“People ask me why I am doing it, and well, I guess the answer is that I wanted to step outside of my comfort zone and see what I could really achieve by pushing my body to its limits.”
For Keith Hobson, a 76-year-old from Hamilton, getting in the outdoors and living life to the fullest is what it’s all about, and taking on a cycling challenge is a great way to do that. Keith will be spending his summer cycling the Kopiko Aotearoa in a bid to raise money for the Waikato Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
Starting on January 22, Keith will be riding across the widest part of the North Island from the East Cape lighthouse near Te Araroa to Cape Egmont near New Plymouth. His journey will cover an incredible 1000km over 12 days and will be the equivalent of climbing two Mt Everests.
Training for these kinds of events is not something to undertake lightly, however, Keith started this type of endurance riding about four years ago, and before that he had been riding socially for about 10 years.
“The training for these kinds of events involves starting slowly and building up to around 100km per day”.
