RECORD BROKEN

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 19, 22 July 1939, Page 10

RECORD BROKEN

AUCKLAND-WELLING-TON

AMATfcUjR CYCLIST'S FEAT

Owen Barnard, nineteen-year-old [member of the New Plymouth Amateur Cycling Club, arrived at the | General Post Office in Wellington at 111.11 o'clock this morning, breaking ! the previous cycling record between ! Auckland and Wellington by lhr }Bmin. Barnard, who left the Auckland General Post Office at midnight lon Thursday, covered the distance in 35hr llmin, compared with the time of Gordon Lukey, of Canterbury, who in 1934 set a record of 36hr 19min. Local cyclists left at a fairly early hour today for Pahautanui, where they met Barnard and escorted him into the city. A few more who had been waiting at Kaiwarra with officials of the New Zealand Amateur Cycling Association and the Wellington Amateur Cycling Association also joined the Taranaki boy, who was showing few signs of distress. At Kaiwarra, also, an officer of the traffic department joined the cyclists and as they approached the city took the lead, and with siren blowing managed to clear a way through Featherston Street. Outside the Post Office there was a large gathering who were not slow to show their appreciation of a very fine effort. Among those who welcomed Barnard were Messrs. C. V. Aldridge, secretary of the New Zealand Amateur Cycling Association, and R. Knipe, chairman of the New Zealand managing body. Mr. T. Barnard, of Waitotara, father of the cyclist, was also present to welcome his son. Accompanying Barnard on the journey from Auckland (they were in a motor-car) were Messrs. T. Booth, an official of the West Coast (N. 1.) Centre (judge), and C. Hodgson, M. Sandiford, and H. Jury (time-keepers). After leaving Auckland at midnight j Barnard travelled to Mercer, where,; in a thick fog, he was lost sight of by the officials; he was not picked up again until 5.5 a.m. yesterday in the vicinity of Te Awamutu. He passed through Te Kuiti, Awakinp, Urunui, Waitara, Inglewood, Eltham, Stratford, Hawera, Wanganui, Foxton, Levin, Johnsonville, and Khandallah. and approached Wellington via the Onslow Road. Barnard stopped twice on the journey, once for half an hour at | Waitara, and once for twenty-five mm,- , utes at Waverley, where he secured his only sleep. Apart from the cold the conditions for the trip were excellent. No rain was experienced, but in the vicinity of Te Kuiti ice had formed on the cyclist's chest. After a slight massage he continued the journey. Barnard first took up cycling last January, and though he had had the trip from Auckland to Wellington in mind for some time he did not go into particularly heavy training for it. Apart from cycling approximately 100 miles each weekend for some time he did nothing out of the ordinary to prepax-e himself for the trip. He had no punctures on the journey, and but for a couple of mild spills and his chain coming off on the Paekakariki Hill there were no untoward incidents.