VAST HIGH COUNTRY VIEWS, GREAT
GRAVEL RIDING AND GOOD COMPANY
WERE ALL PART OF THE 2020 BMW
OWNERS CLUB RALLY.
T
he Molesworth and Rainbow. It doesn’t get
much more iconic for gravel riding than
those two heavy hitters. I’ve had my feet
under the editor’s desk at Kiwi Rider for some six
or so years, and I can’t have been much more than
three weeks in the job before I heard those
names. It seemed as if everyone had done them
or had plans to, like they were every Kiwi’s gravel-
riding right.
They say things come in threes. And this was a
certainly a convergence of three. An alignment of
three events, which led to riding through some of
New Zealand’s most beautiful motorcycling roads.
Firstly, I recently became custodian of KR
publisher Vege’s 1991 R100GS, the ‘Red Baron’ as
it’s affectionately nicknamed. Due to an
incompatibility between Vege’s late-50s hips and
The Baron’s late-80s ergonomics, the poor thing
only came out of the dark recesses of Vege’s
garage for his annual birthday gravel ride – and
it’s been me riding it. In fact, in six years I’ve ridden
it more than anyone else. To Jock it’s a piece of
history, which should stay there. To Vege’s it’s a
pleasure/pain relationship which began in 1991. So,
what do I like about it? It’s capable of things most
riders don’t expect – surprisingly so. An underdog.
There’s no ABS, rider modes or electronics. It’s just
a lump of an engine with somewhere to sit and a
pair of handlebars. It’s a simple, heavyweight
motorcycle that’s got some real character.
Secondly, an invite arrived to head down to the
BMW Motorcycle Club’s annual rally in Blenheim.
Garry Williams, Club El Presidente, was kind
enough to extend the invite, despite knowing
full-well there was a real possibility someone from
KR might turn up – maybe even Vege. Ah well,
must have a poor memory. Anyway, I digress…
we accepted.
The third and final cosmological event allowing it
all to line up was a longer publishing schedule for
the mag than normal the normal two weeks. It
was finally going to be my turn to ride some of
the best gravel roads in the country.
KIWI RIDER 101