Bike ride for RSAs ‘quite a spectacle’

A vintage gun led the pack as motorcyclists headed out of the South Canterbury RSA on Saturday morning.

‘‘It all looked pretty impressive,’’ Combined Motorcycle Clubs of South Canterbury chairman John Pateman said.

‘‘It must have been quite a spectacle.’’

The 85 people who signed up for the Ride of Remembrance - where motorcyclists travelled together visiting the RSAs in Timaru, Temuka, Geraldine, and Ashburton - went as far as Hobbs St accompanied by a 1941 QF 25 Pounder Howitzer gun.

Pateman said there were 80 bikes on the tour, with five of them also carrying a passenger.

‘‘We were hoping for a couple more but we’re more than happy with that,’’ Pateman said. ‘‘Once word gets around we’ll get bigger and bigger numbers.

‘‘Let’s see if we can wake up the slumbering ones and get them out there for the cause next year.’’

While the ride was organised by the region’s four motorcycle clubs - Bronz (Bikers Rights Organisation New Zealand), Post Vintage, TTAG (Timaru, Temuka and Geraldine), and the Town and Country Club’s motorcycle division - many of the bikers who turned up did not belong to any of those clubs, Pateman said.

A group of four even travelled from Dunedin to take part, he said. ‘‘Everybody was in a jovial mood.’’

Pateman said the ride went ‘‘like clockwork’’ with nobody getting lost. ‘‘That’s what good planning does.’’

Alongside the $15 registration, 80 commemorative patches were sold at $20 each and hundreds of raffle tickets sold, with all money raised going towards the RSAs.

‘‘There’s been some donations from the motorcycle clubs as well,’’ Pateman said.

He was touched by the support the ride received from the RSAs, especially when Temuka made up a free afternoon tea for them that they had to turn down. ‘‘I had to say we were looking after them, not them looking after us,’’ he said.