‘Bit of a boy racer’ still putting pedal to the metal; Te Whau Pathway consultation opens

‘Bit of a boy racer’ still putting pedal to the metal

When local man Gary Wike retired from his mechanical engineering role at Auckland Airport last year, he thought it would be a great time to immerse himself in some of his ‘boy racer’ hobbies.

Gary’s father, Adam, was a motor mechanic back in the day and had a bit of a name successfully racing stock cars in the 1950s in a 1936 Ford Coupé. It figured that his son might become a bit of a petrol head with a love of engines. And so it was, and Gary thought retirement would be a great time to get on with some projects when lockdown came along. “I’d had a 1994 Renault for about 18 years,” he says. “I hadn’t used it for a while so thought I’d take it out for drive. “Nothing,” he says. “The fuel pump had died so I ripped it out and ordered a new one from the UK. I’m still waiting.”

Checking around his garage for something else to do, Gary remembered the 1980 Honda MB-5 he’d bought eight years ago. At the height of its popularity, it had been considered ‘very tasty’ and this seemed like a good time for Gary to resurrect it. Only problem was it was in 1,000 pieces in boxes.

“I’d stripped it down for restoration but work on it stopped at the stripping and it had been in bits since.”

About “a couple of hundred hours” later, it was all pieced together again and with a new registration and a mighty fine paint job which included shiny sprinkles, Gary took it for a test drive last month.

“It went very, very well. It worked first pop and that felt pretty good. I wasn’t going too far as it’s got its original tyres. New ones are coming from the Netherlands and when I get those on, I’ll be more confident with it.

“It’s got a six-speed gear box, so you’re always changing gears. Being so small and close to the ground, you feel as though you’re doing 100 miles an hour. You’re always busy on the gears.

“I do feel proud. The sense of accomplishment when you get it ticking over is great.”

But that wasn’t Gary’s first motorcycle restoration. He’s also done Yamaha SS50s and Honda 50s. “I used to frequent the Hamilton refuse tip and bring them to Auckland and restore them.”

Cars have been in the mix too and none more so than the Ford stockcar his famous dad had taken to Australia with the New Zealand team and raced in 1959.

“He stopped racing in about 1960 and I was keen to find that car so did a bit of ringing around,” says Gary. It was found at the back of Henderson in 1982, in a shed that had collapsed all around it. “I got it home (cost me $30 for that.) I took two-and-a-half years to restore that stockcar. It was the oldest stockcar in New Zealand. I had it for about 30 years but it had to go when Val (his wife of 39 years) and I moved house. “I did shed a bit of a tear to let it go but it’s in good care at Pukekohe with about 300 other cars.” While “not much of a stockcar racer” himself, Gary still liked spending time at the stockcar club in Waikaraka Park in Onehunga – at least until Covid got in the way, and put the kibosh on everything. With “no particular project” on the go at the moment, Gary admits that while putting 1,000 bits of motorcycle into a shape that makes a real motorbike, he’s no good at jigsaws. “I leave that to Val. The secret to working with bits when you strip a car or bike down, is to put them in plastic bags, mark them, make a note of what they are and where they come from.” Simple really.

Gary and his restored 1980 Honda – Moira Kennedy MB-5

Te Whau Pathway consultation open

Aucklanders are being invited to have their say on the design of Te Whau Pathway as the project takes its next steps following resource consent being granted in 2020.

The pathway, being built in stages, will link the Waitematā and Manukau harbours. When complete, it will improve access to the Whau River and create new off-road walking and cycling connections for commuting and recreation.

Consultation is open on the pathway design and the locations of play areas, access points and rest areas along the pathway.

Tony Miguel, Whau Coastal Walkway Environmental Trust Chair says that this marks a real milestone in the process.

“For many people, seeing the completed pathway will be a dream come true,” he says. “There has been an enormous amount of hard work done to get it to this point, and it is fantastic to see how the path could potentially look.

“This project will be a generational transformation, opening the Whau River and connecting communities in a way that hasn’t been possible for generations. It is important that people get involved and have their say.

“Without doubt it will become one of the jewels in Auckland’s crown and when complete will attract people from all over New Zealand to visit and enjoy..

“The key to that enjoyment will be the places along the path for people to stop and enjoy the scenery, the places people are able to play and access points to the path from the existing transport network. This is why this consultation is so important.

“On behalf of the Trust, I want to thank the New Zealand Government, Auckland Council, the Whau and Henderson-Massey Local Boards, Auckland Transport and The Trusts Community Foundation (TTCF) whose funding has enabled the project to progress.”

The consultation is open until December 20, and you can provide feedback by adding comments to an online interactive map, using an online feedback form at https://akhaveyoursay.aucklandcouncil.govt. nz/te-whau-pathway ot emailing tewhaupathway@aucklandcouncil. govt.nz

There is also a webinar taking place on December 2, 2021 from 5:45 to 7:15pm using the Microsoft Teams app. You will be able to hear more about the project and proposed designs and ask questions. Visit https://tewhaupathway.org.nz/ to find out more.