Day Eight (Saturday 27 November)

This day will be the Bream Bay ride and I think there is a show too where bikes and cars will be displayed. I have never been to it so it will be something new. But with Fridays acident still very fresh in my mind I am not sure how I will take riding in the group, and if I even will do it? We will find out.

Here the Bream Bay ride and show info:

Bream Bay Community Support Trust
White Ribbon Motorcycle & Classic Car Rally

Powhiri (welcome) at Bream Bay Support Trust 1pm, Takutai Place Ruakaka. November 26 2010
Departs : from Bream Bay Trust for Mangawhai Domain 10:30am Saturday 27 November
Arrive : Back at Bream Trust 1pm for prizes and entertainment.
Entry Fee: Food Vouchers or Non Perishable food – all proceeds to Womens Refuge.

• This is an alcohol & drug free event
• No patches to be worn
• All bikes welcome
• Cars must be classic in origin /Hot Rod/or Modified
• Spot Prizes on the day for registered bikes & cars.
• Police Dog Display
• AOS Display
• Fire Brigade Display
• Harley Rides / Hot Rod Rides
• Food stalls
• Stand up comics
• Air Brush Display & much more

This is written on Tuesday 30 November from home. I have now had time to catch up on all the things that were left waiting while I went out riding.

So to Saturday 27 (Day Eight).

This was a relaxed morning. Nobody woke us up at 5am. We actually were able to climb out of bed our self. Brekfast and ready to ride at 8am. But we rode back to the site for the days show at 10am. When we got there it was already hot and sunny. The stage was setup and had a big poster of Jack The Muss from the"What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted" movie.

There was a little wait and more bikes turned up. I counted 100 bikes. We then had a brief and went for todays ride. It was not going to be a long one. Just to another White Ribbon event and back. We rode the backroads of below Whangarei and ended up at Mangawhai. Again we, the bikers, were the main attraction and some of the Patriots and Super Maori Fullas stepped up speak and challenge all to carry the ribbon for the whole year.

In New Zealand the bikes are for riding. Any customising is often to make the bike to handle better and so very seldom do we see any "real" customs (OK, you might see the American imported "customs", but I do not count them). Therefore any bikes that have that personal touch and is not put together by over the counter bits will stand out. Here one:

I refused any more bread and sausages and went for a icecream and a softdrink. There was a selection of prices given out and Raz got the one for the highest Apehangers. We stayed for approx an hour and then rode back.

As we turned up at the Beam Bay site things started to slowly happen there. Now there was slide and cars for the kids, performers on the stage and competitions going on. I had been given a ticket for a draw, but did not check it at I did not feel I was there to win but to promote the White Ribbon message and also part of the setup. There was not that much to do as all was in place, so I took my paper, a V can from my K1 (that I must say had been performing brilliantly for the whole ride and apart from the small clutch issue in Wellington nothing)

and I headed in to the shade under a tree at the further away side of the whole thing. I was happily sitting there reading my first paper in a week, drinking my can of V and eating allsorts and occasionally watchin the kids driving the small cars and hearing the adults telling them not to crash.

This was when the firebrigade started their demonstration. I must say I felt sorry for the guys dressed in all that heavy gear in the hot sun, but I suppose it is part of the job. Then they took out the "jaws of life" and in a few seconds chopped off the roof of a car and then the front seat. What an awsome tool!

As they started winding down their show I noticed that some of the White Ribbon Riders were taking kids and adults for rides around the footy field. There was a long line of hopefuls and four bikes doing the rides. I decided that there would be some that did not care if mine was not a HD, they would happily come for a ride. So I got the K1 and joined up. After 1/2 hour of rides and noticing that the same kids would get back in line and no new faces turning up, we closed the show. At that stage we had also taken a bride and groom plus bridesmates for a ride (there was a wedding happening at the rugby club). They were so happy with the additional bit to their wedding that they provided us with a big plate of seafood that had everything you could ask for, and some more. After finishing all that some decided it was time for a little siesta.

By now the festivities had started to wind down and the only thing left was the auction of stuff to create some funds. We decided this was the time we had completed all our duties and a cold one was what was needed. We took our bikes and were guided to the local where we sat in the garden bar relaxing and talking about the week gone.

The two female riders



Then we were guided back to the camp (it is a well hidden secret and even if I had been there for the night I would have struggled to find the place again) by two female riders who knew how to handle their bikes!

We took a different route to the one last used and passed by a yellow sand beach where the road went between the houses and the beach. I decided this would be a perfect place to retire!

Back at the camp it soon was dinner time and the ladies again blew me away with their cooking skills. As I knew that many were leaving this evening and others early in the morning, I spoke to the Patriots asking them if this was not the time to hold the "thank you" speeches. Clearly they agreed as soon after this happened. I stood up on behalf of all the support riders and thanked The Super Maori Fullas for their passion and commitment to the cause, the Patriots for keeping us safe on the road, all my fellow support riders and also the hundred of people I had met o the road who had provided food, places to stay, encouragement and support. (I told everyone I would steal a minute of their time, but when I sat back down I was told that I still had 15 seconds left. considering that I can hold 5 hour monologues I did bloody well...)

Stacey the truck driver and a 9yo boy who liked me as I had promised he could use my laptop to stp him being bored and allow him to get on the net.

There was not much to do anymore. The Patriots had decided they would visit the local RSA but I did not really feel that it was where I wanted to go. And to my surprise neither did many others. So one of the trucks tailgate was made to become a makeshift table we could hang of, and some beers magically appeared. we spent until approx just after midnight sorting all the worlds problems until I decide it was time to call it a night.

It was a nice way to wind down and relax in the company of riders I had spent a week together with.

Todays riding was less than 100k.