Remembering a friend at the 2017
Yamaha Far North adventure ride
T
he 2017 Yamaha Far North Adventure
ride on Saturday November 4, is based
at Tangiteroria, a small rural community
located on the banks of the Northern
Wairoa River halfway between
Whangarei and Dargaville on SH14.
At every Far North Adventure Ride ever
organised (20 since 1992) Whangarei rider
and Adventure Riding legend, Des Trubshoe
(aka Trubbie), was there in the line up. Des left
this world suddenly in February so the 2017
event will be the first Far North Ride without
him. Mike Britton remembers Des fondly:
“To honour our long time customer who
became a good friend, we are making this year’s
event a memorial to Des, and we will feel his
absence acutely. It will be known as the Yamaha
Far North Adventure Des Trubshoe Memorial
Ride. A donation will be given to a volunteer
organisation as decided by Des’ family.
“Those who knew Des will know what a legend
he was in adventure riding and Ulysses circles. At
our events, Des, in the offro ad-orientated-models
category, rode everything from a TTR225 through
to a Dominator 750. More uniquely though, he has
also shown up on a Z900 and a Scorpio 225 – both
road bikes, fully kitted up with knobbly tyres.
“Even though ‘It’s not a race’ Des would frequently
be found among the front-runners. He once told
us how many of our events he had attended over
the last 25 years, and we are sorry to say that
we have forgotten exactly the number, but we
do remember that it was well in excess of 50.
“Des also told us that he kept the route sheets
from every one of the Far North Rides and
they were in pristine condition – mind you this
may be due to the fact that, until recently, Des
never used the route sheets, instead choosing
to pick a likely looking fellow-rider to follow.
And if they weren’t fast enough he’d ditch
them and find someone else to shadow!
Join us and experience the adventure that was
good enough to keep Des coming to every one
since the event’s inception in 1992. And, as Des
18 KIWI RIDER
so frequently demonstrated, the ride is suitable
for all road-legal dual purpose and trail bikes.”
The ride base will be the Tangiteroria sports
complex (community hall). Camping is included in
the entry fee and the venue has on-site showers
and toilets. If camping is not your thing, both
Dargaville and Whangarei are less than a 30-minute
drive away and offer motel accommodation.
For more information, or email mike
brittonadventures@gmail.com (as
Mike is overseas for much of the
rest of the year an email is best).
Check out www.adventurerides.co.nz
for more information.