On yer bike
Congratulations to our staff who teamed up for
the infamous Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge and
this year won the Workplace Challenge Trophy.
The trophy is awarded to the workplace with the most entries.
BOPDHB not only gets to keep the trophy for bragging rights
forever but it also has naming rights to next year’s Workplace
Challenge.
Patrick White, Nurse Educator, Mental Health & Addiction Services
was part of the crew. Here’s his account of the journey.
A real rookie if ever there was one, I had never done any
competitive cycling before and being unsure if I would ever again,
decided to ride it on the bike I had;- a retro 80’s steel frame 12
speed that was given to me by a work colleague a couple of years
previously!
Patrick on the list of thousands participating in the Lake Taupo ride.
Some minor improvements were made including a new seat, clip
on pedals, rear axle replacement and chain but that was it.
Much effort went into training with great support from some friends
who had done a fair amount cycling before.
The adrenalin was certainly pumping on the start line causing me
to start a lot faster than I anticipated. I wondered several times
if I could sustain the pace. Another factor influencing my ride
significantly was lining up at the start with Jon Bridges – previously
semi pro rider who was supporting a friend doing his first time ride.
I later found out the Jon was the MC for the prize giving. He had
an interest in my bike and was open for me to tag along as like
Jon’s friend, my goal was to see if I could do the ride in 5.30 hours
or better. He set the pace man it was fast. Hanging on for dear life
I managed to come in with Jon and his with a pleasing 5.17 ride. It
was an amazing thrill to have a go.
Success is never on the basis of self-effort alone. I feel really
grateful for the support of many friends and family who have
encouraged me to have a go at something different in spite of not
having all the flash gear.
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