Oceanbridge’s Richard Thorpe completes the Round Taupo for Rotary

Richard Thorpe completes the Round Taupo Cycle Challenge

Richard was one of the first to register for the event on 1 July. “You have to set yourself goals,” he says, “and by being registered meant I had something to aim for during all those long hours of training. I certainly had some comments on the day by people wearing numbers over 10,000 while I was number 140!”

Starting just after 7.00 a.m. the course takes the riders on a 160 km anticlockwise circuit of Lake Taupo. Richard reported a bit of a ‘purple patch’ around halfway – probably because his support crew were on the golf course at the time – but once through that and on the home straight up from Turangi, he hit his strides in bunches of cyclists up to 30 strong.

Richard crossed the line in a time of 5 hours, 50 minutes, 3 seconds – a time he was pleased with, but aims to improve upon in this year’s event. To date he has raised over $5000 for Polio Plus, “but it’s not too late for people to make a donation,” he adds.

To donate to this worthwhile cause, contact Richard via email: richardt@oceanbridge.co.nz