Coppers' ride a capital idea

BIG JOURNEY: The Coppers on Choppers are planning to ride their old-school Raleigh Choppers from Cape Reinga to Wellington this week.PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Three police officers planning to cycle from Cape Reinga to Wellington are giving themselves an extra challenge by leaving their flash road bikes behind and pedalling 1970s Raleigh Choppers instead.

The "Coppers on Choppers" will start their journey in Kaitaia this Friday. On Saturday they will take part in the White Ribbon Day ride before starting their ride in earnest at Cape Reinga on Sunday.

The trio of Waitemata District Community Constables - Grant Kenny, Megan D'Oliveira and Rob Gormly - will visit as many schools as they can as they pedal through Northland. They plan to complete the 1152km ride on December 11, which means they'll have to average 80km a day on bikes designed for style rather than speed.

The bikes are Mark III Raleigh Choppers bought on TradeMe.

They have been adapted to fit and the gears have been improved.

Along the way they plan to visit 17 primary schools with a combined roll of more than 5000 children, Waiouru Army Camp, the Royal New Zealand Police College and various community events.

In their daily work the three constables see a lot of near-miss accidents and riders without helmets, so they hope to raise kids' awareness about bike, scooter and driveway safety.

The Coppers on Choppers will be at Kaitaia Primary School at 9am on November 25, Oturu School at 11am, Okaihau Primary at 2pm.

They will spend the night at Kawakawa then visit Hukerenui School at noon on November 26 before riding to Whangarei.

They will stop at Whangarei Primary at 9am and Ruakaka School at 1pm, then ride on to Wellsford.

They can be followed on https://www.facebook.com/pages/Coppers-on-Choppers.