He fell in love with cycling from 12, but when he got a racing bike at 17, he thought: if I'm going to ride, I'm not riding for nothing.
Mr Twigge, originally living in Palmerston North, competed all over New Zealand in lengthy road races, such as Auckland to Wellington and Christchurch to Timaru.
"Unfortunately, to be a good cyclist, you need to be a sprinter, and I wasn't blessed with a sprinter's ability."
"And of course, nothing of me," he said, indicating his light frame. "But I was a good hill climber."
Ironically, when asked what advice he would give a youngster, perhaps 17, on riding, he said: "stick to running".
"It's dangerous out there," he said. "I wouldn't like to be cycling in Palmerston North now, it's too busy."
Wairarapa is definitely quieter, but not without its perils.
"I still get milk tankers.
"I suppose out of every 10 rides, I have been run close on at least half of them."
He had one bad crash years ago, hitting a concrete block in a street and lying unconscious in hospital for three days.
"I tell you what, that took a long time to get over.
"I slept all day for weeks on end, I could only go to work for an hour a day."
Mr Twigge has also had two hip replacements, but points out that's not down to cycling.
"That's a family thing."
