4 minute read
Commercial Notes
It has been suggested that perhaps if the Commercial section meetings were to be held on a Saturday afternoon, as all the other sections do, we might survive a little longer, given some of us are not exactly spring chickens now and it is a lot easier these days to just curl up in the Lazy-Boy after dinner, rather than going out for a couple of hours. I canvassed those present at the March meeting and I was surprised to find that the consensus was to leave it as it is, the fourth Wednesday evening. So, until you hear otherwise, that is when it will be! Pat and I have registered to participate in the “Very Vintage Day Out” at the Kumeu Showgrounds on Saturday 10 April. The last time our 1929 Dodge was out, was three years ago on a Daffodil day run, so when our family volunteered to help us make her ready again, we jumped at the chance. A brand new warrant and Rego today (24th of March) and all we want now is fine weather. John Perich has been touring the South Island since early March in convoy with 21 other Lilliput Caravan owners and has sent me a photo of a 1952 KD Bedford truck (below) still in regular use, that he came across in Oamaru. John is #2 in this line up. (right)
Murray Firth reports that not only have VTNZ not acknowledged his request for dispensation from forcing his ’31 Bedford onto the brake rollers, after patiently waiting three months, but they are still hanging onto his exorbitant fee!
Keep M Rolling
John Campbell
Motorcycle Notes
Well first up, I and a large number of our motorcycle members left Auckland and other areas on Thursday 11th March and made our way down to Ohakune for the night. Then onto Masterton, Dave Mayhew from Rotorua and I trailered our bikes there, the others were riding down. This was supposed to be the VCC National Bi Annual Motorcycle rally, but due to Covid-19 it was cancelled, but our group leader Peter Alderdice, said lets go anyway as we had paid for the accommodation. So we did and we all had a great time down in the Wairarapa. On the Saturday ride, there were around 60 riders taking part, I expect there will be a full report from one of our members who did the whole ride from Auckland on the Thursday till when the group got home the following Sunday. I'm sorry I couldn't be at the March meeting to hear Chris's talk, as I flew down to Wellington at 7am for the VCC Executive meeting and didn't arrive home until 8:00 p.m. that night. Martin Spicer
So now to the meeting, your Club Captain Lynda and Jack ran the meeting. The numbers were a bit down as a lot were still coming home from the Wairarapa. Member Graham Viall brought along Jake Garner as a visitor, Graham spoke about his and Jake's bike ride down to the recent Burt Munro festival in Invercargill. A number of members also told funny stories from their past riding their bikes.
Coming Up:
10 April—The Waikato's Moo Loo Meander 11 April—The Brit & Euro Classic Car show at Lloyd Elsmore Park. Bring your bike along and put it on our Branch stand. 17 April—Motorcycle meeting. 18 April—Branch Gymkhana 22 April—Club Night—Tim Manning talking about white metal bearings 25 April—Motorcycle run, starts Jolly Farmer, Drury 1:00pm. 15 May—Northland Motorcycle Rally Whangarei.
Guest Speaker:
Chris Taylor spoke about his marathon motorcycle ride, which he did in 2019. He rode a Suzuki DR 650 trail bike. Chris decided he wanted to do this ride before he got any older. The journey was 14,000 kilometres and took two and half months. He shipped his bike to Vladivostok, on the Pacific coast. He new the roads were going to be rough, which is why he used a trail bike. The Suzuki was a second hand one and never missed a beat for the whole trip. The bike was fitted with a huge fuel tank, because fuel stops were over 600kms apart. Chris did the ride alone with no back up. When riding through forests there were signs warning of tigers and bears. He saw many historical sites and learnt a lot about the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin. He named the bike Hiho (Chinese) and talked to the bike most days. Most road directions were clear, as he down loaded Google maps onto his phone. He also down loaded a translate program to talk to the locals. Generally, Chris felt safe on the trip and he made sensible decisions on the journey through East and West Russia and then Latvia, followed by a fast trip across Europe to finish in London. He said his only regret was doing it alone.
Motorcycle Notes Contd..
Jack thanked Chris for coming and telling this story.
Keep those 2, 3 and 4 wheels turning safely
Lynda Spicer & Jack Clark
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