More than 50 motorcyclists died in NZ in 2016, and while riders know they won't get any second chances, the freedom of the open road is irresistible.
Motorcyclists get a bad rap sometimes. Stats in the media of deaths increase the public's anxiety about these powerful pieces of machinery and the people who ride them.
The Wellington Motorcycle Fun Riders - and yes, that is their real name - convened at a Caltex petrol station in Upper Hutt at eleven o'clock on a sunny Friday morning.
It's what you might term a loosely-organised group: the 15 or so members who turned up for the two-hour fun-run to Martinborough don't know each other particularly well, and many don't have a lot in common with one another.
The pieces of glue that band the motley crew together stretch across the southern end of the petrol station like sculptures - a white Kawasaki here, a black-and-green Honda there. They each have two common features: two wheels, and a lot of horsepower.
Gino Maresca, a Wellingtonian, has been riding motorcycles since he was 15 years old, and he looks it: short and stocky, dressed in dark sunglasses and faded leathers, with a bouncy, petrol-soaked voice.
He said all motorcyclists had their reasons for picking it up - and for him, it was historical.
"My one over there's a tourer - it's an Italian bike, it's got a whole lot of history behind it. 1921 the company started. So when I'm cruising along on this, it's not for speed - it's for going, 'I'm on a piece of history here'," he said.
"You know, that's what the cruise is: everyone's got something different."
Gino Maresca Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
But this particular mode of transport has not had a great time of it, lately.
For the second year in a row, more than 50 motorcyclists died on the roads in 2016 - nearly double the number in 2003.
Five motorcyclists died on the roads over the holiday period - making up more than a quarter of the worst holiday road toll since 2009.
And the Transport Agency has said motorcyclists were 21 times more likely to die on the road than a car user, by distance travelled.
These stark truths have raised questions about motorcycle safety and culture, and whether man or machine was to blame.
Two Bald Bikers is a motorcycle safety school based in Lower Hutt, owned by Ross Gratton and Stuart Nelson - two old-hat riders, who, between them, have more than 70 years of motorcycling experience.
They offer subsidised riding lessons, through the ACC-sponsored "Ride Forever" initiative: a comprehensive training programme for motorcyclists of all levels of experience.
Mr Gratton said motorcycling was no more inherently dangerous than crossing the road - provided riders approached it with the right mindset.
"Motorcycling is not inherently dangerous; weeing on an electric fence is inherently dangerous. Motorcycling is just unforgiving.
"If you start with an understanding that, 'yeah, I'm a vulnerable road user, therefore the onus is on me to keep myself safe', then you're going to be a hell of a lot better off."
Many of their customers are what the Bald Bikers call "returning riders" - older people, who gave up riding years ago, coming back to re-capture past glories.
Stuart Nelson (left) and Ross Gratton from 'Two Bald Bikers' Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Mr Gratton said there was a delicate balance to strike with returning riders - he did not want to rain on their parade, but it was important to highlight that, in 2016, things were a bit different to how they once were.
"Some road rules have changed. Some best practice stuff might've changed. And it's [about] getting you entirely confident on your bike, and making sure that, no matter what you're riding, you're riding within your skill envelope."
Glenn Henderson said he had been riding motorbikes since he was knee-high to a grasshopper - but only graduated to the open road five years ago.
He said the most important thing for motorcyclists to be mindful of was their own limitations.
"You have to be focussed on a motorcycle, you get no second chances, so you do have to be quite in tune with what's going on around you. Check everything going around. Because the one time you don't, you'll get caught."
And, despite the media coverage and the numbers, he said motorcycling would always hold a special place in his heart.
"It's the freedom. And it's being by yourself - you have to be focussed, you get no second chances.
"Unless you ride a motorcycle, you won't understand."