Electrified mayor leaves young bucks huffing and puffing

Cyclists await the start of the annual Bike the Bays fun ride. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

Auckland City Mayor Dick Hubbard enjoyed his time on an electric bicycle so much he went twice around the annual Bike the Bays fun-ride course yesterday.

About 1350 hardy souls completed at least one lap, despite intermittently heavy rain, but Mr Hubbard ended up riding 40km after starting the event at Orakei Domain at 9am for the national cycling group Bike NZ.

It was the 17th year of Bike the Bays and organiser Ted Jones said there were about 200 more riders than last time, despite the rain, including about 550 children.

A modest 200-watt battery motor on the Avanti Electra bike used by the mayor did not spare him the effort of pedalling his way around the waterfront, but neither was he in danger of being electrocuted in the rain.

There was some doubt that his mayoral workload had left him enough time to master the technology, but experienced users say it definitely takes some of the grind out of pedalling.

Mr Hubbard last night acknowledged some difficulty finding the right buttons on the first lap, but said he became comfortable enough with the controls by the second round to "pass quite a few young bucks who were huffing and puffing".