Early birds ready to farewell rally

PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY
PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY
Cantabrians Graeme and Rose Marshall, of Springston, were so keen to be at today’s Brass Monkey Rally they arrived two days early.

For Mr Marshall, attending the 40th and final rally was a no-brainer.

"I’ve been to all of them; it’s something we’ve looked forward to every year.

"This year even more so — we missed last year."

The couple’s circuit included a tour of Central Otago and St Bathans’ Vulcan Hotel was one of their first stops on Thursday.

They went via Danseys Pass — the route Mr Marshall had taken for 40 years, he said.

Mrs Marshall lagged behind him in terms of attendance but had still clocked up an impressive 13 rallies.

She believed it was time to end the rally, and like all good gigs, to finish on a high.

The couple had owned various bikes but their latest, a 2006 Russian-made Ural and sidecar, curiously fitted with a reverse gear, was the perfect machine to end their association with the rally.

Nicknamed "Black Beauty", the bike was imported to New Zealand from Portland, Oregon, in the United States.

They had wanted "something different" and the Eastern European machine fitted the bill, Mr Marshall said.

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