Big Toms Wheelie

Big Toms Wheelie

This track was built to remember our friend Tom Ehlen, a guy who loved life and loved riding Mākara Peak, who left us way too early on the 15th August 2003, aged 32, after a battle with melanoma. Tom was a big guy, with an even bigger heart, who somehow made everyone feel happier when he was around. An ultra-competitive kayaker (who held the fastest time in the Coast to Coast for a few years), he was also an avid mountain biker, adventure racer, climber, windsurfer and anything else he set his mind to. Professionally, Tom was an accomplished architect and a highly creative person who loved to design things and make art. For a big guy, Tom had an uncanny sense of balance, and he loved to do wheelies. Despite the fact that it would quite often end in tears, Tom would continue to practice his wheelies on every mountain bike ride.

On a rafting road trip with some of Tom’s friends after his death, the conversation inevitably came round to his wheelies. Laughter ensued as we realised that every person in the car had at some stage witnessed Tom unceremoniously landing on his backside from yet another back wheel bailout. These failed wheelie attempts were about the only thing that could make the big guy cry. Why don’t I wheelie over a seesaw? A loud crack and a huge cloud of dust as a massive bulk of man and bike rapidly contacted the ground, followed by Tom doing a rather bad impression of a Scottish highland dance. Another of Tom’s bike tricks involved sitting backwards on his mountain bike handlebars while riding at high speed downhill in a manner that would terrify his riding companions and unnerve other road users. Fortunately, no disasters occurred. Big Tom’s wheelie track and name were the suggestion of Kel Barclay.

In 2003, Kel and I rode with Tom from the top of Wright’s Hill down Deliverance and up Mākara Peak. On that day, it seemed Tom had finally hit wheelie nirvana as he rode the whole way back up to Wright’s Hill lookout on his back wheel without stopping once. It was the last time Kel rode with Tom. When Tom passed away, people wore their brightest Hawaiian shirts to celebrate his infectious love of life. Soon after, his many friends turned up en masse at Mākara Peak, and we built the track in one day. Tom was a great friend to us all. His dazzling, nutty personality and competitive spirit are fondly remembered. Just before Tom died, Kel sent him a poem about Mākara Peak that said, ‘Keep riding with us, we’ll always be riding with you.’ Big Tom’s Wheelie is still there, and people from all over the world are still riding with Tom every day.

Julian McPike and Kel Barclay