A project as large and long as the Hauraki Rail Trail needs countless contributors to make it happen and keep it running. Financially it needs national support to get it off the ground and regional support to keep it maintained.
But it also needs community support to instigate and help with improvements to the Trail.
Trail Angels are our very best friends on the Hauraki Rail Trail. We are celebrating Steve Lye, who is a regular cyclist on the Trail, clocking up 22,000km over the past four years.
You can find Steve daily on the Trail between Waihi and the Karangahake Gorge and he is often our eyes and ears on the Trail, reporting trees down, terrain issues or other risks to our trail users.
Steve had been involved with the Hauraki Rail Trail construction in his role as a roading engineer with council.
However, he never actually cycled the Trail until approximately two years before he retired, having a little more time to take up cycling.
Cycling was suggested by his doctor as a way to improve his health. In the first two years, cycling the Trail five to six days a week had resulted in a significant 50kg of weight loss.
Steve is thankful for the Trail, and says this literally saved his life, and is now far more mobile and fitter. Gone now is the sleep apnea, and as a result his doctor claimed Steve had extended his life by 20 years.
Steve believes the biggest win has been his mental health. “A good hard ride is great medicine for my mental health when the mood is flat. A good brisk ride provides a top up of my endorphins resulting in seeing the rest of day in a more positive way. I am thankful for the Trail as it is too dangerous to ride on the road.”
You can read more about another of our Trail Angels, Derrick Rowe, or Didge as he was known here.
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