Woman’s Day New Zealand – September 02, 2019

J

arredTownsendloved

redroses.Tragically,

hewillnevergetto

seethebeautifully

detailedbloomhis

mumJennyHibberthasbought

toattachtohistreasured

HarleyDavidsonwhenshe

ridesit inmemoryofher

eldestsonnextmonth.

Jarred,24,diedinOctober

2017,lessthantwoyearsafter

beingdiagnosed– justbefore

Christmas 2015 – withan

aggressiveformofacute

myeloidleukaemia.

OnSeptember7, his

devastatedmumwilltakepart

intheNewZealandlegofthe

Women’sRidersWorldRelay,

onJarred’s1690ccHarley,the

bikehegiftedtoher,thebike,

shetearfullysays,“Heshould

havebeenriding.”

Jarredwasborntoride.

Hewasconceivedataround

thesametimeJennybought

herfirstmotorbike,a Triumph

Tiger.Shehadjustmastered

thekickstartwhenshefell

pregnant,butthebikewas

soldtobuya pramandother

babygear.

“Jarredalwaysdreamed

ofowninga HarleyDavidson

• healwayswantedone,”tells
  Jenny.Cruelly,heonlyhadit
  forthebriefesttime.
  Heunderwentstemcell

treatment– sisterLeteshawas

thedonorandspenther21st

birthdayinhospitalwithher

brother– andthreelotsof

chemotherapybeforebeing

toldtherewasnothingmore

doctorscoulddoforhim.

Dyingwish

Jenny,49,sayshersonhad

everythingtoliveforbefore

thediagnosis.Hehadjust

qualifiedasanelectrician

andgoneflatting.Hehad

a “gorgeous”girlfriendand

a widecircleoffriends.

“Jarredwasoneofthose

peoplewhoattractsothers,”

enthusesJenny.“Hebrought

peopletogether.Hewas

super-positive.Hebelieved

• weallbelieved– thestem
  celltransplantwouldwork,
  butherelapsedtwiceand
  althoughweknewtheodds
  wereagainsthim,wealways
  heldontohope.”
  It waswhilehewasin
  remission,inMarch2017,that

Jarredboughthis“prideand

joy”,a 2011HarleyDavidson

DynaStreetBob.Twomonths

later,hewasgivenjustweeks

tolive.Hetoldhismumhe

wasgoingtoleavethebike

toher.

“JarredandI talkedabout

meridingthebike,”tellsa

heartbrokenJenny,“andhe

instructedmetodosome

RideforEversafetycourses.

“Intheweeksleadingup

tohisdeath,Jarredquietly

andmethodicallyprepared

thebikesoI couldrideit – he

gota softerclutch,hebrought

thecontrolsbacksomyshort

legscouldreachthem– and

fourdaysbeforehedied,he

gotsomestrength,fromI

don’tknowwhere,andtook

thebikefora testridetomake

sureit wasreadyforhismum.”

Onlyhavinga restricted

licencemeantJenny,who

runsherownproperty

managementbusinessand

is alsomumto13-year-old

Sean,couldn’trideanything

aspowerfulastheHarley.So

sheboughtherselfa Suzuki

650cc,didthecourses,andon

hersecondattempt,gained

herfulllicence.

Shehasbeenencouraged

bya groupofwomenshe

rideswith,bythefriendsshe

hasmadethroughherrole

asoneoftwoNewZealand

ambassadorsfortherelay,

andmostofallbyher“brave

andinspiring”son.

Wheelieproud

“Therelaystartedofftoraise

awarenessaboutthelackof

motorcyclinggearforwomen,

butit hasmorphedinto

somethingthatis somuch

more– it’saboutcourageand

inspiration,”tellsJenny.“I

reallystruggledduringthose

twoyearsJarredwasgoing

throughtreatment,not

knowingwhateachdaywas

goingtobring.

“SomedaysI’mOK,some

Jenny feels

her son’s

spirit when

she hits the

highway

withherpetite

1.53mframe.

Jennyadmitshandling

th H l i t

JENNY’S RID

It’s your Harley n

Twomonthsafter REMEMBRA
buying
theHarley,Jarredwas
givenjustweekstolive.

TEXT:

JULIE

JACOBSON.

PICTURES:

MIKE

CLARE.

HAIR

&

MAKE-UP:

KAREN

WINEFIELD.

The mother and son

shared a beautiful bond.

46 Woman’s Day