Motorcycles of a variety of makes line up at Himatangi Beach village while their riders mix and mingle at a previous Coast to Coast ride. Photo / Woodville Lions
Motorcycles of a variety of makes line up at Himatangi Beach village while their riders mix and mingle at a previous Coast to Coast ride. Photo / Woodville Lions
This coming weekend the roads of Manawatu and Tararua will, once again, resonate to the strident sounds of an annual motorcycle ride, one that stars Woodville, our small community just east of the Manawatu Gorge.
It is a village renowned for its traders, cheesecakes, friendliness and what is quite possibly the largest Santa parade in rural New Zealand.
Come Saturday, residents and their visitors will thrill to the roar of several hundred motorcycles as Woodville Lions/Suzuki’s Coast to Coast charity motorcycle ride thunders into town. On arrival, the ride will join with Woodville’s Christmas parade which is back from a two-year absence due to Covid 19 and other constraints.
In short order, nearly all of the parking spaces at Himatangi Beach are occupied by motorbikes in the Woodville Lions/Suzuki annual Coast to Coast ride. The event’s record attendance stands at more than 500 riders, set in 2007. Photo / Woodville Lions
The Woodville Lion’s motorcycle ride project is in its 31st year and raises funds for our region’s Grassroots Rescue Helicopter Trust.
In that time, Woodville Lions have raised more than $320,000 for the chopper, making the club one of the health service’s longest-serving supporters.
It is also interesting to note riders have, over the years of past events, travelled a total of more than 1.5 million kilometres.
Each year the ride brings vibrancy and colour to the community of Himatangi Beach as riders assemble before embarking on the 200km charity ride to Akitio Beach on the East Coast. Photo / Woodville Lions
As in many prior years, riders will depart from Himatangi Beach, then travel through the Manawatu via Shannon to Woodville, where they will all add interest, colour and noise to the village Christmas Parade. All registered participants will stop for free refreshments and lunch in Fountaine Square before journeying on to Akitio on the East Coast; a total run of some 200km.
Registration time provides an opportunity for a spot of brand recognition and unabashed motorcycle admiration and nostalgia. Photo / Woodville Lions
Woodville Lion Ron Mabey (right) greets an entrant in last year’s Coast to Coast ride while others register in the background. Photo / Woodville Lions
The ride crests Saddle Rd summit on the temporary SH3 until the eagerly-awaited "Te Ahu a Turanga - Manawatu Tararua highway" opens in a little over one year’s time. Photo / Woodville Lions
Woodville Lions members Neil Candy and David Wiffen, assisted by Shirley Hull, attend to riders at the 2022 event’s free lunch stop in Woodville’s Fountaine Square Park. Photo / Woodville Lions
The Coast to Coast motorcycle lineup at Woodville’s Fountaine Square provides a chance each year to spot an arresting display of two and three-wheeled transport.
Refreshened and refuelled riders from a previous event set off for the afternoon stage, the scenic 104km run to the finish at the Akitio Boating Club. Photo / Woodville Lions
Woodville Lions have successfully staged this ride to raise funds for the Manawatu-Whanganui Rescue Helicopter since 1992. Over time, the chopper’s crews have used the money raised for improvements and additions of vital new equipment, resulting today in a system giving patients what is arguably one of the best specialist medivac helicopter care and support services in the country.
Foundation riders and veterans of every Coast to Coast, Lynn Southee and Grant MacRae, together with friends Leslie and the late Trevor Ward, agreed recently their “close-up and very personal” relationship with this project has blossomed over the years.
Over the first of those 31 years, Lynn, Trevor and Leslie rode classic Triumph 650 twins, which provided a measure of rider perseverance and skill over the then-challenging Tararua roads to Herbertville. In more recent rides, Lynn has traded his trusty T6 Triumph for the more gentlemanly comfort of a Honda Goldwing touring bike.
Woodville Lions/Suzuki’s Coast to Coast, through its support to the rescue helicopter, is seen by all participants as a valuable opportunity to meet up with fellow motorcycle enthusiasts and participate in an enjoyable day on the road.
A ride marshal at a junction in Makuri is passed by riders on their way to Akitio Beach. Photo / Woodville Lions
Riders approach a bridge across the Akitio River as they near the ride’s end at Akitio village. Photo / Woodville Lions
Riders reflect on the Woodville Lions' event after reaching the Coast to Coast’s final destination of Akitio Beach on Tararua District’s East Coast. Photo / Llewellyn Annandale.
Each year the ride ends at Akitio Boating Club, where tradition provides good food, ample refreshment and a well-supported raffle to raised more funds for our region’s rescue helicopter service. Photo / Woodville Lions
The event also seeks to proactively promote safe riding habits and practices for motorcyclists of all ages. Debbie Webster, Horizons’ road safety co-ordinator, says this year the regional council road safety team is endorsing the Motorcycle Crash Card initiative at Woodville Lions/Suzuki’s Coast to Coast.
Originating in the UK and later adopted globally, the Motorcycle Crash Card is currently being trialled in the Hawke’s Bay region by Roadsafe Hawke’s Bay and ACC Injury Prevention. The card provides vital information about a rider’s medical history when they cannot communicate.
Debbie emphasises the card’s role as a crucial communication tool for first responders and medical professionals in the event of a motorcycle crash.
Riders will get an opportunity to discuss this initiative with Debbie at the Horizons’ road safety team display stand during the Fountaine Square lunch break.
Woodville Lions is also keen to recognise the ride’s principal brand sponsor, Suzuki, which has been on board with the project for the past 21 years.
Suzuki New Zealand says: “Anyone who has ever looked to fundraise will tell you it’s hard work, and often there is a great deal of volunteer hours for very small rewards. The crew of Woodville Lions are masters in their field when it comes to supporting the community they live in; their passion for ensuring that essential services are maintained is a primary focus of the Coast to Coast event”.
Suzuki’s support for the Coast to Coast is the result of a long-term relationship with Woodville Lions and its enthusiasm for the ride itself. It’s a popular annual event and considered by some a must-do on the motorcycle calendar with riders enjoying the scenery of varying rural landscapes and knowing they are supporting a worthy cause.
The 2023 ride follows the same format as previous years and participant numbers are expected to be up. Suzuki NZ registrations for this year’s event open in the Himatangi Beach Community Centre at 9am on Saturday, December 9, with start time set for 10am. Lunch and refreshments are supplied during the halfway stop at Woodville’s Fountaine Square. The final leg ends at Akitio, where prizes and auctions will help round out an enjoyable Christmas atmosphere.
Proud of the history it continues to deliver, Woodville Lions Club is living its motto - “We Serve”.
