FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE ON YOUR BIKE

JOIN BIKE ENTHUSIAST Cath Oldfield and others all around the country in the Aotearoa Bike Challenge!

Get on your bike anywhere, anytime in February. Log your ride online, or connect your favourite cycling app. Your rides earn points which increase your chances to win sweet prizes.

Sign up as an individual, or join with your workplace to compete against others in the rohe and top the leaderboards.

Learn more and sign up at www.lovetoride.net/nz

We talked to Cath about the joys of biking.

What’s your favourite thing about biking?

“I think it’s the feeling of freedom. It’s my happy place. I do it so often that it’s something my body just does, it knows what to do. I feel so comfortable and sometimes a little bit smug, zooming past the cars stuck in traffic.”

Do you have any advice for people getting out there for the first time?

“Absolutely! If you’re just getting into it, or back into it, know your limits and be sensible about them. Work your way up to harder and harder things.

And if you’re buying a bike, get the best you can afford, even if it’s second-hand. You’re better off getting a good secondhand bike rather than a cheap new one.

My motto is: ‘If it comes in a box, don’t buy it.’

“I’m excited to see more people out on bikes than usual, and I hope to see it continue. You don’t need a special month to ride, make it part of your routine.”

Cath and Bike Taupō welcome beginners and would love to hear from anyone who would like some support to get started. Visit www.biketaupo.org.nz. Council also runs a variety of free bike skills courses aimed at beginners onwards. The 2024 course dates will be posted shortly. Find out more at www.taupo.govt.nz/roadsafety.