WildCoaster attracts all

Just over a month from the fourth Classic Hits WildCoaster 109-kilometre cycle ride from Greymouth to Westport on October 9, one statistic is becoming apparent.

Baby boomers are getting back on their bikes, with a third of the first 100 entered over the age of 50, and half of these either already receiving or about to sign up for their national superannuation entitlement before Hayden Roulston rides at the London Olympics.

Nelson Events is rapt with the pedallers' response, and gearing up for a record field.

Race director Graeme West says the two-wheeled weekend warriors are in for a challenging route that offers everything. It's over a substantial distance and has a technical element, which is a good test for them, and the scenery is so spectacular that they would be hard pressed to find anything like it on any other bike ride.

As the event website says, "If there's one event to put on the list for the ride of a lifetime, it's the WildCoaster".

A race-pack bonus is an Event Mussette for every rider, plus the expected West Coast "wildfoods" welcome at the Carters Beach finish line – a sandwich of wriggling, freshly caught whitebait washed down with one of Monteith's best.

For full details, see wildcoaster.co.nz.

- © Fairfax NZ News