Start-line of an East Timor adventure: from left, Barren Westfield, Trevor Woodward (sitting), and Stephen Mark
Petone resident Trevor Woodward and three other Kiwi mountain bikers returned last week from pedalling worn-torn East Timor. New Zealand Government warnings to stay away from the budding democracy didn?t put them off. ?I thought it was like a war zone, but it was a really great place with wonderfully friendly people. ?Honestly I didn?t know what to expect, there must have been thousands of people watching ? it was like nothing I?ve ever seen before; the whole roadside was lined with people,? says Mr Woodward. To celebrate 10 years of independence the East Timor Government invited cycling enthusiasts from around the world to a five-day race ending August 28. Competitors needed a mountain bike to navigate roads that had been ?smashed to bits? from war. The extent of destruction and poverty alarmed Mr Woodward who says the Indonesian army ?completely smashed everything to bits? when they withdrew from the country. ?They blew holes in the roads, smashed roofs; everything is just so incredibly poor there. ?It was absolutely swarming with peace keepers, and big white UN helicopters,? Mr Woodward says. Venturing to a small supermarket upon arrival the team saw Australian peacekeeping troops with ?dirty big machine guns with rocket launches on the end, just strolling through the shop?. ?You don?t see that in Petone,? says Mr Woodward. The East Timor Government organised the event to celebrate independence from Indonesia and help attract attention to the county?s renewal. A top performer from the Kiwi team, Mr Woodward placed 26th overall and 3rd in the over-40 category. ?It felt like a pretty safe place, and it is really incredibly third world,? he says. The New Zealand Government warns against travel to the country as it is considered a war zone, and the Australian government says ?don?t travel there under any circumstances?. However, Mr Woodward says this is ?a political thing because they both countries have armies stationed there?. At the end of one stage the Kiwi team ditched the main race group in search of an oasis from the 39 degree heat, and found a waterhole to swim in behind a village, before crashing for the night at a local convent run by Portuguese Nuns. Team member Paul Hatten, a Pack ?N Pedal Porirua employee, was knocked back by the scorching heat that made the tour a challenging, tyre bursting experience. ?It sounded like a good adventure, and I had no expectations as to what it would be like. ?The number of people who came to watch on the roadside was like a scene out of the Tour de France,? says Mr Hatten. The adventure started when the four strangers met at Wellington airport and jetted off to the tropics to compete on a course that ?was very rocky and hilly, I had no idea it would be that hard?, he says. ?It?s defiantly a third world country. And we were really amazed by how beautiful the place is and how friendly the people are,? Mr Hatten says.
