Healy-Guttman Blog

The adventure continues in Timaru and the Levels racetrack - home of the second in the series of 3 “meetings” (race weekends) that comprises the Southern Festival of Speed here on the South Island of New Zealand. 

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We left the Love Shack at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii at 2:30 PM Friday January 25th and 24 hours later, we were one day ahead (January 27th) and checking into the Hapuku Lodge in Kaikoru, New Zealand (South Island) close to 5000 miles away from the shack.    ….tired, probably really smelly, but running on adrenaline and just plain happy to be here, we grabbed a bottle of champagne and took this picture about 10 minutes away on the beach:

This is the story of our travels in the month of February through the South Island of New Zealand where we will (or “have” depending on when you read this) race in three consecutive weekends of the biggest vintage races on this island in “Pete” (my ‘69 BMW 2002 who has travelled in slightly lesser conditions inside of a container on a ship)….  We will be updating this blog regularly with photos and even in-car video of each race track.  …so check back often…

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The weather here in West Hawaii has been really incredible these past few weeks and I have had a few opportunities to get “Dusty” (KLR-650 motorcycle) out for a few long rides.   Last week, inspired by a similar trek by sister Kathleen and her friend Peter, I headed North to “the end of the road” where the coastal highway ends at the Pololu overlook.  This is quite a panoramic view of the valley, ocean and Kohala Mountains.

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2007 was a blur.  Before we set off to New Zealand I wanted to post a few photos of some end of year “happenings” in our world - Thanksgiving in SoCal with Suzanne’s side of the family, a trip to Hawaii with a visit from parents and friends, updated “Love Shack” photos, a visit from Bo and the new “rally car” just added to the stable.

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I’ve been road racing for several years now in the vintage class but I’ve always wondered what “true road racing” would have been like in “the day” - when temporary circuits were made using public roads with real hazards (trees, telephone poles, ditchs, and other immovable objects).  Today due to safety reasons we race on permanent courses with tire walls, runoffs, gravel traps and areas for the spectators well beyond any danger.  …well, there is one last opportunity in North America to participate in the type of “real” road racing one can only dream about - albeit in rally format - and I had to see it for myself. 

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On a sad note, Hank the truck is gone - adopted by a new family - and so will the trailer it pulled faithfully to the track for almost 3 seasons of racing.  On the positive side, ”The Enterprise” has landed in their place to accommodate us in style while at the racetrack (or perhaps even some other adventure trips).  Although it looks big, this coach is actually on the smaller side for its class (less than 30′ long) which was the appeal of a Safari Trek.

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It all started with my Dad dropping the motorcycle off at UND last spring semester, and ended up with 3 days or riding West. Then again at the end of the summer I rode East for 3 days, totaling 54 hours of riding in one summer.
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Bo and I have been wanting to make a trip up the Olympic Peninsula all summer and we finally got our chance last weekend. Since our schedules have been so busy, we opted to leave on a Friday around noon and were back the next day by 5 PM. The amount of ground we covered and sights that we saw were impressive considering the short amount of time.

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The 4th of July Holiday has become somewhat of an annual family tradition and Gearhart, Oregon seems to be the easiest place to meet.

In typical festive garb to match the Holiday, Mom poses with Suzanne and me (I didn’t get the memo on patriotic dress…):

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A trip to the Love Shack in June wouldn’t be complete with some adventure trips. Many of these trips were with neighbor and good friend David Bever and usually involved a motorcycle or two. However, one trip could only be accomplished with a dual sport bike like Dusty, so one sunny Father’s Day morning (aren’t they all at Kealekekua Bay) I headed North for the beginning of an all day tour that included the summit of Mauna Loa (well, almost), a trip to Hilo to see the gun club and a return that included the scenic Kaalaiki Road between Pahala and Naalehu at South Point. This trip covered about 275 miles and compared to the trip on R1 around Mauna Kea earlier in the year, it was a cakewalk!

Here is my favorite photo from the trip. This was at about 10,000 feet elevation with Mauna Kea in the background:

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May has been a busy month here and there are a few photos to share. Brian came back from UND for the summer to work in our warehouse. His arrival:

We went down to Newport Beach for the weekend for the 50th B-Day party of Suzanne’s sister Brenda:

The Wynn Hotel gallery in Las Vegas featured Suzanne’s work in a special show:

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The 2007 Sovren vintage racing season is underway! The “new race car” #59 has finally been named after this last weekend’s “Spring Sprints” event. After several comments from spectators about the “whistling noise” that the car made as I sped past the grandstands, the name “Piccolo Pete” was coined by Suzanne. ….so “Pete” it is…

Pete whistling while he races:

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