Greenies to ride round Ruapehu

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 620, 23 January 1996, Page 12

Greenies to ride round Ruapehu

Cyclists from all over the country will be riding around mounts Ruapehu, " Ngauruhoe and Tongariro in the second ECO Round the Mountains Ride over Waitangi Weekend. The 160km fun ride is a fund-raising event for Environment & Conservation Organisations of New Zealand (ECO), a national environmental group. "The central North Island is a dynamic place to ride. Keeping an eye on the steaming Mount Ruapehu is a real attraction," says Stephen Blyth, ride organiser, "We're not going to be racing around, we're there to enjoy the scenery and atmosphere of the area," "If people see us struggling up hill it would give us a real boost if they honked their horns as they go by. Look out for a

bunch of cyclists in bright clothing and ECO T-shirts." Cyclists are setting out from Waiouru at 8.30am on Saturday 3 February, heading north to Rangipo along State Highway One. They head west to Taurewa. After spending the night at the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre, on Sunday 4 February the cyclists will leave at 8.30am returning to Waiouru via National Park and Ohakune. Funds raised by cyclists, who are collecting pledges for each kilometre travelled, will assist ECO to run its Wellington office. ECO is New Zealand' s alliance of groups, currently with 80 members, working to prevent over-fishing, to protect native forests, monitoring developments with environmental legislation., and maintaining links with environmental groups overseas.