From 1995 until 2013, the Martinborough Charity Fun Ride was managed by Jan & Geoff Lankow, long time residents of Martinborough, initially under the banner of the Wellington Veterans Cycling Club. Jan and Geoff later made the decision to run it as an annual stand alone charity race.
The Martinborough Charity Fun Ride raised more than $130,000 for local charities over that time, and the event's roll call of high profile participants included olympians Gary Anderson and Kate McIlroy, NZ High Performance Coach Ron Cheatley, NZ Cricketer Bruce Edgar, Brian Lambert - holder of the Auckland to Wellington record - and MP Trevor Mallard, to name just a few.
In 2014, management of the ride was passed to the Rotary Club of South Wairarapa, who kept the event alive and thriving for another five years. In 2020 and 2021 however, in response to nationwide outbreaks of Covid-19, the club was forced to make the hard decision to cancel the event. Escalating costs, combined with low registration numbers, precipitated yet another last minute race cancellation in 2022.
Just when it seemed the fun ride had been relegated to history, new partners appeared. In 2024, the Rotary Club of South Wairarapa was approached by Athletics and Cycling Masterton with a proposal to resurrect the race. With a generous offer of financial support from events company Ride Holidays, and significant organisational support from Cycling Masterton, the race was back!
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