1

BRANCH COORDINATOR

Kelvin Watson Ph; 577 6822

143B Maxwell Road, Blenheim 7201

Email; Marlborough@ulysses.org.nz

VICE COORDINATOR

Gisela Schulze Ph; 578 1618

SECRETARY

Melissa Wills Ph. 579 2363 94 Howick Road, Blenheim 7201 Email: marlborough.sec@ulysses.org.nz TREASURER Kevin Bright Ph; 572 8588 COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Jock Woodley Ph, 579 5554

Evan Teale Ph. (03) 9720481

John & Jane Laing Ph. 577 6663

Tom Brown Ph, 579 3106

Joan Robinson Ph; 027 2904352

Tim Wills Ph, 579 2363

Jeff Champion Ph; 577 9399

RIDES COORDINATOR (Sunday rides) Tom Brown Ph; 579 3106 Jock Woodley Ph; 579 5554 WELFARE OFFICER; Chris Donaldson Ph; 574 2421 Email; donaldsons@gmail.com RETREADS RIDES (Thursday rides) John Sinclair Ph; 578 7110 Grant Johnson Ph; 578 0901 BRANCH SHERIFF

Jock Woodley Ph; 579 5554

Email; jockow@xtra.co.nz

BRANCH QUARTERMASTER (Ulysses Gear Orders) Joan Robinson Ph; 027 2904352

BRANCH HISTORIAN Jane Laing Ph. 577 6663 COMMUNITY NOTICES ORGANISER

Evan Teale Ph. 578 7323

WEBMASTER Bob Marks Ph, 574 1177 Email; marksy@ihug.co.nz Branch Web Page: www.ulysses.org.nz/marlborough BRANCH RIDER MENTORS Chris de Wagt Ph. 577 7238 Kevin Bright Ph. 572 8588 NEWSLETTER EDITOR Jane Laing Ph.577 6663 Email; johnlaing.mt@xtra.co.nz Post; 75A Weld Street, Blenheim 7201

Refer all membership enquiries to the

Coordinator or a Committee member

Monthly newsletter of the MARLBOROUGH BRANCH, Ulysses Club of NZ Inc.

The Beavertown News December 2017

from your Branch Committee….

We hope you have a safe and happy holiday season!

2

Ulysses Members

Trades Directory

You can advertise your business in this publication for $75 per year (12 Adverts - Business Card Size)

Contact: Jane; Ph. 577 6663 OR Kelvin, Ph. 577 6822 for further information

Max Lichtnecker 0274 321 449

or 03 578 1331

Box 938

BLENHEIM

3

Once again I have to start this report with sad news . As we all know by now John King#958 passed away recently, and I must acknowledge here all the things he has done for the club. I was unfortunately not able to attend the funeral and my thanks go to Don Best for reading the obituary I had prepared. I understand that a good number of mem-bers were able to farewell John and many good things were said.

Nelson ‘s branch coordinator Terry Reynolds died after a work place accident in the last few weeks as well.

On a much happier note our Branch had two successful events held over Marlborough Anniversary weekend. First up 7 members went on the Twin Pass ride, overnighting at Hanmer & Blackball. There should be a report elsewhere in this magazine from someone who attended. The other event was our double over-nighter to Pohara in the Golden Bay staying at the Top 10 camp mostly. There is a report further on in the magazine.

Julia and I will be away in Brisbane visiting family when this magazine comes out however we will be back on Dec 11, just in time for our Xmas Party that Gisela & Julia are busy organizing.

Thanks goes to Tim & Melissa for organizing our Toy Run this year too, and I would also like to acknowledge all the committee members, and the organisers of the retread rides for their help over the year in the smooth running of our club, it’s been a good year.

Our Back To Basics Rally in February is coming up fast now. Registrations are starting to roll in with 13 so far. It would be great to have a good turnout of local members to come & support Tim & The Procrastinators who will be performing for our entertainment on the Saturday night. I know Tim had to buy a new amplifier after blowing his old one up with a little too much volume. So all you local members bring your mobile home, caravan, tent, camp stretcher or blowup mattress & sleep in the woolshed for a great nights entertainment.

I bet everyone is looking forward to SH1 being opened in the middle December. No doubt it will be rather rough in places with road works & Stop/Go to contend with.

Our Marlborough Ulysses Retreads group seem to have had a year full of many laughs and much mud slinging, a formula that works very well along a ride and lunch , who could ask for more?

I personally am ashamed to admit that I haven’t been on a Sunday ride for ages, however Tom manages to keep them going so hopefully they are doing OK as well.

The National Bike Raffle tickets will be available after 25th December. $10 a ticket or $50 for a book.

Don’t forget all those memberships that need renewing before the end of the year need to be done too.

Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to you all. “Till Next Time” Kelvin #3602

Coordinators word...

DISCLAIMER; While contributions and adverts are welcome, no responsibility can be accepted regarding claims or statements made by

members or advertisers in respect of products or services offered. The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Committee, but are those of the writer/s. The Editor reserves the right to edit, abridge or decline some contributions.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!…. December 2017

Wayne Brock

Jeff Champion

Chris Donaldson

Dave Gill

Harry Harrington

Barry Hawker

Jane Laing

Bob Marks

Danny McGowan

Joan Robinson

Derek Stripling

Allan Wooton

O.K. FOLKS…

We need someone to fill in for Joan as our

Branch Quartermaster/mistress, while she is overseas for

the next few months

CAN YOU HELP with this?

It would be very much appreciated if someone would put

their hand up to fill the vacancy.

4

5

Remember…. The DEADLINE for the next newsletter is 20th December

MINUTES of the last Committee meeting...

Meeting 2nd November 2017 McDonalds, Main Street, Blenheim. Meeting started: 7pm Attendees: Kelvin Watson, Gisela Schulze, John Laing, Tom Brown, Kevin Bright, Jane Laing, Joan Robinson, Evan Teale, Tim Wills, Melissa Wills.

Apologies: Jock Woodley. Joan Robinson moved Tim Wills seconded.

Minutes of previous meeting: True and accurate record John Laing moved Tom Brown seconded. Matters arising: Kevin said the MTF account for adver-tising in our monthly magazine has not been paid for yet. Jane Laing said that we need another member profile for January (newsletter). Inwards correspondence. Outwards correspondence: Tom Brown and Jock Woodley are keen to be mentors for the club. Jane Laing said that IAM is Nelson based. Kevin Bright said there is a CBTA standard that could be used for training to be a mentor for the Ulysses club. Kelvin Watson is going to email Jim F about this.

Treasurer’s report: Investment & Cheque accounts bal-ance with statement. Accounts for payment. $29.68 for Christmas cake and $63.25 for Christmas party. Newsletter expenses $59.95 for address labels. Cheques written for these. Joan Rob-inson moved Tom Brown seconded. General business: John Kings Funeral: Tim Wills said It went well, lots of people got up and spoke about John’s life, there was a good turnout. About 30 Ulysses members attended, 10 on their bikes. Double overnighter Pohara: Kelvin Watson said 21 members attended and had a great weekend. Had a ride out to farewell spit and Collingwood. Tom Brown said there is a Museum there worth looking through called Sanctors which we can ring and book to go through may-be next year. Twin Pass Ride: Tom Brown and Gisela Schulze said 8 riders attended, the ride through Arthurs pass was nice. Blackball was great nice meals treated like royalty. Had a stop at the Pyke river memorial. Good ride home trav-elled 900 kms. John King Memorial Ride (19 Nov): Jane Laing said that we are having a BBQ lunch and the Wairau Tavern is going to lend the BBQ for this, we will supply the meat. Tim Wills said Rod King may come up for this ride. Tim Wills will help Jane Laing cook the food. The Committee has agreed to pay for the food.

Toy Run: Jane Laing has ordered 90 badges for this; Jane Laing is going to contact the Salvation Army to or-ganise the BBQ etc. Tim Wills is going to organise the speaker phone for this. Jane Laing is going to contact the Sun newspaper. We still need to contact the mayor. Christmas party: Gisela Schulze reported the food and Christmas decorations have been sorted out for this. Budget for the food was discussed and agreed to. Kaituna Rally: Kelvin Watson said 13 people have regis-tered so far for this rally. Kelvin is going to bring the Rally forms out to the coffee mornings. Branch AGM (Feb 2018): Kelvin Watson is going to book the Redwoodtown Community Hall for Thursday the 15th February. Other matters discussed: Jane Laing represented the Blenheim branch Ulysses at Terry Reynolds funeral in Nelson. Gisela Schulze is going to order the Charity Ride vests with the logo early next year. Gisela asked if she could have a budget of $600 for the food for the Christmas party. Jane Laing moved Tom Brown seconded. The runs co-ordinater badge has been given to Tom Brown. Jane Laing discussed that maybe we could have a local Marlborough Remembrance Service here in Blenheim. (we will discuss this at the AGM next year). Jane Laing said the Ulysses high vis vests are still the same price. We are looking for a Quarter mistress/master to fill in for Joan Robinson while she is in Australia. Joan Robinson will be away from December till Mid-March so she puts her Apologies in. Meeting closed at 8.04pm by Kelvin Watson. Next meeting will be at 7pm on 7th December 2017 at McDonalds, Main Street, Blenheim.

6

If you would like to purchase any item of

Ulysses Gear, check out

the Gear on the Ulysses NZ website,

www.ulysses.org.nz

and make a note of what you want.

Then get in touch with me to order.-

That way you don’t have to pay the freight.

WE NEED A NEW QUARTERMASTER TO

FILL IN WHILE JOAN IS AWAY FOR THE

NEXT 2-3 months

If you can help, please contact Kelvin or Joan.

Joan Robinson

Branch Quartermistress.

Joan’s contact phone # 027 2904352

Joan’s email : cretebunny@hotmail.com

ULYSSES GEAR

Full Mechanical Service!

Looking a�er your

motorcycling needs.

Ulysses Members receive a 10% discount*on most Items.

At Both Autocare & Motocare *some condi�ons apply*

Wayne Brock 2929 (Owner). 5 Freswick Street, Blenheim 7201

Ph: 03 578 2542. Mobile: 021 370 745 Email: autocare@brock.net.nz

Fairweathers Saturday, 18 November

The pictures tell most of the story—another good evening out with

Ulysses friends. Thanks Tim and

Melissa for organising this one.

Good food, a few drinks and lots of

laughs—what more could we ask for. GOOD STUFF!!

MID MONTH DINNER

7

8

MEMBER PROFILE: Meet Tim Wills #9600 Tim is married to Melissa (#8852), they have two children (we’ve had the pleasure of meeting Katie at some of our mid-month dinners) and he works at Til Freighting. Tim what first sparked your interest in Motorbikes?. When i was very young one of my friends Dad had a Harley with straight pipes, - I liked the sound and look of it. Also I rode my friends Benallie 50 when I was 9 years old and was hooked since then. What was the first bike you owned? A Yamaha TY50 Trial bike Other bikes you’ve owned since then? Yamaha DT100 - Honda XL250 - Honda XR250 - Honda Rebel 250 - Honda CBX 400 supersport - Honda CB 750 - Honda XR 185 - Suzuki GN250 - Suzuki DRZ400 - 2 x Harley sportsters - Harley wide glide & Harley Fatboy. What are you riding now? A Harley Davidson Fatboy In an ideal world, what would be your ‘dream machine’? My Harley Davidson Fatboy Any memorable moments/trips you can share with the readers? A few years back John King and I were having a couple of beers watching Top Gear when we came up with a challenge for ourselves find a bike and resurrect it for the Brass Monkey Rally. We found a Honda CX500 in the back of John's shed and with minimal work the CX was on the road and with no time to test it, we were off. With a fuel stop in Kaikoura and many packs of oil later we made it as far as Waipara where the CX decided it had had enough and blew up. With a lot of help from friends and other helpful motorcyclists we made it to the Brass (minus the CX), where John sold the CX500 for a profit and the new owner even picked it up from Waipara! A long pillion ride home in one day. What a awesome weekend! Any funny stories? Too many to list…. What brought you to join the Ulysses Club? What do you like about it? Me getting older and the great friends and the events that the Ulysses do. THANK YOU TIM!

Irish Divorce

The mother-in-law arrives home from shopping to find her son-in-law, Paddy in a steaming rage and hurriedly

packing his suitcase.

"What happened Paddy?" she asks anxiously. "What happened? I'll tell you what happened! I sent an email to my wife telling her I was coming home today from my fishing trip. I get home ... and guess what I

found? Your daughter, my wife, Jean, naked with Joe Murphy in our marital bed! This is unforgivable! The end

of our marriage. I'm done. I'm leaving forever!"

"Ah now, calm down, calm down Paddy!" says his mother-in-law. "There is something very odd going on here. Jean would never do such a thing! There must be a

simple explanation. I'll go speak to her immediately and find out what happened."

Moments later, the mother-in-law comes back with a big

smile.

"Paddy, there, I told you it must be a simple explanation.............She never got your email!"

9

Eat Drink and be Merry at our Branch

CHRISTMAS PARTYCHRISTMAS PARTY

Sunday 17 December

4pm

NEW VENUE—Brooklyn Bowling Club

(off Brooklyn Drive)

Please Bring;

Gold coin for the raffle.

Money for drinks at

the Bar.

An Outdoor Chair.

A Dessert to share.

A $5 gift for the

Santa Sack.

PLEASE DON’T Bring

your own drinks.

Our new venue comes with a great

kitchen for the Chef’s. A very

comfortable seating area inside.

There is a Bar and a Bar Person, -

the drinks are very

reasonably priced.

For catering purposes, please RSVP on or before

10 December to Julia Watson (577 6822 )

or Gisela Schulze (578 1618)

Your Club will

provide

Lucky Number.

Raffle Prizes

Delicious Meal—

New Potatoes

Tasty Salads

Garlic Bread

Fantastic meats

There will be a Bar

operating at

the venue.

10

VINES VILLAGE Arse Up!

This is strictly speaking, not a tale of Thursday goings on but nevertheless is still a Marlborough Ulysses one.

I pulled up at the Vines Village for coffee one Saturday morning and was followed soon after by Peter Unger. He positioned his bike despite Bob McCrindle positioning a red cone in front of it. Then things turned bad. Peter dropped the clutch - leaped forward in surprise - hit my front wheel then continued to scribe a clockwise circle back to where he hadn't left his bike in neutral. He found neutral this time but not the side stand. The bike went down jamming poor Peter hard up against my bike with his on top. Boy what an entrance!!

I leaped in to help lift it off him only to be sworn at in German, - as it turned out I had one boot on Peter's hand whilst lifting his bike off him. Some people are never satisfied.

Now when we all gathered our wits and dusted Peter off (he was OK thank goodness) I looked around for any collateral damage and sure enough, my helmet was on the ground, not hanging on the mirror where it had been left. I picked it up and couldn't believe my eyes. I'd fitted a brand new visor last Thursday and here it was with a great big ugly scratch top to bottom. Oh shit!!!

Over coffee Dave Jackson told me that Rain-Ex can sort of fill scratches and make them invisible, so when we’d finished, I followed him into town to see if Wayne Brock at MotoCare had any of this magic stuff.

I had to leave Dave along Old Renwick Road as he found the company of the driver of our local red police car more appealing than mine. He can tell you that story............

I found Wayne at his premises in Freswick Street, he didn't have any Rain-Ex but he had a look at my shiny new visor anyway. Hmmmm. He huffed on the scratch then wiped it with a rag and voila - no scratch.

So folks, next time you scratch your visor, go see Wayne Brock. he's the magic one.

Here endeth a highly entertaining Saturday morning coffee that shows that Lady Luck is sometimes still alive and well and just occasionally, Murphy keeps his distance.

Cheers, John Sinclair #9272

ABOVE: Peter Unger—before he spat

the dummy!

ABOVE: John Sinclair—note

the Helmet hanging on the

handlebar!!!

11

BITS AND BOBS

OUR BRANCH Annual General Meeting

The date has been set, for 15 Feb 2018. The nomination form is in this newsletter, page 18.

is it time for you to take a turn on our Committee? -

here is your opportunity!

Check out the notice on Page 18

Only 3 weeks till our Branch

CHRISTMAS PARTYCHRISTMAS PARTYCHRISTMAS PARTY

On 17 December ‘17

At Brooklyn Bowling Club

The preparation is in full swing and well under

control. Thanks to Julia,

Gisela and Ann for a

great

teamwork.

Reservation by

10/12/17

Julia Watson phone

5776822

Gisela Schulze phone 5781618 or text me on 0273882591

PHONE NOW!!!!

See further details on page 9—this newsletter.

REMEMBER…..REMEMBER…..REMEMBER…..

To get your registration for our Kaituna ‘Back to Basics’ Rally in now.

23-25 Feb 2018

Paul and Muff Newton can only feed a certain num-ber in the shearing shed—so numbers are limited.

And if you only want to join us for the Saturday evening dinner—you still need to register and pay.

Don’t miss out— get your registration in to Kelvin today!

Pohara Double Overnighter. Saturday 28th October was a magnificent day for our annual pilgrimage over to Pohara in Golden Bay for our double overnighter. When everyone reported in we counted 21 people, a great turnout for some disgraceful behavior. Doesn’t seem to be as disgraceful as it used to be for some reason, but what goes on tour stays on tour. Sufficient to say there was no pole dancing even though we had an unexpected visit from Maurice who was staying in the camp There was a mixture of bikes & cars making the journey. Alistair & Julie from Kaikoura made the trip round the long way as SH1 is still closed. It was good to have a catch up with them. We also had a couple of “ Pohara Virgins” who thoroughly enjoyed them-selves. They are looking forward to next year already. A little light rain and mist on the Sunday didn’t stop a group of us weather hardened bikers going up to Farwell Spit & back to Collingwood in cars for

lunch ,however I have to report that there were some who did go on bikes, We were disappointed to find The Rosy Glow Chocolate place closed down for good. We always enjoyed the decadent chocolates from there in the past. Carrying on back to the camp where the odd old person had a “Nana Nap” be-fore we enjoyed a communal happy 2 hours & a Bar-B-Que dinner, more happy hours & laughter before turning in for the night. Monday morning we woke up to a little drizzly rain. Not good for those on bikes. But by the time we got to Upper Takaka & over the hill it was dry & the further we went the better the weather. Bev, Dave, Julia & I stopped at Mrs Smiths Café at Riwaka for breakfast on the way home. We can thoroughly recommend it as a place to stop. Some of us have already booked our accomodatiuon for next year so we don’t miss out on a great weekend. Just talk to anyone who has been to find out all about it. Kelvin Watson #3602.

ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND Ride 1.

12

Local company, local people, Kiwi owned.

13

With kind permission of the owners, Paul & Muff Newton.

DATE: Friday to Sunday 23th – 25th February 2018, Rally opens Friday 3pm, closes Sun 2pm All participants MUST register, see Marlborough Branch Web Site for Registration Form.

DIRECTIONS: End of Readers Road approx 3 km south of Havelock.

RALLY MARSHALS: Kelvin Watson. Tim & Melissa Wills. Kiley Boddington.

ACCOMODATION: Limited floor space in woolshed, first in best posie, need to bring air bed, sleeping bag.

Motor homes, caravans or tin tops are welcome.

TENT SITES: lovely sites available near Kaituna river or closer to woolshed, your choice.

COSTS: $30 per person which includes Saturday night dinner . Tea and Coffee available free all weekend.

BYO food for Friday night and breakfasts -.

DRINKS: BYO, no rubbish to be left on site please.

GENERAL: This is a great opportunity for older & newer members to enjoy the way it used to be, back to

basics at an affordable cost. Usual Friday & Saturday Nights Entertainment. Fun Gymkana will be held on

Saturday afternoon. Raffle Saturday Night. A performance by Tim Wills & The Procrastinators Band will be

something to look forward to.

Limited numbers so PLEASE REGISTER EARLY. Don’t miss out!

REGISTRATION: Closing date for registration is SATURDAY 18th FEBRUARY, No late entries accepted.

NOTE: Numbers are limited, registrations will close earlier if maximum number is reached before 18th Feb.

REGISTRATION FORM (must be completed by all participants)

NAME……………………………………………………Ulysses No;…………………

PILLION:…………………………………… E/MAIL ADDRESS; …………………………………………

PHONE No;………………………….

NUMBER ATTENDING? X $ 30each =. Cheque enclosed

Internet Banking A/c 03-0599-0311074-00 Use “Rally 2018” as Reference.

Post to Ulysses Marlborough Branch c/o Kelvin Watson, 143B Maxwell Rd, Blenheim. 7201.

Registration closes Sunday 18th February 2018. No late entries accepted.

INDEMNITY : I agree to hold the organisers blameless for any injury or accidental damage while

attending or travelling to and from this event.

SIGNED. …………………………………………..

MARLBOROUGH BRANCH

The Ulysses Club of NZ Inc.

invites you to the

KAITUNA RIDGES

" BACK to BASICS RALLY"

HAVELOCK 2018

14

RETREADS RIDE REPORTS

SUNDAY RIDES with Tom #5314 November 5th Lunch ride to Rhubarb cafe Only two riders turned up. My bike was out of action so I suggested they just go to the Forresters cafe at Rai. I had no report to how the ride went.

Nov 12th Ride to Clarence bridge and back to Ward. 8 riders at the station, we headed off. Just before Ward there was a detour. Down to near the Ward beach around the back of the school and back out to the main road opposite the cafe. A catch up at Kekerengu and two riders headed back for home. Then we went on to Clarence a brief stop then back to Ward. There is a fine here sheriff, - Gill did not fuel up before leaving home. So he did not have enough fuel to go to Clarence and back home. At Ward we sat outside in the sunshine munching our lunch. Then it was time to go. It was a nice day out as any day out on the bike is.

19th Nov. John King Memorial Ride

It was a beautiful day for this event. I arrived at the station to see large

group of motorcycles. 20++ bikes and several cars. I was in my tin top, it was

just great to see the large group of bikes heading up the Wairau Valley.

Arrived at the Pub to find John Laing

slaving over a hot BBQ and Jane sorting out everything else.

First order was get a beer then start attacking the

Barbeque food. Kelvin gave a speech of John King’s history in the club - over 27yrs of membership.

Thank you Jane and John for arranging this event and the BBQ. And thank you Dave, the publican at Wairau Valley Tavern, for having us and giving us the use of the BBQ

for the event.

19th October 2017 – Pelorus Bridge Café. At long last a day to remember weather wise. The sun warming things up very nicely, cloudless skies and just a wee zephyr of a breeze, the perfect day for a bike ride.

Rocked up to Brayshaw Park around 10-50am to be greet-ed with the sight of motor bikes & their riders & passengers everywhere. The carpark was a real hub of activity and Murray, our fill in trip leader today in the absence of both JG & the Doc, looked like a stunned mullet as he was run-ning around getting everybody’s name so he could give the staff at the Café an indication of the numbers about to de-scend upon them. Being the old hand he is, it didn’t take him long to get a grip of himself and right on the dot of 11am he gave his little welcoming speech to the assem-bled masses & then handed over to our Branch Coordina-tor, Kelvin, to say a few words and then we were on our way.

Today’s attendees included Brian Pearce, Lindsay Lear-month, Allan Edgar, Graham Check, Lou Jowers, Don Best, Ray Beard, Iain MacDonald, Peter Beckett, Stuart & Bev Paul, Kelvin & Julia Watson, Graham Howarth, Terry Molony, Peter Nelson, John Hadfield, Chris Donaldson, Dave Jackson, Peter Unger, Joan Robinson, Murray Brooks and me. We were joined by Rod Curtis who made the trip over the hill from Nelson to join us today.

The ride out was most enjoyable and all too soon we had arrived at our destination. After ordering our meals we seated ourselves outside to enjoy the beautiful spring day and the scenery, the Café is certainly located in an idyllic setting. Half way through my meal I started to panic a bit. Our group was fairly well spread out so I couldn’t get any juicy bits to report. To make matters worse they were all extremely well behaved with little or none of the raucous laughter we normally get each week. At first I thought it was something in the Pelorus waters causing everyone to be rather circumspect and then it dawned on me – no JG & no Doc to egg on their normal accomplice, Peter Unger today!

15

Joan Robinson was seated at our table today and I was rather impressed with an idea she has come up with and would like to implement. Her dream is to own a House Truck and a suitable trailer to hold her bike and a few other toys, rent out her house, and hit the road. She has a clear picture in her mind of how the House Truck should look, leaden framed stained glass windows, wooden construc-tion, pot-bellied stove/heater and chimney stack. I guess more akin to a gypsy and/or hippy style we occasionally see and admire on the roads. Go for it Joan!

After a very pleasant and, I might add, peaceful luncheon it was time to hit the road and head for home, albeit in a roundabout way to prolong today’s ride and bask in the lovely weather. Bob #8033

Brick Oven, Rai Valley, 26.10.17 Have you ever wondered about fairness? If you’re looking for that then give the Retreads a big miss. See what hap-pened was that on the Wednesday afternoon at 2.17 pre-cisely I emailed our delightful secretary, Melissa with the plan for today. But there was no note about our ride on the group email that evening. Instead Melissa emailed me and questioned what was happening on Thursday. I didn’t see this until 0630 on Thursday so resent the message straight away and Melissa was kind enough to spread the good word immediately. So, if you ever find that email in cyber-space, please send it back as it’s up there somewhere. At Brayshaw Park, just as I’d called our Merry Mob together (and that’s like shovelling water!) troublemaker Bob McCrindle said he wanted to make an announcement. He promptly told the group that JG had failed in his duty as organist and as a punishment, I was to write 100 lines say-ing, “Remember to press the send button.” A vote was tak-en and my one dissenting vote was overwhelmed by an otherwise unanimous and noisy response supporting the punishment. Hence the comment about fairness.

Photo: Our Merry Mob admiring Louise’s tri-coloured icecream. Those supporting the motion were Allan Edgar, Peter Un-ger, Terry Malone, Lou Jowers, Lindsay Learmonth, Peter Beckett, Stuart Paul, Evan Teale, John Hadfield,Brian & Louise Pierce, Derrick Strippling, Ray Beard, Peter Nelson, Bob McCrindle, Allan Graham, Dave Jackson and as ex-plained JG was against. So we had a total of 18 and then at The Brick Oven we met up with Don Best who was en route to Nelson by tintop. Prior to leaving town I was further abused for getting the weather forecast wrong but when we arrived at Rai and my

predicted fine weather was there in bucket loads – not one comment or apology was made. More fairness! Lou was wearing new progressive glasses today and it was their first time on the bike. At the Wairau Bridge Lou com-mented to me that his helmet was squeezing the glasses upwards and he couldn’t see a thing through the close work bottom of the lenses. So how was it Lou that you were una-ble to read either your speedo or the rev counter? As lead-er you ensured the group made astonishingly good time........... Evan and Margaret have just returned from dancing their way right around Australia. Evan had lost a lot of condition and was looking to a Rai pie to address his weight loss. Whilst in Aussie, Evan’s Barber Shop Quartet took out a Gold Trophy! Congratulations mate. There are so many hidden talents in our club – just not fairness. Sadly, Evan’s mum passed away two days after their return but hey, she was 100+ and that’s a great effort. Our condo-lences go to Evan and Margaret. And one final note. In the ride brief I warned our Merry Mob not to park too close to Peter U. I was asked to explain why and was able to say that, as you will read elsewhere in this fine journal, Pete made a grand entrance at The Vines re-cently and firstly crashed into my bike then on his second attempt at parking arsed up beside it. Retreads everywhere and nobody got a photo. It would have been a cracker with Pete wearing a BMW cylinder in his groin whilst simultane-ously breast feeding his handlebars and wearing one of my footpegs in the middle of his back. And you know what? After giving me 100 lines and a good telling off, Bob McCrindle sidled up to me at Rai and asked if I could possibly write today’s report because he was too busy. Fairness – ask yourself. Dunno why I bother. But wouldn’t miss it for anything! Cheers, JG # 9272

9 November; SHORT-RIDE REPORT

Those who elected not to go so far afield decided to pop in, or drop in, to the Slip Inn, there to tuck in to what they could fit in. As the more ebullient members of our group had gone the long way, (I say, that’s a bit unfair – Bob) our reserved and genteel sub-group enjoyed a tranquil meal in the peaceful surroundings of the Havelock harbour. The only ripple was a comparison of my meal with the preferred op-tions of our learned doctorio – it was not small! (For a skin-ny racing sardine Pete can certainly put away a feed – JG) The conversation largely dealt with the various merits of housetrucks, camper vans, caravans, camping grounds and other such forms of accommodation.

RETREADS RIDE REPORTS

16

Partaking were Kelvin Watson, Evan and Margaret Teale, Terry Moloney, Joan Robinson, Don Best, Barry Hope, Geoff Eales, Derek Stripling and yours truly Peter (once known as “P J” but that has fallen away lately) Nelson.

Peter Nelson, or P J, # 7468

9th November 2017 – Beach Café, Tahunanui.

What a difference a day can make, howling gales, rain and even some snow yesterday, a bright sunny day today. Be-ing such a great day two rides were organised for today. For those who wanted a longer ride the Beach Café at Tahunanui was the destination with various options availa-ble for the ride home and a departure time of 10-30am from Brayshaw Park. OR a shorter ride departing at 11am from Brayshaw Park. I opted for the longer ride with the intention of continuing around the block after lunch.

Arrived at Brayshaw Park at 10-25am after having a minor mechanical issue before leaving home, however it was not serious and after a quick referral to the bike’s manual, the problem was solved. As they say, when all else fails, read the bloody instructions! Today’s participants for the longer ride today included Peter Unger, John Hadfield, Dave Jack-son, Chris and Suzanne Donaldson, new man Steve Ginders, Graeme Howarth, John Sinclair and me.

We left Brayshaw Park just after 10.30am and opted to go via Dog Point Road to our first catch up stop at the layby just before the Wairau Bridge. Our second stop for those with dubious bladders, was at Rai Valley, and then it was up and at it for the fun part of the ride over the Whanga-moa’s with our final catch up scheduled for around the 50km sign as you come into Nelson so we could all ride together in convoy to the Café. The road works towards the Nelson end of the Whangamoa’s were a bit of a pain in the ass, but the road surface will be pretty good once they fin-ish, which shouldn’t be too far away as they were laying new seal today.

I had never been to this Café before, in fact I didn’t know it existed and I must confess I was pleasantly surprised, the setting was quite picturesque and the outside seating area quite sheltered. Having placed our orders we all set our-selves up around two or three tables joined together so we could sit as a group. I sat next to our new member, Steven, who turned out to be rather an interesting character. He has spent the last several years overseas being based in Aussie for a few years and for a longer period in Singapore. Part of his occupation was to service Off Shore Oil Rigs which meant he had to travel around not only the Pacific/Asian basin but further afield as well.

Also joining us for lunch today was my grumpy old mate from Nelson namely Rod Curtis and Kevin Bright also joined us for lunch as he happened to be in Nelson to at-tend a meeting I think I heard him say.

After a very pleasant hour or so it was time to head off but not without a little bit of drama provided by none other than John Hadfield. Those of you who know John well will no doubt agree with me that he can be a bit boisterous at times and his voice has a tendency to go up an odd octave or so as a result. Well today was no exception, just as we were about to leave John stood up and in the process, but without knowing it, knocked a glass off the table which did-n’t stand a chance when it hit the concrete paving stones. Needless to say it shattered into a million pieces and when it was brought to John’s attention he tried to plead total

innocence. Nice try John, but we all saw you do it so you just have to man up and accept your clumsiness! The Ca-fé's staff were great and very quickly a brush and shovel were produced and the mess cleaned up. I told the wait-ress who officiated at the clean -up that we only take John anywhere twice, the second time so that he can apologise!

It was then decision time, some opted to continue around the block and some opted to return the way we had come. I opted for the latter as JG and I wanted to discuss some things back in Blenheim and he also wanted to check out the Café in Happy Valley on the road to Cable Bay as a possible luncheon venue for future rides. Peter Unger also opted to return with us as he had to go into Blenheim be-fore heading for home. Dave Jackson also met up with us there and after consuming either an ice cream or another coffee, the general consensus was it would be a very good destination on a good day and the prices on the menu looked pretty reasonable too, so I don’t think it will be too long before we head off back there for one of our Thursday lunch rides. It was then time to head back to Blenheim to conclude another great Retreads outing.

Bob #8033.

RETREADS RIDE REPORTS

17

Marlborough Anniversary Weekend, two passes and 900 k’s.

I went with the group, Tom and Suzy where leading. They met on Saturday at 10am to leave for Hanmer Springs. Like always I like an early start, as this would give me a chance to have a soak in the pools, before the others arrived. I left at 8am, went to Murchison and had a humongous breakfast then off to Hanmer Springs. At the moment you have to be very patient on this stretch of road. There are a lot of road works, heaps of trucks, slow car drivers and one speed re-striction area after the other. When I got to Hanmer Springs I needed to walk off some energy so I went up the hill behind Hanmer, then to the pools. The pool entry fee is $24 for under 60 years old and $17 for over 60. I thought I could save

$7 when I make myself a little bit older. So I asked the friendly lady on the counter for a senior entry, she looked at me and said $17. I kept a straight face, walked through and had a big grin. I just saved myself $7, free coffee tomorrow.

Later I met up with the others, had a drink at the Alpine Inn. I was quite surprised 7 riders turned up. Lou said:” Hello my sunshine how are you”, that made my day, haven’t been called sunshine for a long time. Thanks Lou. Tom Brown, Suzy Pouwhare, Stuart Wyness, John Hadfield, Lou Lowers, Peter Unger....They were all smiling and busy chatting away. I found out they all enjoyed the ride down. We had a very yummy dinner, then went back to the lodge for more drinks and stories.

The next morning I took off ahead again, not only do I like an early start but I am also the slowest rider and I don’t want to hold anybody up. We all met at Springfield for lunch, l mar-velled at the great riding conditions, loads of sunshine, no wind and a great road .Well I didn’t know what was lying ahead of me. I stayed with the group made ‘Tail end Charlie’. I knew I would be last one to arrive at our next destination, Arthurs Pass village. Off we went I was happy as could be and after a while I saw the others disappearing in the distance.

Just before Arthurs Pass Village road works again, ok down to 70kmh. Then it was 50kmh. WOW what’s that, what I saw made my heart beat really fast. Yes gravel on the road but shivers that’s beyond a joke it’s like a river bed. Huge rocks and also quite deep, in my panic I froze and pulled back on my handle bars I was shooting forward I got faster and faster. Oh shit no, I don’t want to fall off Think, think fast! Slow down, slow down now. Ok at last I had my speed under control, but not my bike. It was fishtailing all over the road; but at least I was on my side of the road. At last I could see the end of the rocks, only a few more meters. Yes I made it and I didn’t fall off. My heart was still thumping like mad when I met the others. There were quite happy to see me. They thought they would have to come and rescue me. By the sounds of it neither of the other riders enjoyed the rough ride either.

We had a drink at the coffee shop and a catch up. Then a very nice waitress came and brought our drinks and as nothing more was to be brought up our table, she wanted to take our order number away. But John said he really likes the num-ber and it’s a very special number to him and it would be nice if she could keep it there a bit longer. She looked at him and recognised him as a group jester then laughed with us about the joke. Cheeky Bugger.

Off we went again, we followed our lead rider Lou down the Otari Gorge what a wonderful ride. We all arrived safely at Blackball, had a few drinks, some stories which we shared with the chef. Jeffery, Suzy’s son, arrived and joined us for the evening and the ride home. It was another great evening and an absolutely deli-cious meal at the Hilton. After the breakfast we lined up for a photo shoot, what a performance. Two of the riders took their time, we others waited patiently. At last everybody was there, no not really Peter forgot to pay his bill. So he hurried in-side to pay, we waited again. Then the nice owner made a photo of us all. I told her to make the photo from a certain spot, so she can get the bikes, the riders and the building in. She looked at me and said very stern: ”I know how to make a photo of you all and the pub, because it’s my pub and I do it all the time!” I just wanted to be helpful.

On the way back we stopped at the Pike River Memorial. It’s awful to see all the faces on the stones, they were all quite young.

Off we headed towards Reefton, We all agreed that it was a great weekend, excellent company, good stories, lots of laughs and yummy food. The other riders went down the valley, I went over to Mapua. I have one more day off and for sure I do not want to spend it cleaning my house, one more days riding for me. I have to have my priorities right.

Thanks to Tom and Suzy for organising the ride. See you next year for another great ride

Gisela S.

ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND Ride 2.

ABOVE; Susy found hot

company for the night.

ABOVE; Hanmer Springs

BELOW: Blackball (x2)

18

Ulysses Club of New Zealand Inc.

Marlborough Branch

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING; (Thursday) 15 February 2018 at the Redwoodtown Community Hall, Weld Street, Blenheim, 7.30pm

All financial Branch members are invited to attend –

(Please bring a plate of food to share for supper).

Nominations are called for the 2018/19 Marlborough Branch Committee

All positions are deemed to be vacant. Signed nomination forms are required for ;

Coordinator, Vice Coordinator, Secretary, Treasurer and up to 8 Committee members.

A nomination form is included here

Ulysses Club of New Zealand Inc. MARLBOROUGH Branch

NOMINATION FORM for Committee 2018 / 2019

I nominate;………………………………………………………………………Ulysses #.......................

Position nominated for;………………………………………………………….

(Please state one; Coordinator, Vice Coordinator, Secretary, Treasurer, Committee member)

Nomination accepted by

(Sign)………………………………………………………………...Date……………………….

Nominated by;……………………………………….. …………………………Ulysses #....................

Seconded by;………………………………………………………………… Ulysses #.....................

NOTE; Completed nomination forms must be delivered to the Branch Secretary on or before 10 February 2018

Send to; The Secretary, Melissa Wills,

94 Howick Road, Blenheim 7201

NOTE: All nominations are accepted with no pre-conditions.

19

DATE DAY TIME DETAILS RIC

Every week Thursdays 11am Retreads group ride . Meet at Brayshaw Park carpark, all members

and visitors Welcome

Grant Johnson

John Sinclair

25 Nov Saturday 10am Nelson Branch Toy Run. See no�ce page 18, November newsle�er.

26 Nov Sunday 11am Lunch ride to Clinker Café at St Arnaud (& beyond if there is interest) Tom Brown

2 Dec Saturday Westport Toy Run—(see no�ce below) Tom Brown

3 Dec Sunday 10.30am Lunch ride to Smugglers Café, Tahunanui, Nelson Tom Brown

7 Dec Thursday 7pm Commi�ee mee�ng, everyone welcome, McDonalds on Main Street. Gisela Schulz

9 Dec Saturday 12noon Branch Toy Run, bring all your mates! Meet at the Woody, bring toys. Tim Wills

10 Dec Sunday 11am Lunch ride to Forresters Café, Rai Valley Tom Brown

17 Dec Sunday 4pm Branch Christmas Party. RSVP now to Gisela or Julia Gisela & Julia

24 Dec Sunday 1pm Social ride to Pelorus Bridge Café Tom Brown

31 Dec Sunday 10.30am Lunch ride to Mapua Café Tom Brown

2 January Tuesday 9am Join the group ride over to the Port Nelson Street races. Always a

great day out. Meet at Brayshaw park.

Tom Brown

MARLBOROUGH RIDES & EVENTS CALENDAR

SUNDAY RIDES; Unless otherwise stated, all Sunday Rides leave from the south end of Blenheim Railway Station car-park—check the rides calendar.

MID WEEK RIDES; Thursdays, depart Brayshaw Park car-park 11am—check with John or Grant if in doubt.

Come on your bike or in your car, it doesn’t matter, just come along and join in.

If you have an idea for a ride, get in touch with the Rides Coordinators

LOOKING ON DOWN THE ROAD...

FURTHER ON DOWN THE ROAD...

25 November; Nelson Branch Toy Run—see notice on page 18 of November newsletter

2 December; Westport Toy Run—One group will be leaving from Brayshaw Park on Friday 1st Dec at 10am. Talk to Tom Brown about ac-

commodation at McManus Hotel. Saturday riders will need to leave at 7am & go straight to the Star Tavern- the Toy Run leaves there at 11am

9 December; Marlborough Branch Toy run—meet at the Woodbourne Tavern at 12noon.

Decorate your bike and bring toys! Sausage sizzle at Blenheim School 1pm.

17 December; Our Branch Christmas Party, see notice in this newsletter on page 9.

2 January 2018; Port Nelson Street Races—always a great day out. Marlborough Riders want-

ing to go as a group, meet at Brayshaw Park carpark, ride leaves at 9am

8-11 Feb 2018; Burt Munro Challenge, Invercargill. Register and book accommodation now.

23-25 Feb; Kaituna Ridges Back to Basics Rally. Rego form in this newsletter. Book now!

23-24 March; National AGM & social weekend at Mosgiel. Always a great weekend. Talk to

Kelvin about accommodation.

20

Our newsletter is proudly sponsored by…..

SENDER; Ulysses Club of New Zealand Inc, MARLBOROUGH Branch. If undelivered please return to The Secretary, 23 Bary Street, Blenheim 7201

PLEASE Remember... to register early for our

Branch Christmas Party

on 17 December.

Numbers are needed for

catering purposes.

Don’t run the risk of miss-

ing out by leaving it till

the last minute -

Do it now!

Gisela; 578 1618

Julia; 577 6822

We hope to see you…

at our Marlborough Ulysses

TOY RUN