Meeting - 21 Oct 2024

Speaker: Gerald Patterson

Topic: Why 5150km on a bike?

Gerald Patterson completed a marathon bicycle journey across the United States to raise money for Motor Neurone Disease NZ (MNDNZ). He undertook the journey with a group of cyclists from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and US.They set out on May 18 to ride from San Francisco in California to New York, a distance of 5150km over 36 days.

"Why did I do this long ride?
Well the answer from 95% of people I tell is ‘because I’m mad’ or something along that line. I have always been an active person who enjoyed a challenge and took up cycling seriously in the early 90’s. Since then, and many times with the same group of friends, I have ridden many kilometres in NZ and overseas.
Some rides have been small charity rides with the biggest was a Wellington to Auckland ride in 2017. This ride was billed as ‘The Ride of the Legends’ in conjunction with the British and Irish Lions tour of NZ raising over $70,000.00 for Conductive Education.

As mentioned, the beneficiary for this USA ride in June this year was the NZ Motor Neuron Disease Foundation, the only charity focused on improving quality of life, funding research and campaigning for people affected by MND in NZ. My fundraising target of $50000 was exceeded!"

So come one and all to hear the tales of this amazing adventure!