In February the intrepid Quenton Oates hit the bike trail and set off on an amazing journey, taking on the 2016 Tour Aotearoa and fundraising for JMB while he was at it. Starting off at Cape Reinga at the far north tip of New Zealand, Quenton covered an amazing 3,000 kilometres on his mountain bike, finishing up at The Bluff at the bottom of the South Island. This was a long, hard ride, covering some of the roughest terrain in the country, and it threw up plenty of challenges. Strict rules of the tour meant Quenton had to make the journey entirely on his own, carrying all his gear and with no outside
support along the way.
Starting out: Cape Reinga, northern tip of NZ.
Finishing up: The Bluff, southern end of NZ.
After 20 days and 2 hours Quenton had clocked up two broken wheels, eight broken spokes, one burst tube and a broken front shock, but he overcame all setbacks and reached his final stop in one piece, declaring it “easily worth the experience”.
It was a fantastic effort and we’re thrilled to say supporters chipped in to the tune of $2,700 for JMB. Thanks Quenton!
Quenton took some pretty amazing photos along the way. You can see some of them here.