‘Biggest part was his heart’
Guy Lowe’s mates thought he was pretty tough when they first met him.
The tattooed, motorcycle-riding Englishman with a quick wit liked to call himself ‘‘a real hard b ...... ’’, friend Steve Pullman said.
‘‘Then I found out he loved his rabbits and his best mate was a parrot called Reggie. It sort of stuffed it for him. He was no longer the tough b ....... ’’
Lowe, in his early 50s, died on Sunday on the way to hospital after crashing his bike while riding in the Greymouth Street Races. It was the first fatality in the event’s 27-year history.
Lowe emigrated to New Zealand in 2005 and settled in Christchurch, where he joined the Plains Motorcycle Club. He moved to Nelson about three years ago to concentrate on his racing.
Club president Greg Johns said riding a motorbike was Lowe’s ‘‘greatest passion’’.
‘‘He was absolutely dedicated to it and would have been all smiles at the time. His passion for anything in life was pretty intense. He was a real people person – you could talk to him today and talk to him again in six months time and he would remember absolutely every single detail. He would be a huge loss to anybody that’s ever associated with him.’’
Lowe had several bikes, including an original Honda CBX.
‘‘It didn’t matter how tough things got, he always managed to just hold onto the Honda,’’ Johns said.
One of Lowe’s biggest dreams was to race at the Isle of Man. He had taken part in the TT street races there six times as a sidecar passenger. The bike he was riding on Sunday was his practice bike for the event, which he and Johns had planned to go to in the next few years.
‘‘As tragic as it is, he would never have handled it had he been severely injured and not been able to ride again,’’ Johns said.
It was the first time in more than 30 years that someone from the club had died in a motorbike accident, he said.
Friend Garry Chick said Lowe was a ‘‘wonderful man’’. ‘‘He was a real character. Always laughing. The biggest part of him was his heart. He was a really nice man. He adored his bikes. He had lots of friends.
‘‘I have heard he came around a bend and someone had fallen off and Guy hit the bike. His bike flipped and he fell on his head and never recovered. It’s gut-wrenching. To lose a man that good is not fair.’’
Friend Denise Thomson said Lowe was a ‘‘beautiful person’’.
‘‘He was definitely one of a kind is all I can say,’’ she said.
He rode in the Burt Munro Challenge in 2005 and said New Zealand was one of the best countries he had seen.