Rotorua’s Shweeb to feature on TV3’s Along for the Ride

Rotorua’s Shweeb to feature on TV3’s Along for the Ride

Agroventure’s world-class cycling innovation is set to feature on TV3’s Along for the Ride this Saturday, hosted by bike-nut-slash-radio presenter Simon Morton.

Starting in North Otago and finishing in Auckland, the series goes on a journey meeting obsessive Kiwi characters, mad inventors and world-record holders, discovering how much New Zealand owes to the humble bicycle.

Tomorrow night’s sixth episode takes a pit-stop in Rotorua, where Simon experiences the thrill that is the Shweeb at Agroventures, a world-first adventure activity based around the two-wheeled recumbent (lying back) bicycles that were first created in the 1800s. Today’s hybrid includes suspended aerodynamic racing pods and is one of the world’s most efficient human-powered machines.

“It was the technology side of the Shweeb that first piqued my interest in it – the original concept of lying down and pedalling along a rail was invented in the late 1800s so it was amazing to experience that with a modern twist.”

He says the reason he’s so passionate about bikes is because they are such a simple machine that can take you so many places.

“It’s the actual getting to places that I love – life is so busy that when you’re on a bike, you can only move as fast as your body is able to go. It simplifies life. When I was young, riding my bike was about freedom and exploring places. Today it’s all about reliving that freedom of exploring and challenging yourself.

“The Shweeb is all about using your own steam to get as much speed up as you can and I was grinning from ear to ear. Our whole film and production crew ended up having a go as well and I took my kids back after we’d finished filming the series because it was just that much fun.”

Agroventures operations manager Kanin Raureti says hosting the film crew on site was loads of fun.

“It was great to have someone here so passionate about pedal power and the Shweeb. It’s a pretty important part of Agroventures and we’re really proud to be the first in the world. We’re all about whanau and fun, and Simon and the crew fitted into that perfectly – we all had a blast.”

Saturday’s episode also visits local legendary carbon frame builder Graeme Pearson.

“It was great to hang out with him for a day, he’s such an innovator. He creates these phenomenal high-tech carbon bikes out of an old barn on the side of the lake. It’s just incredible,” Mr Morton says.

Along for the Ride screens this Saturday, 21 March at 7pm on TV3.

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