Duncan Mill #8928 Kevin Monk #9181 Stephen Orpwood #2119 4

5 5

6 6

7 7

8 8

9 9

10 10

11 11

12 12

13 13

The man called his wife's 10 best friends. None of them knew anything about it.

14 Friendship among Women: A woman didn't come home one night. The next morning she told her husband that she had slept over at a friend's house. The man called his wife's 10 best friends. None of them knew anything about it. Friendship among Men: A man didn't come home one night. The next morning he told his wife that he had slept over at a friend's house. The woman called her husband's 10 best friends. Eight confirmed that he had slept over, and two said he was s'll there. 14

15 15

16 16

17 17

18 Fellow Branch members At the meeting last night Thea, Carol and Bob mentioned a number of rallies coming up over the summer. When asked if I had anything to add I mentioned the TT2000 which is held over the three days of the 19 th to 22 nd February. With Mike Hyde passing away recently, Nicki and Kevin Bright, both Ulyssians from Blenheim and TT riders and Wayne Poll also a TT veteran from Dunedin, have taken it upon themselves to ensure the 2016 TT goes ahead. Geoff Davis, Grant Hyde and I have also offered to help organise the Christchurch end of things to make sure it all runs smoothly. Whether or not this is the last TT or not I don t know but I expect there will be a big number of bikes and TT riders, past and present, turning up for it to honour Mikes memory. The 2016 TT has two starting places, Blenheim and Dunedin but a common finish in at Hampton Motorcycles, Hornby. As with previous TT s there are certain criteria to being ranked as a 'finisher': 1. Ride a minimum 2,000kms, and 2. Collect a minimum of 50,000 points, and 3. Arrive at the finish by 12.00pm on Sunday Each checkpoint has a value of 500, 1000, 3000 or 5000 points according to its 'severity' rating. There are 50 checkpoints in both with a maximum, but unattainable, 100,000 points. There were also a number of Mystery checkpoints worth 4000points to boost your points tally if you can find them. A four hour time buffer is invoked should you find yourself pushing it to get home in time; weather, punctures, flat batteries, GPS s which send you down the wrong road<any number of reasons can see a rider coming in after 12pm. The website is up and running however the WPs haven t been posted yet; they re usually up by October giving you planning your route. So, is it do-able? Of course it is and before you reply it s too far, have a think about this. You are only required to complete the minimum kms and gain the minimum points; there are no prizes for getting more than that other than bragging rights. It starts at 1200 Friday giving you nearly 9 hours of good useable daylight to knock a fair chunk of it off, say 600kms leaving you 1400 to do. It also allows you to plan where you want to stop for the night. Some riders just wing it hoping to find somewhere open where ever they end up or they tent it. By pre-paying for you accommodation and arranging for a key to be left out you can arrive at the motel unit, cabin, whatever at any time and guarantee you ve got somewhere warm and dry to crash. 18

19 Then with an early start on Saturday to make the most use of the daylight hours you can comfortably knock off most of the ride; 1000kms or more. Again you can plan pretty much where you want to finish, or wing it, or as I do have a number of possible destinations on your phone to ring ahead and arrange accommodation if you find you re doing better than you had planned. That leaves a small number of kms and a leisurely cruise home on Sunday morning. The crux of this type of ride is in the planning. Whether or not you have a GPS or phone to load the WPs into or use pace cards like I do, or both, I find a huge amount of enjoyment sitting of an evening with Google Maps and a paper copy working out my route and based on a realistic average speed of say 65/70kph, the times I expect to be at successive WPs to see if I m ahead or behind schedule. The key is being conservative with your speeds. To be averaging 100kph is totally unrealistic, well it is for me. Bar 2015 where I d overestimated the road conditions Stretch and I encountered in the North Island because I was unfamiliar with them (too twisty, narrow and slow); for the previous four TTs in the South Island I averaged between 65-73kph so that s what I use to work my routes out but you need to work them out for your comfort zone and riding ability. Allow 2-3 minutes at each WP to stop, take your ride T-shirt out, snap a quick flick, put the t-shirt and camera away then bugger off, 10minutes for each fuel stop; well you get the picture. It s all down to planning and the gratification of following that plan. Always have a few WPs up your sleeve so you can drop them if required (but still get the minimum points) or if you are ahead of schedule the added satisfaction of picking up a few more points. It goes without saying your bike, tyres etc. need to be in good condition and you need to carry clothing for all seasons with plenty of water and food to graze along the way. If you ve allowed for meal stops, all good but if not then you ll be grazing as you go and where you can so water and protein/energy bars, scroggin<that sort of stuff. Leave the pies, donuts and coffee alone. So check out the website ( it s all there for you; how the rally works, FAQs, resource material etc. If you re keen and have any questions just drop me an of give us a bell after I m home again (mid to late October). Cheers Captain Carefree #

20 Am I missing something here? It was a gloomy, drizzling Sunday morning and not at all ideal motorcycling weather but then neither was last Sunday until I rode out from under the crap into glorious sunshine all the way to Motunau and back; so why not same today? Weather can be so fickle around greater Christchurch and I d learnt that what you have in Riccarton is not necessarily the same weather in Woolston or Woodend. With a full tank and my visor slowing fogging I was impatient to get going so by 1055 and with noone else at Z Curletts I buggered off heading south towards Lincoln. Was I missing something here? Two advertised branch rides and no-one turns up to either of them? Are we not a motorcycle club? Are we turning into a bunch of limp dicks and like many motorcyclists only come out when the sun shines? Heaven forbid that is the case. The drizzle was easing as I headed south and by the time I d left Lincoln it had stopped completely. Free to choose any route I wanted I decided to do a bit of a Tiki Tour. After a brief stop at Selwyn Huts I headed back towards Coes Ford before taking The Lake Road, Harts and Leeston-Taumutu roads to Sedgemere. I d never been here before so stopped briefly to have a look at the old church. Although overcast, it was bright and the roads were trying to dry. Continuing on Washbournes and Inwoods Roads I d stopped at an intersection to check my hastily written pace notes when a ute pulled up. You OK Mate? Yep. Just checking where I am. Where do you want to be? With a new set of directions it was a hard left onto Milltown Road then left onto Jollies Road and Rakaia Huts. Another first; I d never been here before either. The estuary was being whipped up by a cold blustery wind but otherwise it was making an effort and clearing overhead. Three blokes were launching a jet boat so I watched as they got water bourne enjoying the sound of the V8 being put through its paces. Back through Little Rakaia, Milltown and Southbridge I pulled up outside Hillyers Café in Leeston enjoying a pie and a coffee in front of the log burner. It wasn t a fast ride or a particularly long ride but it was an enjoyable ride; it always is getting out on the bike, just a little disappointing that no other branch members made the effort. Captain Carefree #

It was a sunny, clear blue sky looking north from the Peg but a different story looking south.

21 Motunau here we I come Have you got a ride on today? my Little Nest of Vipers asked. Yeah, Motunau I replied, cozy and warm with the duvet pulled up under my nose and one cat, the heavy one, across my legs. It was a sunny, clear blue sky looking north from the Peg but a different story looking south. By 1050 that ominous layer of black cloud was fast coming this way I decided to bugger off making the most of the dry roads and fine weather. And it was a lovely ride to Greta Valley. A stretch of gravelled road over the hill meant a degree of caution but otherwise the road into Motunau was clear and dry. By the time I d reached the seaside village the coffee I had enjoyed at the BP Fendalton was becoming painful and incontinence was now a serious threat. Fumbling through my thermals the relief as I contributed to the water table bought a tear to the eye. A cold, blustery wind was blowing up the inlet so I found a sheltered spot on a seat around the corner on the jetty and sat enjoying the warmth of the sun, my two egg sandwiches and apple turnover. A txt from my beloved warned of snow in Christchurch and to be careful on the way home. Oh well, I would eventually have to face it so with reluctance I put my gear back on and headed back out to SH1 not before having a quick look down the road to Happy Valley and Fisherman s Lane. Another P stop at Omihi gave me an opportunity to change gloves. It was cold but still dry and clear overhead and despite a brief shower at Woodend I arrived home none the worse for wear and just in time for CRC Motorsport on 3. I m not sure who turned up for the gravel ride with Grant Hyde and Wayne Jackson to Hororata but I had a pleasant ride albeit as RIC leading myself and bringing up the rear as TEC. I always said I d give my right arm to be ambidextrous. Captain Carefree #

They are both in the South of France. Pont Du Garde is the tallest Roman Aqueduct. Built between 40 and 60 AD to carry water from Uzes to Niemes. It is 49m tall and 275m long (originally 360m).

22 Two amazing Bridges. During the months of June/July 2014 a few of us Ulyssien's embarked on a European Motorcycle Trip. We visited some amazing places, far to many to mention but there was two that really stood out for me. The Millau Viaduct and Pont Du Garde Aqueduct. Two amazing bridges built centuries apart. They are both in the South of France. Pont Du Garde is the tallest Roman Aqueduct. Built between 40 and 60 AD to carry water from Uzes to Niemes. It is 49m tall and 275m long (originally 360m). It spans the river Gardon. It tool 1000 workers 15 years to build. The gradient of the upper tier has a fall of 2.5cm The Millau Viaduct is the tallest bridge in the world. It is 2.4km long and 343m high, carrying a four lane highway. It cost 400 million euros and 3 years to build. Completed in December We went over and under both these structures. Riding the bikes over and under the Millau. Walking across Pont Du Garde and swimming underneath it. If you ever get to visit this area of France they are both worth a look at. Two amazing pieces of engineering. For me, the prize goes to the Roman's Steve

Calendar of Rides Rallies and Events RIDES CALENDAR This is a guide only, for the latest info on rides please visit the Ulysses Canterbury Web Site at : http://www.ulysses.org.

23 Calendar of Rides Rallies and Events RIDES CALENDAR This is a guide only, for the latest info on rides please visit the Ulysses Canterbury Web Site at : and click on What s On on the main menu. If you cannot use a computer or the Web, please contact any committee member who will assist you. Contact details are on Page 2. Note --- unless stated below, ALL rides will leave from Shell Curletts Road, or from the Belfast Hotel (usually known as The Peg). Sunday rides leave at 10.30am, OR as stated below.' Note -- RIC = Rider in Charge... TEC = Tail End Charlie If you lose this sheet you can print another one off on the above page under Printer Friendly Version Button Web Master, Brent Yaxley Date Where to Details Sunday 13 September Sunday 20 September Sunday 20 September Gorges Ride Daffodil Ride Gravel Ride Ashley, Waimakariri and Rakaia Depart from The Peg at 10.30am Meet at Z Curletts, at 10.00am depart at 10.30, take a picnic lunch among the daffodils See website for details Wednesday 23 September Branch social Meeting Cashmere Club, meals available from 6pm, meeting from 7.30 Wednesday 23 September Mid Week Ride Meet at depart at 11am from Z Curletts, bring lunch, weather dependent 23

24 Date Where to Details Sat 27 and Sun 28 Sept Ladies Rule Ride to Moeraki, booking info to follow. Sat 27 September Riders Choice Meet at Z Curlettes at am leaving at 10.30am Wednesday 30 September Wednesday Ride Meet at Z Curletts, depart at bring lunch, weather dependent Sunday 4 October Inland road to Kaikoura for Fish and Chips Meet at the Peg, am leave at 10.30am Wednesday 7 October Sunday 11 October Wednesday 14 October Wednesday Ride Meet at Z Curletts, depart at bring lunch, weather dependent Gorges Ride ride through Ashley Gorge to Oxford to check out the market Continue ride to Waimak gorge and Rakaia Gorge if wished Wednesday Ride Meet at Z Curletts, depart at bring lunch, weather dependent Sunday 18 October Ride to Cave Stream take a picnic Meet at Curletts at 10.00am to leave at 10.30am Wednesday 21 October Off roaders ride from Lake Coleridge to Lake Lyndon and continue to Cave Stream Meeting place and time to be advised Wednesday Ride Meet at Z Curletts, depart at bring lunch, weather dependent Sat and Sun 24 and 25 October Greymouth Street Races overnighter Booking details to vollow Sun 25 October Riders Choice Meet at Z Curletts at 10am leave at 10.30am Sun 1 November Ride to Akaroa for fish and chips Meet at Z Curletts at 10am 24

NEXT BRANCH MEETING SUNDAY 3 RD APRIL 2016 AT 7PM

NEXT BRANCH MEETING SUNDAY 3 RD APRIL 2016 AT 7PM ULYSSES CLUB OF NEW ZEALAND ROTORUA BRANCH MARCH 2016 ISSUE 32 EDITOR SCOOP Hi Everyone Well what a month we have had with moving house and then heading off to Westport for the National AGM. There was