Two for the road after 36 years between drinks

Masterton duo John Chesmar and Paul Wallace will be attempting nothing new when they face the starter in the Lion Foundation Wellington to Auckland Cycle Challenge next week........only difference being they are 36 years older than when they last
made the trip on two wheels.
Chesmar was just 24 and Wallace 21 when in 1974 they contested the Dulux six-day event which was also raced between the two cities.Chesmar was part of a Canterbury squad including such big names in the cycling world as Blair Stockwell and Jack Swart and placed ninth overall while Wallace finished just two places behind him.He was in a Wellington line-up led by the redoubtable John Dean and Bob Pratt.
The intervening years has seen both Chesmar and Wallace take breaks from competitive cycling because of other sporting, work and family commitments but as they have lessened in recent times so has their interest in road cycling returned.
So much so that when the thought of undertaking this year's Wellington to Auckland Cycle Challenge was first raised late last year they decided to make it one of their short term objectives.
Chesmar said he was especially attracted to the idea of meeting up with some of his old cycling mates from further afield again as well as "giving the old body something to think about." His aim is simple, make it to the finish in one piece, and he has no doubts Wallace will show him a clean pair of heels on this occasion.
"He (Wallace) is fitter and more lightly built, he's going to fly up the hills," Chesmar predicted. "For me it will be a matter of taking each day as it comes and hopefully everything will hold together. I'm preparing to be pretty knackered at the end of it, that's for sure."
Wallace, on the other hand, isn't being fooled by Chesmar's positive rhetoric , noting that in races like this it's often a case of the old dog for the hard road, and Chesmar is the older of the two!
At the same time, however, Wallace does admit to having a personal aim of finishing in the top 20 and considering he has won his age group in the high-profile K2 200km one-day race in Coromandel for the last two years that's hardly surprising.
Also in Wallace's favour is that a number of steep hills will be climbed during the seven days, including the Rimutakas on the very first of them , and hill climbing is something which suits his body type.
Travelling with Chesmar and Wallace as their manager and mechanic will be Brent Sowry and the two riders make no secret of the importance of his expertise. "He's the guy we will be blaming is something goes wrong," Chesmar quipped.
A brief summary of the Wellington to Auckland Cycle Challenge course is:-
Sunday: Trentham race course to top of Rimutaka Hill, Featherston to Masterton.
Monday: Masterton to Pahiatua, Pahiatua to Palmerston North.
Tuesday: Palmerston North to Hunterville, Hunterville to Wanganui.
Wednesday: Wanganui to Kakatahi, Kakatahi to Ohakune.
Thursday: Ohakune to Turangi, Turangi to Taupo.
Friday: Tokoroa to Hamilton.
Saturday: Hamilton to Glen Murray, Glen Murray to Pukekohe.