Mystery Bike Ride in its second year
Kerry Gentleman. Photo: Supplied.
Around 200 people, many in fancy dress, braved very mixed weather conditions to complete the second annual Jennian Great Mystery Bike Ride last Sunday.
This year’s ride was on 12 properties, offering a mixture of flat going, climbs and descents, at East Takaka. The rain forced the organisers to delay the start of the event and make some last-minute minor alterations to the course; however, they were delighted that so many people were able to enjoy the ride on the scheduled day.
“The long-range forecast was a lot worse for next weekend’s postponement day, so we decided to go ahead after the delay,” said spokesman Mark Allinson. “We had people of all ages. The youngest participant was six—she got towed around—and our oldest was Ian Pogson, who’ll be 78 next month.”
The event once more featured interesting on-course entertainment and refreshment stops—two old-fashioned tea-ladies proving particularly popular. At the East Takaka Hall, the mystery ride’s final destination, there were two bands and plenty of refreshments for people to enjoy until the weather had its final say.
The bike ride itself will raise funds for the development of cycling tracks in Golden Bay, while the catering effort raised funds for Central Takaka and Motupipi schools.
Annie Telford is a member of the hard-working organising committee, along with Kim Johnston, Mark Allinson, and Peter Blasdale. She says the committee welcomes feedback from participants, especially to do with suggested improvements or potential courses for future rides.
“It was a little bit easier this year because it was our second go at it, but the course has to be completely re-created each year. Mark takes on this major role and does a great job, even managing to keep the course secret until the very last minute,” says Annie. “The mystery ride is a charity event. As soon as we finalise the figures we’ll let people know how much money it raised for the Golden Bay Mountain Bike Club’s track-building programme.”
Neil Wilson
