HOW A PASSION FOR 2 WHEELS CHANGED A LIFE

About 6 years ago we started a bike business. It changed our lives. Sounds quite melodramatic doesn't it? But considering that bikes are the most efficient machines ever invented and quite possibly the most powerful tools for physical and mental transformation, it's worth the dramatic statement.

So how did it all begin? Well I can tell you, on a whim and a prayer in a garage with no insulation. And by the way, 6 years later and the garage is still an icebox. To coin another phrase 'necessity is the mother of invention' and when Simon came off his factory Aprilia motorbike hooning up the Rimutaka hill one fine Saturday morning, the knock on effect was to reconsider the kind of two wheels to go crazy on. And I would say that it was that fateful day that changed the course of the future. 

And it was ironic. He adored his Aprilia but he also had a mistress; a vintage Ducati he'd spent months restoring after he'd bought it as scrap. After completing the restoration and taking her out for a few white knuckle adventures he'd decided that 2 bikes was possibly a little extravagant, popped her on Trade Me and sold her in a very short space of time. 

The day he took her to the Picton Ferry to say his last goodbyes as she sailed off to her new man was heart wrenching. Saying good bye when a transformation has taken place and a true bond has been formed is always difficult, but he did it. And to reward himself for his valiant effort he decided to spend some quality time with his other favourite; Queen Aprilia. 

It was probably around 2pm I got the call...

'Ange....'

'Hi. What's up?' I was Brand Manager at for the Bodyworks Gyms at the time and we had an open day going on so I was pretty distracted.

'I've had an accident'

'What?'

'I'm in Hutt Hosptial'

'What happened?'

'I came off the bike'

'What happened to you? Are you OK?'

'Yeah, well I don't know yet'

'Where is your bike?'

'In two pieces on the Rimutaka's'

And that was that. A serendipitous end to motorcycling. When you lose 2 bikes in one day, my feeling is, the universe is trying to tell you something. 

After a stint at Hutt Hospital and months of recuperation Simon made a full recovery. Alas, the Aprilia did not. 

And that, dear friends is where his passion for pedal power emerged. And not just to ride but to fix and service and convert and build and restore. And all with the love and passion of a seasoned artisan - which he most certainly is.