Ray and the team from Auckland Harley Davidson have opened a new outlet on Barry's Point Road on the North Shore last week, and cause for some celebration.
To accomodate many of the HOG members who live north of the Bridge, and to support the new store, the decision was made that every alternate ride would leave from there. I was nominated to lead the first ride yesterday, and those hardy souls who arrived prior to departure knew the weather was always going to be an issue, but were all safe in the knowledge that hard arse Harley guys (no girls yesterday) are not made of Brown Sugar. It seemed that those who arrived in wet weather gear (not required up until that point) decided that whilst they may get wet, it would not be cold so stripped it of and packed away. I've been involved with the club since buying a new Road King Classic in 2011, and met a life member, "Spud", for the first time who'd decided to celebrate the opening - you never know who will come out of the woodwork. About 15 lined up for the start which was fabulous considering the weather. Great to see Club Director, Doc, out for a ride with the boys on his birthday. Rather surprisingly the traffic was fairly light, perhaps a "pre-Christmas" sweet spot, most weekend sport having finished, and mad Christmas shopping far from our route. We headed northwards up Highway 16, and managed 30 minutes before the forecast for rain mid afternoon proved all too accurate- and unfortunately the forecast predicted that the rain would become heavier as the afternoon progressed. I anticipated that Jeff, nominated Tail End Charlie for the day, might have to deal with the odd rain related incident, but Lady Luck smiled on us, perhaps "Fortune Favouring the Brave", or maybe just dumb luck! Even the "greasy when wet" route along Wockcocks Road posed no dramas. After arriving at the Puhoi Pub, dampish rather than wet, we witnessed the weather deteriorate fairly quickly knowing that the ride to our respective homes was going to be very wet. That being the case we were happy to stay a bit longer than usual, hopeful that the rain may stop, entertained by a group of pretty schickered women on a pub crawl, T shirts emblazoned with the statement that ugly men need not apply - we took it in good humour! These girls were taking the day seriously, complete with mini van and a driver with a cap - and it was apparent that he had a hard day ahead of him. Eventually accepting the inevitable, we drifted off in small groups, Nev taking the time to wipe the water from his seat (a forelorn gesture I thought, although perhaps better than sitting in a puddle). The rain increased from that point onwards, progressing through the stages, visibility fairly average, ever mindful of stopping distances and drivers prone to erratic lane changes, but eventually home safe, hot shower front of mind. A wet ride is better than no ride! Comments are closed.
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Don MalcolmA perfect day involves being on my Harley with a long ride ahead.
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