Fieldays bachelors rev their engines

Quad bikes are synonymous with country boys and the Fieldays bachelors revved their engines like seasoned pros in their latest challenge.

The Suzuki motorcycle challenge saw the eight farm boys tear up the grass at the Village Green today on their daily vehicle of choice – a trusty four-wheeler.

The competition required the ‘Best of the Best’ bachelors to attach a trailer to their quad bike, navigate it down a short strip of grass, load it up with eight hay bales, reverse back down the track, unload the trailer and speed to the finish line.

It seemed like a simple task, but reversing proved problematic, even for these experienced farm hands.

Charlie Taituha, the 2008 People’s Choice Winner, decided to ditch his bike and pushed the trailer to avoid reversing it. But the fact that he didn’t make the podium suggested the judges saw this as cheating rather than Kiwi ingenuity.

Safety was stressed throughout the competition and the announcer advised the spectators to perform a five minute safety check of their motorbike daily.

But the bachelors only had one minute to read their instructions and one minute to carry out a safety check.

As their mothers probably told them growing up, it was more of a ‘man’s look’ rather than a close inspection.

Tony Buckingham, the 2005 Golden Gumboot and People’s Choice winner, took out first place and said it was always going to be close as most of the guys used a motorbike almost every day.

He said his key to success was pacing himself but admitted that “a few quiets” with the boys last night and his breakfast of a “coffee and a durry” probably wouldn’t have helped much.

“Probably just taking the cautious approach, just trying to the old slow and steady, I guess,” he said.
Last year’s Bachelor of the Year, Nick Torrens, came second and winner of yesterday’s horse handling challenge, Mat Sherriff, placed third.

The ‘Best of the Best’ bachelors will contend in the tractor pull, and University of Waikato heats later today.