Pensioner ends 5312km ride

Press, 15 April 1978, Page 56

Pensioner ends 5312km ride

By

ROD DEW

Bob Burns returned to his home in Christchurch yesterday afternoon none the worse for his 13-day motorcycle ride of 5312 km around New Zealand and satisfied that he had marked his 50 years as an active motorcyclist in a fitting manner. The 66-year-old pensioner wheeled his three-cylinder Yamaha XS7SO into his garage shortly after 2 p.m. after riding the last leg of 589 km from Invercargill.

i “I am not tired in the I least,” he said. “I am actually better than when I started. There have been no hassles. The trip has been completely trouble-free. The bike went perfectly.”

Mr Burns, who is remembered for the world motorcycle sidecar record he set 22 years ago on the Old Tram Road, is “very pleased” with his physical performance on the marathon ride. He was still suffering from slight stiffness and a few aches when he started out on April 2— a reminder of the

crash which prematurely ended his first attempt to ride around New Zealand last October.

Now, with the second attempt successfully completed, he feels completely fit. “The exercise of riding the bike has done me good.” In the course of the round trip, Mr Bums rode from Cape Reinga to Bluff in seven days. But, although he was seven days inside his original schedule of 20 days, he admits to being frustrated with the legal speed limits on New Zealand roads. “The roads in the North Island are excellent and the roads in the South Island are relatively free of traffic. The speed limit on the open road is most unrealistic.”

. The longest distance Mr Burns covered on any one day was 688 km from Christchurch to Wanaka last Wednesday. He had been aiming to reach Te Anau in one day from Christchurch but slept in and did not get away until 7.30 a.m. Then, he was held up for an hour by bridge repairs in Arthur’s Pass.