Senior cyclists young at heart
A GANG of Dunedin seniors are not letting age stop them exploring the city on cycles.
Six members of the Dunedin 60+ Group started a ride at the new bridge over the Water of Leith yesterday morning before biking to St Leonards and back and then to Vauxhall.
Organiser John Jensen (87) said the biking group was created recently and was about keeping older people active.
‘‘Some of them are quite energetic people.
‘‘There are those who are serious at tramping, going on walks and doing hard stuff.’’
The group liked to change things up, but often held regular jaunts on the Taieri.
‘‘We just go out and ride when the weather’s right.
‘‘We’re not out there to tough it out, we’re out there to enjoy ourselves.’’
Mr Jensen took a 40year break from cycling until a visit to Xian, China, 12 years ago, where he biked on the old city walls.
‘‘I’ve been doing it ever since.’’
Participant Jim Finnie said many of the riders liked to use electric bikes on long hauls to make the journeys easier.
Through his engineering skills he put ‘‘cheap Chinese motors’’ on his and his wife’s bikes.
‘‘They go really well. They can probably get up to 30kmh.’’
However, the motors did make the bikes heavier so he ‘‘couldn’t recommend it’’ to others.