Charity ride a great experience



The bunch after riding Queenstown to Invercargill

I’m no cyclist. I love the sport and at Cycling Southland we are looking to do every thing we can to grow the sport and provide Southlanders with opportunities to perform and enjoy riding a bike, at whatever level they wish. Since getting involved in the sport a little over two years ago, I’ve realised just how addictive it can be, but we are simply at the stage of life where work and family commitments mean I have had few opportunities to enjoy time pushing the pedals around myself.

That changed on Friday as I rolled out of bed at some ungodly hour to join a great bunch on a charity ride from Queenstown to Invercargill, raising funds for the Westpac Rescue Chopper.

If I’d really taken the time to think it through, there is no sane rationale for someone like me to take on a ride like that. My previous longest jaunt was around 35km. It’s quite a jump to 180-plus around the Devil’s Staircase, up the Jollies, over Josephville Hill in on to the city.

It became pretty obvious very early that I was to spend a good amount of quality one-on-one thinking time with myself out the back of the bunch. James McRobie’s regular Classic Hits radio reports helped, because he had to stop to dial in to the studio, but I would then watch as he and Nathan Burdon would disappear off in to the distance every time we would approach anything resembling a mound in the road.

I was quite ready to jump in the car at Kingston, but the bunch had very kindly waited at Kingston, probably to check I was alive. Even though I was five kilometers per hour slower than the rest of the field, (actually, probably closer to 10,) I kept turning the pedals and somehow made it over the Jollies and in to Lumsden for the lunch stop.

I did everyone a favour by hopping in the sag wagon before jumping out at Limehills School to complete the last 50 kilometres in to town. Rolling in to Westpac on Kelvin Street is something I won’t forget. There was a great turn-out of well-wishers and supporters, news of around $10,000 raised and a cold beer which I murdered on the spot.

The money raised was the reason we all rode, but I had one other. If someone like me can tick off 150km in a day, believe me when I say anyone can! That says more about the sport of cycling than anything I’ve written in this column over the last two years. Thanks to all who rode, especially Andrew Moreton and Phil Taylor at Westpac, (I will forgive you for talking me in to the ride in time Phil).

I hope you can join us Thursday from 5.30pm at the Ascot Park Hotel as we send off our Olympic and Junior Worlds cyclists. Limited tickets are selling very well and must be pre-purchased so get yours from Cycling Southland’s office today.

Awards function recognises talent

Muppet of the Year Ray Robinson

Cycling Southland’s first annual awards evening was held last week at Ascot Park Hotel. Like many sporting organizations, one of the major challenges our organization faces is trying to appropriately recognize the incredible achievements and contributions on and off the bike during the course of the year.

Guest speaker Simon Jones provided an insight in to his strength and conditioning role with High Performance Sport New Zealand, including the incredible tale of returning Tom Scully to full health following his career threatening smash in Ireland two years ago. Southland is blessed with incredible facilities and plenty of raw sporting talent and with specialist expertise from Jonesy, nutritionist Aimee Burns and Academy Southland’s Jason McKenzie, Southland sport is converting that raw talent in to world class performance.

At Cycling Southland, once you start handing out awards it is difficult to know when to stop. The sheer volume of worthy recipients made the task of selecting winners very difficult.

Our first ever People’s Choice awards, based on nominations from the crowd on the night were very popular. Tom Sexton took out the “Performance of the Year” for his ride in the Under 15 Boys Points Race at the Age Group Track Nationals. Young Tom had ridden a tremendous race before crashing a handful of laps from the end. He brushed off the attention of medical and race officials and bravely fought his way to the finish to earn his first national medal.

And Ray Robinson headed off a long list of candidates to win the “Muppet of the Year” award. He rode the Gore to Waikiwi classic in a borrowed set of race shoes, after arriving at the start line to find he had left his own set at home. The borrowed set was about four sizes too big and he rode the race with pieces of old rag stuffed in the back of the shoes, pulling most of the muscles in his lower body in the process. Take good care of Elmo for the year, Ray

Speaking of high performers, we are hosting a farewell function for our Olympic and Junior Worlds representatives next week. Over coming weeks, London-bound Eddie Dawkins, Natasha Hansen and Matt Archibald head away for the final phase of their buildup to July’s Olympics. Later next month our local Junior Worlds contingent of Tom Beadle, Jeremy Presbury and Kate Dunlevey scatter to all corners of the globe - Australia, the United States and Europe - to put the finishing touches on their pre-Championship preparations.

Join us to send this talented bunch off in style at Ascot Park Hotel on Thursday May 31^st from 5.30pm. Tickets are $25 with profits going to the local Junior Worlds riders to assist with the self-funding of their trip. We’ll hear from all six riders along with BikeNZ coach Stu MacDonald on their hopes for the next three months and we’ll throw in a drink and nibbles as well.

For tickets contact Cycling Southland on 2173215 or visit cyclingsouth.org.nz.

I hope you can join us for what will be the start of one of the most exciting periods for sport in Southland.

Nice quiet time of year?

2011 Corporate Pursuit winners

This is supposedly our cycling off-season, although you wouldn'’t know it. I guess the moment we were awarded the Junior World Track Cycling Champs for this year, we gave up the right to any off-season. Here’s a snap-shot of recent news;

- Entries for the 2012 edition of the Harrex Group Corporate Pursuit close on Wednesday. This is one of my favourite events of the year. Yes it hasn’t been the easiest twelve months in the business world so what better way to have some fun with your workmates than entering your team of six into the largest corporate track cycling event in the world. You’ll get fully-coached sessions and two race days out of us and it even qualifies as one of those new-age team building exercises. All the details are at cyclingsouth.org.nz 

- Individual session passes for the Junior World Champs are now on sale through Stadium Southland. We sold over 3500 seats with our early-bird event passes and we'’ve kept the prices at rock-bottom by design – to make sure as many Southlanders have the chance to get a look at our very own World Championships here on our back-door. There are two sessions each day from Wednesday 22 to Saturday 25 August with a single session on Sunday the 26th, the final day of competition. Session tickets start from as low as $10 for adults and $7.50 for children so grab yours and make sure you get one of the best seats in the house in August. They are going fast.

- Speaking of the Junior Worlds the Kiwi squad is showing early form at this weekend’s Club Road Nationals in Hawkes Bay. Alexandra'’s Sophie Williamson won both women’s time trial and road race while Canterbury’s Dylan Kennett and Hamish Schreurs took out the men’s events. All three will be on the start line as part of a New Zealand squad with high hopes of a strong home-town showing.

- We are all very proud of Eddie Dawkins and Natasha Hansen’s naming in the Olympic squad for London. Matt Archibald is also still very much in the mix as part of the wider Men’s sprint squad and if his rapid development over the last 12 months is anything to go by, he could still get himself an Olympic berth with continued gains over the next few months. All three have potentially got years ahead of them on the international scene, and while Rio in 2016 may be a more realistic target in terms of medal prospects, knowing all three of them well, they won’t be lining up at the London Velodrome with anything other than a 2012 medal on their minds.

- Somehow I have (been) volunteered to ride from Queenstown to Invercargill in a few weeks as part of Westpac’s annual Chopper Appeal. Fortunately it’s a great cause. Unfortunately it’s not that far away. But if you say 180 kilometres quickly enough, it doesn’t sound that far.

So, like I say, nice quiet time of year then?