A dawn to dusk midwinter bicycle adventure

A dawn to dusk midwinter bicycle adventure

28-29 June 2013

As daylight fades into one of the longest nights of 2013, a dozen cyclists will leave Masterton and strike out into solitude along the back roads towards Hawkes Bay. Wrapped up to keep out the cold winter air and hoping the prevailing northerly wind takes a night off, the group will be self-sufficient until they roll into Hastings over 16 hours later.

This is a loosely organised ride from Inspiring Riding Ltd, publishers of Journey magazine. Co-founder Paul Smith explains: “Last year, four of us rode 270 kilometres from Waimarama to Masterton overnight in July for no reason other than curiosity—we wanted to see if we could do it and wondered what it would feel like. The journey was so rewarding we wanted to share the fun with more riders this year.”

Four women and six men responded to a call on the Inspiring Riding Facebook page for riders to join the 2013 adventure. Most are strangers who will meet for the first time on the bus ride to from Wellington to Masterton. Two or three are experienced endurance racers, some are regular riders looking for a different challenge, and others are dusting off old bikes and hoping their memories of cycling get them through the night. Few of them have ridden 250 kilometres in one go, and even fewer have ridden all through the night.

Mike Wilson, the other co-founder of Inspiring Riding and 2012 rider: “Last year, Paul touted a theory that the camaraderie of a group would overcome the physical and mental limitations of the individuals. I sure hoped so, as I rolled out on an old ten-speed bike having never ridden more than 100 kilometres during the day, let alone on a long cold night. With more riders, this year will be even more of a test of his harebrained idea.”

The longest night 2013 will leave Masterton around 4pm on Friday 28 June, and end at Bay Espresso on Karamu Road, Hastings sometime before noon on Saturday 29 June. Inspiring Riding would like to thank to Chris at Bay Espresso (www.bayespresso.co.nz) for supporting the ride, and Beth Smith and Jim Long for agreeing to be the shuttle drivers.
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