AG Outdoor | 81Had the gatecrashers not also realised their
fi rst day was the longest and hardest of all? A
total of 112km, with near 4000m of elevation
gain. It was a long day for everyone but lacked
for nothing, least of all a route that twisted
through superlative mountain country. I could
have camped in a dozen places but had to
make do with another cous cous picnic. I found
a bottomless mud hole that sent me over the
bars to a bath but Laurence never faltered.
Everyone was chasing the Grim Reaper, the
2pm cutoff below Lindis Pass. Many were
scythed but those who weren’t got to endure
the fi nal 1200m climb, the only raindrops of the
week and a wind that fl attened lighter riders.
Our reward was an equal descent on 12km of
steep, switchbacking singletrack to pizza in
Hawea. Pain so quickly becomes pleasure.
Our penultimate day was a ride of two parts.
First a fast run down the Hawea River trails
before the singletrack of Deans Bank. We
managed to slide past most riders we had been
with and were glad we had. It meant a clear run
down some wildly fun, bermed trail. Part two
was where many of those riders caught up
again; the 25km long climb to the high point of
the event, 1562m Snow Farm. It was bleak,
open-plateau country that would be hell in a
storm. But again blue skies led our eyes far
down to Lake Wanaka and across to majestic
Mount Aspiring.
“Watch out for the Spaniards,” warned Geoff ,
the Course Director, during the fi nal briefi ng.
“They’ll rip the sides out of your tyres.” I glanced
across to the four Spanish riders who looked
puzzled and a little aff ronted. Laurence
punctured in the fi rst kilometre and we picked
our way through the fi eld on thin trails through
tussock where holes could and would catch the
unwary. After 20km we came across one of theout there: bike lane
Spanish teams looking rather forlorn, stood
amongst clumps of the yellow-green sharply
spiked plant known colloquially as Spaniards.
Civil war had raged, resulting in a ripped off
derailleur.
Down Gentle Annie we went before none too
gentle trails traversing high above the Kawareu
River. But these were our final climbs before the
run down along the river to Queenstown and a
finish, fittingly, on Waitangi Day.
The week had whittled its pioneers down to
two thirds of those who had begun the journey.
Everyone from the winners down marked it as a
bloody tough event. Clear victors Dan and
Anton were rewarded with a gorgeous
greenstone trophy and $10,000 for their near
27-hours of riding. The final finishers’ reward was
utter exhaustion and huge satisfaction for twice
those hours. Everybody would remember
seamless organisation, blue skies, incredible
trails and some of the most spectacular
landscapes anywhere on earth. The Pioneer will,
with little doubt, establish itself on the interna-
tional bucket list of any mountain biker.
For me it had been an honour to ride with a
man for whom the Southern Alps were his
backyard, who was proud of his Maori heritage
andwhohadtakenonemorestepinhisrideto
recovery from that one bee sting. I would
happily ride The Pioneer again with Laurence
Mote. However, on my first day home I read that
supermodel Megan Gayle had been appointed
New Zealand’s first cycle tourism ambassador. I
wonder if she’s up for a little ride next February?Left The Kona team from Canada cross the line.
The Pioneer was very much about teamwork.
Below Less than two-thirds of Pioneer starters
got to bite on a Finishers Medal.
Bottom left Laurence wakes up and gets
straight to work on the bikes.Huw would like to thank Tourism New Zealand, Air
New Zealand, Ground Eff ect cycle clothing, Osprey
packs, Maxxis Tyres and Specialized Bikes for helping
to get him to and through The Pioneer.