ANOTHER VIEW ON THE PIONEER
Andy and Adam are based in Brisbane, and are just one team that were seen to be laughing their way through the event. It was their first time doing The Pioneer, or anything like it.
“I came to Queenstown about a year ago on my honeymoon, and fell in love with the place,” said Andy. “At the same time information about The Pioneer started to appear on Facebook so I said ‘Hey Adam, do you want to do this?’ And that was pretty much it.”
“I thought yeah, that is something crazy to do!” laughed Adam as we sat around before dinner one evening. While they have both been riding for a while, The Pioneer was going to be a big step.
“I started mountain biking in ‘98, at the Interschools,” said Andy, “and then I got into road cycling and forgot about mountain biking. But I’ve slowly got back into it as I got older.”
The fact that it was out of the ordinary was a big part of the appeal for the two of them, as Adam explained. “Partly this is about doing something challenging with a mate, and also just about having a crazy adventure! Life is short, get out there and do something crazy once a year. It is 100 times better than I thought it would be, to be honest. The Pioneer has really delivered on everything it promised and more. I have fully enjoyed the whole week.”
The Pioneer is a big investment, in time and finances. Both in terms of getting ready and getting there. And that’s not lost on Andy or Adam.
“Just do it,” stated Adam. “It’s a big expense, but the return on investment is infinite. The people, the setup, the course – the value for money is there and it is totally worth it. As Andy has said, it’s Type 2 fun. It is fun now, but I know I’ll be home and really, really missing it. I can’t recommend The Pioneer enough.”
“I agree,” Andy added, “especially moving into the camp village. Once we got out and about and out into the backcountry it really clicked. Everything is there in the camp and you don’t have to think about anything else other than riding your bike, and eating and sleeping. And that’s the good life!”
We’re not short of a mountain bike stage race in Australia, and The Pioneer might have sowed the seed for this partnership.
“We have already been talking about Port to Port and maybe Cape to Cape in 2019, and maybe the Swiss Epic the year after. It’s certainly hit some buttons for us,” said Andy. Preparation was different for the two riders, who needed to juggle work and family around getting ready for The Pioneer.
“We trained completely differently,” said Adam. “But go long. Get some long rides in. But like anything in life, you have to make time. Work was smashing me, but at 3 months out I had to make time on the bike a priority. Make do with the time you have.” Andy concurred, although he enlisted some help.
“I got a coach as I didn’t have much time mid-week. So I did a lot of trainer sessions mid-week and tried to get a long ride in on the weekend. That’s what I stuck to and it got me through.”
“Attitude is huge,” adds Adam. “You have to want to be here, keep it light and don’t take it too seriously. I think that’s key. We aren’t aiming for the podium, we’re here to have fun and you have to keep that in mind. That really helps for the long days.”