Feilding Festival of Cycling – Since 1949

by James Denholm | Sep 16, 2017 | Board Chair's Blog

After last years beautiful weather for the Feilding Festival of Cycling, this years “cold” was a new challenge for the 90 registered riders who braved tough windy conditions to complete their rides.
The Joe Allen Classic has been raced since 1949 and has been won by some of NZ cyclings household names including Gary Anderson and Sam Morgan. Our FFOC booklet was a really good read on the history of the event.
Current Girls High coach Brett Tivers scorched the course in 2007 to get inside the top ten times recorded while in 2016 Robert Stannards time of 2.01.31 holds the record. Congratulations to young Thomas Stannard for his 1st placing this year.

Weather conditions were a true test for everyone and we thank and congratulate all those riders who took part is our long standing event. Bike Manawatu want to also acknowledge the incredible work by event Manager Austin Smith and his team of volunteers that made sure the day was run smoothly from registration through to traffic management, timing and the prize giving.

Tim Whitehouse as our Race Director and Dave Elgar as chief Commissaire teamed up to manage the race superbly for a safe incidents free event with plenty of sound advice to riders at the start line. Timona Park once again proved a very good setup and all four courses catered well for riders of all ages and abilities to challenge themselves which is what events are all about. The barbecue and prize giving afterwards that forms part of your registration fee topped off an excellent club day. Cold weather had a number of people not ride the event on the day and some riders were too wet and cold to stay for the barbecue prize giving but all and all another successful club event until our next event.

FFOC Results.
Joe Allen Memorial Classic:Start 8.30am Feilding to Apiti return(17 and over licensed riders only)
Line Honours: 1st Thomas Stannard 2nd Glenn Kirk 3rd Kevin Laskey
Fastest Times: 1st Madi Hartley-Brown 2nd Ben Earnshaw 3rd Thomas Stannard
The 90k recreational Ride:Start 9.30am Feilding to Rangawahia return
1st Kyle Hoskins 2nd Ben Knight 3rd Erik d’Arbois
The 50k recreational Ride:Start 10.30am Feilding to Kimbolton return
1st Fergus Lloyd 2nd Mike Dunn 3rd Ben Orr
The 20k fun ride all ages( Free).Start 10am Feilding-Colyton loop.
1st Holly McInnes 2nd Joshua Mulcahy 3rd Tom McInnes
Check out all results on Facebook Bike Manawatu Page.
Bike Manawatu thank sponsors Sprockets NZ, Morgans Property Advisors, Property Brokers, Bulls Medical Centre for there valued support.

NZ National Schools Road Championships -September 30th to October 2nd
The best of New Zealand’s schools riders are in our region to compete for their school over three days.Over a thousand people will be based in the region to witness schools racing from years seven to thirteen.Team time trials,Road Racing and Criterium racing will be exciting to watch here in our patch.Showcasing our talent and our region is worth watching. If you can take time to watch all or some of it.The Manfeild Criteruim on the 2 October is often passionately contested by all schools as it all comes down to the final points races on the last day to see what schools win or are placed in the top three schools in NZ.

Novice Tour of Manawatu- December 9th-10th

 A proud forty four year old multi-stage Manawatu Tour highlighting some of New Zealand’s best rising stars racing for individual and club honours. We will keep you up to date.

Palmfeilds Motors October 15th Recreational Ride

Check out upcoming Bike Manawatu Events Calendar
Spring is the start of many club events for cyclists.If you own a bike and want to experience something new and different and get fitter, be sure to check out the clubs ride calendar online and try something different.

The club and event organisers would love to see you give different events a go this year. Cyclists can do anything and many masters riders tried different club events last year which resulted in their feedback being positive and are the same cyclist keen to return this year. How fantastic is that.

Check out other cycling interests:
Kairanga Time Trail Series- From Horizons yard on Kairanga-Bunnythorpe road in October on Wednesdays from 6pm this flat 12Km weekly time trail points series has been a huge success with approximately 50 riders biking out to the course and registered from 5.45pm. A great way to exercise before dinner.

Club Road Races for Everyone:
On Saturdays in October we have medium distance graded club races for all ages and abilities on different courses in our beautiful manawatu countryside. Open to everyone and masters riders can enjoy riding with your mates and finish of with a coffee or a real drink at the end which is great fun and whom many enjoyed at our recent Bike Manawatu Tui Brewery ride for there first outing.

Feilding Track Riding: Hire a track bike from the club for a modest amount of money from November and have fun racing different events on a balmy Tuesday night and Sunday afternoon at the Johnston Park cycling track in Feilding under the watchful eye of legend Ian Gray and his team.Fun.

Manfeild Criterium: On Tuesday’s from 6pm for the Month of November the popular Criterium series is on again.Safe off road fun graded riding for all ages.Last year people loved it and the improvement in their cycling was huge.Pencil this one in.Its contagious.

Weekend Festival of Cycling- Saturday January 27th and 28th 2018:
Gravel and Tar Classic- 27th of January- This is an incredible coup by Bike Manawatu and event founder Steve Stannard to bring elite International Racing Teams to Palmerston North to race a physically and technically very difficult road and gravel 125km race.The Elite riders love this tough and very different event and our scenic region.Having them in Palmy is the start of something special for the region.

Gravel and Tar Gran Fondo- Saturday 27 January- This event has been designed for all recreational riders of all ages and abilities to give people a taste of something different and to feel party of the regions weekends festival of cycling.The Gran Fondo will offer two distances in 2018 1) the 70km Gravel and Tar course and the 2) 30km course.There is something for everyone young and mature,male,female rider. Give it a go and support our Weekend Festival of cycling which will grow in our region.

Manawatu Mountain Bike Club Entertaining supporting Weekend Festival of Cycling
Bike Manawatu and our good friends the Manawatu Mountain Bike club are considering supporting the Manawatu Festival of Cycling Weekend with possibly running the Kahuterawa Challenge mountain bike ride on Sunday the 28th of January. Wouldn’t that be mouthwatering for all cyclist riding The Gran Fondo in the Saturday and the Kahuterawa Challenge on the Sunday.We will keep you informed.

Whanganui Gets $6 Million for Velodrome

Big news for cycling fans and the wider Whanganui and Central North Island Community with the National Government funding for the project to add a roof to Whanganui Velodrome. Bill English confirmed helping the final design and construction underway. Bike Manawatu have supported the project over the last two years and are pleased that our talent and leading track cyclist will only be 50 minutes away from a first class training and racing Velodrome. Fantastic news.

Valued Sponsors of Bike Manawatu

Ken Young -Bulls Medical centre

The pride of Scotland is a mad keen masters cyclist and part of our Bike Manawatu Sunday Groups ride committee as well as a Regular on our Wednesday Ride group. A man of few words (normally colourful) and as direct as you like has been a valued sponsors of our club more many years. Giving back is a pleasure says Ken and we do appreciate Ken and his Bulls Medical Centre support.

Glenn Kirk-Oral Surgeon
Glenn is a committed cyclist who supports and sponsors many of our Bike Manawatu club Events. This tall, lean and quiet Oral Surgeon rides a bike with ease and races events all over the country with passion in a sport he loves. If you need an Oral surgeon next time call Glenn, he would be welcome to help you.

Feilding Festival of Cycling – This Sunday!

by James Denholm | Sep 8, 2017 | Board Chair's Blog

When: This Weekend- September 10th
Where;Timona Park Simon street Feilding.
Entries have closed online but late entries for the recreational events (not the Joe Allen Classic), will be taken on the day up to 30 minutes before the rides start. The club would love to see as many cyclist support this great annual event as possible.
For more details head to Feilding Festival of Cycling Website or the Bike Manawatu Facebook page.

1) Joe Allen Memorial Classic: Start 8.30am Feilding to Apiti return (17 and over licensed riders only)
2) The 90k recreational Ride: Start 9.30am Feilding to Rangawahia return
3) The 50k recreational Ride: Start 10.30am Feilding to Kimbolton return
4) The 20k fun ride all ages( Free). Start 10am Feilding-Colyton loop.

As always this annual event is a great event to start your spring cycling off after your winter base training. Ride Organiser Austin Smith and his team do a great job and the courses are awesome for scenery and to give you a test of where you are at this time of year over a short or longer distance. All ages and abilities can ride this event which makes it a great outing for all cycling people. Get your cycling buddies together and be sure to enter the Feilding Festival of cycling. Checkout the Facebook page and be sure to say yes and participate in this excellent event.

Palmfeilds Motors October 15th Recreational Ride

Check out upcoming Bike Manawatu Events Calendar
Spring is the start of many club events for cyclists. If you own a bike and want to experience something new and different and get fitter, be sure to check out the clubs ride calendar online and try something different.

The club and event organisers would love to see you give different events a go this year. Cyclists can do anything and many masters riders tried different club events last year which resulted in their feedback being positive and are the same cyclist keen to return this year. How fantastic is that.

Check out your cycling interests:
Kairanga Time Trial Series- From Horizons yard on Kairanga-Bunnythorpe Road on Wednesdays from 6pm. This flat 12Km weekly time trail points series has been a huge success with approximately 50+ riders biking out to the course and registered from 5.45pm. A great way to exercise before dinner.

Feilding Track Riding- Hire a track bike from the club for a modest amount of money and have fun racing different events on a balmy night at the Johnston Park cycling track in Feilding under the watchful eye of legend Ian Gray and his team. Fun. Join the ‘Bike Manawatu Track Cycling’ Facebook group to keep updated with this throughout the season.

Manfeild Criterium- On Tuesday’s from 6pm for the Month of November the popular Criteruim series is on again. Safe off road fun graded riding for all ages. Last year people loved it and the improvement in their cycling was huge. Pencil this one in, it’s contagious.

Weekend Festival of Cycling- Saturday January 27th and 28th 2018
Gravel and Tar Classic– 27th of January- This is an incredible coup by Bike Manawatu and event founder Steve Stannard to bring elite International Racing Teams to Palmerston North to race a physically and technically very difficult road and gravel 125km race. The Elite riders love this tough and very different event and our scenic region. Having them in Palmy is the start of something special for the region.

Gravel and Tar Gran Fondo– Saturday 27 January- This event has been designed for all recreational riders of all ages and abilities to give people a taste of something different and to feel part of the regions weekends Festival of Cycling. The Gran Fondo will offer two distances in 2018

1) The 70km Gravel and Tar course;

2) The 30km course.

There is something for everyone be they young, mature, male or female. Give it a go and support our Weekend Festival of cycling which will grow in our region.

Manawatu Mountain Bike Club Entertaining supporting Weekend Festival of Cycling-
Bike Manawatu and our good friends the Manawatu Mountain Bike club are considering supporting the Manawatu Festival of Cycling Weekend with possibly running the Kahuterawa Challenge mountain bike ride on Sunday the 28th of January. Wouldn’t that be mouthwatering for all cyclist riding The Gran Fondo in the Saturday and the Kahuterawa Challenge on the Sunday. We will keep you informed with the progress of this.

Manawatu Schools-
NZ National Schools Road Championships -September 30th to October 2nd bringing the best of New Zealand’s schools riders to our region to compete for their school.
Novice Tour of Manawatu– December 9th-10th. A proud forty four year old multi-stage Manawatu Tour highlighting some of New Zealand’s best rising stars racing for individual and club honours.

Members to Promote Rider Safety at all Time

As responsible cyclists we must all constantly remind ourselves to promote rider safety and road code etiquette when riding at all times. Our sport shares the roads with vehicles of all sizes and drivers of all capabilities. Our daily ride groups are the flagship of our sport and are responsible for promoting road codes and standards to keep everyone safe.
All rider groups are encouraged to identify ride leaders amongst yourselves and where possible have identified a safe course to ride. Letting people know where you are heading is also advised and how long you might be. Often road works can disrupt rides and checking out council reports or talking to other fellow riders is a good idea before you set your course.
The fact that most of us learnt to ride a bike as children and then put the bike down when we got our first car at around 15-17 years old means most people have not ridden a bike for years before we decide to join Bike Manawatu and start riding a bike again for health and fitness. To help these people is all of our responsibility.

Ride Leaders:

Cycling NZ with support from Sport Manawatu and Sport Whanganui is running a free Ride Leader Programme in Palmerston North and Whanganui in October.

If you love cycling like we do, and you are passionate about your community, why not become a ride leader and share your experience with others?

We would like you to be part of a network of passionate people who are keen to share their knowledge and passion of biking with others by becoming cycling ambassadors and cycling group leaders on or off the road.

Whether you are a person who rides for fitness, recreation, commuting or who enjoys exploring our region’s network of wonderful cycle paths, we are keen to have you part of this programme to help others to get cycling.

We have attached a poster for more information, if you are interested in the programme.

Here is the latest ride leader video promoting the programme:

https://youtu.be/rfh9j8Y7-t8

Valued Sponsors of Bike Manawatu

Fiona O’Connor and her team of motivated therapists are well known and respected business for being right up with the latest treatment techniques which our cycling community need from time to time. If you need attention to your body Churchyard Physiotherapy is a great sponsor and hope you call them first. They would love to see you!

Grant McCaskie and his Capture Signs team provide a wide range of quality services to help market your business or event plus so much more. Capture Signs would appreciate your business whether it be big or small. Call them anytime.

Upcoming Feilding Festival of Cycling

by James Denholm | Aug 31, 2017 | Board Chair's Blog

When: September 10th
Where:Timona Park Simon street Feilding.
Online entries are open and registrations close 11pm Thursday 7th of September.
More information can be found at www.feildingfestivalofcycling.co.nz and on the Bike Manawatu Facebook page.
1)Joe Allen Memorial Classic: Start 8.30am Feilding to Apiti return(17 and over licensed riders only)
2) The 90k recreational Ride: Start 9.30am Feilding to Rangawahia return
3) The 50k recreational Ride: Start 10.30am Feilding to Kimbolton return
4) The 20k fun ride all ages (Free): Start 10am Feilding-Colyton loop.

As always this annual event is a great event to start your spring cycling off after your winter base training. Ride Organiser Austin Smith and his team do a great job and the courses are awesome for scenery and to give you a test of where you are at this time of year over a short or longer distance. All ages and abilities can ride this event which makes it a great outing for all cycling people. Get your cycling buddies together and be sure to enter the Feilding Festival of cycling. Checkout Bike Manawatu Facebook or feildingfestivalofcycling.co.nz and be sure to say yes and register online for this great event.

Enter Here

Emily Shearman and Libby Arbuckle at Junior Worlds in Italy

Club members Emily Shearman and Libby Arbuckle have been representing New Zealand at the Junior World Track Champs in Italy. Both young ladies performed incredibly well which you can checkout on the Cycling New Zealand website. Emily was part of the incredible NZ pursuit team who were outstanding in there effort to take Silver in the 4000m Team Pursuit, and Libby celebrated coming 6th in the world for the 5km scratch race.

In the following days, more impressive efforts from the girls saw Libby come home in 7th in the new single-day format omnium consisting of 4 events, whilst Emily teamed up with Nicole Shields from Clyde in the 80 lap Madison to take a solid 5th!
Two proud local girls on the world stage.

Palmfeilds Motors October 15th Recreational Ride

Bike Manawatu Sunday Draw Won by Austin Smith

Regular Bike Manawatu Sunday riders will register a smile when they see how happy long standing club member Austin Smith was when winning the Bike Barn lucky draw to the value of $450 a few weeks back. Austin told me last week he had only spent $360 so far on Bike Barn product and was as happy as. Another nice benefit of being a Bike Manawatu member for only $45 per year.

Sam Gardner competing in NZ Cyclocross Nationals

Sam has been mixing it up competing around the country in the NZ Cyclocross Nationals and is now up in China competing as we write this newsletter. Thats commitment to a club member who has represented England on a mountain bike and races and coaches here in the Manawatu.

Wednesday Cyclists Group

There are many groups that head off for rides on a regular weekly basis and one such group is the Wednesday Cyclist Group which has been in action for many years. This is a group with history, lots of characters and every Wednesday morning leave from opposite the BP service station on Fitzherbert Ave at 6.30am for a 90km ride with a coffee stop in Feilding. The pace is perfect for all ages.

Members to Promote Rider Safety at all Time

Sadly this week a cyclist died on the streets of our city. No words can describe this kind of tragedy and we pass our condolences onto the grieving family.
As responsible cyclists we must all constantly remind ourselves to promote rider safety and road code etiquette when riding at all times. Our sport shares the roads with vehicles of all sizes and drivers of all capabilities. Our daily ride groups are the flagship of our sport and are responsible for promoting road codes and standards to keep everyone safe.
All rider groups are encouraged to identify ride leaders amongst yourselves and where possible have identified a safe course to ride. Letting people know where you are heading is also advised and how long you might be. Often road works can disrupt rides and checking out council reports or talking to other fellow riders is a good idea before you set your course.
The fact that most of us learnt to ride a bike as children and then put the bike down when we got our first car at around 15-17 years old means most people have not ridden a bike for years before we decide to join Bike Manawatu and start riding a bike again for health and fitness. To help these people is all of our responsibility.

Manawatu Schools Cycling Championship Results

by James Denholm | Aug 25, 2017 | Board Chair's Blog

Check out overall results on Manawatu Schools Cycling Facebook

Year 7/8
Girls;1st Holly McInnes 2nd Georgia Simpson 3rd Bella-Rose Lloyd
Boys;1st Mathew Jamieson 2nd Tyler Mumby 3rd Adam Wilson
Under 15
Girls; 1st Rosie Obrien 2nd Tori Bendall 3rd Neriah Kaihe-Woolston
Boys: 1st Adam Francis 2nd Ben Irvine 3rd Dra’s Caldwell
Under 17
Girls: 1st Lee Boon 2nd Georgina Bryant 3rd Marcayla Winterburn
Boys: 1st Micheal Richmond 2nd Angus Claasen 3rd Aiden Jones
Under 20
Girls;1st Connie Obrien 2nd Megan Gardner 3rd Samara Fenn.

On behalf of Bike Manawatu, congratulations to all those riders who competed in this years Manawatu Schools Championships and well done on your massive performances. A tough but amazing event. The above results are outstanding and is why our region produces some of New Zealands best talent. Also a huge success and thank you to the race organisers, their team and volunteers. A remarkable effort.

Upcoming Feilding Festival of Cycling

When: September 10th
Where: Feilding
Entries are open for the; 1) Joe Allen Classic 2) The 90k recreational Ride 3) The 50k recreational Ride 4) The 20k ride which is Free. No excuses- All recreational riders of all abilities have been catered for,
As always this annual event is a great event to start your spring cycling off after your winter base training. Ride Organiser Austin Smith and his team do a great job and the courses are awesome for scenery and to give you a test of where you are at this time of year over a short or longer distance. All ages and abilities can ride this event which makes it a great outing for all cycling people. Get your cycling buddies together and be sure to enter the Feilding Festival of cycling. Checkout www.feildingfestivalofcycling.co.nz for more info and be sure to say yes and register online for this great ride event.

www.feildingfestivalofcycling.co.nz

Emily Shearman and Libby Arbuckle at Junior Worlds in Italy

Be sure to follow club members Emily Shearman and Libby Arbuckle currently representing New Zealand at the Junior World Track Champs in Italy. An amazing experience for the girls and their parents seen in the photo with other Kiwi supporters.

Palmfeilds Motors October 15th Recreational Ride

Members to Promote Rider Safety at all Time

As responsible cyclists we must all constantly remind ourselves to promote rider safety and road code etiquette when riding at all times. Our sport shares the roads with vehicles of all sizes and drivers of all capabilities. Our daily ride groups are the flagship of our sport and are responsible for promoting road codes and standards to keep everyone safe.
All rider groups are encouraged to identify ride leaders amongst yourselves and where possible have identified a safe course to ride. Letting people know where you are heading is also advised and how long you might be.Often road works can disrupt rides and checking out council reports or talking to other fellow riders is a good idea before you set your course.
The fact that most of us learnt to ride a bike as children and then put the bike down when we got our first car at around 15-17 years old means most people have not ridden a bike for years before we decide to join Bike Manawatu and start riding a bike again for health and fitness. To help these people is all of our responsibility.

Happy Hour this Friday