A band of 100 riders left Queenstown at 5.45am to head to Invercargill in the Westpac Chopper Ride, raisng money for the Lakes District Air Rescue Trust.
It was dark and freezing with black ice when the group left and then the heavens opened.
Fundraiser organiser Reece McDonald said the peloton negotiated Lake Wakatipu’s lakeside road in freezing temperatures and pitch black.
By the time the group reached Athol on the trek down State Highway 6, rain soaked them.
"By the time we got through to Five Rivers, a lot of us were pretty wet.
"So we were keen to keep moving and keep everybody warm."
Big hearts and smiles greeted the band of frozen cyclists at Limehills Schools at lunchtime yesterday.
Riders also stopped at other primary schools including Dipton, Hillside, Hedgehope and Rimu.
Journalist Patrick Gower joked apart from the freezing cold, lack of light and chilling southerly, it had been a wonderful trip he would like to repeat.
He was grateful to make it this far after narrowly avoiding a crash with the rider in front during the first kilometre of the 240km ride.
It was the first time he had ridden in a peloton which required intense focus.
"I’m not doing a lot of looking around, just looking at the guy in front of me, which is some Southlander’s bum in lycra, which is not the greatest view in the world ... "
"It was totally pitch black. I didn’t even realise the lake was there. I will have to come back in daylight."
The helicopter pilots had told him how often they were called out to rural communities, especially to help mums in labour or premature babies.
But celebrity rider and former Black Stick player Gemma McCaw shored herself up for the ride with warmers on her toes, as well as hand-warming heating pads.
"You guys are tough because it’s so cold down here", she told the children.
At 9pm yesterday the amount raised, shown on the ride’s collective Givealittle page, was $90,354, surpassing the million-dollar mark raised in total over 13 rides.
By Toni McDonald
