Teen completes record-breaking Christchurch ride

JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/ The Press

BIG RIDE: Hendrik Bakker, 16, of the Pegasus Cycling Club has completed a record-breaking ride six laps of the Long Bays circuit from Christchurch, through Gebbies Pass and the bays around Lyttelton Harbour and back to the city via Sumner.

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Most people like to relax over the holidays but one teenager opted to cycle 438 kilometres around Christchurch in a record-breaking ride.

At 2am on Tuesday, Hendrik Bakker, 16, a member of the Pegasus Cycling Club, began his quest, eventually completing six laps of the Long Bays ride that night.

The ride involves cycling from the city through Gebbies Pass and the bays around Lyttelton Harbour before arriving back in the city via Sumner and Redcliffs.

"During the holidays, I didn't have anything keeping me busy in particular. I didn't have any big races coming up, so I didn't have anything to train for.

"Somehow it just popped into my head, `what's the record number of times Long Bays has been done?'

"Then I did a bit of research and found it was five, so I thought it would keep me busy."

Bakker, from Westlake, cycled for 17 hours 38 minutes and 45 seconds, travelling 437.8km at an average 24.8 kmh.

The youngster made it through the first three laps on a diet of energy bars.

"The first lap was quite hard, trying to find motivation to keep going. It was extremely dark and it was hard to keep going," Bakker said.

He stopped at home for "a big plate of spaghetti" before embarking on lap four. After the fourth lap, Bakker had a pie and a cold bath before heading out to break the record.

Even on the last lap, Bakker did not slow down.

"I was just really pumped it was the last lap. I was just trying to do it as hard as I could, to get it finished and get into bed."

Bakker plans to travel to Auckland for a week's cycling with friends, before taking a few weeks out of the saddle.

- © Fairfax NZ News