Ninja Days

Favourite Picture

Stoner and Rossi ... some moments are just HEAVENLY! ...click!

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 31.3.07 0 Comments

Knitting and Biking

Thanks for this inspiration!

Now that's a fine example of simply combining two addictions. This person must have been Northern European, where the weather gets too cold and miserable to ride through the winter months.

The first of April traditionally marks the start of the riding season.

I wish you Northerners all a fine summer season with just as much rain to keep the grime off the bitumen (that's the best I can do...stretching the friendship with Zeus&Petrus... they no longer want to hang out with me... I guess I am cramping their style).

May you all return home safely from every ride.

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 31.3.07 0 Comments

Penicillin?!

View the result of a week's worth of creating new living spaces...
after our wet ride last Sunday, I left my leather gloves sitting in the bathroom. The humidity and warm weather turned them into a fine example of mould growth...or what not to do with wet leather gear...

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 26.3.07 0 Comments

Sometimes I wish...

... I had been brought up on one of these...



...and learned how to brush my teeth with water spurting out of this tank...



Don't you?!

Perhaps we could have gone to work like this today, rather than sitting at the back of the bus...

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 22.3.07 0 Comments

A CAR?!

Ohhh I know, I am not into cars, but I'd be more than happy to own this beautiful cadillac...

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 17.3.07 0 Comments

ROBERTSON- with RAT/Katana Australia

So, there I was, looking for the Katana Gang and no Katanas arrived at sunny Stanwell Tops. There was a beautiful F4 MV Augusta and a couple of big Suzukis, Yamaha, a range of big bikes with their serious riders, a few cruisers nearby, but no Katana. I parked my NINJA just opposite, so it could be easily picked by those I had met before, but that did not work out either, as I had never seen Jace, the organiser of this trip to the Valley, other than at Gina's funeral. Then he was in a fine tailored suit and this time his remarkable hairdo was hidden under a helmet. For about half an hour I chatted to a nice Harley rider, who was reminiscing about a trip to Hamburg in Germany. Time after time I looked over my shoulder, expecting the group to arrive. Nada!

No wonder! They were there all along. The F4 was part of the group and when we finally recognised each other, they were about to leave.
Hmmmm...Very, very tempting indeed!

"No Katanas here", said Jace, "you are riding with the RATs today. The Road and Track-riders..."

I just had to have a quick look around to see if there was ANYTHING under 1000cc amongst them.Gulp! Failing that, my next question was: "Are you FAST?" Someone started up their engine and his answer somehow became inaudible. I guess I'll see...

I expected to head down the coast way, but we went back via the 'burgh, along the old highway, then down to the Gong via the Freeway. There were others and I was unsure who was who, and if they knew each other and where we were going exactely...I figured I'd follow them anyway, so, play it by ear.

The Freeway was fun to ride 'in bulk'. I expected to ride all the way down to Albion Park, turn right at the roundabout and then right again at the town centre, but that was not how it went!

Cruising along as a group right across all lanes, I happened to be on the outside, when people started to turn off at Fowlers Rd. Suddenly I was not quite sure wether they were the people I had taken off with or were they the riders we caught up with on the Freeway??? Ahhhhhh!!!!!!!! What the heck! I'll follow them... cutting across three lanes and riding over the grid, juuuuust making it, I was glad to discover that Jace, giving me the thumbs-up, was among them. Pheew. Luck 's on my side.
Turn right and then there was a petrol station everyone pulled into and that's when I realised that we were ONE group. The others had taken off a little earlier. That's all.

Hey, I was just a little worried about my street-cred. Can you imagine if it had turned out that I had followed the wrong bikie group? That would have been too embarressing...

We crossed a railway bridge somewhere...I'll find out... turned left and were on one of the most MAGICAL single lane country roads I've been on, cutting right through a valley, rich in country air, flung bits of cow dung, a little dirt road and a foot deep river crossing thrown in as well. ADVENTURE!!!!
Just kidding!!

Once we got to the Macquarie Pass it started to sprinkle. Time to get the wet weather gear out. Am sooooooooo glad I packed it! Could kick myself for leaving my clear visor at home, though. Reminder to self: riding in rain is good practise.

Rain?
It poured!

I let them all go off and made my own way up to the Robertson Pie Shop. It was a busy place when I got there, I looked around and thought to recognise one of the female riders in the group, but as it worked out, she was actually up there with the Illawarra Riders. I had planned to contact them for a while now, but never got around to it. Now there is no excuse...

Whilst I had a conversation with a couple of members, I briefly noticed a woman pointing at me from a 4-Wheel Drive. As they started to drive off, I finally recognised Joy from Corrimal! Funny!!! I had actually tried to invite her on this ride, wrote the email and got distracted, mustn't have clicked send and when I checked the outbox the next time I logged in, the mail had disappeared. No time to re-send and that was that.

There she was! What a coincidence!

It poured all the way home.

Just out of Moss Vale on the Illawarra Highway, we had yet another reminder of our human frailty, our mortality. A ute had spun out on the wet road and had landed on its roof. I hope they made it, I hope they were lucky.

I left the group at Bowral and after Mittagong it really came down in buckets all the way to Campbelltown, where it stopped suddenly and briefly. Just enough to wipe the visor, unfog the glasses and wring out the gloves. Heading to Appin it all started again.

The petrol station attendant at Appin took one look at me and said: "Must be terrible riding in such awful weather."

"Nahh, not really... riding is what I want to do, so I better not complain!"

Getting through Bulli Tops was like finding your way through a Chineese Laundry- 5m visibility in the thick of it! The Smash Repair Trucks were ready for business and lining up

I got home safely, but can no longer avoid giving that Ninja a good clean.

Where to next?

Labels: Ride Report

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 17.3.07 0 Comments

THANKS DARREN!

Darren from Katana Australia sent me this link to a beautifully constructed reminder about making the most of life.

Make sure you have your speakers on....
http://www.thedashmovie.com/


Had thoughts about why riding is such a passion of mine and take great refuge in the knowledge that it really takes me back to basics. When I ride I don't think about anything other than the ride. It's me and the road and I use whatever helps me to conquer it. That might be my instinct,
my bank of knowledge
my library of seen-before combinations of situations...
experience,
good excellaration..., good brakes and anything that's inbetween...
the other day, as I mentioned before, I had a car coming towards me on my lane, a 6 lane split road...well, there's always a first! So, I'll call myself a 'constant learner'.

Is a Katana a double edged sword? Duality is no news to a Ninja.

Well, riding any bike is like a double edged sword. It's about life and death, the beauty and the beast. It's about survival, but at the same time we place ourselves into the claws of the beast and test ourselves over and over again.
That DASH is somehow much more meaningful when I had a good ride-out... sitting down on the couch with a cold beer, watching the telly does not seem so bad after you've been to 'the edge and back'!
Exhausted but happy ...and when I'm good and ready I will let all those other thoughts and trivia back into my head.

Whilst it is about totally engaging in the moment, it is also 'Time-out'!
Whilst it is about being one with nature, it is about the machine.
Whilst it is about the battle it is about peace. And ... in a club ...
whilst it is about the individual, it is about the group.

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 10.3.07 1 Comments

MVA - The Parents

Today I sat in my GPs waiting room, thumbing through Vogue Living for the third time, when my phone went off, just as it was my turn to see the doc. It was one of those 'I can't believe this is happening' moments. I heard myself muttering"Sorry, but I can't make my appointment, these are my films, looks like it's all good (nudge, nudge...) you might want to have a look at them, but I have to go now. My parents have been in a car accident and I have to go to the hospital right now." He looked at me in disbelief, expressed his empathy and I was out of there in a flash.

My parents were parked in the corridor in a designated area floor marked in red tape. The father sat in a wheelchair and the mother lay flat on her back, her neck in a plastic brace. The accident had happened at 2:30 and by the time I got there it was 5:30. By 7:30 there was a glimmer of hope: a doctor ordered x rays.

I called the man to order pizza. By 7:45 that same doctor lay also flat on his back in Emergency. Another doctor took over. The police arrived to take some particulars, telling the father that he was at fault, explaining that this particular road was quite difficult to negotiate, as parked cars made sight lines cluttered.

Of cause THAT did not help the mother one little bit, who had been photographed whilst in distress, had to be removed through the window out of their T-boned car, which had been pushed against a tree as well and no air bag had inflated! I remember the father buying this 'pink panzer' of a car BECAUSE it had SEVERAL airbags...

By the time we were done and got out of the hospital the time was way past 10pm. The last hour was the hardest. The mother was in much pain, as the panadeine forte won't last forever, the internal bruising had intensified and we all hungered for pizza despite the hospital's kind food parcel.

P I Z Z A!!!!!! P I Z Z A!!!!!! P I Z Z A!!!!!!

Finally home, pizza has never tasted THAT good before!

P.s.: Three days later her GP finds out that the mother not only has a broken collarbone, but also a broken rib! Wollongong hospital totally missed it! UNBELIEVABLE!

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 9.3.07 0 Comments

TIME4PIZZA?

From http://invisiblered.blogspot.com/

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 8.3.07 0 Comments

MT WHITE via YARRAMALONG VALLEY-GIRLS RIDE OUT 4/3/2007

Destination : Mount White via Yarramalong Valley & Bumble Hill

When : Sunday 4th March, 2007
Meet : Mobil Garage, Berowra
Time : 9.30am for a 10.00am Start (I just made it!)

Follow old Pacific Hwy to Calga interchange, turn right at first T intersection, then left at second T intersection on to Peats Ridge Rd, follow to Peats Ridge, turn left on to George Downs Drive, follow to Kulnurra, turn right onto Springs Road, turn right/changes to Greta rd, turn left/changes to Bumble Hill rd, turn right onto Yarramalong rd, turn right onto Old Maitland Rd just before expressway entry, turn right onto pacific hwy, follow to Ourimbah interchange, get on expressway, at the top of the hill turn left at Somersby interchange onto Peats ridge rd follow to calga and reverse the start of the ride, stopping at Mt White.

I wish I had printed this out. We were lost in space a couple of times. Haha!!!! What's new??!

Here are some photographs...


Three gals wearing the club's 2007 T-shirts



Two chaps marvelling at my ZX (I'm kidding!)



Scott's mum in-law Julie having a chat about his status quo


Yarramalong Valley stop-over


Road Warrior's Cafe

Labels: Ride Report

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 6.3.07 0 Comments

Katana Australia- Gina's Funeral

I wish I had met Gina when she was alive.

I would have told her how much Maurizio loved and adored her, but I gathered today that she did not need me to do that.

Today was a sad old day. Oxford Street had not quite awoken when I arrived at the church. The rain held off just long enough for those hundreds of guests to arrive and leave after the service. A most beautiful rendition of 'Ave Maria' was piercing my heart, for me it was setting her spirit free.
I'll never know how people find the strength to speak at funerals. How do they find the strength to carry on?! I'd be just a sobbing mess!

Only much later today did I realise that it would have been Don's Birthday. He was certainly there in my head and heart. Like our Don, Gina died doing what she loved. Especially in that leather jacket that meant so much to her. Apparently she did some incredible work with babies. It was uncanny to hear the children's laughter from a nearby school's playground drifting into the church as the ceremony ended...

I stayed with the Katana Australia members, who welcomed me warmly. They went off to the cafe with the family, but I felt that I was overstaying my welcome a little and returned to my home.

Take care everybody.

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 5.3.07 0 Comments

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DON!

Don Gunn 5.3.1962-11.4.2005
We miss you so much and will always remember you.

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 5.3.07 0 Comments

ATHOL'S BIRTHDAY-WISEMAN'S FERRY 3/3/07

Mark Guitar and Athol

It wasn't easy to leave the house that day, as EVERYTHING was covered in a layer of fine white dust. The plasterer's present to us, just in case we have nothing else to do on a sunny weekend...the pleasures of adding new comfort space. It was hot and humid and Athol's Birthday. Escaping Mardi Gras weekend, he had been kidnapped by Mark and Robyn, to stay at their weekend retreat in Spencer, a small village 25min down the Hawksbury river from Wiseman's.

Riding feels different since I know about Gina's fatal accident as a pillion passenger. I am much more reluctant to take the man (or myself!) to the edge and there is a heavy sense of responsibility on my shoulders.

The man makes our life beautiful.

By the way: The child has not mentioned riding since she heard of the accident and I doubt that she ever will...

However, we made it through the traffic...aaarrrgh, the trrraffic! It was good to get through the last 'bumper to bumper' at Cherrybrook and hit the open road just out of Dural. A little underfuelled, I panicked about 20ks from our target and found, just off the mainroad a local petrol station. The man was a little worried about the quality, but I figured, I'll take that risk...and relax around the bends. A toilet would have been good too...

Wiseman's Ferry Hotel was busy as usual, just not a lot of bikes around when we were there. Loads of flies swarming around our food and the qarbel of the magpies made it an all Australian get together.

Happy Birthday Athol! I wish you many happy returns! (I am soooo selfish!)

Birthday-boy Athol


Mark and Robyn offered for us to stay, as my next ride was only one sleep away and we were to head out that way again. (More about the Mt White trip in the next report...) We declined. It was very tempting though, but I needed to be level headed that next morning, just to keep the balance.

The man felt pretty good on the back of the Ninja, even throughout the hairpins. The only trouble I have is dealing with sudden stops, red lights after an hour or so of traffic and the odd weirdo heading towards us...

On our way back we were confronted by a GhostDriver heading straight for us, since we must have represented the least impact, compared to the ute, the van approaching in the neighbouring lanes and the Chrysler right behind us. I hit all available breaks and fishtailed, swearing loudly and repeatedly, towards the car, whose driver then decided to steer straight across to the next two lanes. prompting a hooting concert. I was surprised nobody got out of their cars to abuse the driver. But then, I did not feel the need to stick around. It was hot enough in my leathers.

The pool was all I could think of for the remaining 10 km. When we arrived home, we had to peel the leathers off our limbs.

Completely exhausted and asleep by 8pm.

Labels: Ride Report

posted by The '95 Ninja ZX6R @ 5.3.07 0 Comments