YOU February 2012

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SNOWDENS’SNOWDENS’

Juggling work, children and sport

youmagazine

February 2012February 2012

Our Our herohero

publication

Miriam’s Miriam’s babybaby

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youWhat’s in

magazineP2-3 who’s out and about

P4-5 COVER STORY:

life with the Snowdens

P6-7 ready for the ring

P8-9 couch potato

P20-21 Japanese recipe

P22-23 loving her Mustang

P24-25 roses and more roses

P26 travel: Uruguay

P27 fi x those leaks

P28 unsung hero: Don Kirdy

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Editorial contactLisa Fenwick • [email protected]

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This year’s Mid Canterbury Summer Singing School concert was enjoyed by (fromleft) Molly and Nicky Milmine, Bridget Danielson and Averil Danielson.

Above – Anne Taylor and Bruce White.

Elizabeth Till.

Above (from left) – Royce, Bill and Lynwen Morgans.

Below – Averil Bradshaw (left) and Debbie Prouting.

Above – Mary Smith (left) and Jenny Jackson.

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John and Coby Snowden and their brood –Megan, 12, Lillian, 3½, and Natalie, 17 months.

YOU cover story 5

Twelve-year-old Megan remem-bers when her step-dad proposed to her mum.

John Snowden, the man who had been taking her mum out for nine months, had taken the mother-and-daughter pair for a walk on Mt Peel. John said to Coby, “I bought you something in Canada”. He had been in the coun-try competi ng in the shooti ng world championships. Coby opened a small unwrapped box to reveal a ring. She put it on her right ring fi nger. “He said ‘I want you to wear it on the other fi nger’.”

Megan was just as thrilled as her mum. “I was happy before she said ‘yes’. I

complained about me not getti ng a ring,” she said.

For John, he didn’t think twice about whether Megan should be there. Any fu-ture together would be about the three of them, and Megan was just as impor-tant to him as Coby.

John and Coby had met as members of the same squad at the nati onal shooti ng championships in Wellington. Coby lived in the capital and was corporate services manager for Crown Forestry. The fi rst year they met, Coby could not get John to say “boo” to her, but they ended up dancing together at a party at the end of the champs. One year later at the same event they picked up where they left off , getti ng to know each other bett er.

Five years later they are married and living in John’s home town of Ashburton, and Megan has two litt le sisters.

In their 40s, John and Coby Snowden had not expected to have more children, but felt blessed when Coby became pregnant with Lillian, now three-and-a-half. They thought that was it, and were not planning on having any more. However, when Coby was 46, she fell pregnant with Natalie, who is now 17 months.

Coby said motherhood in her 40s had been a dream with just one baby. She had given up work as an accountant and loved every minute of her new life. She got involved in community groups, be-came treasurer of a number of organisa-ti ons, and was involved with Plunket.

“She was the perfect baby, I just loved it,” she said. But, as any parent of more than one child knows, having another baby changes everything.

“Then suddenly Natalie came along. I found it a lot harder, having a toddler and a baby.”

Natalie was just as adorable, but a completely diff erent nature, not placid like Lillian, but all go, a bit of a live-wire.

As Coby carried on the day-to-day tasks of parenti ng two small children, John ran the family’s 200-hectare crop and catt le farm at Westerfi eld, travelling out there each day, and the pair kept up their sport of shooti ng.

Coby had always had in the back of her mind that she would return to work at some ti me, but she did not realise the perfect opportunity would arise when Natalie was just three months old. She saw an adverti sement for an accountant at RX Plasti cs.

“I remember saying ‘Bugger, bugger, bugger’. I said they (those types of jobs) don’t come up oft en.”

She did not want to put the children in daycare, so ruled out applying, but then John suggested he take care of the children. Not only would the job give Coby the life outside of the home that she craved, but it would bring in a much-needed income.

“He said ‘I can look aft er them, how hard can it be’?”

She applied, got the job, and success-fully managed to trade off a higher pay packet for a litt le fl exibility in her general routi ne of 8am to 5pm fi ve days per week.

“I love working, it gets my brain going again,” she said.

As for John, he admits he has changed his mind about how hard staying home with the children can be.

“It’s very ti ring, because you don’t get a chance to stop, so you do fi nd you are actually quite ti red. You can’t sit down for 10 minutes and have smoko like you can when you are working. It’s amazing how much diff erence that makes.”

He has been taking the girls with him to work on the farm each day, and has had to cut his usual eight-hour day down

to half that, and simplify his duti es. He can drive around in the farm truck check-ing on stock, but either gets contractors to undertake major jobs such as tractor work or does them himself on evenings or weekends when Coby can have the children.

“There’s a lot of jobs that don’t get done. It’s just fi nding the right balance, I could push the farm a lot harder. I perhaps farm in a more conservati ve way than I used to.”

And being an older dad meant he had a lot of farm experience behind him, and he was more organised than he used to be, and could get tasks done in less ti me.

“I think ‘What was I doing before?’ The basics are sti ll getti ng done.”

And when it comes to mixing sporti ng achievement with parenti ng, John says the two go together perfectly.

He achieved a sporti ng career highlight of winning gold in the pairs shoot at the Com-monwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, shortly aft er Natalie was born. Because he was a busy dad at the ti me, he did not have as

much ti me for practi sing as he had leading up to the previous Commonwealth Games in 2006 in Melbourne. At those games he came seventh in the pairs match.

“There’s no doubt it (parenti ng) changes your whole perspecti ve on life. What you thought was important suddenly isn’t anymore,” he said.

Compared to parenti ng three beauti ful daughters, competi ng at the Delhi games was “not important” at all. He had been aiming to have fun more than anything, and it was that relaxed atti tude that ended up being a winning atti tude.

“It didn’t matt er whether I got fi rst or last, the sun was sti ll going to come up the next morning and the kids were sti ll going to call me dad,” he said.

Natalie has this term started daycare in Ashburton from 9am to 3pm.

It gives John a litt le more freedom dur-ing the day to do the farmwork, but as for peace of mind, that’s another thing altogether.

“I’m a bit unsure with it, just the way she is, she’s not upset. She just gets this bewildered look when you drop her off , she just doesn’t understand.”

Easing his parental guilt is the fact that she is sett ling in well, and enjoys her ti me at the crèche. Natalie is joined by Lillian one day a week, and Lillian will increase her days as space becomes available at the centre.

Coby said there had been mainly posi-ti ves in being an older mum. Physically,

the natural births of her two youngest had gone smoothly, just the recovery ti me was a litt le longer than if she had been younger.

She remembers talking to the pregnant partner of her nephew when she was expecti ng Lillian. Both mums-to-be were complaining of fati gue – that was one thing that was no diff erent despite the 20-year diff erence in their ages. What was diff erent was the younger woman felt she was missing out on being able to go out as much as she used to, and on being able to wear all the clothes she used to.

“All those things just didn’t matt er to me, that’s the age thing,” Coby said.

A few months ago when she was asked to be a guest speaker at the family’s St David’s Union Church parish, it was put to her she could talk about how she juggles the demands of a family and work.

“I never think of it as juggling, juggling is a negati ve word. You juggle bills, but not family life. We just do things we love to do. Shooti ng, family things, our jobs. But we don’t do everything perfectly, far from it.”

Just as Coby made this comment, litt le Natalie walked into the room with a piece of toast she had found on the fl oor somewhere in the house. No-one was quite sure whether it had been dropped there from that morning’s breakfast, or a previous day’s meal. Natalie proceeded to eat the toast, protesti ng at Megan’s eff orts to take it off her.

John and Coby take the children with them each Sunday aft ernoon to the rifl e range, and Megan is involved in gymnas-ti cs.

Another thing Coby spoke about in her talk at the church was the extra pressures many parents put themselves under, out every night aft er work taking their kids to sports and acti viti es.

“All kids don’t have to go to swimming, piano, Scouts,” she said.

As for Megan, she may someti mes miss the peace and quiet of life before her two litt le sisters arrived on the scene, but adores them all the same – the sweet and placid Lillian and the up-and-go Natalie. She identi fi es with Natalie the most, she said, she’s the sporty one, like her.

She likes living in Ashburton compared to Wellington, with town faciliti es closer to home. So all-in-all things have worked out not too bad since that walk on Mt Peel four years ago.

Family lives lifein the fast lane

‘stohn up There’s a lot of

jobs that don’t get done. It’s just fi nding the right balance ...

The Snowden kids of Ashburton live in a blended family, have older parents who are highachievers in the sport of shooting, while mum works fulltime and dad runs a farm. Life is

chaotic in this modern family, fi nds YOU’s Susan Sandys.

6 YOU feature

Above – Megan has delicate hands for car grooming by day but fi sts of fury by night.

Right – Megan throws the left hand in a spar-ring session with one of the boys at the Ash-burton Boxing Club.

YOU feature 7

Megan Woolley is unconventi onal. A former motocross rider, she now grooms cars by day and boxes by night.

To look at her, you would not pick it.Megan casts an unassuming fi gure, not one that

would suggest she is a motorbike-riding woman who enjoys punching people.

But that is exactly what she is.Taking up boxing, she could be perceived to have a

stereotypical anger issue, but again this is not the case with Megan.

“I’m not an angry person and even in the ring I some-ti mes have trouble.

“When I’m sparring someti mes I hit the boys wrong or a bit hard and I say ‘sorry’ then I get told off for apologis-ing.

“But when you get hit it makes you want to re-spond.

“No-one likes getti ng hit and the point is to hit them more than they hit you.”

And how did her love of boxing begin?“I left school at the start of Year 13 and had a gap year of sorts.

“I took up motocross fullti me but needed a job to pay for it.

“That is when I took over at a car grooming service for someone

while they were on maternity leave.

“I did it for eight months unti l she came back and then I job hunted for a while before I started my own car grooming service.”

Having a business to run meant the motorbike went away – there was

no ti me to go riding.However, Woolley is

not one to sit sti ll.“I didn’t have ti me for moto-cross anymore,

but I’m the kind of per-

son who hates

not doing

something.” Wanti ng to keep her fi tness up, she decided to train at the Ashburton Boxing Club.

“I started going just to do fi tness at fi rst but they ap-proached me to see if I was interested in taking up box-ing. I decided to give it a go and it has been something to work towards.

“I love it.“I would rather do boxing fullti me but you have to

pay the bills.” That means she has to groom cars 9-5pm during the week, but it does have more than a monetary benefi t.

She is not the karate kid, but the wax-on-wax-off theory sti ll rings true.

“It does have its benefi ts. “The polishing and buffi ng is really good for my arms

because the equipment is so heavy.”“I’ve seen some prett y terrible cars but I get through

probably two cars a day. A full groom takes about six hours with full interior and full exterior clean.”

She has always been considered an unconventi onal sportswoman having been a successful motocross rider and now taking up boxing. She is the only female boxer in the Ashburton Boxing Club.

“Apparently we have had a couple of women regis-tered in the past but never a bout,” Ashburton Boxing Club’s Colin Sheehan said.

“It’s set to be a busy calendar in the Canterbury region this year so she will hopefully get in the ring at some stage, if not a few ti mes.”

Her fi rst fi ght is likely to come in March and the reality of jumping in the ring for real is already starti ng to kick in.

“I’m not really sure what to expect. It will be totally diff erent from sparring.

“When you are sparring you know who you’re up against, you’re comfortable in the environment and you don’t go hard out.

“In a competi ti ve fi ght it gets serious and you want to knock your opponent out and they want to do the same.”

The world of motocross demands a certain level of fearlessness, which will help her in the ring, but with someone trying to hit her back, she will have to call on all her training.

As the only female in the club, she has to spar with the boys, an inti midati ng prospect at fi rst.

“I was a bit wary the fi rst ti me but I just told myself not to let them beat me up and remember what I had learned.

“It’s also a good thing because I know they are more advanced than me so that makes me need to work harder.”

Megan’sready for the ring

It takes a lot of guts to get into the ring when someone wants to knock your block off , but Megan Woolley is not scared as YOU writer JONATHAN LEASK found out. She runs her own business

grooming cars by day and by night she is groomed intoa fi ghter, the only female boxer in Ashburton

awaiti ng her fi rst offi cial bout.

8 YOU couch potato challenge

Couch potatoesstand up

By Amanda Niblett

Goal Setti ng. It’s something we should all do on a regular basis, but for whatever reason, days, weeks and months ti ck by, and before we know it, years later we sti ll haven’t made any progress towards our hopes and dreams.

A lot of us amble through life without any specifi c purpose; taking life as it comes without feeling the need to set specifi c targets or goals. Taking the “live life as it comes” approach oft en doesn’t work very well. Setti ng goals can help to give your life a sense of purpose and directi on.

Knowing that exercise is good for you is one thing, but fi nding the moti vati on to make it part of your lifestyle is another.

The thought of exercise may be overwhelming, but slowly increasing acti vity by just 10 minutes a day adds up weekly and is enough to provide health benefi ts. Even small increases in physical acti vity will enhance protecti on against chronic illnesses, including heart disease and diabetes.

Setti ng measurable and achievable fi tness goals will encourage increased daily movement. Try scheduling fi tness onto your phone or calendar. Make plans to exercise during breaks with workmates or neighbours.

Even set out your exercise gear and a pedometer the evening before so it’s ready to go fi rst thing in the morning.

Short-term goals could include walking four ti mes for 30 minutes this week, going to two yoga classes this week or something similar that can be completed in a short ti me.

Your short-term goals should help you reach your long-term goals. A long-term goal should sti ll be spe-cifi c, challenging and realisti c, but require more ti me to reach. An example of a long-term goal could be to complete a fi ve-kilometer race in less than 30 minutes within six months. As you reach your long-term goals, set new ones, and make them more challenging.

For our Couch Potatoes, goal setti ng is imperati ve to their success. The daily goal of increasing movement. The weekly goal of increasing distance. The monthly goal of weight-loss and the six monthly goal of being able to complete 10km.

And thus far, all of our couch potatoes have im-proved their fi tness, and are fi nding day-to-day acti vi-ti es easier to manage. With advice and support from Rachael Rickard from Studio Fit, they are scheduling set exercise ti mes into their day, and changing disrup-ti ve habits to ensure increased daily movement.

One person who knows all about setti ng goals to achieve what they originally thought unachievable is

a contestant from our previous weight-loss challenge. Anna Johnson started the Ashburton Guardian’s weight loss challenge one year ago, and has conti nued to achieve phenomenal results.

Aft er the birth of her second child, Anna struggled with post-natal depression, and was determined to lose weight to turn her life around.

During the six months of our challenge, she lost an incredible 24kg of weight, a staggering 27% of her total body weight. She achieved this despite facing challenges, such as an injured foot and an overseas holiday to Phuket.

Since completi ng the challenge, she has conti nued to work on her fi tness and has now lost more than 30kg. Last month she travelled to Wanaka to compete in a half iron-man competi ti on, which will consist of a 2km swim, 90km bike ride and a 21km run.

We at the Ashburton Guardian congratulate Anna on her conti nued determinati on to turn her life around, and wish her all the best for any future events she parti cipates in.

Anna’s success will surely be an inspirati on to the competi tors of our current Couch Potato challenge, and to our readers, who are looking at making positi ve changes in their own lives.

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Well that ti me again and all I can say is I feel bett er than I have in a long ti me.

First I had a long overdue holiday to Auckland with my husband to, and we went to A day on the green at Villia Maria Winery. We watched some great bands Goodshirt, Icehouse, Hall and Oates.

While I was there I also spott ed Wayne, one of the other contestants there. It was a great ti me and great to get away to have some fun.

I walked all over Auckland, including up and down Custom Street, which is about eight kilometres in length, and Queen Street, which is about 10 kilometres in length.

I also have been doing a fair bit of gardening over the last few weekends, digging out a fi sh pond, and lots of weeding which has all helped to keep me acti ve.

I have also been carrying on with a lot of walking. My fi tness is starti ng to benefi t from all the added movement that I put into my daily routi ne now.

I recently found that I can get into clothes that I brought 4 years ago, which was leather pants and motorcycle jacket, that I hadn’t been able to wear unti l now. That was a fantasti c feeling.

Time for me to keep on training.

Move to improve

Rachel Robertson

YOU couch potato challenge 9

If there's one thing I've learned doing this challenge, it's that there will always be a reason not to get moving. Injury, illness, family commitments, work commitments, death and disaster. But as John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans”. So if even superstars found that things keep getti ng in the way, who am I to quibble?

This month there have been so many things that went wrong. And I certainly didn't get things right. When Jeff was ill I sti ll could have gone walking in the evening. He didn't want me to go out alone, so I didn't go at all.

But my commitment to being fi tt er isn't about getti ng it right every ti me. Fortunately. That commitment means that I take opportuniti es that present themselves and that I make other opportuniti es when I can. Even when I don't want to.

So I’ve signed up for the Real Women’s Duathlon on March 18th; that’s a 3.5 km walk, 10 km bike ride and 1.5 km walk. The following week I’m parti cipati ng in the Relay for Life with my work colleagues. No doubt my ti mes will be abysmal. But that’s not the point. I’m getti ng out there and doing it. It’s doable. Won’t be easy, but it’s certainly doable. Fortunately.

Cathie Withington

Where has the last month gone?It doesn’t seem that long since I last had

to write a diary note.Over the last month it may not have been

fantasti c weather for a summer, but it has been great weather to go out for a run in. With the cooler evenings it hasn’t been too bad to get out and do some exercise.

Some people may be shocked to hear this from me, but once you get out and start running the worst is over. I just have to ignore that litt le voice in my head saying “just go tomorrow”. So I just plug in the earphones turn on the sounds and go out before I change my mind.

Each week I keep challenging myself by trying to run further.

Thanks to all the people who toot and wave as they pass me out exercising, I am improving the skill of waving back.

Wayne Rodgers

Since our last report I managed to complete the 7km walking challenge right aft er fi nishing an eight hour night shift . I had doubts that I would even fi nish this, as the greatest distance I had previously walked was approximately four kilometres.

I’m happy to say that I managed to fi nish in one hour and six minutes, which I was pleasantly surprised with.

I thought it would take me a lot longer.I have been using the exercise bike at

home a bit more and making an eff ort to go to the gym more oft en. I have really noti ced the fi tness levels improving.

The challenge now is to keep focused, as the 10km challenge target will soon be in our sights.

Geoff Laird

Well wouldn’t it be nice if there was just one month where nothing went wrong and the exercise programme could be in full swing. We took a trip up North to a family wedding but stopped over in Ohakune and Waitomo fi rst, and planned to do bushwalks each night aft er dinner. This would have been unheard of four months ago. We would have arrived and crashed in front of the telly or just completely R&R’d our way through the trip.

The fi rst night I ate some dodgy chicken and ended up with food poisoning. I was either completely horizontal or “facing South through the porcelain window” for three of the eight days we were away. So no evening bushwalks however the clean out was probably bett er than the detox I did prior to surgery last year.

At the ti me of the last arti cle I had just completed the 7 km challenge. A week later I did it again hoping to beat my fi rst ti me but it came through at an hour again. My workout is much bett er at the Gym Company now, and walking to and from bowls, (approximately 2 km) now is so easy compared to how it was when I started I don’t think anything of it now.

I’ve registered for the relay for life which if I keep going as long as possible with that, will certainly put me in good stead for the 10 km challenge in a couple of months.

Jeff Withington

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Get the Look!

12 YOU lifestyle

HouseThe perfect paradise

advertising feature

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT FOR BETH

AND LESTER

By Amanda Niblett

115 Alford Forest Road, Ashburton - Ph 308 9099

TOGETHER, WE’RE BUILDING NEW ZEALAND one job at a time

BEAUTIFY YOUR BATHROOM

INSPIRING BATHROOM STYLEA new bathroom is one of the best, and with our help, one of the easiest improvements you can make to your home. Whether you’re starting from scratch or renovating, a well designed bathroom built with quality materials and stylish fittings can add convenience, comfort and value.

SHOWERS - KNOW HOW TIPChoose the biggest shower you have room for. By choosing an angled shower, you may be able to fit in a larger size without interrupting the flow of the room.If you have very tall people in your household, look for a shower option with ‘over height’ walls. Moulded liners are easy to clean and give you somewhere to put all your bottles, etc.

BATHROOM MIRRORS - KNOW HOW TIPA good mirror is essential for any bathroom, not only for practical reasons but because it creates an illusion of space in what is often avery small room. By installing a mirror demister you will save yourself the time and hassle of trying to clear steam away before you can use it.

See Ivan Moore Construction for a complete professional job. Ivan takes care of the entire project, meaning you don’t have to deal with numerous tradespeople.

For a complete, quality job call Ivan Moore Construction.

Ph/Fax (03) 308 9908Mobile 0274 150 471

Pleased to be main contractor and project manager on the McLean home.

RenovationsAlterationsNew HousingBathroomsFree quotes

No 104634

exterior brick colour. The grounds are lush, featuring splashes of vibrant colour while remaining easy to maintain.

YOU lifestyle 13

240 Burnett Street, Ashburton Phone 308 0266

SKIP-2-ITTM

Would you like to have the perfect

The team at Skip-2-it can show you what a little bit of time and effort with the vinyl tiles can give your own little

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remaining hidden from the wind,

a theme dominant throughout the home,

The outdoor entertainment area captures all-day sun, while remaining sheltered from the wind. The exposed aggregate concrete adds texture and contrasts against the dark stain of the furniture.

HouseThe perfect paradise

advertising feature

PIONEERING THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED GARAGE DOORS SYSTEMS

Produced here in New Zealand, Dominator® have a complete range of custom-made garage door

systems and accessories for residential and industrial environments, including sectional, roller and cedar

garage doors, and automatic openers.Call today to arrange your free appraisal, or visit us

online at www.dominator.co.nz for further examples and information.

Proud to be the chosen garage door provider for Beth and Lester McLean

Cnr South and Cass Streets,Ashburton.

Phone 308-5560Mobile 027-433-6050

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Available for professional painting and wallpapering of home interiors.45 years professional experience in the Ashburton District.

Call now for a free quote

Graeme W PittPainter & Decorator Telephone 03 308 3914 orMobile 027 297 5000

When quality counts, you need the right person for your home decorating.

Beth and Lester McLean have builtthree new homes and chose the same painter and decorator every time!

Renovating your kitchen? Commercial or domestic,our services are:

AndersonJoinery Phone/Fax 308 2988117 Alford Forest Road, Ashburton

Members of the New Zealand Joiners Federation (Master Joiners)51 Robinson Street, Industrial Estate, Ashburton

Ph 307-6466 or 0274-508-191www.paveco.co.nz

Another quality Paveco project

Proud installers of the driveway and the courtyard

Contact Tony Worsfold today to get the right advice for your new driveway or patio

Throughout the home the walls are adorned by the unique and funky designs that she has created. In the master

black polystyrene balls have been used to create music notes, set amongst a deep-set frame where old music paper has been used as a background. Even the bedspread she made by hand from

a cover that suited the look she was hoping to accomplish for the room.

that Beth and Lester designed and built to suit what they wanted. It wasn’t built with anyone else in mind or re-sale value in mind, every feature was what they

in the wider than normal hallway, and in

The main bathroom which is normally only used by guests is in fact the smaller

master bedroom is the larger bathroom, with his and her basins and a deep bath tub.

They used to great advantage their life experience to create their unique dream home. Beth works in the building industry, while Lester had previously been a real estate agent, so their

space that they wanted to spend their

because he was able to complete

factor for us.“We had the permit in February and

by the end of November we were in with everything complete. The process was very smooth and stress-free,” Beth said.

have learnt a few things along the way

“The most important factor is to set

swept up in the romance of details by trying to up-grade everything you see.

shower head, or cupboard handle, but as long as you are choosing a nice looking

or even the re-sale value.

both like, then stop looking, as there will always be something else that strikes your fancy in the next shop, and the next

on will end up becoming issues rather than purchases to be happy with. When Beth and I came across something that we both liked, we stopped looking and moved on to the next item,” Lester said.

14 YOU lifestyle

HouseThe perfect paradise

advertising feature

YOU lifestyle 15

Spoil your Valentineand go in to win!

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16 YOU lifestyle

Girls on Bikesadvertising feature

By Amanda Niblett

Grab your mum, daughter, best friend or

neighbour and enter the third Braziers Girls on Bikes

road cycling race, just for women! Methven is gripping itself to handle an invasion of

more than 800 nervous and excited bike-crazy ladies,

descending on the alpine town

for a day of

friendship.

Sorry fellas but this is a girl’s weekend of fun, frivolity and cycling but by all means come along and support your gal, wife, partner, friend or daughter as they take on the challenge of either the 37km or 76km circuit.

Even if you aren’t familiar

circuits are ideal as an intro

150m of climbing on the short course and not much more on the long course. Compared to many other New Zealand road cycling events, this course

the course are the ones you get to look at, which are the stunning Southern Alps that

courses.

for every level of women’s cycling from the absolute beginner with the shorter

warrior princesses for either course to the fast-paced

cyclists. So that means there are

group categories for both distances plus A, B, C and D grade categories for the long course. If you are entering in A, B, C or D grade, you must

but if you’re not, there’s nothing stopping you from

rider. Entries have been

the country, as more and more women are

taking to the road to build

but it’s not too late to enter. On-line entries close at 10am

out in front of the Methven Resort on Main Street and riders will head due north through the township and then into the Mount

approximately 12 kilometres

Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd and

along this road. At the 21km

Pudding Hill Rd and ride in

Pudding Hill Rd riders will take an ever so slight right hand turn into Dip Road. Riders

Reynolds Rd that then runs naturally into Ledgerwood

Ledgerwood Rd and SH

back outside the Methven resort having completed approximately 37km of riding their bikes.

front of the Methven Resort and riders will ride through the centre of town in a

Pushing the pedals – girl style!

ASHBURTON

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Come and talk to the team at Avanti PlusFREE BIKE SERVICE CHECK

FOR GIRLS ON BIKES.Ashburton Cycles 28 Moore Street (Mitre 10 Mega Complex) Phone 308 2668

For girls who know that cycling isn t the only way to have fun!

Heritage cafe Try one of Sandra’s delicious

fruit smoothies!

160 Main Street, Methven P:(03)302-9666 E: [email protected]

art gallery Jeff Bradley Bruce

Exhibition

attractionNZ Alpine &

Agriculture Encounter

Open daily 9 - 5pm

YOU lifestyle 17

Girls on Bikesadvertising feature

Waimarama Rd and Arundel Rakaia Gorge Rd.

travelling due south and stay on this stretch of

and have fun!

EVENT: Girls on BikesLOCATION: Methven, Saturday 18th FebruaryVisit on-line for entry details: www.girlsonbikes.co.nz

For Entries after the 14th of FebruaryThursday 16th: 5pm - 9pm at Brazier Properties Offices, 838 Columbo Street, ChristchurchFriday 17th: 1pm - 8pm at Methven Resort, MethvenSaturday 18th: 7am - 9am at Methven Resort, Methven

COURSES AVAILABLE:Registered Riders 76km (Must be affiliated with Bike NZ)Recreational 76kmRecreational 37km

Pushing the pedals – girl style!

211 Burnett Street, Ashburton Phone 307 6443

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WeddingsA moment that lasts a lifetime

advertising feature18 YOU lifestyle

Kylie, baby Riley and Shaun Fitzgerald.

Shaun and Kylie Fitzgerald sharing a married moment.

Shaun Fitzgerald and Kylie Tull were married on Daydream Island Resort, Australia on 22nd October 2010.

Ashburton on 28th October, 2011.

Nicole and Tim Davis, married

The bridal party sisters,

Peacock, bride Nicole Davis (nee Peacock), bridesmaid Amy Peacock.

YOU Mobilehomes extravaganza 19advertising feature

If you ask anyone who owns a motorhome when the right

the motorhome owners at the

right through to the most

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Come and check out our motor homes at the Ashburton Showgrounds on the 18th-19th February

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An extravaganzaon wheelsBy Amanda Niblett

Food from Japan

Ginger chicken

When Tetsu and Mineko sit down for dinner it’s most oft en to a Japanese meal, but they’re both fans of traditi onal Kiwi food too. Mineko is usually the cook.

Most of the ingredients they need for Japanese dishes can be sourced in Ashburton and from their vegetable garden in the back yard. Tetsu’s favourite traditi on-al food is sashimi (raw seafood) and for Mineko it’s anything involving fi sh. The biggest challenge is to source very fresh tuna and salmon.

Mineko’s ginger chicken dish is something she whips up oft en as part of a meal or just as a nibble. It’s simple, never fails and tastes great, she said.

Method• Heat oil in a fry pan on high heat.• Put chicken skin side down fi rst,

cook unti l golden.• Cook all other surfaces unti l brown

again.

• Add remaining ingredients to the pan.

• Put lid on pan and simmer unti l chicken is cooked.

• Remove lid and cook on higher heat unti l all liquid is absorbed.

Ingredients

1kg chicken nibbles or thighs2T raw surgar2T soy sauce2T Japanese sake or dry white wineThumb-sized ginger (thinly sliced)

20 multi-cultural YOU

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TALBOT ST

TO TEKAPO

TO CHRISTCHURCH

TO TIMARU

Recipe of the monthCongratulations to last months winner

Bev JohnsonAshburton

A fabulousA fabulousBarker’s Summer Entertaining TubPost your self addressed envelope to:Barkers Giveaway, Amanda Niblett,PO Box 77, Ashburton 7700. E-mail:[email protected], subject header: Barkers Giveaway.

Please include your name, address and phone number. Only complete entries will be included in the draw.

Serves 8

Ingredients4 egg whites ¾ cup caster sugar ¾ cup long thread coconut, toasted 1/2 cup cream, whipped 1 pack Barker’s Patisserie Filling (400g) (any flavour)

PreparationPreheat oven to 190°C. Line a 26cm x 32cm Swiss roll tin with baking paper leaving 5cm excess on sides of tin.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, add sugar a little at a time. Beat well after each addition. Pour mixture into tin and spread with a spatula.

Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Remove from oven and lay out another sheet of baking paper sprinkled with toasted coconut. Turn pavolva out onto the coconut. Peel away baking paper used for cooking. Cool for 5 minutes. Spread with whipped cream and pipe over half the bag of Barker’s Patisserie filling. Roll pavlova from the short side up, using the paper as a guide. Refrigerate until serving.

Make remaining Patisserie filling into a sauce by adding hot water a little at a time to give a pouring consistency. Serve the sauce alongside the roll with extra whipped cream if wished.

Pavlova Roll

WIN

010212-KG-031

Delicious-looking ginger chicken is an easy meal that never fails and tastes great.

multi-cultural YOU 21

By Sue Newman

Ask Tetsu Mitomo where he calls home and the ex-pat Japanese has no hesitati on in saying New Zealand; his partner Mineko Ito is a

litt le more hesitant when it comes to swap-ping allegiance.

But in spite of Mineko’s emoti onal links to her homeland, the couple say they’re loving life in a country where there are fewer people, where life is lived at a slower pace and where working days don’t involve more than 12 hours.

For Tetsu, becoming a New Zealand resi-dent has been a long journey. He visited 17 years ago on a working holiday, loved what he saw and the immigrati on seeds were sown.

“I really felt this was a good country to live. I had to go back to Japan, but I’d already decided I was coming back even then.”

Tetsu graduated from university and worked as an engineer in the plasti cs industry for several years, but in his heart he knew his ti me in Japan was running out. The biggest hurdle he had to face, however, was telling his family he was leaving.

“I resigned from my job and then I told my parents. My dad didn’t say much but my mum was quite upset. I had to resign fi rst because I knew she’d try to talk me out of it, to stop me,” he said.

He grew up on the outskirts of Tokyo and while that was removed from the freneti c pace of life in the Japanese capital, Tetsu said it was sti ll far busier than life in New Zealand. He went to university and worked post-

graduati on in the Gunma prefecture, living in a smaller city, about the size of Auckland.

With his engineering degree and a package of skills acquired through his hobby, photog-raphy, Tetsu packed up his world, left home and arrived in New Zealand. That hobby was to become his lifeline, the key to securing his fi rst job as a wedding photographer.

For Mineko, her associati on with New Zealand had been an on-and-off aff air over several years.

“I was working in Japan as a ski instructor with children and I used to come over here to Mt Hutt in the school holidays for three weeks with children. I just loved the country.”

As fate would have it, Tetsu was working at the lodge that accommodated her school groups. They met and that meeti ng was the catalyst for a decision to start a new life together in New Zealand.

For Mineko that meeti ng came at a perfect ti me. She was becoming increasingly at-tached to the country she visited for three weeks each year and had a longer working holiday on her agenda.

“It was such good ti ming. The fi rst ti me, I stayed here for 10 months, then went back to Japan, made some money and came back.”

Now she’s a New Zealand resident, but unlike Tetsu, deep inside she sti ll considers herself a Japanese citi zen. It’s been three years since she’s been back to Japan and she admits she someti mes gets quite homesick.

Later this year Mineko will head to Japan for a few weeks, but Tetsu said he has no desire to go back. His last trip home was three years ago and he’s using the need for someone to look aft er their two dogs as his

excuse for not returning.Making the move to New Zealand was a

good decision, Tetsu said.Life in New Zealand is much freer and less

traditi on bound than it would have been in Japan, parti cularly for Mineko who may have found herself living either with her parents-in-law or close by.

And in Japan, many women and their children rarely see their husband or partner, who may leave for work before 7am and not return unti l very late at night. When he is there he’s oft en too ti red or too preoccupied to be involved with his family, Tetsu said.

In New Zealand, Mineko is free to make her own choices, to live the life she chooses and for now that’s working in a West Melton vineyard. She’d love to return to Mt Hutt as a ski instructor, but feels her spoken English is sti ll not good enough. She’s practi sing, so maybe this winter, she said.

While New Zealand is now very much Tetsu and Mineko’s home, they say the thing they miss the most about Japan is snow. Both grew up in areas where snow lay on the ground for many winter weeks. Mineko grew up on Japan’s northernmost island Hokkaido, and said there are many similariti es between her home island and New Zealand.

She sti ll nurtures a desire to return to Japan at some ti me in the future. Tetsu does not and he hopes that, with ti me, Mineko will fi nd regular visits back are enough to keep homesickness at bay. And there’s every disincenti ve not to return because of Japan’s ti ght job market.

“In Japan at our age, it is very diffi cult to fi nd a job. Jobs are more for young people but it’s diffi cult for everyone now,” Tetsu said.

Tetsu’s mum is the only member of either family who has visited New Zealand and as an avid tramper she’s fallen in love with back country tracks and trails. He expects she’ll be a regular visitor.

Mineko says her family is sad that she’s now a New Zealander and to date no family members have visited. Both families sti ll struggle to understand how their children can prefer another country to Japan.

“It’s not so common for Japanese to leave their own country to live. They’ll go for work and oft en people are sent overseas by their company for three or four years, but they always come back home,” Tetsu said.

And in Japan you normally stay in your fi rst job for years, but that’s slowly changing. Family values are also changing and that’s not necessarily good, he said.

“There is sti ll quite traditi onal family think-ing but the kids are now not really respecti ng their parents the same. These days parents are both working long hours.”

For now they’re committ ed to Ashburton. They’ve bought a large home on a secti on that’s enough to give their two dogs, Lyn and Cha Cha, plenty of exercise room. They’re enjoying the Kiwi backyard traditi on of veg-etable gardening and barbecues.

Tetsu is working as a photographer in Ashburton and Mineko is looking forward to fi nding work closer to home so she can become part of the community. She’s not enjoying the reverse of the Japanese trend, being a woman, rather than a man, travelling long distances to work.

“While I’m doing this, making friends and getti ng to know people is a bit hard,” she said.

Tetsu Mitomo (left) and Mineko Ito and canine friends Lyn (left) and Cha Cha – happily swapping life in Japan for a quieter pace of life in New Zealand.

NZ

PHOTO KIRSTY GRAHAM 010212-KG-050

where Tetsu’s heart is

22 YOU motoring

Cnr East Street and Walnut Avenue, Ashburton. Phone 307-5830 anytime.www.ashburton.toyota.co.nz OPEN SATURDAY 9AM - 1PM

Have you had enough of your truck because it needs repairs too often or doesn’t do the job? How great would it be if you could rely on your truck on your farm... well, great news! The Toyota Hilux goes anywhere, does anything and is unbreakable.

Yes, it does all that!The quality of the materials that make this machine so great mean that your truck will refuse to die and will probably last longer than the human race. The Hilux is equipped with outstanding safety features that ensures that not only is it the most reliable, hardworking member of your team, but it is also the safest.Its rear deck is as long as it is wide and can swallow a couple of small cows.

Full of surprising technology features, the Hilux is what you need. And what you want.

Come to Ashburton Toyota todayfor a FREE test drive

advertising feature

By Amanda Niblett

When Electricity Ashburton increased

Tough vehicles for tough work

YOU car mania 23

The Mustang is one of the most iconic of American muscle cars, and the one car Miriam Davison wanted.

“I had a Mustang back in my early 20s, and aft er I sold it I always promised myself I would get one again.

Now, an undisclosed number of years later, she owns another one.

Miriam had always had her heart set on owning a Mustang again and aft er decid-ing to sell her XR6 Falcon, she thought it was ti me.

“I challenged myself by setti ng a win-dow of two years to buy one and I spent hours trawling online for the right one.

“I had a friend constantly asking ‘have you bought a Mustang yet’ every ti me I saw them which kept the pressure on.

“In the end it only took four months.”A racing-red 1965 notchback.“I bought it seven months ago from

a guy in Motueka, who had imported it straight from America,” Miriam said.

“It is exactly what I wanted. It’s just great.”

There was no lure to get a modern Mustang or other muscle car for Miriam, she wanted a classic, a Mustang.

“All the modern ones do look nice but once you get inside it is all generic and you could just as well be driving anything.

“The older classics are all diff erent inside and there is just something about the Mustang that I’ve always liked.

“And there is no power steering so you actually have to drive the thing.”

Her Mustang is even diff erent to the other originals.

“The only thing standard about it is the shape. It has a 302 instead of a 289, is a fi ve-speed manual, has disc brakes and ti ghtened suspension. It’s all been done up.”

However, with left -hand drive, it is the real American deal.

“It wasn’t that hard to get used to because my old Mustang was left -hand drive.

“Passing lanes are great but getti ng stuck behind slow traffi c driving by your-self is a pain.

“However, you do have to be trusti ng of whoever is in the suicide seat.”

There seems to be a thing with the Davi-sons and their American muscles cars, her brother Chris has a thing for Corvett es.

“I’m not sure exactly but I would say dad has a lot to do with it.”

The classic also sees a lot of the road, being driven almost every day.

“I have a work car but when I get home from work it’s out of the Corolla and into the Mustang to wherever I need to go.”

One place it will not be going is into competi ti on.

“I’m a member of the Ashburton Car Club but I won’t be taking it into any events, it’s strictly for on the road, even though I’d love to give it a run.”

Her temptati on could stem from the roar of the Mustang when she fi res it up and the sweet rumble of the engine.

Alternati vely, because as the saying goes, red cars go faster.

“My old one was a green 1966 notch-back and it was not as fast. It only had a 289 engine.”

Vehicles of all shapes and sizes are seen on Mid Canterbury roads. The classic Mustang is one that will always catch the eye. Just for YOU,

Jonathan Leask looks at a racing-red beauty belonging to Miriam Davison.

Mustang – Miriam’s

the real American deal

PHOTOS TETSURO MITOMO 030212-TM-08

Miriam Davison with her pride and joy, a 1965 notchback.

030212-TM-067

Miles per hour, the mark of a classic.

030212-TM-068

The character-fi lled interior, one of the rea-sons Miriam chose to go classic.

030212-TM-112

American-made muscle. Miriam’s Mustang is powered by a 302 Ford motor.

24 YOU great gardens

wBy Sue Newman

While many home gardeners count their roses in dozens, Pauline O’Leary counts hers by the hundreds.

So it should come as no surprise that she’s a nati onal rose judge, president of the South Canterbury Rose Society and

a past president of the Ashburton society. Quite simply, Pauline loves roses. And with a large rural garden she has more than enough room to buy and plant

to her heart’s content.For someone who’s made her mark as a rose grower of note, Pauline was a late

and perhaps reluctant convert. She blames gardening guru Maggie Barry for getti ng her hooked on gardening.

“We lived in Wellington then and unti l my children started leaving home I wasn’t really interested in gardening. It was really when I was working all day and I found that when I came home from work it was relaxing to get out in the garden,” she said.

Since the days of the small Wellington garden with a handful of rose bushes, Pauline and gardening have come a long way together. She started growing roses, started taking rose judging exams and says she’s now developed a hobby that’s likely to be life-long.

“At the start I was just dabbling. We had a 550 square metre secti on in Wellington and I just kept buying roses and I did end up with quite a nice rose garden. Then we moved to Miller Ave in Ashburton and I had heaps of roses there. We moved here and I’ve got more than 200 now.”

The joy of working

YOU great gardens 25

with rosesThat fi gure is probably conservati ve; while

Pauline might know each rose by name, she prefers not to know exactly how many she has – or how much each plant represents in dollar terms.

“I just love them, the diff erent colours and the fact that you have them for so long because you get a lovely second fl ush of fl owers. Yes, there’s a lot involved with roses, but there is with all fl owers.”

If Pauline enjoys growing roses, she loves showing her blooms. As a nati onal judge she says she feels privileged to be able to assess some of the best fl owers in the country, but she sti ll enjoys picking roses to put on the competi ti on table at local shows, where others will be the judge.

Table shows at rose society meeti ngs are a great way for fellow rose lovers to discover new treasures and to swap notes, she said.

Among her vast collecti on of roses, it’s inevitable Pauline will have favourites. Any-thing that’s pink is likely to be near the top of the list, but she sti ll has a soft spot for a rose her husband Joe bought her, a velvet red fl oribunda, Intrigue. Catherine McCreedy and Paddy Stevens are two of her favourites, but she said like all fl owers, fashions come and go and tastes change.

“There are no roses really that I don’t like, but I’m not so keen on striped fl owers.”

When she travels around New Zealand, Pauline is always on the look-out for new roses. She has no preferred suppliers, buying when something takes her fancy and on oc-casion striking cutti ngs from fellow growers’ bushes. She suggests she’s managed to get her buying habits under control in the past few years. There’s always something on the must-have list and Empress Farah tops that at the moment.

“I’ve been a bit stronger because I re-alise now I can’t look aft er them all, but in saying that I can always fi t a new mini rose

in. My problem is I love everything in the garden. I fall in love with things and I have to have them.”

She’s no purist when it comes to what grows where. While she maintains rose-only beds around her house, the big borders that line the O’Leary garden are a happy mix of trees, shrubs, perennials and roses. Every-thing is thriving and if it’s not, it’s popped in the wheelbarrow and trundled off to a new spot. Buying a rose does not have to be a relati onship for life, Pauline said.

“Don’t be afraid to take a rose out or get rid of it if you’re not happy with it or it’s not performing. They’ll last for years but some don’t produce a lot of new canes. People say they prune hard, but if you prune too hard the canes will die back and you’ll have nothing.”

And she doesn’t restrict her rose growing to just one style – bush, fl oribunda, mini, climbers and old-fashioned, she loves them all.

Perhaps surprisingly for someone who grows magnifi cent roses, Pauline does not maintain a strict spraying regime. She prunes with care and she tries to disbud to ensure every bloom has the space to grow to perfecti on.

“I do spray in the winter with copper and oil when I prune, but I’ve been a bit remiss since Christmas with my spraying and I defi -nitely don’t spray every two weeks. I spray when I can and when I have to.”

Rose growing, she admits, is not for ev-eryone. Young people in parti cular perceive roses as too high maintenance and will oft en pull them out of their gardens. That’s a real shame, Pauline said, as with a bit of knowledge they’d realise those plants would

reward them with months of fl owers.Pauline said she’s ever hopeful

that today’s young gardeners who opt for backyards

sans fl owers, with ti me will

discover the joy of working in a garden fi lled with

colour.

PHOTOS KIRSTY GRAHAM 310112-KG-034

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Rose grower and national rose judge Pauline O’Leary in her garden that is home to more than 200 roses.

26 YOU and your travels

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By Erin Tasker

It’s been fi ve years since Cecilia Perez left Uruguay.

That’s where she was born and bred, but now she calls New Zealand home and when she returned to Uruguay for fi ve weeks over Christmas and New Year, it was a holiday.

Aft er fi ve years, she looked at the South American country she called home for most of her life diff erently.

She likes the laid-back atti tude of New Zealanders bett er than the culture she grew up with, but she loved her fi ve weeks with her family.

The trip was a surprise – only her mum and dad knew she was coming – and her sisters were over the moon when she turned up.

She spent ti me with family and friends exploring the country, travelling from one end to the other, and spending more than her fair share of ti me at the beach.

Uruguay isn’t very wide; it takes only about eight hours to drive from one side to the other, but in the middle there are countless gems which att ract tourists from around the world, and many of the world’s rich and famous.

Cecilia is from Punta Del Este; a place where the rich and famous holiday. The country has

a populati on of about three million, but at the peak of summer, that swells to around six million and most of those people go to Punta Del Este.

“If you want to rent an apartment for about 15 days it will cost about $US20,000,” Cecilia says.

It’s a hot country, but not as hot as nearby Brazil. While Cecilia was there the temperature generally ranged between 25°C and 27°C, but did get as hot as 40°C. The country’s capital, Montevideo, is about two hours away and she visited and toured around there, as well as the town where she was born, San Jose, and also Colonia Del Sacramento, one of the country’s oldest and most beauti ful towns which used to be surrounded by a wall.

The country has Spanish roots and that’s primarily the language spoken in Uruguay.

If you’re up for a night out in Punta Del Este, Cecilia says you have to be hardy as the night-life doesn’t get going unti l well aft er midnight.

And if you’re aft er a spot of shopping dur-ing the middle of the day you might be hard pushed – many places shut up shop for their aft ernoon siesta. And that’s something Cecilia got the hang of while on holiday.

“I never used to have a siesta, but I did while I was over there because it was so hot,” Cecilia says.

Cecilia heads homefor a holiday

4

1 – Old Spanish house in Colonia De Sacramento.

2 – View of Piriapolis Town.

3 – Piriapolis Beach.

4 – Punta Del Este.

5 – Cecilia Perez at Punta Del Este.

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YOU do-it-yourself 27

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A good plumbing system is worth maintaining, and simple plumbing problems can oft en easily be handled by the homeowner. So if you are ti red

of hearing your leaky tap dripping, chances are all it needs is a new washer or cartridge, and it can be a simple repair job, ideal for the home DIY project.

Regulati ons covering what plumbing the do-it-yourselfer can and cannot do have been eased in the past few years, but it is worth remembering that plumbing is a specialised fi eld and generally pipe work and installing new should be done by a professional. Oft en the product warranty is void if not done by a registered plumber.

There is a huge range of taps, mixers and fi tti ngs on the market which make it diffi cult even for the professionals to keep up. Even the humble tap washer has undergone a revoluti on, with ceramic washers and many proprietary systems taking over.

Leaking taps should be dealt with quickly, as, over ti me, the tap can be irreparably damaged. Many homes will sti ll have the old-fashioned taps with a rubber washer, which eventually wears out. Others will dry out, get hard and crack or break. Just the wear and

tear of turning taps on and off can damage the washer unti l it no longer works.

When choosing taps for your home it is also a good idea to check if parts can be easily purchased. A replacement part for some taps on the market is oft en more expensive than the enti re tap system itself. And with mixer cartridges there are plenty of diff erent kinds on the market, but you may sti ll fi nd it diffi cult to fi nd some imported brands.

Replacing a tap washer is a fairly simple task and only takes a few minutes, even if you have no plumbing experience. You will fi rst need to turn off the water supply.

If you are changing a hot water tap, you may choose to shut off the water at the pipe that leads out of the hot water cylinder.

Once the water is off , turn on the tap to re-lieve the pressure in the pipe. Indoor taps usu-

ally have a cover that needs to be removed, outdoor taps don’t. The cover may be formed by the handle, or the handle may be separate. Depending on the design of the tap, you may also need to remove the handle.

There is usually a small screw on the top of the handle, usually under a plasti c cap which should lift off , or under a steel cap which unscrews.

For cross-handled taps you will also need to remove the cover. The cover should unscrew, anti clockwise, to reveal the inside of the tap. You should be able to unscrew the cover by hand by gripping it ti ghtly and turning, but you may need to use groove joint pump pliers with a rag in the jaws to prevent damage to the cover.

The tap mechanism can then be unscrewed from the body with an adjustable wrench. This will reveal the washer, which is held on by a small nut.

Replacing the washer is a matt er of simply removing the nut and washer and fi tti ng the new one. Make sure everything is free of grit or dirt, including the body of the tap where the washer will be in contact, before reassem-bling.

When fi tti ng the mechanism back into the

body of the tap, ensure the tap is in the open positi on and operates freely when the tap is ti ghtened together. Then turn the tap off , turn the water back on and check your work.

If your tap conti nues to leak aft er replacing the washer, it may need reseati ng. Regular maintenance of taps should prevent the need for this, but if left too long, a leak can wear a channel in the seat of the tap and instead of a simple washer, you will need to reseat it.

Reseati ng resurfaces your tap, so that the washer has a ti ght seal. The simplest way to do this is to purchase a reseati ng kit which comes with all of the washers and seals you will need to fully reconditi on any old tap. While it is apart, replace the O ring, grease it and install a new body washer.

It is also a good idea to make sure you have IDs or indicators in place on your taps as a safety precauti on. And remember to turn on taps which don’t get used oft en like the cistern and washing machine taps, to prevent them seizing up.

Deal to your leaksOrdinary Kiwi bloke Shane

‘Woodsy’ Woods is handy around the house with a ham-mer. Each month we’ll check in on what his latest DIY project

has been.

Shane Woods

YOU unsung hero 28

By Amanda Durry

A typical week for Don Kirdy is prett y standard.Monday – training with young

cyclists at the Tinwald velodrome from 1pm to 3pm and in the evening, he could be there helping out people who come along to start out in riding or to sort out a bike.Tuesday – He’s back at the velodrome

with youngsters wanti ng extra training or to try out diff erent equipment. In the evenings, he will take a vanload of young people to Timaru to race.Wednesday – A free day, but you can guar-

antee something will come up that requires his help, even down to mowing the grass inside the track.

Thursday – Youngsters at the velodrome again.Friday – There’s anywhere up to 70 young

cyclists on the track. Saturday – Social wheelers with older rid-

ers or anyone that wishes to give it a go.Sunday – Main race day. He can be found

helping out with ti ming, taking placings or helping to get young people organised.

Between those ti mes, he can oft en be found camped outside supermarkets selling raffl e ti ckets, picking up pieces for bikes, fi x-ing or rebuilding bikes from scratch.

But it isn’t a big deal for the 77-year-old. His love of cycling and helping out is enough to keep him going.

And his ever-supporti ve wife also helps with that – she deserves a gold medal, he says.

“I used to ride years ago and really en-

joyed it so when we shift ed from Christ-church to Ashburton (around 20 years ago), I got involved with the club. Back then, it was getti ng low on numbers in the under-17s, but then it had a wee surge.

“The track wasn’t being used that much so it was decided to get the youngsters out on it and there was a big boom. If it wasn’t for those young people coming through, it would be gone,” he said.

While he did enjoy success in his ti me as a rider, most notably placing second in the Canterbury championship ti me trial his fi rst year in the juniors, it’s not medals or ribbons that make him proud of his charges.

“The biggest reward for me is when they do something unexpected. It’s not about the winning, it’s when they’re coming down the back straight and they get off their seat and just move, which makes you go ‘wow’,”

he said. He also enjoys watching the young cyclists improve.

But those cyclists sti ll need support.“In my day, you rode because you enjoyed

it and that was it. But today, youngsters need a lot of support and they have to have somebody they can come to.

“Having our own track at Tinwald is invaluable and the standard that conti nues to come out of Tinwald is high and they just keep coming,” he said.

The latest star to come out of the track is Olympic medallist Lauren Ellis, who was a perfect example of how having so much support can help.

“We’re prett y blessed with what we have here but there’s no getti ng away from the fact we need a new velodrome. We do make a big impression for such a small town and it’s only going to keep getti ng bett er.”

Don Kirdy is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to cycling. He’s always there to help and isn’t afraid to put in the hard yards for the youngsters at the Tinwald Cycling Club.

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Meet our cycling Don