Exciting News! One of the world’s greatest - and certainly longest - “bikepacking” cycle races will be passing through our little village of Ongarue in Jan/Feb next year.
The Race: the 3000 km Tour Aotearoa race entails a gruelling month's cycling right across our beautiful country, starting at the northern tip (Cape Reinga) and finishing at the far south (Cape Bluff). Thirteen different groups of cyclists will be leaving the start blocks from 17 Feb-8 March and all of them will pass through Ongarue. There is no charge to participate in this great race, but participants are asked to donate $100 to a charity and offset carbon emissions on the journey to/from the race.
The Racers: We expect that more than 1500 racers will participate (not all officially registered), so this will be a logistical challenge for Ongarue. The segment prior to our village is one of the toughest of the whole race and follows the Timber Trail Cycleway.
The Rules (they’re tough):
* no support teams
* 30 days maximum to the end point
* selfies must be taken at each of 30 waypoints as proof
* maximum hours of 18 hours cycling per day (!)
* GPS trackers to enable each cyclists progress.
NZ’s cycling heroes, the Kennett brothers are organising the race, and have published six books on cycling in NZ, including an inspiring coffee tabIe book: “Tour Aotearoa: NZ’s 3000 km bikepacking odessey”. If you are interested in joining the race, buying a book on it or finding out more, here are some useful sites with further information:
Having pulled out all the stops for the last race in 2018 (www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/ruapehu-press/100590571/ongarue-villagers-rally-together-to-host-cycling-event) Ongarue Village will be doing the same same this year.
If you need accommodation in Ongarue you know where to find us, and if you're a participant in the race, we’re offering a 10% discount on accommodation and a soak in our hot tub for 10 to cyclists who are registered for the race (you’ll need to send us proof of registration).