PETE ’ S PEOPLE
Triumph Bobber . Megan describes motorcycling as part of her defiance and fight of the cancer itself , because , well , “ Fuck you , cancer !”. Megan took a while to find the right bike , and now she would not change a thing on her customised BMW R9T , but says she wished she ’ d taken a little more time to learn on her Suzuki TU250X , bought when practising for her test . She says she ’ s found the perfect bike for her , loving its style and quirky twitch from the horizontally opposed twin . Megan and Leonie are great friends and have spent more time riding with each other than anyone else , other than their husbands . And the camaraderie of the four is clear . They clearly relish each other ’ s company , but more importantly they all enjoy that physical process of riding motorcycles , and exploring the country together . My concern with Megan on the day was borne of the knowledge that chemo has taken a physical toll on her strength , but Tony is always extremely mindful of her , watching and taking care of any concern - without being invasive or controlling . It was moving to witness the care and love between them all . I tried to think of the word for it and all I could come up with was ‘ uxorious ’ – Google it , good word . One of the true great joys of riding in NZ is the experience we get of other people in unexpected places . On long roads , sometimes reminiscent of Arizona or Utah , I spied a halfbroken shed on the side of the road with “ King Country Boxing Club ” painted on the non broken side . I wanted to stop and take a group photo and regretted passing it by . Minutes later I saw a concrete bunker beside a gravel driveway with a picturesque shed festooned with cactus growing up it . Great place for a group shot . I stopped and wandered in to ask the owner if I could photograph his place ( as only you could in NZ ), and a small , round , black staffi roared out of an unseen house behind a fence , and he was leaping up and very thrilled to see company arrive . I hoped the owner felt the same way . A few seconds later a tall bearded chap , who looked oddly familiar , appeared round the corner in shorts and tee shirt . “ Gidday , that ’ s Sam , he ’ s pretty bouncy , but real friendly .” “ Yeah , we ’ ve met ,” I said , “ don ’ t want to be rude or anything , but would you mind if I photographed your shed ?”. “ My shed ? Sure , if you want . Where are you guys from ?” “ Auckland ”. We all felt the weight of that . We spent a good half hour or so with Brent and took photos of his shed , his cactus , his son ’ s
KIWI RIDER 93