Rural mountainbikers ride for their wellbeing

PHOTO: SUPPLIED
PHOTO: SUPPLIED
Poolburn School pupil Ollie Murdoch, 9, tests out his new bike at the school track.

Ollie won the bike through a draw run by Rural Riders — a mountainbike group aiming to get rural people off the farm and physically active for the sake of their wellbeing.

Ollie entered the draw at the Otago Summer Send Off, held at Ida Valley Station on April 7.

Two organised Rural Rider groups have been formed, one in Alexandra and the other in the Maniototo.

Meeting monthly, the groups go for a mountainbike ride, followed by some refreshments.

The programme is sponsored by Ballance, and nutrient specialist Paul Turner presented the bike.

Rural Riders is an alternative programme of Surfing for Farmers, designed for people who live too far from the coast to drive two hours or more to go for a surf.

Ride dates, locations and meet times can be found on the Rural Riders Facebook page.