Mountainbiking: Plea for bike answered

The weight has been lifted, literally, for world championship-bound Tauranga mountainbiker Christine Harre Browne, who has secured a new state-of-the-art racing bike to tackle next month's orienteering worlds in Hungary.

Hedgehog Bikes on Cameron Rd has come to the party, equipping the 43-year-old with a Giant Anthem X2 at cost after her last-minute plea to find a decent machine to ride on the Hungarian hills.

Harre Browne qualified for the orienteering worlds on a bulky, ageing bike she purchased in the mid-1990s - and it was second-hand then.

She had been told she could potentially gain seven minutes on her overseas rivals with a decent bike and sent proposals out to bike manufacturers and retailers in an 11th-hour bid to secure an upgrade.

Hedgehog Bikes owner Victor Haupt came to the rescue, offering the $3800 Giant at cost, something Harre Browne grabbed with both hands with time running out and finances in the household tight.

Harre Browne had the bike out on the Waikareao walkway the same day she got it and was thrilled with Haupt's offer and the difference it has made.

"Things were getting a bit tight time-wise but what Victor has come up with is a great bike with full suspension and at least 3kg lighter than what I had. The first day I took it out to wear the brakes in I did a portage, lifting it up and down some stairs, and the difference was huge.

"It's the same model bike that a lot of the other mountainbike orienteers use."

Harre Browne now has to put some miles into the bike in the next few weeks before she leaves.

It's full steam ahead with her fundraising effort as well, with the first of three orienteering events on bikes held at The Lakes subdivision last weekend.

The second and third, both on foot, are at Mount Maunganui (signposted from the corner of Maunganui Rd and Adams Ave) on Sunday from 2pm and Otumoetai (signposted from corner of Windsor and Anne Rds) on August 5. Both start at 2pm.

Harre Browne has also planned a quiz evening tomorrow night at Bureta Park and has two Trade Me auctions running - www.TradeMe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=494748076 and

www.TradeMe.co.nz/travel-events-activities/activities/auction-496559399.htm.