A bright yellow tricycle keeps the wheels of life turning for a local couple.
After decades of cycle racing around the world, Carole and George Evans are finding new ways to stay active as they navigate their 80s and 90s.
Mr Evans, 90, turned to the three-wheeler after a stroke last year affected his balance.
‘‘My legs packed up about 12 months ago, didn’t they, really,’’ Mr Evans said.
The sturdy trike enables Mr Evans to continue to exercise.
‘‘It is a mighty machine, but it has got three wheels and I don’t fall over.’’
He enjoys doing two or three laps around the block of his home.
‘‘I like to more than half an hour a day.’’
Mrs Evans, 84, said her husband’s transition to three wheels had been a blessing.
‘‘He is out on it every day and it keeps him happy, keeps me happy.’’
The machine enables the couple to continue to train together daily, Mrs Evans walking alongside.
‘‘We walk, we go together and that is perfect because I can walk as fast as I like and he keeps up with me, but sometimes he goes ahead of me.’’
The couple have a long history of competitive cycling, not only in New Zealand but also overseas.
They have taken part in events such as the World Masters Games in Melbourne in 2002, Edmonton in 2005 and Auckland in 2017.
‘‘We have done a lot together, we have done a lot of travelling and it is great because we don’t want to do it now, we are happy to stay at home,’’ Mrs Evans said.
The pair have also been loyal participants in the New Zealand Masters Games.
‘‘It is so much fun and we meet the same people, you know, like at the cycling,’’ Mrs Evans said.
They both have their tracksuits from the original event held in 1992.
Mrs Evans is preparing for the time trial and road race at the Masters Games, although she admitted to slowing down.
‘‘I am at the high end of my age group because it is 80 to 84 and I am 84 so I don’t know how it will go.
‘‘But I’ll just do it and enjoy it.’’
For the first time Mr Evans will not be entering the Masters Games but he will be supporting his wife as he has always done.
‘‘She is a very strong lady and she is very light and she goes up the hills like a rat up a drainpipe.’’
The pair attribute their wellbeing to a healthy lifestyle and diet as well as daily meditation.
‘‘We are vegetarians, we eat very healthy food, I make my own bread and we are very careful with what we eat,’’ Mrs Evans said.
They make the most of their small section.
Out the back of their property they have an organic garden and fruit trees including apples and nectarines.
Pumpkins thrive along a small ribbon of earth down their driveway.
‘‘It is not just exercising, it is everything, it is a lifestyle which we are very happy with,’’ Mrs Evans said.
Despite some physical setbacks, Mr Evans remained pragmatic about the changes.
‘‘One of my things is I believe if things don’t work, you adjust them.
‘‘So I adjusted my walking by buying a machine to do it, you know ... never give up.’’
Mrs Evans echoed that sentiment.
‘‘We don’t give up, we don’t.
‘‘We are both very strong-minded people and, yeah, we just keep carrying on.’’
