You cannot judge a book by its cover and nor, it seems, can you judge a Wanaka cyclist by his hairy old legs….

I moved to Wanaka 4 years ago from Auckland where I was a reasonably competitive club cyclist. I didn’t win races but I was usually there or thereabouts. So, when I arrived in Wanaka and lined up for my first bunch ride I had few worries about keeping pace with the locals. And a first cursory glance at the competition convinced me I had nothing to be overly concerned about…. A rag tag collection of mostly silver-haired gentlemen sporting ancient cycling shorts (many with holes in them which had been darned a dozen times) and with hairy legs poking out of their shorts.

I had this covered. I probably wouldn’t even break a sweat.

10 minutes later I was hanging off the back of the bunch with my heart rate through the roof…

Then I was dropped.

What I now know as Wednesday Wanaka World Champs, was a rude introduction to some of the fittest amateur road cyclists which I believe New Zealand can boast. What’s more, they’re all over 50 years old and without a single shaved leg between them.

Quiet roads and epic scenery make the Wanaka region a road cyclist’s mecca.

Affectionately christened by Wanaka local and NZ Olympic triathlete Nicky Samuels as the Old Hairy Legs, this collection of retired and semi-retired gentlemen regularly clock up over 600km of riding per week. Their passion for riding is infectious. I think this comes in part from the fact that they have nothing better to do with their time (and cycling beats gardening, so I have been told), but is more likely fuelled by the spectacular and varied riding that the Lake Wanaka region has to offer.

With quiet, scenic roads and a variety of ride options on offer from rolling hills, fast flats and high mountain passes to climb the Wanaka region is a mecca for road cyclists. You’ll regularly spot hairy-legged Wanaka locals in the Cardrona Valley climbing the Crown Range (at 1,121m in altitude it’s NZ’s highest paved highway), and then swooping down to Arrowtown for coffee before climbing back up the steep switchbacks and home to Wanaka…. for more coffee.

“No coffee, no ride” is a manifesto strictly abided by in these parts. Even if you’re dropped, the bunch will double back for you because nobody misses out on coffee.

A pack of Old Hairy Legs take a rare breather at the summit of the Crown Range road, NZ’s highest sealed highway. (Photo: Jess Simson)

The banter and comradery within the hairy-legged peloton is similar to that found in most bunches across NZ. However, the competitiveness and level of riding is a notch or two above the norm. Whilst the nicknames of the Old Hairy Legs are not born from the road, they seem strangely apt to me…

Firstly, there’s “Bully”, who is exactly that. Although unlike the old schoolyard bully who stole your lunch money, this version exerts his bullying tactics on short power climbs (be warned – never try to box him in)! Then there’s “Weedo”, who is anything but weedy. “Rowdy Rowley” has a tendency to get particularly rowdy when he’s on aero bars, and whilst “Henry, Hogg & Hellebrekers” sound like a firm of City Solicitors, the only thing that they solicit is hurt on the hills.

Yet in amongst this hirsute peloton, you might be surprised to find some of New Zealand’s top female triathletes and multisporters. Wanaka is home to professional athletes like Olympic triathlete Nicky Samuels and Jess Simson – the current and two-time Coast to Coast champion – who have found the Old Hairy Legs to be great training partners and have attributed much of their success on the bike to riding with the bunch.

As Nicky explains, “It started out as Wednesday night rides which were cruisy for a while but then turned into full on racing so they added a Tuesday night ride too… then came Thursdays, Friday was beer night and Monday was run group, so then Saturday was added in as a coffee ride because Sunday was race day”!

This ride schedule was perfect for Samuels as she was able to link her training plan with a solid ride with good company. In fact, she usually gets a better workout riding with the Hairy Legs than with her peers in the elite men’s NZ Triathlon team!

However, as Nicky recalls, things began to change about 3-years ago.

“I remember initially going on a ride with a singular Hairy Leg, Hoggy. I needed to do a 4 hour ride and he put up his hand to join me. So off towards Makarora and back we went (130km ride). I was soon counting down how many more hills I had to still climb to make it home, and I was near death running off the bike! It was like I’d been hit by a bus. I could not fathom how I had just been smashed by a 57year old man!?! There have been many more years of this since and they have got stronger with each birthday”!

Likewise, Simson (affectionately nicknamed “Droplet” by the boys because of her tendency to be dropped on the hills), regularly rides with the Hairy Legs and considers the bunch as one of her greatest training assets. Chatting to Jess over coffee she laughs and freely admits that getting smashed by a group of retired old men is not something which an elite athlete in their prime would normally embrace, but the Hairy Legs have been great support and helped develop her riding.

Jess Simson views Wanaka’s Old Hairy Legs as one of her best training assets.

Samuels firmly believes that more and more “members” of the hairy legs have had to retire so as they can ride more, get fitter and become even more competitive (not that they needed it)! Nicky explains that with more retirements more defined rides have been developed.

“There’s the 2 bottle ride (longer ride), recovery ride (post-race day), 1.5 bottle ride (mid length) and coffee ride (1 bottle or under 2hrs). None of which actually means anything as they are all at the same solid pace and end with coffee… even if you have to cut the ride short to fit it in the coffee. Rides always contain some good hill sprints…up EVERY hill should you wish or be able to partake in them”.

Simson once asked the Hairy Legs why they rode up the hills so fast?

“To get them over with more quickly”, was the dry response.

According to Samuels, “There are rules to this bunch though – like no riding in the rain. But even this has been debatable recently as the boys have finally discovered leg warmers and so they can brave the wet and colder temperatures”.

Nicky Samuels training in Wanaka. (Photo: Simon Darby)

Both Samuels and Simson agree that you shouldn’t be fooled – as I was – by the hairy legs or the age bracket as these are some of NZ’s toughest coffee riders and who will give any smooth legged cyclists a run for their money.

It seems that the accessibility of outstanding road riding as well as mountain biking in Wanaka (not to mention good coffee) are the perfect ingredients to foster great cyclists, whether riding at the elite professional level or as a retired Old Hairy Leg.

To find out more about riding in Wanaka visit www.lakewanaka.co.nz or pop into the Racer’s Edge Powered by Torpedo7 store on the Wanaka lakefront. The team in the bike shop will have all the details about local bunch rides and the best riding routes, and you never know, you might spot an old hairy leg. One thing is for certain though: There Will Be Coffee.

Thanks to Geoff Marks of Lake Wanaka Tourism for his words