Frocks on Bikes: Women take off on fun Whanganui bicycle ride

Women and girls line up before Whanganui's annual Frocks on Bikes event. Photo / Lewis Gardner

It was a smaller turnout than usual but pretty good for a major festival being held during a pandemic, Carla Donson said.

She has designed and run a Frocks on Bikes event every year for at least 10 years. In it, people dress up and ride around the city centre, following rhyming clues to the next destination.

The ride usually takes about 45 minutes.

Donson manages The Women's Network and always has new routes and rhymes to add.

"I have fun putting it together every year," she said.

The routes aim to celebrate the centre of Whanganui, help riders see the familiar with new eyes and show off the city's shared pathways.

"Heritage plaques feature in the clues every year.

"For the last two years I have been utilising the old town cemetery. A lot of people have said they've lived in Whanganui for most of their life but never actually walked around there."

It's the third week of Donson's 13th La Fiesta. She's happy to be able to run it during a pandemic and said feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.

This year's theme of active women has helped - a lot of the events are outdoors, which is reassuring for the Covid-cautious.

"A big part of Frocks on Bikes is giving women opportunities to be active in a fun way. It doesn't have to be about wearing lycra and sports gear."

Pauline Neilson's walking with donkeys events at Mount Zion in Longacre Rd have been so popular that Neilson is running extras.

"Over 100 people contacted her, including families with young children," Donson said.

Sport Whanganui's surfing event with Whanganui Board Riders was booked out, as were Diana Leu's dumpling making and Chinese tea ceremony events.