This weekend sees the start of the second Kiwi Brevet. Organised by Simon Kennett, the Brevet is a 1100km, unsupported off-road cycle tour round the top of the South Island with riders taking between four and eight days to complete the course.
Paul on Whirinaki's famous tree trunk bridge
Long-time club member Paul Becker has been training hard and will be one of the fifty-seven riders setting off from Blenheim on Saturday. Hopefully the long days spent training in the Hunuas on his trusty Santa Cruz Heckler will pay off, with Paul aiming for between 150 and 200 km per day!
It’s not just about the personal challenge for Paul though. He’s also raising money for his colleague’s daughter Zoe who, due to a a rare congenital condition, suffered a stroke at a very young age and now requires intensive rehabilitation for at least the next five years. If you’d like to sponsor Paul, visit his blog for details.
All the Brevet competitors carry SPOT trackers that relay their position by satellite. This is primarily so they can be found quickly in the case of an emergency, but also allows us to watch their progress in real-time! They also have to phone in at set points, and the voicemails get posted online as well. Together with the Twitter feed and various blogs covering the action, it makes for surprisingly gripping viewing.
Go Paul – it’s all rideable!
