A Word from the Chair.

 

Tena koutou katoa

My name is Lynette Braithwaite, and I was elected as the Chair of Bike Taupo at the AGM held in March.  For those who do not know me, here is a bit of history on how I find myself on Bike Taupo.

I have been on many committees and event organisations over the years and joined the Taupo Mountain Bike Club in January 2011.  I enjoyed the comradery of both the club and riders, so soon took on the role of Secretary and eventually President as well as a multitude of other jobs along the way.  Little did the club know, when I first started with them, I had never actually ridden a Mountain Bike.   This proved to be quite interesting at the first few committee meetings when talking about tracks in Craters! I had absolutely no idea where they were talking about - it was like a totally foreign language!  Within the first few months I was encouraged (Ok – pushed) by my “keen as beans MTBing husband” John (JB), and I headed off into Craters for my first MTB ride and so my love of MTBing began. 

I originally joined Bike Taupo as the Liaison between the two organisations in 2016. I eventually stood down from the Taupo MTB Club in 2018, and then joined Bike Taupo, so I could be more involved with Bike Advocacy in the region.  I enjoy the “can do” attitude that seems to be the ethos at the heart of this organisation. 

I am proud of what has been built around the region from my predecessors, and know that this was largely due to huge numbers of community volunteers and thousands of volunteer hours hand building tracks.  It is a privilege to be part of this group that bring so much riding pleasure to so many people and help shape the future of mountain biking in the Taupo region.

I believe that I am approachable and open to new ideas.  With this in mind, Bike Taupo have recently held a strategic planning meeting, and will be sending out a survey with this panui.   Please take the time to fill out the survey, as this will give us ideas and show us what is important to you for cycling in the region and MTBing over the next 5 years. 

Help us to create urban tracks that will have meaning for you and your whanau, and off road track systems that will keep you riding for years to come. 

Kai kaha and happy riding! 😊

Lynette