The Ride to Hell and Back!

The G80 managed to escape out of the garage a second time in May for what can only be described as the ride to Hell and Back. For most, a simple little ride from Nelson to Pelorus bridge, however a few of the more adventurous (or just blxxdy stupid) went via the Manga-tapu track which starts at the Maitai river. The track is rugged with plenty of steep slopes and deep ruts surrounded by lush native bush. All very nice if you’re in a 4x4. A slow but steady team of intrepid riders headed off. Murray McLean, Malcolm McDonald and myself on Matchies, Peter Wood on AJS and Bill, Dave, Deon, Murray & Rob on the Japanese equivalents. The back up team (Louise & Jacqui) following on the quad bike.

Apart from a few mishaps the AMC machines handled the 4x4 track very well - after all that’s what they were made for. Malcolm unwittingly lost his wing mirror at the very same moment that Bill lost his clutch lever which made for a difficult ascent up the steepest part of the ride. Dave the hero gave up his comfort and rode Bill’s clutch-less bike for the rest of the way.

Onward to Murderers rock famous for the 1866 killings of John Kempthorne, James Dudley, Felix Mathieu & James de Pontius who at the time were in possession of some £300 worth of gold dust. Four men were charged and hung for their part in the murders, one of whom was rumoured to be a relative of the infamous Kelly's from Australia. The plaque marking the historical event has sadly suffered some vandalism receiving a few bullet wounds of its own.

On the downward ascent, the back-up girls found full throttle and had a great time puddle jumping and giving the boys a run for their money.

At Pelorus it was great to see a huge turn out of riders from the Nelson Classic and Vintage Motorcycle Club who had travelled from both Marlborough and Nelson. The weather was warm and sunny with not a mosquito in sight - very odd for Pelorus. If you’re ever passing through, try one of the homemade pies sold at the store - very nice.

There was a bit of drama when one of the riders discovered he’d lost his house and business keys somewhere on the muddy track of the Mangatapu hill. After a couple of attempts at the Australian haka they were safely located in his jacket side-pocket!

Drama over and it was time to head back over the hill again, this time accompanied by John Blick on a 350 WD Rigid, and back up driver Steve Mitchell with club trailer who I was later very grateful to.

The ride to the summit seemed to be going very smoothly however having lost the seal on my exhaust pipe I was grateful to make it the top and have a rest. I suspected things weren’t going to be quite as smooth heading down.After having to free wheel down the nastiest part of the ride and experiencing a foul spark plug I was very relieved to see Steve close behind me in the back up vehicle. That was enough fun for one day for me and the idea of a cold beer and hot fire at the Prince Albert sounded like a much better place to be. After all, it was my first real ride in 8 years.

What can I say?

Grant

Peter, Bill, Murray, Rob, Malcom, Grant, Jacqui & Louise at the summit of the Mangatapu hill (742m).