March 2015 Recent Ladies’ morning tea at Brenda’s for lunch Note : Opinions expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Editor, the Canterbury Branch of Ulysses Club of New Zealand, or the Ulysses Club of New Zealand Inc but are those of the contributing or original writers . Committee Contact Details Position/Person Phone Mobile Email Coordinator/ Branch Liaison 350-7494 021-127-3363 [email protected] Steve Orpwood Secretary : Bob Tanner 381-6621 027-221-0732 [email protected] Treasurer : Chris Groube 343-4919 027-201-1213 [email protected] Welfare Newsletter Editor : 981-0886 027-589-6170 [email protected] Carolyn Falkenberg Rallies Coordinator: Thea Turner 027-232-3193 [email protected] Social Coordinator Russell Williams 365-9078 027-276-6232 [email protected] Rider Training Mentor Coordinator Chris Carey Carol Smith 027-244- 6051 [email protected] Non Committee Rides Coordinator : Peter Carrington 348-5008 [email protected] Website : Robert Edgeler 352-6553 027- 662-2611 [email protected] Sheriff Vacant Position Deputy Sheriff Vacant Archives/Property : Terry Stevenson 388-1838 027-452-6676 [email protected] Quartermaster (Gear Sales) 2 Welcome to this current issue of the Canterbury Branch newsletter. Asked 6 months ago if I could see myself writing another Coordinators Comment for the branch newsletter the answer was a definite NO. How wrong I was (most unusual for me, Not). This will be the lead in for a few over the next wee while. So before we get started please note the following, and hopefully like in “Hallo, Hallo”, I will only have to say this once. If at any-time you think we, the committee are getting it wrong speak to us, any one of us or all of us. BUT don’t just complain, give us an answer to fix it, it may not be the right one but it will give us something to work with. You will be asked for feedback and we would appreciate honest answers, otherwise you will only get what we think you want. Here goes. What I would like to achieve over the next 6 months with the backing of your commit- tee and you the member of this branch. 1 Get a rides calendar that covers up to six months ahead, but we will start small and to this aim are assembling a committee of members both standing committee and members. This will take a month or so to get settled so give us time but watch this space. Pete Carrington as the rides coordinator will head this up and the go to committee member will be Carol Smith. 2 The rally contact and coordinator will be Thea, continuing in the roll, and she will also ad- vise on the runs committee to stop a clash of interests/rides etc. 3 Carolyn will be continuing in her roles of newsletter editor and welfare. Support with this please. You know articles ride/rally reports, photos, etc. 4 Russell I hope will continue with social events and again advise the runs committee so we don’t clash again. 5 Captain Carefree will continue with trying to convince you all to advance your knowledge on riding and in a safe and enjoyable way. (Question: When was the last time you sharp- ened up your skills?). He will also be the gopher when available ( I hope) 7 Run a successful St John Fund Raiser Ride, Please give Chas your time for this event and advise him as early as you can. It doesn’t work with a team of one. And your contribution to the raffle prize pool is where? Do it now and get it to Chas ASAP. If you have already done this, ignore the last bit. 8 With the Motion to look at a fund raiser for the rescue helicopter, a couple of your commit- tee and branch members have taken up to this challenge and it looks very good at this point. Look out for more on this. 9 Remembrance service is the first weekend in August weekend, and requires a bit of . 3 organizing. The plan to have this done and dusted by the end of May or is that too soon for some. Your Secretary will be out of town for the next monthly meeting, off around the North Island with a group of members with like mind. Enjoy your trip Bob and Co. and we will all catchup later in the month. The plan to have this done and dusted by the end of May or is that too soon for some Following on from that, who is going to the National Rally and AGM? I know Pam and I are going along with a few others, so put your hand’s up. It should be a great party, it is not too late to reg- ister. For those that have an interest in classic racing or just like to see people having a bit of fun, the Methven Street Races are on Easter Saturday and I can offer you free entry in return for a little work on the day. Please contact me if you are willing and available to help. Until next time, enjoy life - it is way too short. Ride safe. Steve Canterbury Branch Coordinator. [email protected] In regards to training we are still doing basic handling skills tests for new riders most Fridays in St Albans, Saturdays in Rangiora and after Easter on Wednesdays in Kaiapoi. We also do CBTA restrcited to full or learner to restricted assessments on those same days and dates for our RideForever courses are below: Wed 11/3 Silver from Rangiora Sat 21/3 Bronze from Rangiora Fri 27/3 Gold from St Albans Wed 1/4 Bronze from Rangiora Sat 11/4 Silver from Rangiora Fri 1/5 Gold from St Albans Sat 16/5 Bronze from Rangiora Fri 29/5 Silver from St Albans Regards, Duncan Duncan Seed 2 Drive Safe - Safe Driving for Life! 0508 TODRIVE 021 734 484 www.2drivesafe.com -- 4 Saturday 14 th February (Valentine’s Day) dawned dull and overcast, threatening rain. That didn’t stop 14 bikes / 17 riders meeting at The Peg at a rather unseemly 8:30 for the inaugural ‘ladies run’. Well it may have been dubbed a “ladies run”, but there were a surprising number of blokes turned up, even a couple on their own with no lady in tow! It was clear from the outset just who was in charge! Carol performed her duties as “camp leader” and ably communicated the pre-ride briefing to all, and we all saddled up and rode north out of Dodge. After leading us via an interesting route, first stop was in Culverden for coffee and the necessary comfort care. While there a gaggle of HD Ultra Classics rode into the carpark we inhabited. After a look around and deciding there were just too many bikes of dubious origins present, they decided our company was not up to their standard and rode on. The general consensus was WTF? Once everyone’s needs were sated, we were ‘back on the road again’ for the ride over Lewis pass. As we crested the hills the clouds parted and the sun came out, which was how the next 24 hrs stayed for us while Christchurch shivered in the cold. With everyone safely passing the usual idiot drivers we all encounter, our next stop was Springs Junction. It took a while for everyone to reassemble, but no one was in a hurry. Petrol and comfort stop completed and eventually we were off to Reefton for lunch. My stomach was starting to grumble by this stage and with plenty of road kill on the way on this section some of it was starting to look pretty tasty. (I’m sure I saw a Kiwi, but am told on good authority by oth- ers it was something else of the feathered and beaked variety. In my defence It was pretty flat) We invaded on mass and took over a nice café in Reefton with everyone sitting down to replenish their starving bodies. Some of us hadn’t eaten for several hours and there was no telling where the next café or restaurant may be! After all, this was the wild West Coast we were in, not down- town Merivale. Very foreign territory for some of the ladies. (I am going to pay for that comment) Suitably refreshed and refuelled, once again we hit the road with the intended next stop being Punakaiki. Unfortunately we pretty soon caught up to a gaggle of campervans. The one at the front had the grace to pull over and let everyone past, not so the other 2. We had the pleasure to follow the other 2 at speed through quite a few km’s of twisty hilly stuff, the speed giving us all the chance to admire bits of the scenery that no one had ever seen before as we are always rushing past at the dizzying speed of 50kmh+!! eventually on a couple of extremely short straights we had the opportunity for everyone to go past, and we all waved at them wishing them all well for their time in our fair country. I can’t help but be concerned they may have misunderstood our friendly gestures. Once we were out of the twisty stuff we had a regroup and de-brief discussing the previ- ous 30 minutes. Finally and the next stop was the world famous Punakaiki.