UPDATED April 17, 2013

BY Adele Woodyard

IN Company, Tour d'Afrique

5 comments

UPDATED April 17, 2013

BY Adele Woodyard

IN Company, Tour d'Afrique

5 comments

One look at this TDA 2013 rider and one thing is clear: this ain’t his first rodeo. Meet John Faulkner.

A life-long athlete and accomplished ultra-marathon runner, it is no surprise to find John’s name near the top of the race results each and every day on tour. John’s life as a runner was simple; find a mountain, run to the top and run back down again.  Simple didn’t ever mean easy, as these mountain tops totaled up to 70kms for a round trip at times. Running up to 150kms/week at the peak of his training is a testament to the volume of physical exertion he is acclimatized to and perhaps made joining the TDA seem not so out-of-this-world.

Running up to 150kms/week at the peak of his training is a testament to the volume of physical exertion he is acclimatized to

In 2007, inspired by a curve ball in life, John decided to take up cycling.  Not being the type to take things lightly, he needed a lofty goal. For his first attempt at a bike race, starting out in the Masters category, he signed himself up for Paris to Dakar.  If it’s any testament to Johns’ humble spirit, in asking him how he did, he simply responded, “quite well”, which, through a series of prodding questions, I finally managed to discover that he in fact won the race. Feeling quite chuffed with himself, he decided to stick to it. TDA had been on his radar for years and at last in 2013 everything came together for him to join us all the way from Cairo to Cape Town.

John Faulkner in the mud of TanzaniaAlthough anyone can argue that there is no perfect bicycle for this expedition, John’s bike is about as close as you can get. A friend and bike shop owner back home in New Zealand jumped at the opportunity to design the perfect ride. John is riding a carbon Specialized Stump Jumper with a carbon 29er fork, drop bars, XTR components, a beautiful set of wheels spinning on hope hubs and a whole range of tires for the wide variety of road conditions we face. Specialized Armadillo Captains, Schwalbe Duranos and a set of Marathon Plus tires have taken him this far. When asking John what he would change about his ride, he admits it’s not the perfect bike for the paved sections but for a trip like this, he wouldn’t change a thing.

5 Comments for "One look at this TDA 2013 rider and one thing is clear: this ain’t his first rodeo. Meet John Faulkner."

that man needs a bath!!well done John, keep up the good work, and see you soon. GO EFI

Woohoo!! That’s my uncle! 🙂 go John! Xxx

Buddy, looks like you have put weight on……you need to get your finger out and go harder lol

    Drop me your email mate I have lost it

OMG you are doing another crazy race. Just showed the kids at school – wow super hero stuff. Take care of yourself love you heaps xxx

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