Riding for charidee mate

It's quite an impressive sight when you see hundreds of motorbikes cruising down the road in one big sea of rumble and grumble. And it's quite something to be part of that too. This Sunday we joined our friend Scott to take part in the Salvation Army Christmas Toy Ride, to raise money and collect toys for underprivileged kids.

The start of the ride was in Mana, just up State Highway 1, where hundreds of bikes filled the car park about to set off on one of the largest co-ordinated rides in the country.

With the help of the local constabulary, and some willing marshall volunteers, we carved our merry way back down towards Wellington in one big convoy, with slip roads closed off to allow us a smooth path. And the car drivers were very cordial about the whole thing! In the UK or US we'd probably have had a chorus of tooting horns expressing their annoyance at having their journey interrupted. But here we were welcomed with lots of waves and even some spectators throughout Mana and Paremata!

When we got into Wellington, we parked under the sails on Queens Wharf to grab a drink and another saussie sizzle :) Here's a picture of just a few of the bikes. Annalie's is the one on the far right towards the back. Obviously she didn't want anyone else getting too close considering the distance between her bike and the rest of them ;)