Bond's new trek

Gary Anderson makes adjustments on the custom made bike for Hamish Bond, as the Olympic rower tries his hand at competitive cycling.

Double Olympic gold medallist Hamish Bond has made several visits to Whanganui to try out new equipment over the years, but they were not of the two-wheeled variety.

After his amazing seven years of Olympic and world championship rowing success with coxless pairs partner Eric Murray, the 30-year-old Bond has returned from Rio with an interest making a serious run at the elite level of cycling.

Having ridden for the Vantage Windows and Doors team in the Tour of Southland last week, Bond was at Velo Ronny's yesterday to collect a custom made time trial (TT) bike which Gary Anderson and Ron Cheatley were fitting to suit his exact height and weight specifications.

Cheatley explained how their careful adjustments of the handlebars, pedals and seating of the bike can make all the difference for lowering wind drag.

"It's a balance between aerodynamics and power output.

"You've got to work on making sure the power is sustained while being in the most aerodynamic position."

Bond had previously competed at the 2009 Tour of Southland, around the start of his amazing rowing streak with Murray.

After getting back on the bike in Southland, he is now setting his sights on the inaugural Abel Tasman Cycle Challenge near Nelson in three weeks.

In a sign of his competitive nature and seriousness about another sporting path, Bond is looking forward to testing himself against Nelson local George Bennett, who competed for New Zealand at Rio and on the Tour de France this year.

"Having been a high performance athlete for ten years, so many of those things I've learnt are directly transferable," Bond said.

"All the mental game is obviously very similar - how to push yourself, how to suffer.

"In rowing, you're always looking for work - to get something out of the session.

"That's the biggest difference because in cycling, you're actually trying to conserve energy."

Bond said his personal training routine was not much different either, as even when teaming with Murray, they would do a lot of preparation alone being from separate parts of the country and having their own preferred methods.

Bond also confirmed he will not be back in Whanganui for the 2016 edition of the Billy Webb Challenge on December 10 - a title he won from the legendary Mahe Drysdale in 2014, with Drysdale regaining it in Bond's absence last year.

"I'll leave that up to Mahe and anyone else that's coming down," he said.

"I like to do one thing properly and not spread myself too thin.

"I'm excited to discover my [cycling] potential and you're not going to do that unless you go all in."

Bond thanked Anderson and Cheatley for all their efforts in building and testing a TT bike which was perfect for him.

"They've been doing it their whole lives, and I'd be stupid not to draw on that experience."