Wilf Sweetland: Day 1 of FireFlies Antipodes

The FireFlies Antipodes charity ride from Christchurch to Queenstown is under way. From 17th to 23rd February, the ride covers approximately 1,000km over six gruelling days. 12 riders from the marketing, creative and production industries are dedicating themselves to raising much-needed funds and awareness towards the Snowdome Foundation's mission, 'making hope real for Australians fighting blood cancers'. Here is Wilf Sweetland, global CEO of Sweetshop on today's ride...

Day 1. Warm sunshine. There is nothing quite like it when starting a long tour. It's great for the spirits. The first day riders are full of beans / butterflies and good coffee. Our relatively easy day at 110km with 1,350m of climbing suddenly became not so easy as the South Island Westerly picked up pace. It grinds away at you, and certainly if you are new to cycling can really suck the puff out of your sails as it did to a few today.

The spirits were however undaunted - The FireFlies rallying behind those who were struggling, bravely pedalling into the wind, lending a helping hand up a climb or sitting in front to create a slip stream. This is what the ride is known for people supporting each other, helping to get each other through it all. It is in these moments that we all really appreciate the support - the donations and the messages of encouragement - we couldn't do it without you'.

To pledge a Firefly please click here.

This year's ride is made possible by the generous financial sponsorship of Blockhead, Campaign Brief, Finch Company, Goodoil, Northside Locals, Panavision, Rumble, Skin Grows Back, Snowdome Foundation, SongZu, The Editors, TwentyOne Coffee and founding sponsors Sweetshop and RSA Films.