Feb/Mar 2012
ISSUE 69
COMMITTEE 2011
CO-ORDINATOR:
Jim Furneaux
971-2893
SECRETARY:
Mike Payne (Sheriff)
235-5535
TREASURER:
John Maroulis
976-1079H
QUARTERMASTER:
Sandy Payne.
235-5535.
[email protected]
COMMITTEE:
Ken Wilson
476-8532
[email protected]
John(Buzz) Busby
(04)9040988
David Kerr
021-76987
[email protected]
Les Prescott
565-0419
(Phone and
Fax)
[email protected]
EDITOR
021-2442091
[email protected]
[email protected]
479-8451W
021-02338135
WEBSITE:
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.ulysses.org.nz/wellington/
WEBMASTER:
Mark Wilkins
[email protected]
RUNS COMMITTEE:
Ken Wilson
476-8532
[email protected]
John Maroulis
976-1079
[email protected]
Steve Klaui
970-9847
[email protected]
Warwick Austin
233-97
[email protected]
Colleen Furneaux
971-2893
[email protected]
Allan Ward
934-0500
Daryn Short
563-8561
029-9340500
[email protected]
[email protected]
Note! The comments and views in this newsletter are attributed to each
respective contributor and are not necessarily the views of the committee
Contents:
Editors File: .................................................................................................................................................2
Picked this up in the Hutt News.............................................................................................................2
Knees Up 2012........................................................................................................................................2
“Hanmer by road” ...................................................................................................................................2
Scurrilous Scribblings.................................................................................................................................3
Murray Mentor’s Riding Tips ....................................................................................................................4
Interview with Mike Payne # 5899 (The Sheriff) ....................................................................................4
OBITUARY ................................................................................................................................................6
PHILIP BONNETTE (RED FRED AKA SANTA CLAUS) # 4476...............................................6
Fred anecdotes (excerpts from old Blogs).................................................................................................9
2007 MDA...............................................................................................................................................9
2008 MDA...............................................................................................................................................9
2009 MDA.............................................................................................................................................10
Editors File:
John Maroulis
Affiliated Insurance brokers Ltd
P.O.Box 29-002 Ngaio
Ph: (04) 479-8451
Fx: (04) 479-8453
Member of: Allied Insurance Group of Brokers
and
The Insurance Brokers Association.
Picked this up in the Hutt News.
Become a better rider
Workshop run by Roadsafe Ltd NZTA APPROVED only $20.00 per rider
Advanced riders: Sunday Feb 26th 10.am til 4.30
Or Sunday 22nd April (am til 4.30
Contact: Jan Simmons Road safety coordinator
04-570-6730
027-480-7206
[email protected]
Knees Up 2012
Venue: Brookfield Scout Camp Moores Valley Wainuiomata
Unfortunately, due to lack of support, this event did not go ahead
“Hanmer by road”
Graham, Woody and I took the road option this year, sailing across with another 10 members and
meeting 8 more at Hanmer, gave a total of 21 riders and pillions this year.
The 3 of us had an absolutely brilliant ride down through Kaikoura, stopping for a bite at the
old Mussel Boy restaurant which is now just a general café, but still nice food, and on through to
the Highway 34 turnoff and through the beautiful Waiau Valley rather than the normal inland
route. This is a great ride, a little less taxing than the normal inland route, and thus allows a little more
time to take in the scenery.
The two days at Hanmer were spent relaxing, though not in the pools as it was too damned hot!!
Sunday Graham and I were to go on to Westport to catch up with an old mate, Woody decided to tag
along to Riverton then switch back through Springs Junction and do the loop to Hanmer.
Just as we were leaving there was a little rain, but as the forecast said “slight rain” we didn’t
think it would come to much, however through the Lewis, the temperature dropped to 7 degrees
And it fairly p-----d down! Poor visibility and slippery roads meant a substantial drop in forward
motion, all arriving in Riverton safe and sound, for a coffee and the “best pies in the South”
We left Woody at the Inungahua turnoff and continued on to Westport, the weather clearing by
now but getting a little windy, a quick buzz out to Cape Foul wind soon justified it’s naming as there
was a little side-ways riding involved! Only to get to the Cape and find the café was closed
and had been for some months, apparently it was a batch turned into a café and now was being
turned back into a batch! Never to mind as they say, on to Carters Beach and a nice coffee at a beautiful
outlook. On to friend Andy at Westport, where we went to the local club for a few ales and a nice
dinner.
Andy is a competent home distiller, winning many prizes for his concoctions, so we had to have
a tasting, very pleasant, and retired feeling no pain whatsoever, and the best part, waking up feeling
great! Apparently, the good stuff, brewed correctly, has this result? Bring it On!!!
The ride through to Renwick on Monday was uneventful and easy going, a little disappointing
Through the Buller Gorge being one of our favourite pieces of road, as there were heaps of road works
and one particular erratic driver which meant passing was an unsafe option for Brownie in the lead so
we had a rather slow pootle to Murchison and lunch. The ride through the Wairau valley was as usual,
rather boring, a night spent with my Brother Wally in Renwick and home
Tuesday.
Les 4161
Scurrilous Scribblings
Hi, A common salutation during December and January is that Santa will be or has been kind to you
all, and while that still is my wish it is with a great sense of loss that I have to report the riding on of
our very own Santa, Red Fred.
Several of us were down in Hanmer on the branch's Molesworth Rainbow Run when we got the news
that Fred had passed away. Fred was a new member when he came down on the first of those runs
back in 1999.
Typical Fred, he went down on a GS400 and took the 150 + km gravel route, not the road. That poor
GS rattled itself to a condition that had us worrying about it getting Fred home at all, never mind via
the Rainbow which was his intention. Luckily the weather gods intervened and he was forced to go
back by road.
Fred soon became a regular fixture on charity rides and went from simply wearing a Santa hat, to riding
the 1000 + kms of the MDA rides in full Santa suit and Santa hat stuck over his helmet. If there was a
charitable ride, Fred would be there and over the years he became Santa to many kids and to most of
us.
He was always there to help and the clear indication of that is how as a Wellington member he ended
up being Kapiti Coordinator, to help them out as no one wanted the job. He was still doing the job 7
years later and was still actively assisting members from his hospital bed last year.
Fred was made a life member at the 2011 AGM here in Wellington, an honour he richly deserved, but
something he felt he did not merit. How wrong could he be.
Santa truly was the right name for Fred, as he freely gave anyone who needed it the gift of his time,
effort or advice. Mind you, although the gift of his advice was some times like getting a pair of yellow
paisley socks and a Beatles Classics DVD by Wing from your Gran, his gifts of time and effort were
priceless and unequalled.
It was very pleasing to see so many members turn up at the service, take part in the run and in the wake
at the hotel in Ohingaiti. He will be greatly missed.
Ride safe,
Jimbo
Murray Mentor’s Riding Tips
If you have any comments or questions for Murray Mentor, please forward them via Uncle Les
([email protected] ) or Uncle Jim ([email protected] )
Murray’s Philosophies on the Purpose and Meaning of life….and Riding Bikes!
(Well…some more of them)
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Use your mirrors and turn your head. Be aware of the position of all other traffic. No point in
making a successful panic stop, only to be taken out from behind.
When riding solo, ride in the right hand wheel tracks.
You are most likely to be injured or die on roads that you know well. Familiarity breeds
contempt.
Most accidents occur within 12Kms of leaving home, give your tyres and yourself time to
warm up.
Expect the road surface to change for the worst without warning.
Expect a hazard around each blind corner.
Suspect any driver who looks at the rear-vision mirror, or turns partly to look behind as likely
to change lanes or overtake without signalling.
Expect any slow driver to be lost and about to make a sudden turn or stop in front of you.
Expect any driver of any vehicle with an animal or passenger in it to be distracted and behave
unpredictably at any time.
Expect any driver using a cell phone to be mentally somewhere else.
Expect every vehicle ahead to stop without warning.
Expect the door of any parked vehicle to be opened without warning.
Expect any approaching vehicle to turn across in front of you.
Expect a vehicle to appear from any road or driveway.
Expect every child, with or without a ball, to run onto the road.
Expect every animal to run or wander into your path.
Expect all pedestrians to be blind or deaf.
Trust nothing and no one. That includes all other vehicle drivers and motorcycle riders. Be
prepared
Ride every chance you get.
Interview with Mike Payne # 5899 (The Sheriff)
How long have you been riding bikes?
Ans: I have been riding for 10 years. Prior to that every motorcyclist was a temporary New Zealander
in my books. A mate of mine decided to buy a bike and get his licence so went along with him to give
it a go. I called it a mid life awareness. I got hooked and never looked back.
What bikes have you owned?
Ans: I'm currently riding my 5th bike which is a Kawasaki ZZR1200. My 1st bike was a Kawasaki
ZZR250. I parked next to one in town with the ZZR1200 once and it looked like it had a baby. The
2nd bike was a Suzuki GSX750F Slingshot. It was a great bike but I wanted to get into touring so the
next bike was a Suzuki GSX1100. Unfortunately the 3rd bike turned out to be heavy, cumbersome and
a bit of a pig so I missed bike No.2. From there I went back to Kawasaki and purchased a ZZR1100.
This was another great bike and we did many happy miles on it. Then the opportunity came up to by
the ZZR1200 at a price I couldn't refuse. So far I have clocked up 65000 Kms on it
If you could have any bike you wished, what would it be?
Ans: I love the ZZR1200 and its quirky features. I can't see myself on anything else for a while. In
time I would like something with a more upright riding position. The ZZR is pretty hard on the wrists.
What interested you in Ulysses?
Ans: When I first started riding I was pretty naive and wanted to learn from experienced riders. A
friend of mine was a member so I tagged along to a meeting with him. I was readily accepted into the
group despite riding a ZZR250 and I liked the club logo. My first club ride was a long ride. About 400
Kms. That is a long way on a 250. I was knackered when I got home but I kept coming back.
Do you prefer riding in groups, pairs or singularly?
Ans:All of the above. It is great to to have a riding buddy when doing weekend rides or long distance.
I prefer smaller groups when riding withb groups in general but also enjoy large groups on special
occassions like tghe Ambulance ride.
Do you like:- Rallies? Overnighters? Day rides? Charity rides? Or what else?
Again all of the above. Any reason for a ride has to be good. I haven't been to many rallies but I have
enjoyed the ones that I have been to. I enjoy the overnighters because you get a chance to get to know
other members on a more social level.
OBITUARY
PHILIP BONNETTE (RED FRED AKA SANTA CLAUS)
# 4476
Red died on Jan 21st 2012 a wake was held for him at Ninness Funeral home Porirua
The service was attended by many of Fred’s past friends from all the various walks of
life that Fred chose to tread, radio buffs, campers, boaters, motorcycle side-car club and
of course Ulysses. Several speakers paid tribute to Fred’s life and related some of his many escapades.
There was a large group of bikes to accompany Fred to Ohingaiti for
the wake. Fred was, as we all know a rather unique character, and will be sorely missed
especially by those of us dedicated to the MSD children’s runs, where Fred has been Santa for the last
12 or so years. After an MSD run to Palmerston North several years ago, Fred and I called into
Shannon for a coffee, Fred still dressed as Santa, we were sitting down when a young lass in her
twenties walked in, pulled his beard, “saying
Hello Santa” “oh my god it’s real!” The look of consternation on her face was something
to see and for a moment, as she wandered off she was wondering, maybe, just maybe?
And for the rest of us? Fred was a reason to believe.
Fred was in his 72nd year.
R.I.P.
Les 4167
Some Cuddle photos of Fred/Santa
Photo with Alexia was sweet. Fred asked his usual ‘have you been good?’ then ‘what would
you like?’, to which the response was, “A hug from Santa”. Talk about bring a tear! The girl
could barely whisper the response and unfortunately she died a month before our next visit in
2006.
1 - 2008 MDA Run Santa & Alexia
2 – 2007
3 - 2007
4 – 2008
5 - Collecting for the Food Bank
6 - Molesworth Road
Fred anecdotes (excerpts from old Blogs)
2007 MDA
Now, our man ‘Red Fred’ is not only famous in our parts as the real McCoy Santa, but also as a man in
serious need of a compass swing, and generally requiring guidance on a trip of this magnitude as, in the
past, he has been known to end up in Te Kuiti or even Te Awamutu. To alleviate this problem I nipped
ahead to the Kopaki turnoff to block Fred’s path should he attempt to stay on the main road. Problem
was, Barry, the last rider but Fred to come past, informed me that Fred had decided to stop for a cup-oftea in Bennydale so I thought, “Stuff it!’ he’d been given plenty of coaching…”Don’t go to Te Kuiti!!”
so I joined Barry and headed on to Piopio where I stopped briefly before tackling one of the best rides
in the North Island, the Awakino Gorge and a late lunch at the Awakino Pub.
After a real blast, I arrived first and was set-up to photograph the others as they pulled-in. We ordered
lunch, relaxed and chewed the fat over a cool drink but by the time we were ready to leave, Red Fred
still hadn’t turned-up…..Bugger!! Les went back to Piopio to find him while the rest of us pressed on,
with a warning from other patrons at the pub that a couple of ‘Mufties’ were patrolling around Mt
Messenger. With that in mind we took it easy, sort of, with the added insurance of a ‘Whistler’ at the
front of our group. Another great ride over the ‘Mount’ and we had no sooner come down off it when
who should we pass but….Yep…Santa-in-a-VMax-Side-Car…..Most odd because he certainly hadn’t
passed us whilst we napped and chatted in the beer garden???
We arrived at the Marae in Waitara at 1620 with the day still at a very pleasant ride temperature of 17˚
after it briefly dipped to 15˚ around Taupo. Fred pulled in shortly after and entertained us with his
mini-epic-adventure.
Now, as mentioned earlier, it had been drummed into Santa. “Don’t go to Te Kuiti, we’re gassing in
Piopio” and fortunately he saw the Piopio sign at the Kopaki turn-off…Good-oh!! ….But what we
should have said was, “Turn-off at Kopaki!” because when Fred got to SH4 and he saw a sign pointing
to “Te Kuiti / Hamilton”, he went the other way and turned left, toward Taumaranui…..??? (It didn’t
help that there was no mention of Piopio) Unfortunately he didn’t realise the error of his ways until
after the Aria turn-off, so when he saw ‘40’, he took it, and wound his way through to Matiere where
he stopped to enquire why Piopio was now 50Km north?? After being advised that 40 was the best way
to continue he meandered on to Ohura then enjoyed 13Km of loose gravel over the top and a further
17Km of packed gravel before emerging on SH3 at Ahititi, just north of Mt Messenger. The funniest
part though was when he informed us that he came across five pig hunters, who offered him help when
they found him stopped, but he explained that he had run out of gas and was just going to fill-up from
his jerry can. (The short range of the V-Max and prior experiences ensure that Fred is always
prepared). When he offered them a sweetie from the bag of ‘Magic Flying Dust’ attached to the rear of
his side-car, they declined, but stated that they could really go a cool beer. Well…it just so happened
that Santa was carrying the remains of Herman & Mike’s beer from the night before, so much to the
surprise and delight of the five, Santa reached into his sack and produced a can of Tui each, which the
pighunters promptly downed in unison whilst blocking the road, much to the consternation of the car
that Fred had passed 10 minutes earlier. Remembering the appropriate protocols from their childhood
days, the pighunters didn’t have any Christmas cake for Santa so duly offered him a sandwich before
he departed. At this point we all visualized these fellas in the pub, relating the tale of how, while
minding there own business in the back blocks of rural NZ, parched as an old chamois that hasn’t been
used for a year, on the hottest November day in recorded history, when, all of a sudden Santa turned-up
with a couple of Tuis……..”Yeah right!! …and Santa lives in Whangamomona!!” would be the reply
……and even Les didn’t mind because he got to do the Awakino gorge three times on the Hornet.
2008 MDA
On the sections of the ride where there are no children to see we tend to split up and travel to the next
point in small groups at a pace or with stops as required, so from here it was just a straight run through
to Kennedy Park in Napier. We ended up in a group of four but about half way from Woodville to
Dannevirke a bee slipped just over the top of my screen and splatted against my glasses. I was
extremely lucky not to get stung but it made a huge mess and some goo must have also made it into my
eye, impairing my vision somewhat between the gooed-up lens and irritated eye. We therefore pulled
into the BP in Dannevirke to clean up, then continuing on behind Buzz on his trike, with just a short
pause at Tikokino to find the pub was closed again, so we went straight on to Napier, arriving at 1430,
338Kms done for the day. As the others started to pull in, we found out that Fred had sheared the axle
on his sidecar when hitting a pothole in Dannevirke and, taking his job as Santa very seriously, he had
hired a car and was coming through with the presents, but would be a little late. Also, for the third year
in a row, Steve had punctured his rear tyre just out of Dannevirke and had to get that repaired.
…………………
Once everyone was ready, we headed off to see Jac at Oruanui, a few Kms up and off Poihipi Rd and
though the temp had dropped to 14° on the Napier-Taupo, it was now clear skies and heading into the
20's. Jac was a very timid wee fellow last year but warmed to the invasion of bikers a bit more readily
this year and thought it was odd that Santa would turn up inside 4 wheels. After observing the rental
that Fred was driving he disappeared briefly then returned, thumbing through a magazine and when
Ann asked what he had, he replied “Santa's Car!” revealing a picture of the vehicle...........pretty cool!
…………………….
Sunday dawned another crystal clear day and we were on the road again by 0830 after breakfast,
tidying up and refuelling. I managed to snap a couple of magnificent shots of Mt Taranaki as we got
around our four stops in Bell Block and the Inglewood area and as usual, Jacob turned out to be a hard
case. To get his first lolly, he had to assure Santa that he had been a good boy, but after a grunt from his
mother his response altered slightly to, “yeah I've been good........except for yesterday”. The
pleasantries over, he finally got to open his pressy to which a “Holy Shit!” blurted out when he realised
it was something he wanted. He's a spunky little fella who nearly died of pneumonia earlier in the
year.....and that would have been a real tragedy.
2009 MDA
That done it was back into Taumaranui for more refuels and lunch before continuing up SH4. The
instructions were to take the turnoff to travel along Mokauiti Rd for Aria, then continue on Totoro Rd
to SH3, coming out just before Mahoenui. Sounds easy enough to me!
Ann & I ended up leading Brownie, in between two groups and sat around 110’ish. We passed the first
group as they were checking their ride sheet, probably around Tapuiwahine, then they slotted in behind
us as well. We hit some quite wicked roadworks and I was looking to the right side of the road for the
cluster of signs that would indicate Aria, when we whistled past Ramaroa Rd. They must have removed
the signs whilst doing the roadworks, so we swung around and I sent the others on as I marked the road
for the last four riders (including Santa), who were only a couple of minutes behind.
We followed them for a bit, then shuffled ahead to mark the next corner for them, then slotted in
behind once again as Fred led us onto the gravel and the sidecar soon disappeared out of site while I
reflected, “Hmmmmmm…..there shouldn’t be any gravel on this road?? ….Oh well!! …..at least it was
wet but not greasy and not dusty!!”
We pressed on for a few Km’s until we came across Fred, waiting for us at a Junction and I took the
opportunity to check the map….Drat!, we were on the wrong road so it was back to Aria and try again.
This time I led away and got a little ahead so as we entered Aria I paused until I saw three of the four
headlights come into view before continuing a Km or so up the road to mark the Totoro Rd junction.
We waited a couple of minutes and when there was no show we turned back until we could see the road
was empty back to Aria…..Double Drat!! They could be anywhere so I decided to press on for
Awakino, turned and scarpered!!
With no one in our sights to worry about, I slipped into ‘GC mode’ (Grand Challenge – where a
smooth, but quick pace is maintained to eat the Kms without causing undue pressure or fatigue) and
enjoyed a wee fang across, the previously untravelled-by-me, Totoro Rd and continued at a very brisk
pace through a wet Awakino Gorge. With the bike really loaded up, it still sat like a brick on the wet
roads and we made good time, getting to Awakino at 1702hrs to join the other half of the group. I felt
really guilty about losing Santa and the others but enjoyed a ginger beer anyway and settled down to
wait as Ron & Sue went on to ensure we weren’t locked out of the marae in Waitara. Sometime later,
Mike & Sandy turned up with their own adventurous tale and finally Santa, his Ingratitudinous Elf and
couple of other helpers turned up, wet and a little worse for wear. I knew they were wet by the pool of
water forming around Santa’s boots…and the way his suit seemed to be hanging off his body.
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