An Invercargill woman is on a mission to become the first blind wahine toa to cycle the length of Aotearoa.

Hannah Pascoe came seventh in the tandem women's road race at the Para Cycling Road World Cup in May.

She told First Up that as she was moving towards retirement, she wanted to fundraise for future blind athletes and chose to cycle the length of New Zealand "because I'm a nutter".

"I've always liked doing things that challenge me and I'm looking to do something big, then I can settle down after it."

Pascoe was born with congenital glaucoma, and was totally blind by the time she turned 25.

"When I was going from having some sight to nothing at all, I got a cloud of yellow and eventually it got quite colourful."

Her ophthalmologist told her at the time, "People in the Sixties would have paid great money to see that."

"Even though I'm not seeing absolutely anything, my brain is still registering colour. So I don't see day, I don't see night - I just see a whole lot of colours, depending on my mood. It's colourful all the time."

Pascoe has run marathons in addition to elite cycling.

"Before I lost my sight, I was always trying to be fit. When I was losing my sight, doing my exercise and going to the gym was a way of coping with that loss.

"I was running so much on the treadmill, that five minutes became 10, and before I knew it I was running an hour." She worked her way up from half marathons to the New York Marathon and "the bug really caught from there".

Soon she turned to competitive cycling, and found her groove in that sport.

"I love the sound of the wind, especially when you're going fast. That feeling of the air around you, and the sun on your face. When you're in a bunch that's quite cool too because you're just going at speed and chatting away to people."

Pascoe will start her cross-country cycle at Cape Reinga on 8 November, and is accompanied by her cousin Kara Williamson, who will be her pilot.

"Kara is the one who got me into competitive cycling. We had done Challenge Wanaka, then she got the idea that she would do a charity ride with me."

From there, Pascoe moved to the velodrome and was coached by former pilot Laura Thompson MNZM, who is also based in Invercargill.

After this year's Para Cycling Road World Cup, Pascoe went to Williamson and suggested they ride the length of Aotearoa. "She said, 'Yeah let's do it!' "

The duo work together well and were not daunted by the long trip, she said. "Kara is a talker, but even she has said there will be times when she runs out of chat. We'll have music, and hopefully people will join us along the way so we'll have them to talk to."

The ride is designed to raise funds for future blind and low vision cyclists who want to chase their dreams in the sport, she said.

"Over the last couple of years, training and high performance as a blind athlete and particularly in cycling, it's been super-tough.

"Because I'm coming out of it and retiring, I don't want it to be so tough for other blind cyclists to come along.

"I want to make a difference and do everything I can to help them, and this is my small way of giving back, as well as getting to do something cool."

Reproduced with permission