Kiwiblog

David Fisher in HoS:

In a year of mismatched and painful political races, tomorrow’s is likely to be the silliest.

The blogger known as Whaleoil will face off against the “bovver boy” of the Labour Party in a 60-kilometre bicycle race in Auckland’s eastern suburbs.

In a sport often called “chess on wheels”, the bike race between Cameron ‘Whaleoil’ Slater and Trevor ‘Duck’ Mallard will hear little mention of the word “mate’”.

There is mutual loathing.

That’s a little tough. More opponents than enemies.

The contest came after Slater goaded Mallard by calling him “cripple” over his badly broken leg.

The elder statesman of the Labour Party lashed back, calling the comfortably-padded Slater “blubber boy’”.

“I bet he is too chicken,” Mallard said.

Well, he did accept.

It is worth remembering that Trevor did challenge Whale and call him chicken. So Whale had little choice but to accept.

And Slater – known for obsessively hounding issues – has turned his compulsive nature to the race and cycled about 15kg off his frame.

Best thing Labour has ever done for Cameron.

Slater, who Mallard calls an “obsessive character”, is relentless.

“He is a cripple. And he’s running a crippled campaign.’”

Slater has been in training and, as his physical fitness improved, so did his mental health.

Slater had publicly struggled with depression, and credits getting off anti-depressants, good vitamin B levels and a good diet with the improvement.

I should see if Trevor would challenge me to a half marathon – could be just the motivation I need

Otago University zoologist Philip Seddon said whales in the wild would always be faster than ducks.

“Almost whatever kind of whale you thought about,” he says.

Seddon – who runs the university’s Wildlife Management Programme – said smaller whales were faster.

Slater’s time could, perhaps, dictate whether the blogger was truly small and dangerous.

“Maybe he’s an orca… a killer whale,” said Seddon.

I love how they went to a zoologist for a comment!

The race starts at 1.30pm tomorrow, at Musick Point reserve at Auckland’s Buckland Beach.

If you’re up in Auckland go along to view the fun!

The Herald praises the Tamaki deal:

The Auckland agreement is a credit to all leaders of the tribes concerned, particularly those of Ngati Whatua who have had to endure challenges to their long cherished tangata whenua status on the isthmus. It is also a credit to the Government’s appointed interlocutor, Sir Douglas Graham, that the vexed issues appear to have been resolved fairly rapidly and amicably.

The Press looks at cycle trails:

With 54 regions across the country bidding for a slice of $50 million earmarked for the New Zealand Cycle Trail project, there were always going to be winners and losers.

Unfortunately, when the Ministry of Tourism released the list last week of which 13 proposals got the nod, and the money, to proceed to the feasibility study stage, Environment Canterbury’s Mountains to Sea trail from Arthur’s Pass to the Waimakariri River mouth was not among them. There will still be a cycleway from the mountains to the sea, but this Alps to Ocean scheme will be located further south, between Aoraki/Mt Cook and Oamaru.

When the cycle trail proposal was unveiled by its architect, Prime Minister John Key, as one of the few concrete projects to emerge from his overhyped Job Summit, there were plenty of sceptics. Certainly his idea of a national cycle trail running the length of the country has been pared back to a more affordable series of individual rides showcasing natural attractions.

But the number of bids for funding suggests that Key’s idea has defied its initial critics and captured the imagination of many New Zealanders and local councils.

The Dominion Post talks homework:

There is an important qualification in Professor Hattie’s dismissal of homework. He says “it’s far more important to have interaction with parents rather than spending some hours on some project”. The key is the interaction with parents. Nothing will be gained by the Karori pupils, or those of other schools that abandon homework, if interaction with parents turns instead into more time in front of the television or computer screen.

Just as parents ultimately take responsibility for ensuring homework is done, in the end it will be up to them to make the no-homework strategy work.

I’m just glad I don’t have homework anymore!

The ODT discusses campervans:

It would not be unfair to say members of the Otago Conservation Board are a group of somewhat “unhappy campers”.

Their call for a national ban on the use of campervans smacks of a cause in search of publicity.

If their initiative in voting unanimously to draft a letter to their Department of Conservation seniors, calling on the Government to create legislation towards such a ban, has raised a fair old stink, they would say it is nothing compared to what the tourists in their four-wheeled portable tents are doing to the countryside.

Such a ban is, of course, a far-fetched proposal and is highly unlikely to gain serious traction, but it might be argued that the board, in promoting it, has done the country, the rental vehicle and tourism industries, and regional and district authorities a favour.

It might be argued. It might also be argued that have made the Board look like unbalanced zealots.

NZPA report:

Kaye Breaks Ankle Ending “Beauty Versus The Beast” Race

Excitement over an upcoming parliamentary cycle race dubbed “beauty versus the beast” has been dashed by National MP Nikki Kaye, who has crashed and broken an ankle.

As amused as I am by the headline, I have to say I’d never heard anyone refer to the contest in that way previously.

Central Auckland MP Ms Kaye was due to square off against senior Labour MP Trevor Mallard in the upcoming race around Lake Taupo.

They and other MPs have been in intensive training , but it all ended in tears for Ms Kaye yesterday when she fell on the streets of Auckland.

Ms Kaye said a car had moved close to her, so she had swerved to avoid it but crashed with her foot locked into the pedal.

Her awkward fall resulted in a very painful break in her fibula, near the joint with ankle.

She was expected to be in plaster and on crutches for up to six weeks.

Where’s a dedicated cycleway when you need one!

Some around Parliament joked Mr Mallard had knobbled Ms Kaye as he feared defeat by a younger MP, but Labour MPs insisted he was nowhere near the accident scene.

What I find funny is that Labour MPs actually checked that Trevor wasn’t in Auckland and were briefed to deny it was him

Trevor has been training massively for the race, and is set to knock 20 minutes or more off his 2008 time of 5:35. I hope he keeps the motivation level high as the more time Trevor is on a bike, the less time he spends making trouble in Parliament!

The Dom Post report:

Labour MP Trevor Mallard has been caught up in a police investigation into an alleged road rage incident in central Wellington.

Mr Mallard says he was forced to defend himself from a driver on Willis St who drove through a group of cyclists then hit him with a bag.

“I very nearly fell off my bike from this guy jumping out and swinging his bag at me,” he said. “I got my foot out of the [bike] pedal because I thought I was going to fall off and there was contact between my foot and his bag.”

The car’s occupants laid a complaint against Mr Mallard, but police would not give details of the complaint. They confirmed they knew of an incident but would not say if charges would be laid.

Now I know some here will automatically conclude Mallard must be in the wrong, but I would advise people not to jump to conclusions.  First of all in my experience many motorists are very inconsiderate around cyclists. Secondly, the eye witnesses back up Trevor on what happened.

Mr Mallard said he had been riding with a bunch of cyclists on Wednesday morning and was on the way back to Parliament about 8.10am when a car drove through the group “and got comments from a few of them”.

A man then got out of the car and swung a bag at Mr Mallard.

When asked if he hit or grabbed the man, the MP said: “No, I defended myself against him. I didn’t touch him at all.”

When asked if the man hit him, he said: “Yes, he did hit me with his bag.”

Mr Mallard said there was shouting from both sides over the incident, and he rode off.

I would be surprised if the Police charge anyone, if the reports of what happened are accurate. I would say that most blame lies with the motorist who got out of his car, if the facts are correctly reported.

The Press says:

When Prime Minister John Key proudly unveiled the national cycleway project his critics were quick to label the plan a pipedream.

To an extent this view was justified. Key’s original proposal was for a ribbon of concrete stretching from Kaitaia to Bluff, the construction of which would employ about 3700 workers. This was always an unrealistic goal, especially as the announced budget for the project of $50 million would have been woefully inadequate. Yet although the seven cycle trail projects announced this week, including one at St James in North Canterbury, represent a major scaling back of that original feel-good vision, it is still a promising and achievable start.

And the Dom Post:

Prime Minister John Key’s grandiose plan for a concrete cycleway stretching from Kaitaia to Bluff has become something rather more humble seven regional tracks. That does not mean it is a failure, or that it should not be applauded.

Both saying much the same. The original was too ambitious and over-hyped. But even the more modest plans are not a bad thing.

John Armstrong is underwhelmed:

Is that it? John Key says there is a lot more yet to come. But yesterday’s announcement of the first sections of what is intended to add up one day to a national cycleway from North Cape to Bluff is slightly underwhelming – especially given a prime function of the project was to be a relatively cheap, easy and quick method of soaking up unemployment.

On that score, yesterday’s unveiling of just seven “potential” routes where construction “could” start this summer failed to live up to the high expectations that Key himself raised when he first mooted the project at his Job Summit back in February.

I’ve never been convinced that the cycleway was going to make a major impact economically or in terms of jobs. In fact it will be interesting to see the exact cost-benefit analysis done for each route.

However what I have noticed is that recreational cyclists are absolutely enthused about it. One I know is almost apolitical – does not follow politics much at all. And he said that he and his mates now see Key as God (pardon the blasphemy) because they are fanatical about having more cycling routes.

Whether the national cycleway will be a plus or minus for Key politically depends on how much actually gets built in the two years before the next election.

But, tellingly, Key’s “vision” of a national cycleway is now being pitched in terms of the environmental, health and longer-term job-generation benefits of the project.

The shift is admission that Key’s high hopes of the national cycleway being a stunningly successful stop-gap job-creation scheme have foundered.

Yeah as the costs were more fully done, it became clear it would incredibly expensive.

Trevor Mallard blogs:

I’ve known Nikki Kaye for about a decade. But not well enough.

On budget night she challenged me to race around Taupo during the Challenge in November.

I do a bit of biking. I’ve done Taupo four times mostly taking between 5.31 and 5.36.   Over 6.20 first attempt. Ok for my age.

I looked at Nikki. She’s young, looks pretty good but didn’t impress me as a finely tuned athlete. I accepted her challenge.

How wrong I was. Nikki did the coast to coast last year. Not as part of a team but as an individual. And she was only one off a top 50 finish.

Experts tell me that it is the equivalent of a 4.45 Taupo. My limit would be around 5.15 if training went well and conditions on the day were great.

Now Trevor is a pretty good cyclist. But he is an even better politician and is doing the old politician trick of reducing expectations.

Trevor did get 5.36 last year. I have no doubt he can make 5.15 with sufficient motivation, and maybe even better that. My spies report he is spending much spare time cycling.

Now Nikki is definitely very fit, has run some marathons, and did complete the Coast to Coast last year. But she is not a regular cyclist and proficiency in one sport does not always translate into proficiency in another. And 160 kms is a tough challenge.

As an example Caroline Evers-Swindell did the race last year slower than Trevor – 5:44.

So quite a compliment that Trevor thinks Nikki can cycle 160 kms one hour faster than an Olympic gold medallist.

A time of 4:45 would out Nikki in the top 15 for her gender and age. It would put her ahead of Shelley Hesson at 4:53 who competed in the 2004 Olympic Games.

It would even be a faster time than Jenny MacPherson (4:51) who has won three consecutive Tour Down Under cycling races.

So when Trevor casually mentions he reckons Nikki is good for 4:45, you should treat this with the normal suspicion of anything Trevor says.

To do a sub five hour race, Trevor (on 2008 results) would need to be be in the top 300 of the 1,300 in his age and gender group. Niiki, to do a sub five hour race, would need to be in basically the top 20 of 250.

Now I’m not saying Nikki won’t win. Obviously I hope she will. But the contest isn’t quite as uneven as Trevor would like people to think.

Cactus Kate commented:

I’m picking a Mallard victory on the basis that you have at least 4 spare hours a day in opposition to train for the event

Trevor has even blogged about some of his recent cycling.

Trevor responded:

Kate – I’ve certainly got a lot more time now that I’m not a Minister. But government backbenchers possibly have even more time. They are tied up in Select Committees a bit more but don’t seem to do the policy development work and caucus group travel that we do.

Heh. The thought of Nikki with spare time is fairly amusing as she is currently on three Select Committees (some MPs have only one) and the Auckland Governance Committee is spending around a month sitting from 9 am to 9 pm five days a week. And that is only select committee hearings – on top of that you have all your other MPs duties.

So I think the Mallard-Kaye contest will be a tightly contested race. Will Nikki’s fitness and youth overcome Trevor’s experience, strength and time?

By coincidence Kiwiblog may just be in Taupo to report on this race

Well it has got the money. John Key has anounced:

The Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism, John Key has today promised $50 million dollars over three years for the New Zealand Cycleway Project.

Speaking at the New Zealand Hotel Industry Conference in Auckland, Mr Key says the project, first raised at the Job Summit, will create a high quality tourism asset that will enhance New Zealand’s competitiveness as a tourism destination, provide employment, and stimulate economic development opportunities in regional economies.

“I propose to create a series of ‘Great Rides’ of New Zealand, with a long term aim of creating a network throughout the country.”

In this month’s Budget, the Ministry of Tourism will receive $50 million in operating funding to progress the Cycleway.

Well the Greens will be happy!

Oh except for the carbon footprint of the tourists flying over here to cycle. Maybe we need to have a cycleway from Australia also

Paula Tesoriero picked up her third paralympics medal yesterday in literally blistering heat, getting bronze for the 25 km road race:

Tesoriero was not able to stand on the dais to receive her medal as a result of heat exhaustion in blistering temperatures. She will spend a day in bed to recover fully from her ailment.

All who compete at the Paralympics are awesome role medals. So far the NZ team has won nine medals (Paula is one third of that!) and four more days to go.

TVNZ report on the worthy stand in for Paula:

She was taken to hospital for a precautionary MRI scan so a stand-in was needed for the medal ceremony.

This position was taken by her husband Chris Bishop who probably deserved some reward for the stress he’d been though watching his wife!

Chris is the most amazingly supportive partner for Paula, and definitely her number one fan. I knew both Chris and Paula before they started dating. In fact we spent some time trying to convince Paula that we thought Chris was interested in being more than just friends with her.

Paula kept denying this, and kept asking us what made us think this. Finally one day we confessed “Well mainly because Chris has told us he is”

A final reminder – friends and fans can vote for Paula on the TVNZ site. You’ll go in for a chance to win an Mitsubishi Outlander, and the top scoring competitor gets one also.

Well done to Paula Tesoriero for winning a bronze paralympics medal to go with her gold. And she didn’t do a face plant this time!

Her final race is tomorrow – the 25 km road race.

A reminder that friends and fans of Paula can vote for her on the TVNZ site. The paralympian with the most votes wins a Mitsubishi Outlander and everyone who votes goes into a draw to win one themselves.

There are few people who really inspire me, but my friend Paula Tesoriero who was on TV3 last night is one of them:

Wellington cyclist Paula Tesoriero is gunning for gold at this year’s Paralympics, and the world record holder in the 500 metre time trial is expecting nothing less than gold in Beijing.

Paula Tesoriero has always been determined to disable her disability.  A rare condition meant three of her limbs were damaged before she was born and even though she has only been cycling two years, she is already world class.

Even before she took up cycling, Paula was amazing for never letting her disability being a handicap. And the effort she puts into training for the cycling champs is beyond belief.

I’m not going to be watching too many races in the main Olympics. But myself and many others will be following the Paralympics cycling minute by minute!