Growing old disgracefully

Every Saturday morning, an assortment of motorcycles park up beside Alioke Eatery in The Meadows and a bunch of “baby boomers” talk bikes and their next ride together.

From a heavyweight 1,700cc Harley Davidson to Can-Am Spyders, road bikes and scooters, the 100-or-so Ulysses Club members in Nelson Tasman have a national motto of “growing old disgracefully”, but they’re doing it in style if their bikes are anything to go by.

Lorraine Lindsay is the local co-ordinator, and she has been a Nelson branch member for 34 of its 36-year history. There’s no age limit for members and the eldest at the moment is 87-year-old AJ, who rides a Can-Am Spyder.

“There’s a few of us riding them because we’re a bit decrepit now!” she laughs. “I had to admit defeat and get one.”

The Ulysses Club was formed in Australia in the 1980s for motorcyclists aged 40 years and older. The concept appealed to New Zealand riders who formed a club a few years later with branches springing up around the country. Now there are a couple of thousand members who Lorraine says are all getting older.

“It started for all us baby boomers. We were brought up in that era where bikes were often our only form of transport. We just love the bikes.”

Though riders under 40 are now allowed to join, she says it doesn’t have the same appeal for the younger generations who haven’t had that connection with motorbikes and the bond between riders.

“It’s good camaraderie and every region has a club, so when we see each other on the road, we’re good mates.”

Every week members ride out together, and vice co-ordinator Vicki McGhee says they have some pretty imaginative rides that can be anything from ‘passes and saddles’ to mystery rides with clues to follow. Sometimes they are longer distance of several hundred kilometres and in the past that could be up to 1,000km to ride in 24 hours.

Sometimes there’s a mid-week ride as well and, of course, meeting for coffee on Saturday mornings.

“Someone said that Ulysses’ just ride and eat!” Vicki says.

In Nelson Tasman, the Ulysses Club is known for its toy run in November where bikes are decked out with Christmas decorations and members ride a circuit in convoy, collecting toys and games from the public they pass on the street. Those toys and members’ donations are then distributed by the Salvation Army to families in need.

The toy run began in Nelson in the 80s under the Bronz organisation, with the Ulysses club taking it over in 1997.

In 2026, Nelson is hosting the Ulysses New Zealand AGM and a rally, with about 300 bikes and their riders are expected to take part. The visitors will explore the region on rides that will be designed for out-of-towners.