Rob McMurdo was born to ride. From that very first Raleigh Chopper with its ape handlebars to the teenage touring bike that got him safely to Nelson and back, Rob, like Forest Gump, just ‘kept on riding’.

“I just love it,” he enthuses. “Riding a bike is where you sort out all your problems.”

He’s equally enthusiastic about sharing that passion with his customers from the very young to the very old, from the extremely excited 7-year-old who squeals with delight to 90-something track cyclist Peter Grandiek.

“You never get too old to enjoy that wonderful appreciation. We’re changing lives with the humble bike.” 

Rob on the job at Wensley’s in the early days, aged 19 or 20. Photo: Supplied

Now the long-time owner of Wensley’s Cycles, Rob was once that little boy.

Sadly, his father died of emphysema when he was 7 – something he’s managed to keep under control himself.

He vividly remembers his hardworking mum saving for a year to buy Rob his first bike, a Raleigh Chopper from Wensley's.

“It was the best thing that ever happened to me. It changed my whole life. I was never off it,” Rob says. It gave him independence and freedom and started his cycling career.

 “If you had one of those you were really made, the coolest kid on the block. As a 9-year-old I did the Myross Bush circuit. Cycling’s been big all my life.”

Born in Gore in 1962 where his dad was a car painter, which led to emphysema, the family moved to Invercargill when his father became ill.

Rob out collecting bikes in the late 1990s, early 2000s, for Avanti which was sending them to Africa for people in need. Photo: Southland Times/Supplied

“Losing Dad so young made me grow up quickly and appreciate things. It taught me patience and understanding. It made me who I am today,” Rob says.

“Mum did an awesome job, and it was a happy childhood, but I had to stand on my own two feet.”

Cycling wasn’t permitted as a sporting option at high school back then, and Rob refused to play rugby or cricket, opting for detention instead.

At about 15 he and mate Garry Brown took up touring

“We put bags and tennis racquets on our bikes and biked to Lumsden, camping out for a weekend and playing tennis,” he grins.

At about 17 they biked up the West Coast to Nelson to holiday with Garry’s parents.

It’s opened up a whole new world for him, touring Southland extensively and the South Island with many memorable trips.

“I love the freedom, the people you stop to say ‘hello’ to,” Rob says. “People don’t have that much time for themselves. Biking sorts your head out. You don’t get angry on a bike.”

Rob biking over Arthur’s Pass in 1991. Photo: Supplied

So, when long-time Wensley’s manager Doug Boyd, who knew Rob’s stepdad, offered him an after-school job, Rob was over the moon. After six months he was offered a fulltime cycle mechanic’s apprenticeship – New Zealand’s first.

“I remember being way out of my comfort zone on my first day but very excited as well. We didn’t have a till – just a drawer, and giving change freaked me out.” 

“Doug took me under his wing and taught me so much stuff. He and Graham Yates were wonderful mentors. I valued those older guys. I fed off that as I had no dad,” Rob says.

They became his father figures.

He was taught the ‘old fashioned way’ – the right way, the way he still operates today.

“If I got something wrong Doug would guide me, showing patience and understanding.” 

Discreet Christmas Eve deliveries were the Wensley’s norm back then, dropping off bikes late into the evening and while shopping styles may have changed Rob still honours that free delivery loyalty to Wensley’s customers. He’s even delivered to Wanaka.

That integrity, good honest service, and generosity to Southland has kept the customers coming back for almost 80 years and counting – 17 of those with Rob and wife Sandra as immensely proud owners. 

Through former owners Ross Wensley - son of founder Jack, and Alan and Joy Lindsay, and now as owner, Rob’s kept some of Southland’s top athletes, including Olympians, peddling. “We’ve gone from normal, traditional bikes for kids to adults competing on the world stage,” he says.

Rob’s other passion – photography. Taking a break from his bike in the Catlins. Photo: Supplied

“There’s a huge array of unbelievable technology available today, from electronic gear shifting, carbon fibre frames and forks to electric bikes now that have changed our landscape.”

Rob remembers a very special moment back in 2010. Wensley’s had sponsored some up-and-coming athletes that were achieving very well, so well that they become world champions, Junior World Champ Aaron Barclay, triathletes Robert Huisman, Penny Hayes, Matt King, and Eddie Dawkins on the Velodrome.

Wensley’s Cycles has proudly supported and sponsored many local cycling events. The Southland Triathlon Multisport Club for 30 years, the SBS Tour of Southland teams’ classification sponsor for over 20 years, and the Yunca Junior Tour of Southland (Time Trial) for 17 years.

Rob’s volunteered as a mechanic for the annual Westpac Chopper Ride fundraiser for over 10 years, an event that has raised just over $1m for Southland.

Wensley's is co-sponsor for the 8-hour Mid-Winter Solstice enduro race at Sandy Point, and more recently, main sponsor for the Surf to City.

He’s even been known to give free dietary advice, unsolicited maybe, but the newly, unrecognisable recipients return months later to thank him.

Rob during a river crossing in the Motatapu in 2009. Photo: Supplied

“People come in saying the doctor’s said they need to lose 40kgs, but I tell them a bike is only a tool. They need to change their diet,” Rob says. “If they’re serious about losing weight, I’ve had a few take up the challenge over the years and win.” 

“You’re often selling a bike and people stop at the counter to say, ‘I’m buying this because you look after the cycling community. That’s why we’re supporting you,” he says. “We get that a lot, but I love giving back to the community that looks after us.” 

For Rob and Sandra, it’s “such a joy” to have a great team of people around them, all equally passionate about cycles.

“Our staff are our biggest asset.”  It’s always been the Wensley’s way.

When Doug retired in the 1980s Rob secretly restored the trusty old commuter bike that Doug had built himself decades earlier, painting it up with the name ‘Wensley Boyd’ proudly displayed across the bar. That became a family treasure.

He’s worked alongside some “pretty amazing people” in his time and has a huge amount of respect for them and what they’ve contributed to Wensley’s and cycling.

Rob takes a photography break during a bike trip in the Von Valley. Photo: Supplied

Rob’s sometimes on foot. He loves tramping and has been known to ‘walk’ the Routeburn Track in a day taking 14 hours return from Glenorchy to the The Divide, a 60 to 70kms hike.

Apparently, he’s even done 80kms - the Kepler Track, in a day, but a humble Rob prefers not to mention that.

There’s still time to stop for his other passion, landscape photography too.

“Southland is such a wonderful place to live with so many opportunities for adventure in the outdoors.”