Saturday, 4 December, 2010 - BRONZ Toy Run (open roaders), departing 9.30am from Honeywell Car park for BMW HQ Run start
Posted August 10th, 2010 by ionavespa
04/12/2010 - 09:30
04/12/2010 - 12:30
Etc/GMT+12
The BRONZ Toy Run is another charity that Magnetos SC club supports annually - bring along a toy. The ride starts from the BMW HQ in Pacific Rise, Mt Wellington but the Magnetos SC will meet as a group and ride in together from the Honeywell car park, bottom of Mt Eden, departing from there at 9.30am. The BRONZ ride departs from Pacific Rise at 10.00am. The route is via the motorway, hence the Toy Run is suited to open road riders.
Take a toy and join the charity ride - ride in as a group from Honeywell car park departing from there at 9.30am via the motorway for the big meet up point in Mt Wgtn.
The ride goes over the bridge and finishes on the North Shore.
Info Officer & Rides Sub-Committe member 2010/11
Vespa addict! plus Crazy Frog Jog & Bella Belladonna
going on this run tomorrow?
:(
Club Chairman 2008-2011
Left Honeywell at 0928 as there were no other scooterists there. Missed Old Mod by a minute. But caught up with him, JohnD and Lester at BMW.
Where have all the Magnetians gone?
Would love to do this run.
Once I sell some junk a slightly longer legged scoot is planned
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Stuart- known as J.W.C
Good question. I guess there is no one answer.
It is a very busy time of year for most people and so many are selective about what rides they go on. Last week was a Waiheke Island ride, BRONZ yesterday, Ellerslie Santa Prade today, Matakana next Saturday and then five days later Christmas Lights ride. It's also worth noting that on Saturday the Vespa club had a ride too.
How many rides can any one person go on? The BRONZ charity ride is just one of how many charity rides?They are all worthy causes but the novelty of riding scooters amongst a lot of bikes does wear out.
Also Matt put this well a few weeks ago on another thread: "Clubs are evolving things, and being all inclusive, the membership changed." During my time with the club, the membership has changed. In general terms the members are older the scooters are newer. Many members now have young families and have less free time.Others need to be selective about what rides they go on due to financial resons.There are very few members now that are capable and willing to get their hands dirty working on a scooter and I suspect these people are more likely to show more often.
Scooters by their nature produce riders that are into it for a few years then progress onto bigger machines requiring new members to keep the club going.
Then there is the website, it's an asset and a curse. Great for informing and sharing but also a tool for those that want to impress themselves by detracting from the efforts of others.
I would like to know what people think. Is the committee tring too hard by organising 24 rides per year (plus supporting4-5 charity rides)?
Is it too organised, how about we just have a meeting place (cafe) and all decide where to go depending on who turns up?
Love to know your thoughts, Ron
Club Chairman 2008-2011
I am not a Magnetos member, nor in Auckland, but I agree with what you say. People have family, work, gardens, houses, non-scootering friends - busy lives that mean sometimes something has to give.
Gone are the days of the original Auckland Motor Scooter Club who met in substantial numbers EVERY SINGLE SUNDAY to go for rides. Society has changed a great deal, in many many ways.
There is little point railing against club members who don't turn up for rides, although I seem to be seeing a pattern of people saying they will/might turn up, regularly, and then post to say they couldn't make it after all, regularly.
In Wellington we have certainly used regular cafe locations to meet, reasonably successfully - and this enables people to at least meet and chat, in person, even if they don't end up going for a ride. Our meet time is an hour, which meant there was often overlap for those who couldn't arrive right on time, but could stop by for 20 minutes towards the end before heading off to do whatever it is they have to do.
The main problem we faced was that cafes don't always remain suitable - so I ended up changing the location several times a year. Sometimes to match the season (so that we have a chance to sit in the sun instead of a cold windy hole). Other cafes became overly popular and too busy. Others had good coffee and food but really slow service and it became tiresome to clockwatch while waiting for coffee. Of course now with the crackdown on footpath parking I also have to consider where everyone will park, preferably within sight of the cafe. I got to a point where I just picked a location the day before the scheduled meet (after looking at the weather forecast), and sent text messages to those on the list (and twitter), and an email to the group.
Bit hit and miss though, sometimes I forget, and I can see that having a particular location works a lot better. So I will have to sit and think carefully about picking a couple of cafes again to meet regularly at.
Napier, Palmerston North, and Christchurch all use regular monthly meets at a set location, followed by a ride. Works well for them, and it's much easier to remember.
(sorry for the novel!)
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Jess in Wellington
http://www.scootnz.co.nz
.Club Chairman 2008-2011
Only 4 Mag members turned up on this ride, 1 on a Vespa.
What does that tell you.?? johnD
Sorry guys we were having a weekend to ourselves - selfish I know but sometime the marriage takes a priority!
The Dark Side Rules - Obi Wan Kenobi rides a PX.
Its the "silly season", and everyone's really busy, or knackered, or both....
Just a rhetorical question really.
Should have guessed a low turnout as no one really commented about attending.
Agree about the silly season etc. Getting leave passes are harder each time.
No critisism intended - more curious than anything else.
To be honest I was underwhelmed by the overall attendance. I was expecting quite a few, guesstimate would be 100-150. This was my first toy run and maybe I got confused with the Westpac Helicopter run re its popularity.
Ron's post deserves to be read several times, as there are different aspects to consider.
The demographics of riders may well have changed, their lifestyle/other demands affecting their scooting time.
Are we talking about more about socialising rather than riding, in actuality? Even the dirty hand guys and girls dont seem to ride on a regular basis.
Jess rang a bell with me in that in the "olden" days there was a more active participating scooterist existant.
How does one generate a "got to go to the run" feeling?
It appears from what Jess said even getting venues for socialising can be less than ideal.
Or, do we post the rides that the Committee would go on themselves and others can "take it or leave it", this will enable those "hardcore" riders to still get rides with those of similar disposition, they should not lose out because others have "domestic" or other lifestyle requirements.
Even if only two riders show, its still a run with another Magneto. !!!!! Choice !!!
25% of all magnetos ride Vespas, which is a good showing considering how many brands of scooters are out there. Perhaps orginizing 24 rides a year is too much. Riding around Auckland in a group can be fun but maybe not 24 times a year. A meeting place once a month is not a bad idea, a social, where you can organize a couple of major rallyes and or a major tour. Maybe the website should develop a more National flavour where information of area rallyes, events, rides, meets are posted and the NZ scooter citenzenry somehow feel they can communicate with each other and are accepted. Maybe the committee is trying too hard, perhaps less is best. Quality over quantity. Maybe people are just too busy with twittering, blogging facebooking to be riding scooters for fun. Maybe a thing of a past affluent lifestyle, now they are used for what they were designed, transport. Perhaps ACC levie increases have bit in and scooters are sitting unregistered in sheds, Perhaps people have started living virtual lives, being fed intravenously, floating in a bubble of blue tooth cervical connections, interfacing with each other telapathecially, living longer, suffering from less knee and hip replacements, lower ACC levies, Medical costs, less obeasity and lower heart failure. I blame the communists, american gun lobyists, and Coca Cola.
but worth the wait!
I got to thinking about my riding habits after reading this thread and tried to figure out how many of the nearly 15,000K's were actually going to work of visiting friends.
I think bugga all !!
Mostly its been doing random scooter runs either just pootling around, rerunning a magnetos run or actually on a mag run.
If time is short then maybe some shorter runs with a coffee at the end or even a beach or reserve with simply a flask and tea to keep it cheep.
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Stuart- known as J.W.C
Jean Genie float on your back - Yeah baby!
Random:
Riders of the PC not the "material" scoot in your underground bat cave.
Socialising over riding? Just all be Facebook riders that would at least be more economic, virtual scootering we could all have "maglev" or fuel cell hover scoots. Awesome idea Snakebite, like it.
Mags have always hosted friendly ride reports/photos so that wouldnt be new.
When scoots in the fifties were just for public mobility thay were also heavily into club mass rides, gymkhanas etc. So the just transport use is more a case of other toys in the playhouse nowadays.
Strongly disagree re Coca Cola unless you are a Pepsi president which could be ok? Spirit mixers or just ice for you?
Perhaps , cruises to Pt Chev beach with a flask and Coca Cola, plus our friend Jack D for some, could appeal to heaps of Mags.
Partying on the imported sand would be Amazing, very on to it idea, well done that person. Who has a portable Mini sound system for their Ipod?
Just turn your sound down first.
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Stuart- known as J.W.C
It's a good thread to debate.
It's the so called "silly season". We have always had a so called silly season, but in the past, at least got more active riders than today during that time.
Today, it is general apathy that rules, and it is not just with the Magnetos.
The Akd branch of the Ulysses club has around 580 paid up members yet very rarely do more than 20 turn up for a ride, even under ideal conditions.
Most after 2 years just "turn off", can't be bothered, same with the Magnetos. It is an attitude all clubs have to face, be it boy scouts or flying clubs.
What I do not comprehend, is why people join clubs and not indulge in their activities that the club proves, excluding the first 6 month - or year.
As far as the number of rides on offer go, do they not under stand the fickleness of the Akd winter weather. meaning half are cancelled.
For me as "Rides captain", I lead a ride I first and fore most have an interest in. Who ever turns up is a bonus.
Sorry, but rides around town don't turn me on. Too many cops, traffic lights and idiot drivers.
Yes the web does encourage irrelevant correspondance, which does detract from it's original purpose.
Gymkanas, coffee runs and rallies do have their place, but the greatest activity is still riding.
When those disappear, so will the club. johnD
I was told of an early BRONZ toy ride with about 500 bikes and 15 or so Magnetos members.
If the weekends BRONZ toy ride had 100-150 with 4 Magnetos, that is about the same ratio.
Perhaps it's the new and exciting that gets lots of riders along. How about changing the club name every other week.
I think you need to consider what makes a ride a sucess. Is it by numbers alone or is it how much those that attended enjoyed the ride.It's great to post pics later to show others what they missed out on. Great encouragement to come on the next one too.Labeling people that could'nt make it has the opposite effect,
Developing a more National flavour on the site is a great idea, but I do remember a few posts from Taranaki and Palmy being shot down by non club members. Sadly those posters never tried again.
Bring on more irrelevant correspondence mixed with a few good points.
Club Chairman 2008-2011
In my case, it is not apathy preventing my attendance at most rides.
Ron mentioned my *problem* in one of his well-written pieces on this thread. As time has marched on, two rather important young humans have gotten in the way of my riding, the first called Riley and the second called Sophie.
So while I would love to be riding more, my weekends are now filled with swimming lessons, mini football, children's birthday parties, playgrounds and generally being a dad.
I have even gone as far as to rationalise down to one scooter, which is sadly gathering dust. I do get out on occasion and even ride my GS to work every few weeks (maybe months), but as I said, not as often as I would like to.
Happy scootering Y'all, and I hope to see you on runs in the future, when time permits.
I could be on a 600 Honda scooter as a learner, but a 400 is as far as I need to go.
LAMS gives novice riders access to a range of motorcycles and scooters that are appropriate to their level of experience and size. The LAMS list includes moderately powered models with an engine capacity up to and including 660cc which do not exceed a power-to-weight ratio of 150 kilowatts per tonne. The LAMS list will be updated as new models are approved by VicRoads.
In addition to models in the list, all motorcycles manufactured prior to 1960 with a cubic capacity up to and including 660cc and currently available fully electric powered motorcycles will be approved for use by learner and novice riders.
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/CDC3D584-3171-4ADB-8079-DC2F70D8CCE9/0/LAMSlistpublishedMon13Sept2010.pdf
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Stuart- known as J.W.C