Ride & Win with Waipā competition winners share their win with loved ones

Mathilda Maree surprised her son with a new bike after winning one of the grand prizes in Waipā District Council's Ride & Win with Waipā competition, sponsored by Spoken Cycles Ltd. Photo / Supplied

The two lucky winners of Waipa District Council's Ride & Win with Waipā competition for the opening of the district's Te Awa River Ride opening are Garry Knowles and Mathilda Maree.

They each won a bicycle valued at up to $1000, donated by Cambridge bike specialists Spoken Cycles.

Both winners decided to share their wins with loved ones as Garry selected a bike both he and his wife Kim could use, and Mathilda surprised her son with a new bike as she passed her prize on to him.

The four lucky runners-up were Santie Engelbrecht Snyman, Lesley Pearce, Christiaan Filius and Marion Haines, who won a bike prize pack.

The competition was open for a month and received 251 entries from visitors across the Waikato who submitted photos of their favourite part of Te Awa River Ride.

Waipa District Council transportation manager Bryan Hudson says they had an amazing response to the competition which has been absolutely fantastic.

"We've also been flooded with positive feedback about the great quality of the path ... [along with] some great suggestions for improvements that we've shared with our partners."

Garry Knowles chose a bike that both he and his wife Kim could share after winning one of the grand prizes in Waipā District Council's Ride & Win with Waipā competition. Photo / Supplied

Te Awa Charitable Trust spokeswoman Sarah Ulmer says they were thrilled to see the high patronage on the shared path since its opening.

"It's great to see so many locals and visitors getting out to enjoy the latest Te Awa section to open here in Cambridge and we can't wait to finish the final section later this year when the full 65km can be experienced."

The Ride & Win with Waipā campaign was created by the council to celebrate the opening of the Waipā section of the Te Awa River Ride which allows people to bike, walk or glide from Lake Karāpiro to the Waipā District boundary.

The Covid-19 red traffic light setting restrictions made a grand opening impossible when the path opened in March, so the council created the competition to encourage visitors to use the new path.