Kaitohutohu Matua - Education and Training Programme Lead

Matt has been involved with cycle skills training for over 6 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.

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, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Thailand and Myanmar.  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 and Two lead instructor, she teaches cycle skills across the Wellington region.  She enjoys working with children and adults; her favourite students are often the ones with behavioural issues.  Seeing a child who struggles in the classroom engaging with the Pedal Ready programme and experiencing success is a great thrill.

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.

Sean has been with Pedal Ready since the beginning of 2015. He is a regular commuter in Wellington and enjoys exploring the tracks and trails in the region. Sean takes pride in having worked alongside other Wellington track-builders building and maintaining popular off-road riding routes.

Sean enjoys putting his teaching qualification into practice during Pedal Ready cycle skills sessions.
He has taught in many schools and with Wellington public, and has added Grade One and Two cycle skills qualifications to his Pedal Ready Experience.

 

When working with new riders the most rewarding aspect for him is seeing them go from taking the first few turns of the pedals to pedalling freely with big smiles on their faces. Sean enjoys taking his bike on adventures to the far corners of the world, including Iceland and New Zealand.

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 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'

Emma joined the Pedal Ready team in 2020. Her background is in adult education and youth work, and she is enjoying transferring those skills to a new setting. Emma loves seeing children having fun while gaining confidence and road sense. She is passionate about promoting cycling as a normal, convenient and fun way of getting around the city.

 

Emma remembers being a very nervous first-time rider as a child but also remembers supportive adults who helped her grow in confidence in riding on quiet roads. By high school, she loved the speed and independence of cycling to and from school. She hasn’t stopped riding since.

Emma now rides a cargo bike with her daughter. She loves that almost any trip around town can be a bike trip.