Fundraiser to roar around Coromandel

The Ulysses Club of NZ

Inc is one of the largest organisations of its kind in New Zealand and a familiar part of the country’s motorcycle scene.

Branches hold regular rides and social get-togethers and participate in the nationwide ICONS 150 event that raises money for needy causes.

Run in support of the club’s nationwide Baton Run Relay, the ICONS 150 takes in iconic landscapes around the Hauraki and Coromandel districts, traversing about 150 kilometres. This year’s fundraising is geared towards relief for victims of Cyclone Gabrielle in Coromandel, Hawke’s Bay and Muriwai.

Waih¯ı-thames Valley branch coordinator Chris Brown said the club was riding for “areas people have forgotten about”.

The baton relay portion of the event starts in Invercargill before making its way north. Brown said the Waih¯ı-thames Valley branch, one of 15 chapters throughout the country, would use a repurposed waste pipe as its “baton”.

The ICONS 150 event will start from the Nga¯ tea RSA and take in local points of interest such as the L&P bottle in Paeroa and cenotaph. Riders earn points by visiting each site, all the while collecting koha from people along the way.

The Waih¯ı-thames Valley branch then plans to meet up with the North Harbour branch to transfer the baton, with the riding event culminating in Rotorua on October 19.

Brown said more than 2000 motorcycles were expected to take part in the ride across the motu.

The ICONS 150 revs up at 10am on November 4 from the Nga¯ tea RSA.

The event is open to all motorcyclists, regardless of whether they are Ulysses members. i