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Many will have seen marathon cyclist Jim Sonerson, 87, pedalling furiously at the Kowhai Festival to raise money for Harbour Hospice.
Those efforts have reaped an unexpected bonus – a new set of wheels for Jim in the form of a brand-new MG ZS.
Jim got six months use of the car after he was nominated in MG’s Local Legends competition, which invited people to suggest stellar individuals who had gone the extra mile in serving their local community.
Jim was nominated by Harbour Hospice fundraising coordinator Lesley Ingham for his outstanding efforts on behalf of Hospice.
“From kayaking long distances to many cycling events raising funds for hospice, Jim has spent many years supporting the local community,” Lesley wrote.
“He’s also preparing to attempt the Guinness World Record for cycling a static bike for six hours non-stop at over 41km/h to reach 250km. At 87 this is no easy feat.”
Jim’s nomination amassed more than 600 votes in the online competition, meaning he was one of only 10 people around the country to win the use of a car.
Jim has been a regular at the Kowhai Festival in recent years pedalling his static bike around 200km in a single day at events such as the Huge Day Out. One year, he did 200km every day for five days – 1000km in all – raising $5000. Jim reckons he has raised around $9000 for Hospice in total.
“I’m a cancer survivor from years back and I’ve seen first-hand the work that hospice does, and I couldn’t think of a better organisation to help out,” he says.
Jim takes no breaks during his six-hour biking stints – except for toilet stops – figuring if he does stop it will simply take longer to reach his target distance.
The MG win does have its ironies. Jim says he recently bought himself a Suzuki hatchback to get around in, but might not have bothered if he had realised he was going to get the ZS. And the re-introduction of lockdown has also limited where he can take the new car.
Nevertheless, Jim says the car is a dream to drive and he would not mind taking it down to the South Island once lockdown is over, a place he has been to only once.
When he is not on his bike, Jim works at Harts Pharmacy, delivering medicines to the infirm and elderly.
He says he has no intention of putting his feet up and taking things easy.
“If you slow down, you become a vegetable,” says.
