Tour Aotearoa
It was an immense pleasure to be involved with the Tour Aotearoa in 2016. One of the biggest rides of its type, TA was 250 mountain bikers biking the length of New Zealand taking in all the sights and hospitality the country has to offer. Chief Tester Jane rode on her old steel framed Kona Kilauea finishing in 21 days, not bad at 59 years old! Chief Adventurer Shane Davidson was at the start making sure everything went well and catching up with riders along the way. TA also proved a great testing ground for us, with over 240,000 views and riders glued to their phones at stops to see who was close by and where their friends were.
“MAProgress tracking made a phenomenal difference to the Tour Aotearoa event. Not only did it mean that friends and family could stay connected with the riders, but also schools and workplaces became avid ‘Dot Watchers’ and this was really important, especially given that riders were away for up to 30 days! Another huge advantage of the MAProgress site was that riders could see where their fellow entrants were. This made it easier to camp together, ride together, and meet in towns. And of course, it was comforting to know that in an emergency we had a way of calling for help, even in the most remote parts of the Tour.
It made a huge difference working with a software developer who was inspired by Tour Aotearoa, and strove to add value to it. Shane worked tirelessly to ensure the MAProgress site could handle up to 300 riders, travelling 3000 km for up to 30 days. That was a big ask in itself, but Shane went on to add features specific to the event, such as the ability to upload images taken at the photo control points. Then during the event Shane was there the whole way, from handing out trackers at the start, to keeping the site running smoothly the length of the country.”
Jonathan Kennett, Tour Aotearoa 2016 Organiser
Adam McDonald and Russell Allen made a great video of their Tour Aotearoa journey, it gives a really good overview of what the Tour is all about. The video opposite is an excerpt from
the original (from 7:20 to 8:20) and well worth watching if you’re considering riding it.
