MEET THE TEAM
MATT SHIPMAN
Kaiwhakahaere - Manager, Travel Choice
Matt has been involved with cycle skills training for over 8 years. What he loves most about his job is passing on his own love, passion and knowledge for cycling to others.
Matt's most memorable bike ride would be mountain biking in Nara prefecture after riding up the river from Osaka.
TESSA COPPARD
Based in Island Bay, Tessa is passionate about the freedom and enjoyment cycling offers and loves to share this passion with others. As an experienced teacher she has the skills to do this in a fun and positive way.
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Tessa has cycled in the UK, Canada, the USA, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Thailand, Myanmar and Japan. While working in India she led groups of high school students on biking trips in the Himalayas. Tessa uses her bike almost daily for everything from short trips to the shops along the Island Bay cycleway to fitness rides around the beautiful Wellington bays.
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Tessa is a Skills Active Assessor and a BikeReady Instructor Trainer. As a qualified Grade One Two and Three lead instructor, she teaches cycle skills across the Wellington region. She enjoys working with children and adults, in particular those who lack confidence with cycling.
RHONDA GARDNER
Rhonda has been with the Pedal Ready team since 2014 and loves seeing how much enthusiasm children bring to learning new skills. With a background as an elite mountain biker representing NZ, Rhonda is highly skilled on a bike. In the last few years she has competed in a number of mountain bike stage races in USA and Canada. She now has some road cycling races on her radar, including the Gran Fondo World Champs in Perth.
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Pedal Ready cyclist skills instruction gives her the chance to pass on some of those skills, and also share her love of being outdoors. Rhonda is a Grade One and Two lead cycle skills instructor.
GARY GIBSON
Gary learned to ride on a bike with steel rods for brakes. Not quite the same vintage as a Penny Farthing, but that simple fact gives you an indication of the seniority Gary holds within the team and why his deep knowledge of things cycling is so valued by the squad.
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Gary’s contribution goes back to when the trial of the current NZTA cycle skills guidelines was underway in 2009. With a background in teaching outdoor skills to young people – think sailing on Sydney’s Parramatta River, and long experience coaching up-and-coming riders with Cycling NZ – Gary always has an eye out for future talent and believes good road cycling skills can take people to great places. He personally has road raced all over NZ and was a Wellington Road Champion.
His international adventures include being a cycle courier in London, and pedalling 1000kms across Australia’s famous Nullarbor Plain. If you get a chance, ask him about how to safely navigate the war zones en-route from London to Jerusalem. Gary is a valued Grade One and Two instructor with the Pedal Ready team.
PATRICK MORGAN
Patrick has been training kids, adults and instructors since 2008.
In 2011 he received a Winston Churchill Fellowship to travel to Europe to study cycle training programmes and advocacy.
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He says, "I love the buzz of helping someone discover the joy and convenience of getting around by bike. It truly is a freedom machine."
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Photo credit: 'North and South'