When he retired last year, Dennis Millard obviously did not want to sit still.
An active member and former President of the Rotary Club of East Auckland, and the current National Manager of the Trees for Survival Charitable Trust, Dennis had a long-held ambition to travel from North Cape to Bluff sitting atop a pushbike. And so in February this year Dennis started at the lighthouse and headed for Bluff on a journey which would encompass 3000 kilometres over many of our country’s best bike trails and scenic areas.
Having a Rotarian friend with Parkinsons who is on an even longer journey motivated Dennis to nominate Parkinsons New Zealand as the charity destined to receive more than $25,000 raised from his efforts.
The club was treated to a visual feast of the places he’d seen and of countryside that only the bikers normally get to see e.g. the Bridge to Nowhere at Mangapurua. Fueled by hot chocolate, pies and Ginger Crunch, Dennis completed the epic ride in 36 days spending on average 6-8 hours per day in the saddle. Only about 30% of the time was on sealed roads but there was only one puncture to contend with the whole way.
Inspiring journeys and stories from both Gerald Patterson and Dennis Millard at our last two meetings have established the challenge. Members?
