Bikes cross the harbour
Thousands of cyclists braved a damp and windy morning to line up for the start of this year’s MS Bike the Bridge.
Hundreds of volunteers, an untold number of road cones and 98 buses were just some of the logistics organiser Callum McNair had to think about to make the third Bike the Bridge a success.
‘‘The weather came right just in the nick of time and allowed us to clear two lanes of vehicles and put a line of buses in place as a barrier to oncoming traffic in time for the cyclists to start at 6am,’’ he says.
Elite cyclists took on the 105km challenge and many riders chose to extend themselves to the 50km, while the 20km proved extremely popular with cyclists of all ages.
New Zealand Secondary School cyclist Connor Brown was the first 105km rider, just pipping Nature Valley Avanti cycling team rider Sam Lindsay by 1/100th in 2:48:36.
The first 105km female rider home was Maddie Park in 3:14:06.
The Travelwise Kids Challenge gave primary school children the chance to cycle 2km, 4km and 6km, including a popular race around the North Harbour concourse.
‘‘It was an amazing day,’’ McNair says. ‘‘We witnessed some fantastic cycling, not j ust from the elite riders but from cyclists of all abilities who pushed themselves hard to complete the course and help to raise funds for Multiple Sclerosis Auckland.’’
Details at bikethebridge.co.nz.