Garth Weinberg's lunch breaks are very different from most. For some a quick dash to the bakery for a pie will be the most exercise they get.
But for this 40-year-old his lunch break is a smashfest, taking full advantage of his work being beside the forest.
Weinberg, one of the most decorated mountain bikers in Rotorua, is readying himself for the Singlespeed World Championships in South Africa later this month.
It will be his fifth world championships and third in a row. In 2010, he won the world title when the event was hosted by the Rotorua Singlespeed Society and held in the Whakarewarewa Forest.
Weinberg also has three New Zealand national titles and one Australian title to his name.
"My goal for the world champs race in Spionkop/Winterton is ideally to win, but top five would be a great result depending on what sort of class riders turn up," Weinberg said.
The world championship race is on September 29. The weekend before, there are the South African national marathon championships at Hilton, a 75km event that Weinberg has entered as a warm-up.
"It is one of many very popular mountain bike events in South Africa that attracts up to 2000 riders," he said.
This event is open to all mountain bikes, not just singlespeed.
"The best part is no one will know me, so I can just blend into the crowd and laugh when their gears and drive-train fail. It would be really cool if I could quietly work my way through and win my age group."
To prepare for the trip Weinberg has been swapping the Scion labs for singletrack.
"My training has been a balance of speed and endurance. The marathon race is 75km long so I've been out for a long ride most weekends. But for the world champs race I will need moments of blinding speed and power. This is where the bonus of working next to the forest has been valuable. I have been able to go out for an hour at lunchtime and smash myself into the ground."
He has also been running in the Redwoods and this winter competed in the Rats Winter Duathlon Series - winning the long course veteran men title - as well as the Tough Guy.
He says singlespeed events are magnetic and draw him in.
"I'm partially addicted to the atmosphere and camaraderie of the event. I also want to prove to myself that I can still compete at international level and again show the rest of the cycling fraternity that my win in 2010 wasn't just due to local knowledge."
Rotorua mountain bikers will be able to get another taste of singlespeeding when the New Zealand championships are held in the city in April.