When Olympic silver medallist Nicole Shields found a gap in her competition schedule, she saw an opportunity to pursue a long-held dream: a major cycling adventure.
Hamish Legarth and Nicole Shields are riding for the World Bicycle Relief Expedition in Africa, pictured at the Velodrome in Cambridge before their departure. Photo: Mary Anne Gill
Shields, 25, fresh off her podium finish in the team pursuit at the Paris Olympics, decided to step outside the high-performance bubble.
She graduated from Waikato University with a Bachelor of Business this year and opted to take a break from competition until November. That break, however, will be anything but restful.
Track endurance cyclist Nicole Shields with her parents, Lori Linney and Mike Shields. Photo: Steph Bell-Jenkins
Together with fellow Olympian and kayaker Hamish Legarth, also 25, Shields is now cycling 5000 kilometres over 10 weeks through East Africa.
Their journey spans six countries where the charity World Bicycle Relief operates, distributing durable bicycles to rural communities to improve access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity.
Both athletes are part of a close-knit group of elite sportspeople who live, train, study, and work in Cambridge. Legarth had just completed his civil engineering degree at Waikato and was competing in the Canoe Sprint World Cup in Poland when he saw Shields’ social media post about her plans.
“I was at a crossroads in my kayaking journey,” Legarth said. “I felt like I needed something different after the Olympics.”
Initially, he wished Shields luck but declined to join. However, the idea stuck. After some reflection – and a conversation with Canoeing New Zealand – he agreed to take part.
Kayaking builds upper body strength, which is why, he joked, kayakers tend to have ‘chicken legs’.
Shields had long wanted to do a “really big” bike ride and did not want to emerge from her sabbatical out of shape. She also wanted the journey to have impact. That’s when she connected the dots with World Bicycle Relief.
She knew about the organisation, which helps to provide life-changing bicycles to rural communities and mobilises individuals and communities through the power of bicycles.
The cycling route
The charity has distributed more than 906,000 bicycles over its 20-year history and have trained more than 4000 mechanics in its countries of operation. Research shows it helps increase school attendance by up to 20 per cent.
“Right now, they (the charity) work in six countries in Africa so I looked at a map and wondered how far it is to ride between all of them and then I thought ‘that’s actually achievable in a couple of months’.”
Her goal: raise NZ$30,000 – enough to donate 100 bicycles. She didn’t want to do it alone.
“That was the biggest challenge finding someone to do it with. I just didn’t want to do it alone… and preferably with a male.”
She reached out to everyone she knew including Legarth.
Hamish Legarth
Legarth is aware of the physical toll. Kayaking builds upper body strength, and he expects to lose muscle mass in his arms and chest.
“My strength coach says it’ll come back quickly,” he said.
“Everyone says I’m crazy, I’m going to be so sore, it will be the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’m up for it, I’m fine. I actually haven’t done any training on the bike at all.”
He has already taped up a knee, calling it his “excuse” if Shields pulls ahead.
World Bicycle Relief started 20 years ago after the Indian Ocean tsunami by Leah Missbach Day and Frederick (FK) Day, the co-founder of Sram Corporation, a bicycle component manufacturer based in Chicago.
The company produces the ‘Sram Buffalo Bike” which Legarth and Shields will ride on the rough African rides. The bikes are designed for durability and take loads of up to 100kg.
They will use tubeless tyres and take their own camping gear with them.
They will not use backpacks. “I don’t want to deal with back problems. I’ll be getting sore enough,” said Shields.
When The News spoke to them, the pair revealed critical equipment was due in the country two days after they fly out to Africa via Qatar. Typical Kiwi ingenuity meant there were number eight wire solutions – a nod to New Zealand’s reputation for resourcefulness.
Shields grew up in Clyde in the South Island and attended Dunstan High School in Central Otago.
Legarth grew up in Havelock North and attended the local secondary school. When he was 11, he lost half his right index finger in a boating accident. It has not affected his sporting ability.
Both obtained Sir Edmund Hillary and Prime Minister’s Scholarships in 2018 to attend university in Hamilton, flatting later in Cambridge to have access to high performance facilities.
Both are also technically homeless – Legarth bouncing between Auckland and Hawke’s Bay, Shields back in the South Island and in between times preparing in Cambridge.
Legarth also serves as an Olympic ambassador, visiting schools to promote the values of respect, friendship, and excellence.
Hamish Legarth and Nicole Shields are riding for the World Bicycle Relief Expedition in Africa, pictured at the Velodrome in Cambridge before their departure
