Bike festival delivers safety message
High-vis vests, leathers and helmets were all on the riders at the Shiny Side up Bike Festival.
Outside the Trafalgar Centre on Sunday, hundreds of riders, from the novice to the fanatic gathered at the family day.
The festival included a demonstration area, workshops, displays, seminars and a market.
Stunt rider Jake Whitaker showed off tricks to a crowd, pushing his trial bike to extremes of jumps, wheelies and tight manoeuvres.
One performance involved Whitaker jumping his bike over his wife.
But it was all safe.
ACC Motorcycle senior injury prevention specialist and one of the event organisers Dave Keilty said the main message of the festival was motorcycle safety.
‘‘Although we’ve got things for the family to enjoy and get involved in, there’s always going to be the undertone of safety wrapped up in what we’re doing.’’
International speakers delivered a message of what could happen when you’re not safe, and how to stay safe.
A panel of survivors shared their stories.
One of the speakers, Brittany Morrow, was in a severe crash in the United States. Coming off the back of a motorcycle with no correct gear on left her requiring skin grafts on half her body.
Keilty said she shared her message with others about her years of recovery and how she came out the other side of the hor- rific event, becoming a bike trainer and working in the industry.
Another seminar included a speaker from the United Kingdom, Kevin Williams, who talked about the science of being seen.
Keilty said riders needed to be aware of their surroundings and what could happen on the roads.
This year there had already been 10 motorcycle deaths on New Zealand roads. He said two of those were pillion passengers.
‘‘That’s because the weather’s been great, anyone who’s got a bike is out on the road and so all of a sudden there’s thousands of bikes around and we’re unfortunately not making the best decisions.’’
The underlying serious safety message was part of a day when Harley Davidson riders mingled with Ducati enthusiasts.
‘‘The great thing about it is we’re all mixing ‘cos two wheels is what brings us together.’’