Year 13 Outdoor Education students were challenged both physically and mentally in the last week of Term 3. They participated in a 12-hour mountain bike race, and then a 48 Hour Solo experience.
The Day Night Thriller at Cougar Mountain Bike Park in Tokoroa is a 12 hour cycle team event where riders complete as many laps as they can of a 7km, 25-35 minute circuit of forestry roads, single trails, and hill tracks through mature pine forest. This race was the culmination of two months of preparation at Woodhill Mountain Bike Park, Spin Classes at the Mt Albert YMCA and urban cycling. Congratulations to Isobel Welsford-Ackroyd and Ben Stewart who completed the fastest female and male laps.
The objective of a Solo Experience is to further develop an individual’s self-awareness, self-esteem, self-confidence, personal responsibility and personal motivation. Students are given a designated area to remain within, establish a shelter and spend 48 hours in solitude. They each receive a workbook consisting of individual reading, writing and reflection tasks.It is both mentally and emotionally testing, and should help each student further consider their own values and provide them with a time to set their goals, which displaying environmentally responsible and sustainable practices.