But with two harbours, bush-clad ranges and 50-odd dormant volcanos, Auckland has an abundance of green spaces, water views and a stunning natural environment to explore. And, like other New Zealand cities, Auckland has been investing in cycleways to help people get around safely without having to rely on private vehicles. There’s an ever-growing network of on-road cycle lanes, protected cycleways and shared paths across the city.

Chris and I took advantage of the early January summer exodus from the city to have a look around. We hired bikes from Cycle Auckland, a small home-based business in Mission Bay. The business only operates by appointment so we made sure to reserve our bikes before we left home. We already had a rough idea of where we wanted to ride but owner Megan helpfully supplied us with a map and advice on which roads to take when approaching the busier areas on our ride.

Our chosen route was based on a popular road cycling loop known as the Triple Peaks. It winds around the bays and beaches of Tamaki Drive, before heading up through swanky real estate, along mangrove-fringed parkland and across inner city suburbs to climb three dormant volcanic peaks en route to the city’s waterfront. It’s a 56-kilometre ride with a mix of flat and hilly terrain (and a few steep climbs) using roads, sealed shared paths and cycleways.

Mission Bay was our starting point and a gentle way to start the day. There is a shared pathway that runs most of the way along Tamaki Drive, making it easy to enjoy the views of Rangitoto Island as you wind past the beaches of Mission Bay, Kohimarama and St Heliers. They are all good places to swim and there are public toilets and cafés nearby.

Then it’s time to join the road and cycle up the aptly named Cliff Road for some elevated harbour views. Turning to the south, the coast is inaccessible at first so there’s a short ride through a residential area. However, once back at sea level, you meander through a series of reserves on quiet shared pathways. It’s a lovely area with lots of open green space to enjoy.

The first volcanic peak to conquer is Maungarei / Mount Wellington. After gentle flat riding, we found the sudden climb a bit of a shock, but we soon settled into a steady rhythm and it doesn’t take long to reach the summit. There were few walkers when we visited so we mostly had the place to ourselves and parked up our bikes for a walk around the crater. As with the other peaks we visited, the maunga (mountain) is an old Māori pā site. The many terraces carved into the upper slopes indicate where people once grew crops.

From here, it’s off to Cornwall Park and Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill (yes, the one in the U2 song). We were mostly on the road for this section and grateful to Megan for her advice on which streets to take for the least stressful ride.

Cornwall Park is a popular place and there were lots of families picnicking and enjoying the summer holidays. There were also a lot more walkers climbing the maunga here and they seemed surprised to see us powering our way past to the top. (Motor vehicles and scooters are banned from the summit road but bicycles are still allowed.)

There’s no longer a single tree at the top of the maunga. The original tōtara tree was cut down by vandals in 1852, and a later Monterey Pine was vandalised in 1994 and 1999 and subsequently removed in 2000. A small grove of replacement trees (tōtara and pohutakawa) was planted in 2016, with the intention that eventually one tree will stand alone, returning it to a one tree hill once more.

By now, it was well past midday and we were ready to head down for lunch. Happily, we missed the rush at the park café and had no trouble scoring an outdoor table. We feasted on what may well be the best ever eggs and mushrooms (notwithstanding the addition of Chris’ latest find).

There are multiple roads heading in and out of Cornwall Park, and I am directionally challenged, so we had a few false starts before we found our way back to our route towards Maungawhau / Mount Eden. There’s a couple of busy roads to cross but we worked it out and it doesn’t take long to get there.

Maungawhau is the closest peak to the city centre and the busiest on this ride. We were intrigued by the many lanyard-wearing tour groups being escorted around the crater boardwalk and discovered they were part of a large contingent of visiting Jehovah Witnesses, in town for a special convention. We later learned that over 23,000 members had gathered in the city, with delegates from across the world and New Zealand.

We intended to make the Auckland Domain our next stop but (being directionally challenged) I took the wrong exit and ended up heading straight for the city centre instead. No matter. We had already walked around the domain (and the wonderful Auckland Museum) the previous day and this new route took us to The Lightpath, an elevated shared path that winds above the city’s motorways. It’s so good, I was tempted to turn around and ride it again.

From here, it’s an easy ride to the waterfront. We took our time winding around the Wynyard Quarter, Silo Park and the Viaduct, busy areas full of harbourside apartments and restaurants and plenty of space to walk (or bike) around.

Then, it was straight along the waterfront past Queens Wharf (where the ferries leave from) and back to Tamaki Drive and Mission Bay to return the bikes.

All day, we carted around our swimming gear (as we often do), thinking we’d swim at the beach after our ride. But, with the wind having come up, we decided we couldn’t be faffed (as we often do) so settled for a iced coffee and headed back to the hotel pool instead.

Overall, we really enjoyed our day - the cycling was easy, the weather was warm, and we managed to see a lot more than we would have if we had been walking, driving or using public transport. While I still wouldn't cycle everywhere in Auckland, I would absolutely recommend this ride. Obviously, visiting at a time of year when half the city is on holiday and there’s little commuter traffic makes a difference. But, even so, I am keen to visit again and try out other parts of the city’s cycling network.

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The year started in Auckland, with a big day out cycling around inner city bays and beaches and up three of the city’s volcanic peaks. Later, Chris and I returned to the South Island’s West Coast to revisit the West Coast Wilderness Trail and Kawatiri Coastal Trail.

Just to show that the world is indeed a village, the Canadian couple I showed around Christchurch a few years ago, Colleen and Ian, just happened to be visiting the West Coast at the exact same time as us. And they just happened to be cycling the same leg of the West Coast Wilderness Trail the same day as us, so we had a big day out together.

But these were just warm-up rides for our big summer adventure.

After last year's self-supported South Island Tour Aotearoa trip, we were keen to do something similar. So, we looked into the Sounds to Sounds and Kōpiko Aotearoa bikepacking routes.

Sounds to Sounds starts in the Marlborough Sounds at the top of the South Island and makes its way south to Milford Sound. It's a 1,500 km journey over some fairly challenging terrain. Kōpiko runs from one side of the North Island to the other - from East Cape north of Gisborne to Cape Egmont near New Plymouth. Like the Sounds to Sounds, it traverses some remote countryside (over 1,070 kilometres) and is not an easy ride.

Aspects of both rides appealed to us, and we also wanted to do some of the Great Rides in the central North Island that we hadn't had a chance to try yet.1 We didn't have time to do it all, so we cobbled together our own route to take in the bits we most wanted to cover.

We decided to start our ride part-way along the Kōpiko route in the middle of the North Island, in Rotorua, and then cycle through to New Plymouth, deviating from the route to spend a few days mountain biking in Taupō. This allowed us to cycle Rotorua’s Whakarewarewa Forest Loop and Taupō’s Great Lake Trail, before heading for the Timber Trail and on to New Plymouth via the Forgotten Highway heartland ride.2

To add an extra challenge, we decided to bike to Christchurch airport to catch our flights and then dissemble and box up our bikes ourselves. On arrival in Rotorua, we simply had to put everything back together again and carry on our way.

We took the same approach for the second leg of our trip. After a rest day in New Plymouth, we cycled to the airport for our flight to Blenheim, where we joined the Sounds to Sounds route. While the route starts in Picton and we would have loved to cycle the Queen Charlotte Track (or at least the less demanding gravel road that much of Sounds to Sounds actually follows), we simply didn't have time. We’ve cycled some of it before and will find our way back there again.

From Blenheim, we more or less stuck to the Sounds to Sounds route all the way home to Christchurch (saving the rest of the route to Milford Sound for another time). As with last year's Tour Aotearoa ride, we carried our own gear and organised accommodation ahead of time. As with last year's trip, we were pretty much exhausted by the end. Actually, this trip was more demanding, with a lot more climbing. Over two weeks, we cycled roughly 1,000 kilometres and climbed more than 13,000 metres.

But wait, there’s more. Next month, Chris and I are visiting Japan where we will join a cycle tour of Kyushu. We will start in Fukuoka and end up in Kumamoto - yes, the place that had a big earthquake last month. At this stage, it looks like our tour will be unaffected and we have fingers crossed for no major aftershocks to upset our plans. (We’ve been that, done that and have no desire to go through it again.)

This tour is a bit different from others we've done because we’ll be on road bikes rather than mountain bikes or hybrids. It’s mountainous country with lots of climbing, and we’ll be on sealed roads the whole way, so road bikes make more sense for this trip.

Happily, it's given us a good excuse to finally buy the gravel bikes we’ve been wanting so we can get used to a more aggressive style of riding. (Gravel bikes are essentially road bikes with wider tyres.) We have been training all winter, and enjoying going sooo much faster. I try to take time to smell the roses when I'm cycling but, ultimately, I like going fast.

From next week, I am returning to fortnightly posts. If you're interested in hearing more about these rides (and are still subscribed), you’ll automatically get emails from me. But if you’ve been enjoying one less email in your inbox, now would be the time to unsubscribe!

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I started Angela loves cycling as a way of sharing my experience of cycling the length of the North Island (the first half of the 3,000-kilometre Tour Aotearoa). My initial posts talked about what I was doing to get ready - my training plan, the gear I invested in, and the rides I did to build up my fitness and transition from riding on the flat to long hours on hills and gravel. Then, once I got underway, there were regular posts about the big ride itself.

I originally intended to end Angela loves cycling when I got home. But with a cycling trip planned in Queenstown soon after my North Island adventure, I thought I might as well share my experience of those trails too. I described some of my local rides around Christchurch, and soon found I was coming up with other cycling-related topics to write about. So, Angela loves cycling kept going.

Since then, I’ve written many more posts on all things cycling. Most of them have been about recreational cycling in New Zealand - the New Zealand Cycle Trail network, my experience of trails around the country and, best of all, completing the Tour Aotearoa by cycling the South Island from one end to the other without any support.

I’ve also written about cycling in Cairns, Taiwan and Japan. I’ve interviewed others about their cycling. And I’ve covered general topics like the people you meet on cycle trails, the places you stay, and the (first) time my son Cameron got knocked off his bike while riding to work. All up, I’ve prepared 93 posts over two and a half years.

My husband Chris has been indispensable to this process - joining me on my cycling trips and providing me with an endless supply of beautiful photos to accompany my posts. (In fact, I suspect his pictures are as much of a draw as my words.)

And so have you - by continuing to read my posts, by letting me know you’re enjoying them, and by sharing Angela loves cycling with others. There’s nothing as motivating as an audience to keep the posts coming.

But now it’s time for a break. I say ‘a break’ rather than ‘the end’ because I’d like to leave open the option to share future trips with you (especially if I ever convince Chris that it’s time to cycle around the world). For now, though, it’s goodbye and thanks for reading.

Oh, one more thing. I’ve made this offer before and am happy to make it again - if you are coming to New Zealand (or live here) and want to do some cycling, please do get in touch. I would love to help you plan an awesome trip.

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The trail is located at the top of the South Island and is one of New Zealand’s 23 Great Rides. It’s a loop trail, and loosely follows the shape of a diamond:

• From Nelson city, the trail heads southwest through farmland and the towns of Richmond, Brightwater and Wakefield to Spooner’s Tunnel (an old railway tunnel).

• After the tunnel, the trail swings around to the northwest and continues on to the small settlement of Tapawera (a hops growing area) and the remote Baton Valley.

• The trail passes over a saddle and then veers to the northeast, following the Motueka River through the Motueka Valley back to the coast at Riwaka (another small settlement known for its hops and orchards).

• From Riwaka, there’s an option to detour further north to beautiful Kaiteriteri, popular for its golden beaches and easy access to the Abel Tasman National Park.

• The final leg of the trail heads southeast back to Nelson, passing through the town of Motueka and the beach settlements of Tasman, Ruby Bay and Māpua, before winding around the coast to the city.

All up, it’s about 200 kilometres, with a mix of grade 2 (easy) and grade 3 (intermediate) riding.

Chris and I originally planned to cycle the trail over three days, cycling from Nelson to Tapawera on the first day, and then on to Kaiteriteri for an overnight stay before heading back to Nelson. But, having recently cycled the Nelson to Tapawera leg as part of the Tour Aotearoa, we decided to base ourselves in Kaiteriteri and do a couple of days trips instead.

Tapawera to Kaiteriteri

We arranged a shuttle bus to drop us at Tapawera so we could cycle back to Kaiteriteri at our own pace. Our first stop was the coffee cart across the road, where Chris didn’t require much convincing to buy knitted egg warmer in the shape of a hen. “They’ve been really popular with cyclists; they like to pop them on their bell.” So, that became his new mascot.

The Tapawera to Riwaka leg of the trail is grade 3 and described as more challenging than other sections. But it’s actually a very easy ride (and much less demanding than the grade 2 Kawatiri Coastal Trail we cycled only a few days before). The intermediate grading is due to much of the trail being on narrow country roads and shared with cars and the occasional logging truck or milk tanker.

Cycling out of Tapawera, I felt like we were back on the Tour Aotearoa - partly because we were on a quiet rural road in what felt like the middle of nowhere with noone else around, and partly because we started at the same place as one of my favourite days on that trip (a heartland ride through the Tadmor Valley and on to Murchison).

The road is sealed initially and passes by many hop gardens. Most of the hops had already been harvested when we came through, but a few were hanging on and looking splendid in their autumn colours. Before long, the road becomes gravel and climbs up through forest to the Baton Saddle, and on to a swing bridge purpose-built for cyclists to cross the Baton River.

From there, it’s a relaxing ride to the end of the gravel and onto a sealed road alongside the Motueka River. The trail is on the opposite side of the river as the main road to Motueka so we saw very little traffic most of the way. There are lots of orchards in this area, with ripe pears and apples ready to be picked at this time of year, and for sale at small stalls on the side of the road.

At a couple of points, the trail crosses the river for a short stretch, but there’s a separate gravel track for cyclists to keep people off the road. The road gets a bit busier closer to Riwaka, particularly in the last few kilometres, when the trail leaves the river and detours down local roads servicing the bigger orchards in the area.

Coming into Riwaka, there’s the choice to turn off to Kaiteriteri (which we did) or start the ride back to Nelson along the coast (which we left for our next ride). The trail to Kaiteriteri cuts through an orchard away from the main road and then heads over the hill alongside the road, before detouring through the local mountain bike park to the end.

We were staying just short of Kaiteriteri (at Stephen’s Bay) so skipped the mountain bike park and opted for the road instead. It’s a narrow winding hill road that I wouldn’t want to tackle at the height of summer when there are many cars on the road, but it was fine at this time of year.

Overall, we cycled 70 kilometres at a relaxed pace and really enjoyed the peacefulness of our ride. There are no big sights or attractions along the route but it’s very pretty countryside and we enjoyed soaking up the sun and the views of the orchards, hills and river.

Kaiteriteri to Māpua (and back)

A couple of days later we biked back to Riwaka to continue the trail to Māpua. (We cycled from Nelson to Māpua several years ago, so didn’t feel the need to go all the way to Nelson this time.) It’s about 44 kilometres from Kaiteriteri to Māpua (less from Stephen’s Bay) so manageable as a ‘there and back’ ride.

From Riwaka, the trail takes back roads towards the larger town of Motueka - sometimes on the road, sometimes on a gravel track next to it. It’s flat and easy riding. The trail doesn’t go into the centre of Motueka, but we wanted to visit the Sunday market so saved the quiet estuary bypass for the trip back. (And ended up with several jars of honey and smoked mushrooms to carry for the rest of our ride. It’s not called the Great Taste trail for nothing.)

Rejoining the trail on the other side of town, we took more (uninspiring) back roads until we finally turned up a quiet hill road. That led to a rough gravel track with fantastic views of the sea and distant mountains on one side, and the Motueka Valley and more mountains on the other. That’s more like it.

The trail winds along the aptly named Tasman View Road past lifestyle properties and drops back to the coast, where we made another detour to visit Kina beach. The Tasman area is known for being an arty place and there are lots of working studios and galleries to visit on the way.

From Kina beach, we cycled back to the trail and carried on over a few more hills and down again to Ruby Bay and on to Māpua. Apart from the rough gravel section (complete with warning signs about being an unmaintained road), it’s all grade 2 (easy) riding.

Māpua is a seaside village and a popular weekend destination. It’s a picturesque spot, located next to an estuary and has a re-developed wharf area full of eateries and small shops. There’s also a Sunday market and Chris quickly zeroed in on a stall selling hubcap guitars made from all sorts of recycled materials. So, now he’s hauling around one of those in his pannier (leaving me in charge of all the jars of honey and mushrooms for the ride back to Kaiteriteri).

If you’re continuing to Nelson from Māpua, you would take a short ferry ride across to Rabbit Island, which is a forested recreation area with a long beachfront, picnic areas and walking and cycling tracks. There’s road access on the other side of the island, which takes you back to the mainland and around the coast to Nelson. It’s a 35 kilometre ride and easy cycling.

But we retraced our steps to Kaiteriteri. We both preferred the return trip to the ride there. The views were better cycling from Māpua to Kaiteriteri (especially the views of sea and coast), and we enjoyed the detour around busy Motueka. This part of the trail follows a quiet coastal road around the estuary, past the shipwrecked Janie Seddon. It’s a great area for birdlife too.

Stunning weather undoubtedly contributed to our enjoyment of both rides on Tasman’s Great Taste Trail. Everything looks better on sunny blue-sky days, and it’s more relaxing riding on calm warm days than in cold blustery weather. The trail is not quite as spectacular as some of the other Great Rides, but it’s still pretty good and well worth doing.

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The Kawatiri Coastal Trail is New Zealand’s newest cycle trail and is located in the Buller district (on the upper West Coast). It's just 40 kilometres long and goes between the small settlement of Charleston and the town of Westport. It's billed as a family-friendly grade 2 (easy) trail and has been developed with rallying communities and stimulating economic activity in mind.

The community first started talking about the trail in 2015, and construction got underway in 2020, with the first section opening later that year. But the full trail has only recently been completed (mostly) and it officially opened on 22 March 2025. (There's a small section still being finished but people can ride on a quiet gravel road right next to it in the meantime.)

As luck would have it, Chris and I had planned a short break near Charleston just a few weeks later, so we got the chance to give the trail a try.

Given it's a grade 2 trail and only 40 kilometres, we opted to ride from Charleston to Westport and back again in the one day. We figured it was going to be a fairly gentle and undemanding ride.

Many parts of the ride are exactly that - gentle and undemanding - with long straight sections along bays, roads and paddocks. But there's also quite a bit of narrow winding cycling over hills and through the bush - which makes it a whole lot more interesting. (And more of a workout than we were expecting.)

Like any good cycle trail, the Kawatiri Coastal Trail has been designed to take in the district’s best scenery and provide diversity for visitors. So, there's suspension bridges over coffee-coloured rivers, there's wild stormy beaches, there's dramatic cliff-top coastline, and there's dense native bush and views of the Paparoa Ranges.

The trail passes through many kiwi and penguin nesting areas. While you're unlikely to see those birds, there are plenty of weka and pukeko scurrying about, as well as various sea birds around the coast and small birds in the forest. And the trail connects to the Cape Foulwind Walkway, which looks out over a seal colony.

The trail surface is mostly a fine compacted gravel, with some small sections on sealed or gravel road. There's also some lovely boardwalk sections winding through wetland areas on the flat.

The trail can easily be cycled in either direction. However, I think it's more enjoyable starting from the Westport end. From there, it's only five kilometres to Carter's Beach, and not much longer to connect to the lighthouse end of the Cape Foulwind Walkway, and then the walkway’s Tauranga Bay end. (Yes, the name of the walkway is a clue to what weather you might get.)

Most of these sections are easy cycling, with a few windier bits near Tauranga Bay. Tauranga Bay is a beautiful spot and we could easily have spent a few days relaxing here. (We returned by car the next day, when it was much calmer and sunnier.)

Moving on, the trail heads down an exposed and wild stretch of coast for several kilometres before turning back inland across farmland and into the hills. For me, this is where the best cycling is - winding up and down through a long section of native bush, with lots of tight corners and full concentration required.

Eventually, the trail connects to a gravel road, passing by a few more wild beaches, and then over the final suspension bridge and into one last climb through the bush to Charleston.

The Kawatiri Coastal Trail does not have Great Ride status. But it does appear as a ‘bonus ride’ on the Great Rides app, and has very good infrastructure. It is well sign-posted throughout, including lots of warning signs for cyclists to slow down in the steeper and narrower sections, and there's clearly been significant investment into bridges and boardwalks. I’m guessing it will be very popular.

We had a very full day out, and ended up cycling close to 90 kilometres by the time we added on a short trip into Westport’s town centre and estuary area. We were impressed with the trail, and would cycle it again, but we would split it into two rides next time, perhaps doing there and back rides in either direction from Tauranga Bay.

Despite the overall grade 2 rating, some sections are actually grade 3 (intermediate). I didn't realise this until later, but it certainly explained how tired we felt at the end of the day.

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(The one goal I did miss was cycling Le Race to Akaroa last weekend. It's a hilly 100 kilometre road race, with several steep climbs and some fast winding descents. I had no intention of racing but there is a mountain bike category, and I figured it was a good chance to cycle the route while people were expecting bikes on the road. Ultimately though, I wasn't sure my legs were up for all that climbing after our Tour Aotearoa trip so opted for the Alps 2 Ocean instead.)

I’ve written about the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail before. It's the longest of New Zealand's Great Rides (315 kilometres at last count) and goes from Aoraki/Mount Cook in the Southern Alps to Ōamaru (by the ocean). There's an alternative starting point at Takapō/Lake Tekapo for those who don't fancy forking out for a five-minute helicopter ride over the Tasman River near Mount Cook.

Chris and I first cycled the trail in October 2022. We got blue sky days every day and there was plenty of snow on the Alps, which made for some stunning scenery. I came away keen to ride the trail again. So, when I started thinking about doing a solo trip, it didn't take long to settle on this one.

It’s a mix of grade two (easy) and grade three (intermediate) riding, with enough climbing and narrow rocky sections to make things interesting but not exhausting. Having cycled it before provided just enough familiarity for me to feel comfortable doing it on my own. Some parts are fairly remote but, being peak cycling season, I figured there would be plenty of other cyclists on the trail.

I decided to start at Tekapo again but to do it in four days instead of six. (Some of the sections are relatively short and quick to cycle.) I took my panniers with me, packing pretty much exactly what I had packed for our three weeks on the Tour Aotearoa - except this time I had to carry the first aid kit and a few tools. But I also made use of a bag transfer service, so I only had to cycle with full panniers on the last day.

Tekapo to Twizel

My first day started in Twizel. Fortunately, I was up in plenty of time to get my shuttle bus to Tekapo because I’d acquired a puncture overnight and needed to sort that out first. (The cause was easy to spot - a thumb tack pressed firmly in my front tyre - but I didn't notice it until I was about to walk out the door. And I almost made the rookie mistake of putting in a new tube before finding it.)

But I made it to the bus on time and made it to Tekapo for the start of my ride.

Unfortunately, it was a really windy day. Not just a little bit of wind, but a ferocious north-west gale that makes it difficult to walk, let alone ride. (I spotted several high-sided truck and trailer units and caravans parked up so they couldn't get blown over. And passed a couple of hikers, who were getting ready to give up and hitch a ride.)

What should have been a fairly easy ride turned into a long energy-sapping grind. The first half of the ride goes alongside the Tekapo canal, which is pretty but very exposed to the wind. Some of the road is sealed and some of it is gravel. I found I could slowly ride on the sealed sections but, on the gravel, the wind kept blowing me off course into thicker gravel - at which point I would come to a sudden halt.

I started to think I might have erred in deciding to cycle that day. I was forced to stop many times, and sometimes had to take several minutes to recover before I could get going again. (I was very thankful my Tour Aotearoa experience had prompted me to bring some caramel slice for energy ‘just in case’.) But eventually, the road turned away from the wind and, joy of joys, I even got a tail wind, zooming past the salmon farm with a smile finally on my face.

The second half of the ride - past Lake Pūkaki, through some forest, and over the flats to Twizel - was a lot better but I was tired by the end. Later, I compared heart rate data for the day with data from our 2022 trip and wasn't surprised to see I was working a whole lot harder on this ride.

Twizel to Ōmarama

Hot northwest winds in Canterbury are almost always followed by cold southwest winds and rain. So it was for this trip, with heavy rain overnight and a cool grey start for day two.

Twizel and Ōmarama are only 30 kilometres apart along the main road. But the trail takes a completely different route via Lake Ōhau.

The ride to the lake was similar to the previous day's ride (but with more manageable wind). The route follows a sealed road along the Ōhau canal, then an off-road track around the side of the lake, rejoining the road before the village. Then it's several more kilometres to the Lake Ōhau lodge, before heading on to Ōmarama.

Last time, Chris and I stopped overnight at the lodge, but it's a short easy ride so I just stopped for lunch on this trip. I found the lodge a bit underwhelming (and wouldn’t bother in good weather) but it was nice to get out of the cold.

The real work began after lunch, with an increasingly rocky hill climb for the first 11 kilometres followed by a very bumpy descent down the other side. It was slow going and I was glad to take a break by the historic (and now very derelict) Quailburn woodshed.

I didn't stop for long though. While I was lucky to get only occasional light rain, the wind was cold, and I needed to keep moving to stay warm. Fortunately, the gravel road was smooth for the rest of the way and surrounded by plenty of big back country views to enjoy.

Most nights I ate at my accommodation, but I treated myself to a meal at the Ōmarama pub. I arrived early to get ahead of three big cycle groups booked into the restaurant. I’d booked a table too and was glad I did, because the public bar was packed and lots of locals were getting turned away from the restaurant. Cycle business is good business, but I do wonder if communities will start to resent not being able to get a seat at their own pub.

Ōmarama to Kurow

By day three, all the wind and rain and clouds had disappeared. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for cycling.

I made sure I was on the trail before the big groups left Ōmarama - only to find a couple of them getting dropped off 13 kilometres down the road at Sailor's Cutting, a popular camping spot that marks the start of one of the most spectacular parts of the trail. But it didn't really matter. I enjoyed a quiet ride along Lake Benmore on the bits they missed, and then played leapfrog with them until the Benmore Dam.

The trail is narrow and rocky for this section and climbs up above the lake for some great mountain and water views. The Lake Dunstan Trail (further south in Central Otago) gets a lot of attention but I think this part of the Alps 2 Ocean is just as good. The trail then winds back downhill to the Benmore Dam, with views out towards the small town of Ōtematata.

Last time, Chris and I carried on over the dam and on to Kurow from here (largely to avoid having to go down - and then back up - the hill to Ōtematata). But I had never visited Ōtematata before and was keen to find my own space away from the groups. The trail winds past Loch Laird on its way to the township. Trees in the beginning of their autumn colours made for a pretty ride, and a scenic lunch break.

Then it was back up to the hill to cross the dam (running into another big group of cyclists) and down the other side to follow the long road around Lake Aviemore. It's easy scenic riding and takes you to Aviemore Dam, which you cross, before following an off-road track next to Lake Waitaki, past the Waitaki Dam and along the Waitaki River to Kurow.

This was easily the best day of my trip, and the longest, at just under 90 kilometres. The weather was great, the views were awesome, and I loved the cycling.

Kurow to Ōamaru

The final day was a good day too. I left Kurow at sunrise so I could get to Ōamaru in time for early afternoon transport back to Christchurch.

The section between Kurow and Duntroon is straight and boring (apart from a nice wetland area at the Duntroon end) so I raced through that. But after Duntroon, the trail heads back uphill, and there are fantastic views over the valleys and farmland for the rest of the way to Ōamaru.

It's limestone country and the trail passes by the distinctive Elephant Rocks. The trail is mostly off-road but there are some shared gravel roads too (great for fast ridge-top cycling) and even an old railway tunnel. Then it's mostly downhill, into the back streets of Ōamaru, through the public gardens and to the end point at Friendly Bay by the Pacific Ocean.

So that was that. My first solo trip. Despite a couple of dodgy weather days, it went well, and I am really pleased I did it.

I didn't have any major epiphanies while I was away. (This was no Eat, Pray, Love trip.) But I did gain extra confidence that I can cycle independently and deal calmly with any little challenges that come up (last minute puncture repair, bad weather) as well as the more mundane tasks of finding food, keeping on top of laundry and taking a loo break with no-one to keep an eye on my bike!

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That involved cycling 1,600 kilometres from one end of the North Island to the other (Cape Reinga to Petone). While no big deal for some people, it was a big step up for me (and Chris) - with much longer distances than I was used to cycling, and a shift from riding on the flat to riding on hills. Being part of a supported group tour meant we didn't need to worry about logistics - we just had to get up and ride each day.

Regular readers will also know that we recently completed the South Island leg of the Tour Aotearoa (almost two years to the day from setting off from Cape Reinga). This time around, I increased the challenge by making it a self-supported ride - cycling with panniers to carry everything we needed and sourcing our own food and drink as we went. I stopped short of making it a camping trip (opting for real beds and bathrooms) and I compensated for the extra weight by reducing the average daily kilometres cycled from around 100 to 80.

In the end, we cycled more than 1,400 kilometres from Picton to Bluff over 18 days, with about 13,500 metres of climbing. (The North Island was 1,600 kilometres over 17 days with 17,000 metres of climbing.)

And it was a fantastic trip. We had (mostly) great weather, the scenery was amazing, drivers were considerate, and we met lots of friendly people along the way.

Now that I have been home a few weeks, here's what stands out for me:

• how lucky we are to be able to do such a trip

• what a great way to travel cycling is

• how hard it is to over-eat (let alone eat enough) when you are cycling day after day.

How lucky we are

New Zealand is a beautiful country. We are lucky to live here and have easy access to such a stunning natural environment. Lucky too that communities throughout the country have developed cycle trails and mountain bike tracks that let us enjoy some of the best parts of the country by bike. And better still, lucky that someone (Jonathan Kennett) found a way to join them together from one end of the country to the other to create the Tour Aotearoa route.

Nearly every day that we were cycling, Chris and I marvelled at how the scenery just got better the further south we cycled. It's not hard to see why overseas visitors love driving down the South Island’s West Coast to Wānaka and Queenstown. Big mountains, rocky rivers, wild coastline, picturesque lakes and an abundance of lush native flora. What's not to love?

It’s hard to pick a favourite day of our tour, but highlights include:

• Taking quiet gravel roads from Tapawera to Murchison and Springs Junction through valleys and places I’ve never been before. The forest road over the Maruia Saddle was especially lovely.

• Cycling the West Coast Wilderness Trail again. This was my third visit, and I think the best (despite lugging extra weight with me). The combination of perfect cycling conditions, good bike fitness and a great scenic trail worked well for me on the day.

• Pretty much the entire second week of our trip that took us down the West Coast to Wānaka. Scenery, scenery, scenery. The best bits were around Franz Josef and Fox Glacier (despite the rain), the ride from Haast to Makarora (despite the steep climb over Haast Pass), and then the complete change of scenery as we cycled on to Hāwea and Wānaka.

The Batman theme song (Everything is Awesome) was on high rotate in my head for much of the trip.

On a personal level, Chris and I are lucky to have the time and resources to do such a ride. Doing our own thing made it more affordable (roughly a third of the cost of a group tour) but camping would have made it cheaper again. We’re lucky too that we're in good health, so we could build up our fitness for all that cycling.

Cycling is a great way to travel

This trip was different from every other cycle trip we've been on. Usually, our rides are either day rides, or an organised supported cycle trip (with gear transported), which essentially equates to a series of day rides.

Being entirely self-sufficient changed our experience. Partly that was about the need to travel light. We only had room in our panniers for the essentials so couldn't take that extra jersey or pair of shoes or spare bike part ‘just in case’. And there were no back-up supplies waiting for us in the car or at our accommodation.

But what really struck me was how different our interactions were with other people along the way. Cyclists will always talk to other cyclists in passing. But when you’re loaded down with panniers and obviously cycle touring, all sorts of other people will stop to chat as well.

We had countless conversations with people interested in what we were doing, where we were going and where we had come from. Often, they were other travellers (especially overseas visitors), who were doing a similar route by car. Some were cyclists themselves (when at home) so took a particular interest in how we were finding it. Many commented on the narrow roads and mountainous terrain (which was a common conversation starter).

I really enjoyed this aspect of the trip, and took the opportunity to ask about their travels and find out about cycling in their countries. But none of these conversations would have happened if we had just been cycling on off-road cycle trails for a few days or were cycling through small towns without panniers (looking more like a local resident than a traveller) or had not been cycling at all.

These sorts of interactions didn't happen on our North Island tour. I suspect that was partly because we weren't carrying gear, partly because we were on main roads less often, and partly because we were travelling as part of a group. Even though we cycled independently, we generally re-formed as a group at stopping points. And people are less likely to approach a group than just one or two people.

I have been thinking for some time about doing some independent long-distance cycling overseas. This experience left me more determined to make it happen. Watch this space.

Eating enough when cycling

Cycling for five or six hours a day burns up a lot of calories. Add in some steep hills, and an extra 10kg of gear, and there's a whole lot more calories.

We knew this before we left - and generally we managed this well. We made sure we were always carrying extra snacks in case we needed them. We ate often. And I feel like I was constantly suggesting we buy some more chocolate ‘for later’. I was paranoid about going into calorie deficit and not having enough energy to keep us going.

But ultimately the back-to-back days of cycling took a toll. We felt great for the first two weeks, and I really did think we could just keep cycling indefinitely. But then things shifted, and we felt weary when we set off from Wānaka (despite having just had a rest day). The next three days were hard work. And I started to look forward to the final day and taking a break.

Our North Island experience was quite different. We had a tough but enjoyable first week, and then things seemed to get (mostly) easier. We were pleasantly surprised how good we felt at the end, and were confident we could have kept on cycling.

For the South Island, it felt like the hardest rides were in the second half of the trip. And I was really happy to park my bike up when we arrived in Bluff.

Chris puts the difference down to the extra weight we were carrying. I think we simply didn't eat enough (or at least enough energy-rich food) but didn't realise it in time to do something about it. We felt like we were eating plenty (and it’s hard to keep eating when you feel full) but, in retrospect, we ate few of the high-calorie slices and sweet treats that powered us through the North Island.

So, we got tired. And we both lost a little weight, which is sometimes a good thing but not when you're doing long distance cycling. A good lesson for next time.

Overall, though, it really was a fantastic trip, and I would not hesitate to do it again. I loved spending the time with Chris and taking our time to make our way down the country.

There's always a sense of loss that comes with returning to everyday life after a big trip like this. While it's nice to be home, it's hard not to miss the freedom from responsibility and all that fresh air and movement.

Fortunately, there's still a few more months of good cycling weather before winter arrives so I will be back out there again soon.

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After 20 days on the road (18 cycling), Chris and I rolled into Bluff. It's been an amazing few weeks - great weather, fantastic scenery and lovely people along the way. But we are tired and ready to stop now.

The last few days have been tough - with some big climbs, long rides and a day of strong head winds. Thankfully, our final day was relatively calm (and flat) so we enjoyed a relaxing ride into Bluff in almost perfect cycling conditions. And we had some familiar faces to meet us at Stirling Point (my mum and dad).

Wānaka to Queenstown

After the brutally steep climb over the Haast Pass I was a bit anxious about going over the Crown Range from Wānaka to Queenstown. We have elevation profiles in our guidebook and GPX maps, but it's still hard to judge how steep the climbs really are - we’ve had some saddles that have turned out to be no big deal, and other small hills that have been surprisingly tough.

Mostly, the Crown Range was not too steep, with a gradual rise out of Wanaka and through the Cardrona Valley. It wasn't really until the final few kilometres that we had to use our lowest gears. I found it easier than the Haast Pass, but Chris was feeling a little under the weather so found it more gruelling.

We’d left Wānaka early but there was a lot of traffic by the time we got to the summit, and we had to time our descent carefully because the lack of shoulder meant we had no option but to take the lane. We had to turn across the traffic before we fully descended, so that was just a little bit stressful too.

Once we turned off the main road, we were on a lovely quiet gravel road that led to a not-so-lovely four wheel drive track (Tobin’s Track) to Arrowtown. The downhill was steep and bumpy (great for mountain bikers but not me) but it was a good shortcut to Arrowtown.

After lunch, we carried on to Queenstown on three of the trails that are part of the Queenstown Trail network. First, we followed the Arrow River Bridges Trail (along the Arrow River), then connected to the Twin Rivers Trail (cycling mainly along the Kawarau River and crossing over the Shotover River). Finally, we took the Frankton Track around the edge of the lake and into Queenstown.

They are all grade 2 or 3 trails (easy to intermediate) and have Great Ride status. We've cycled some of them before and really enjoyed them, especially the Arrow River Bridges Trail, which provides great views of the mountains and is spectacular when the autumn colours are out. This time, we were probably a bit hot and tired to fully enjoy them and, after a few hours winding up, down and around on gravel tracks, we were happy to get to our accommodation.

Queenstown itself offers spectacular scenery, with its lakeside setting and imposing mountains. Unfortunately, it's become a very busy place, with people everywhere and clogged-up traffic. (Wānaka is much more relaxing and definitely the pick of the two lake towns.)

Queenstown to Mossburn

The next morning we were up early to catch a boat across the lake to Walter Peak station. The Tour Aotearoa route follows the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail from there through stunning high country to Mavora Lakes, and then on to Mossburn.

We were a bit unlucky with the weather, with rain and low cloud obscuring the views for the first hour and a half. And cycling on wet weather made for slow progress. But as we approached Von Hill, the cloud lifted, the views improved and we started to dry out.

I’ve written about cycling around the mountains on this route before (and there are some great photos in that post). Last time, we cycled to Mavora Lakes on one day, and then got dropped back at a spot called Centre Hill another day, skipping a 29 kilometre stretch of lumpy gravel in the middle. But we wouldn't be cycling the Tour Aotearoa from one end of the country to the other if we missed bits out. So this time, we did the lumpy gravel bit too, and then carried on to Mossburn for good measure.

This was our longest cycling day, at 105 kilometres, with about six hours cycling. The whole day was on gravel, which was mostly ok, except for the lumpy bit in the middle. Much of that was on a long straight road with no places to stop or points of interest along the way, and some parts were heavily corrugated, which made for an uncomfortable ride.

However, the ride through to Mavora Lakes was great (once the rain stopped), and we were happy to make it up Von Hill, which requires yet another steep climb for about two kilometres.

From Centre Hill, the route flattens out, and it's an easy ride winding along the Oreti River through farmland to Mossburn. I was starting to feel a little under the weather myself by then (I actually thought I might fall asleep while cycling) so we took it easy and loaded up on jet planes to get us to the end.

Mossburn is just a tiny town with a few shops and services supporting the rural community. But there's a pub of course, and we enjoyed one of the best meals of our trip there,. Even better, we had an entire accommodation complex to ourselves for the night. Bliss.

Mossburn to Bluff

Some cyclists will go from Mossburn to Bluff (137 kilometres) in one day. With the end of the tour in sight, that's a tempting thing to do. But we decided to split it into two days, and I am very glad we did.

The Tour Aotearoa continues along the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail for 13 kilometres and then heads south all the way to Bluff on the Southland Traverse route, using rural back roads.

On the first day, we had plenty of time so decided to detour off the route to Lumsden (a small town) for coffee, and then later Dipton (barely a village) for a picnic lunch. It was a beautiful sunny and calm morning when we set out and we had a relaxing ride. We cycled through farmland (mainly sheep and dairy) on quiet roads. There were a few rolling hills around us but our ride was predominantly downhill.

However, by late morning the wind had started to come up, and unfortunately we were heading almost directly into it - for 55 kilometres. What we thought would be an easy ride soon turned into an uncomfortable grind. The roads were long and straight, which I find a lot harder than hills because you don't move much in the saddle while riding. When we finally got to Winton, I wasn't sure I would be able to sit down, let alone start cycling again the next morning.

So, I was very happy that today's final ride was a good one. We had a slight tail wind initially as we continued along more straight roads through more farmland. Before long we were on a gravel cycle trail skirting around the edge of Invercargill (a small city) and along the estuary. It was a lovely ride away from the traffic.

The cycle trail eventually joins the main road to Bluff and continues alongside it. We had a brief period of head wind again but we could see Bluff getting closer, which kept us motivated.

As you approach Bluff, the road turns away from the wind and follows the harbour around to the town and to the end of the Tour Aotearoa route at Stirling Point. It's a lovely scenic end to the tour.

And then we stopped cycling. We took lots of photos. We picked up some finisher medals from the local post office. And we celebrated with some mini bottles of sparkling wine and a picnic lunch. And drove back to Invercargill for a rest.

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We've now completed the Touring the West Coast route, taking two days to cycle from Franz Josef to Haast, heading over the Haast Pass to Makarora, and then cycling on to Wānaka. For a much-needed rest day.

Franz Josef to Haast

South Westland is a beautiful part of the country. It is also one of the wettest. It absolutely bucketed down the night we stayed at Franz Josef, and again the following afternoon (when we were just eight kilometres from our accommodation). The rain carried on through the night and into the morning, then started all over again after we arrived in Haast. Heavy noisy rain bouncing off the road and forming streams and puddles faster than it could drain away.

We missed the worst of it while cycling, but we did get wet. We got light rain and drizzle when we left Franz Josef, and then a lovely long clear spell that helped dry us out - only to get completely drenched before we reached our motel.

But we still had a good day. There were two main highlights. The first was cycling over a succession of three steep saddles between Franz Josef and Fox Glacier. They weren't easy but we enjoyed the challenge, the views, and, best of all, the fast downhill rides (especially the longest one after the second saddle). (And yes, there was some woo-hooing on the way down.)

The second highlight of the day was taking a short detour to a viewpoint of Fox Glacier. The glacier is some distance from the viewing point, and you only get a small glimpse of it (we were lucky to time our visit with the cloud lifting). But the best bit was actually the ride through the bush.

Most bush tracks are only designed for pedestrians, but this one is a wide gravel track that is a shared walkway and cycleway. It gradually winds up the hill for a few kilometres through lovely native forest, and we enjoyed cycling almost the whole way to the viewing platform (the final few hundred metres are reserved for pedestrians). We were the only cyclists and the walkers on the track seemed surprised, and slightly amused, to see us there.

Our onward journey to Haast the following day also started out wet and was, to be honest, a bit miserable. We had an early start (actually starting in the dark) so we could get to Haast (88 kilometres away) before a scheduled road closure in the middle of the day. Low cloud and rain meant we couldn't really enjoy the scenery for the first half of our ride.

But the cloud lifted as we approached the coast, and we had a lovely sunny ride the rest of the way.

The road follows the coastline through to Haast, with great views out to the Tasman Sea. There are several lookout points and places to stop, the best being at Ship Creek. It's right by the beach and offers a short walk through swamp forest or a short walk along the dunes. (The only downside about this stretch of coast is the voracious sandflies, which are quick to find hot and sweaty cyclists.)

The ride itself was the usual mix of ups and downs, and lots of tourist traffic passing us by. We arrived early at Haast (with about 25 minutes to spare before the road closure) so, after refuelling, took the chance to ride the local cycleway through the bush to the beach. We were the only people there.

While we were having our lunch at Haast, we spotted a couple of people having a good look at our bikes, which we’d left propped up on a wall. They were clearly intrigued with our set-up, one guy lifting Chris’ bike up to see how much it all weighed. They were clearly fellow cyclists and, once we got chatting, discovered we were on much the same itinerary for the next few days. One, a Dutch New Zealander travelling with a friend from the Netherlands, decided our set up was preferable to his heavier load.

Haast to Makarora

Heavy overnight rain was followed by a beautiful clear day. Slightly cooler temperatures made for perfect cycling conditions, especially for our big climb through the mountains via the Haast Pass.

The road gradually climbs for the first 50 kilometres before the real climb begins.

Every day we think the scenery is more stunning than the day before, and this was no exception. We were surrounded by huge mountains, awe-inspiring in itself. But the previous day’s rain meant that the bush really came to life, and there were waterfalls - big and small - all along the ride. Many were only noticeable because we could hear and see them as we cycled slowly by. Motorists would have missed them completely.

There are several places where you can stop and do a short bush walk to get a better view of waterfalls. We did one early in our ride - and Roaring Billy (yes, that's the name of the waterfall) did not disappoint. But, like our visit to Fox Glacier, the bush walk was worth doing in its own right. Lots of healthy ferns of all shapes and sizes, heaps of moss, lichen, and epiphytes growing over big old native trees (like kahikatea) and plenty of fungi to keep Chris happy.

The climb over the Haast Pass was tough, very tough. I am hoping it is the steepest climb in our tour. It's not the biggest climb on the Tour Aotearoa route but the road ascends about 350 metres in the first three kilometres. We passed one cyclist walking up, and if Chris wasn't cheerleading behind me, I might have done the same thing. I was cycling in my lowest gear. (We later learned our Dutch friend walked his bike too.)

Fortunately the next seven kilometres up to the summit are more straightforward, so when we got there, we still had enough energy to stow our bikes in the bush and walk another 150 metres up to a lookout point.

Then, of course, came the downhill, and we cycled on to Makarora accompanied by a steady flow of tourist traffic, stopping only to refuel at one of the many scenic rest areas on the way. The day was getting hot by then and we were exhausted at the end of the day.

Makarora to Wānaka

The landscape completely changed for our ride from Makarora to Wānaka. Thick native bush gradually faded away, open farmland appeared and, while we were still surrounded by mountains, they became browner, with sparser vegetation and exposed jagged tops.

For the first stage of our ride, we continued cycling on the road, passing along the northern end of Lake Wānaka, before heading over “The Neck” to ride along Lake Hāwea instead. Stunning views all around.

We had a couple of surprisingly steep hill climbs (one making me reach for my low gears again) but also lots of downhill riding.

Cycling into Hāwea we were joined by my uncle John and his wife Lyn, who had cycled out from Wānaka to meet us. It was great to see them and, after coffee and lunch, they escorted us on to Wānaka.

This part of our ride was off-road. The route follows two mountain bike trails: the Hāwea River Trail, which runs alongside the river to Albert Town; and the Outlet Track, which follows the Clutha River/Mata-Au to Lake Wānaka and connects to a shared walking/cycling track along the lake and into town.

Both are grade 2 (easy) trails, with just a few narrow and windy sections (and some bumpy rocks) to negotiate. And, yes, both offer fantastic views of the rivers, flats and mountains.

It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed cycling with John and Lyn. It was also a great relief to be cycling off-road again. I had been looking forward to this after spending most of the week on a popular and sometimes busy tourist highway - but I didn't realize quite how stressful that had been until we didn't need to worry about the cars anymore.

Today is another lovely day in Wānaka and we’re having a lazy rest day - massages, coffee and scones, a walk by the lake and maybe a swim if we feel like it (or not). And I am particularly looking forward to a real meal with John and Lyn (who have promised vegetables and no hot chips)!

Tomorrow we head over the Crown Range to Queenstown. This will be our longest sustained climb yet (39 kilometres) and will take us to the highest point on the whole Tour Aotearoa route (1076 metres). Wish us luck.

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It's hard to believe we are now more than half way through our South Island tour. We have well and truly settled into the ride and are absolutely loving it. I suspect I will want to keep riding when we get to Bluff (but Chris baulked at my idea to ride back to Christchurch via a different route).

The work put into planning the ride has paid off. We feel we are more or less riding the right distance each day - taking into account hills and available services. And it's great having accommodation pre-arranged so we don't have to find somewhere to sleep for the night (or carry camping gear).

Some days we feel we could ride a bit longer but we find that stopping early/mid afternoon gives us a chance to sort out laundry and get supplies, and have a look around wherever we are for the night. Often, we’ll go for a walk.

Finding food hasn't been too much of a hassle, although we have to plan ahead and the quality of our meals varies. One day our lunch consisted of a protein bar and a packet of crisps. Other days we’ve been able to stock up on yummy mini-quiches or get a filled roll on the way. We’ve eaten more hot chips than I’d like for dinner, but some of the pubs we’ve dined at have offered really good meals.

Staying hydrated is a priority for us. Some people only carry a couple of water bottles, and some days that's all we need too if there are cafes along the way. But there are other days where there is nowhere to stock up so we then carry a third water bottle in our panniers along with an electrolyte drink (Powerade), which we inevitably guzzle down at lunchtime.

I am carrying about 10 kilograms more on my bike than if I was doing a day ride. Chris is carrying a little more (maybe 12kg) - but he is stronger and I am doing a bit more work riding out front. (Well maybe. Now that we are on the open road, he has started cycling a bit further back in case we come a cropper - the theory being that our sons will still have one parent if the worst happens!)

However, I am pleased to say that we are still finding drivers to be very considerate and they usually leave us plenty of room when they pass. (If anything, we are a bit concerned that sometimes they put themselves at risk by going out into the other lane when there are yellow ‘no passing’ lines and limited visibility of oncoming traffic.) We have flashing rear lights and bright cycle tops so drivers can easily see us, and a couple of drivers have thanked us for that.

I am enjoying meeting other cyclists (and tourists) on the road. There aren't a lot of us at any one spot, and some are going in the opposite direction, but we always smile and wave at each other and stop for a chat when we can.

The Tour Aotearoa is popular with overseas cyclists. We came across a great group of young American guys, who are riding touring bikes with panniers, but decided to give the Big River track a go despite all advice not to. They were positively fizzing about how great it was, and identified it as the highlight of their trip - after having cycled all the way down the country from Cape Reinga.

Yesterday we met a couple of Dutch cyclists who are spending seven weeks travelling around South Island - crossing through the mountains from one side of the island to the other and back multiple times so they can do as many cycle trails as possible. Sometimes they follow the Tour Aotearoa route, sometimes they find their own way. They have a very good bike set-up, with belt drives instead of chains and a small charging system to run their lights and provide USB charging for their phones.

We have been extremely lucky with the weather. For the first ten days, we had warm, mostly sunny weather, with just 30 minutes of light rain when we left Tapawera. It hasn't even been too windy, with just a couple of days when the wind came up in the afternoon, making us work a bit harder.

Things have changed a bit with heavy rain overnight and more rain on the way. But it temporarily cleared up for us today so we didn't get wet at all (the rain returned within minutes of us arriving at our accommodation). Unfortunately I don't think we will be so lucky tomorrow.

We are currently at Franz Josef (glacier country) and will continue down the West Coast to Haast before heading inland. Here's a quick rundown on the last few days’ cycling.

West Coast Wilderness Trail

We had an awesome ride from Greymouth to Hokitika on the West Coast Wilderness Trail. We did three of the four trail sections (99 kilometres) in one day, much as we did when I first wrote about the trail two years ago.

That time, we had mixed feelings about the trail and found it a bit hard-going in places. This time, despite carrying extra weight, we really enjoyed it. It's probably our best day on the bike yet. We loved being off-road, we loved the native bush, we loved the narrow winding sections along old mining water races, and we just loved being on our bikes.

I put the difference down to a combination of pacing ourselves better (we took an extra half hour) and more favourable conditions for cycling (temperatures in the low 20s for most of the day and partial cloud cover). We also benefited from our rest day in Greymouth, and I think that our bike fitness has stepped up a notch since we've been away.

Regardless, it was a fantastic day, and you can clink on the links above if you want to find out more about the trail.

Hokitika to Franz Josef

For the past two days we’ve been on the Touring the West Coast heartland ride, which goes from Ross to Wanaka, mostly on the scenic highway 6.

We started with the final section of the West Coast Wilderness Trail that goes from Hokitika to Ross (enjoying more off-road cycling through the bush), but the closure of an old rail bridge meant we had to connect to the highway sooner than expected.

After Ross, the route takes a short (12 kilometre) diversion along a quiet gravel road, before returning to the highway. Despite limited shoulder for cycling, and several long one-way bridges to negotiate, the riding was pretty easy. We had a few ups (but nothing too onerous) and one magnificent down as we approached Lake Ianthe for our lunch break.

The scenery was magnificent too - native bush, huge mountains, braided rivers, occasional views over the bush and out to sea.

The first day on the road was beautiful and sunny, but got quite hot, so we were happy to stop for the night at Hari Hari (described in our guidebook as a “one street town”). It’s a nice wee place, and we enjoyed a short bush walk along the edge of the hill in the shade, and a classic pub meal of steak, egg and chips for dinner. (Chips really are hard to avoid.)

Today, we cycled through Whataroa (a small town with excellent coffee) and took advantage of the break in the weather to detour off the main road to Okarito. This is a coastal settlement with a large lagoon area, good for kayaking and bird spotting. It's a remote place, with a campground, a smattering of holiday houses and a handful of permanent residents.

The whole area is surrounded by beautiful native bush, and there are lots of shorts walk, including one through a kiwi area (no dogs allowed). We enjoyed cycling there on the peaceful access road, with just the odd campervan pottering past us occasionally.

The cycling today was a mix of ups, downs, and taking advantage of a tail wind to cycle hard and fast along the less hilly bits. We had one big climb early in our ride (over a hill known as Mt Hercules), with a steep descent that made us thankful we weren't cycling in the other direction. We enjoyed lots more great scenery, cycling close to the base of some very imposing mountains, and passing two lakes on the way. An 86 kilometre day.

Franz Josef is a popular tourist base and is very busy. We cancelled plans for a bush walk this afternoon due to the rain but, happily, the wildlife came to us. This kea turned up near our room - they are notorious for ripping rubber off car windows and wiper blades so it's a good thing our bikes are safely stored in the garage for the night.

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Since my last post from Tapawera, we’ve had a couple of days cycling through remote valleys on mostly gravel roads, one day cycling on the scenic highway 7 with virtually no shoulder but only light traffic, and a relatively gentle day cycling along quiet rural roads.

There's been lots of native forest, lots of rivers, one lake, several saddles to climb and mountain views all around. We really feel like we are getting away from it all now.

Tapawera to Murchison

The route from Tapawera to Murchison is a Heartland ride, which means it’s a scenic route on quiet country roads (rather than a separate cycle path like most of New Zealand’s Great Rides).

We started our ride by cycling through the Tadmor valley. The road was sealed initially and took us through farmland - cycling past a mix of hops, corn, sheep and dairy farms.

Later, it became a narrow gravel road that gradually climbed up through pine forest and over a low saddle. We had the road to ourselves for most of way and it was the first time we had the sense of being in the middle of nowhere (which we love).

At the end of the road, we had to join the highway for about 20 kilometres but there was plenty of shoulder and we had a wonderful sweeping descent down to Kawatiri Junction and the turn-off to Lake Rotoroa.

We took a short break at the junction and were joined by a cyclist from Auckland who had started making his way down the Tour Aotearoa route on his commuter bike before realizing he didn't really have the gearing (or tyres) to cope with the off-road sections. But he wasn't deterred, opting instead to make his own route cycling along sealed roads. He was travelling on a tight $20 a day budget, freedom camping wherever he could, and at one point sharing his tent site with a wild pig that settled down beside him (snoring) for the night.

Lake Rotoroa is the less developed of the two main Nelson lakes, so there was little traffic on the road and just a few campervans in the car park when we arrived. It's a beautiful spot and the lake was warm. Chris waded in for the obligatory photo shot but we didn't swim, and the voracious sandflies meant weren’t keen to hang around too long. A short lunch break and a chat with another cyclist and we were off.

From there, it was on to the Braeburn track, back on gravel and up and over a very steep saddle, which had us reaching for our lowest gears. Another sweeping descent (perhaps a bit faster than I like on bumpy gravel) and then on through Mangles Valley (on another quiet gravel road), joining the highway again for the last few kilometres into Murchison.

It was our longest cycling day this week (96 kilometres), and a good challenge. We arrived in Murchison hot and thirsty, but in pretty good shape.

Murchison to Springs Junction

The next day's ride was shorter (81 kilometres) but probably more tiring as we were riding uphill for most of the day. Again, we were cycling on quiet gravel roads with a few sections of state highway to help link them up.

The first gravel road took us south along the Matakitaki River. While quiet, we did encounter a few vehicles on the road, and we were relieved that we had pulled over for a water break when a milk tanker came flying through.

The highlight of the day’s ride turned out to be a section I was dreading - a seven kilometre climb over the Maruia saddle. After the Matakitaki road, we turned into a narrow four wheel drive road, which took us up and over the saddle through beautiful beech forest. It was a hot day so we enjoyed the shade, and the slow build up meant the gradient was never too steep for us to manage. Six (shallow) stream crossings helped keep things interesting too.

The road was pretty narrow and bumpy and signage clearly indicated it wasn't suitable for heavy vehicles so we were pretty confident we were the only ones on the road. Until a Fulton Hogan [a roading contractor] vehicle came roaring through at high speed. Again, it was lucky that we happened to be taking a break at the saddle (off the road) at the time, but another cyclist later told us he got a big fright when it came up behind him on his descent.

This day’s 20 kilometre highway stretch was less enjoyable than the previous day’s as there was little shoulder, a few more cars (although still not many) and we were mostly going uphill. We were happy to turn off again to cycle yet another quiet back road (partially sealed, mostly gravel) almost all the way to Springs Junction.

There isn't really anything at Springs Junction other than a couple of petrol stations (one with a small but busy shop) and a few houses. So, the cyclist we’d met the previous day at Lake Rotoroa was very happy to see us.

He’d had a malfunction with his bike pump (somehow caused by helping another cyclist), which then meant he couldn't pump his own tyre up when he needed it. He had another 44 kilometres to cycle to the next town so we lent him Chris’ pump, arranging to get it back the next day, and carried on to a quiet farm motel, where we got our best sleep yet.

Springs Junction to Ikamatua

We expected our ride from Springs Junction to Ikamatua (74 kilometres) to be fairly quick and easy because the route is sealed the whole way, and predominantly downhill. And we knew we wouldn't want to muck around on the main highway. But we still had a saddle (and some other hills) to climb and then the wind came up, so we ended up getting a decent workout.

We climbed the Rahu saddle early in our ride, and then had a wonderful long and freewheeling descent winding through native forest by a river. We had to cycle in the car lane (as far left as we safely could) as the shoulder was mostly non-existent for much of the ride. But the traffic was fairly light and drivers gave us a wide berth when passing.

So far, we have found drivers to be very considerate and we’ve had friendly toots and waves from some (generally oncoming cars and passing motorbikes).

We took our lunch break at Reefton, which is a very cute town that has embraced it’s old buildings and mining history, and seems to be thriving with lots of small galleries, cafes and curio shops. Then it was back on the road to face the wind to Ikamatua.

Keen mountain bikers would instead take a steep four wheel drive track up through native bush and an old mining area (Big River). Like Maungatapu (which we detoured pass on our way to Nelson), it's grade 4 (advanced) mountain biking and not suitable for folk like us toting panniers. So it was an easy decision to take the main road to Ikamatua instead. (Later, one cyclist said it took him six hours to cycle the track, and we heard someone else took nine hours to get through.)

Ikamatua is a really small settlement and there's not much going on beyond the local pub. It wasn't the most salubrious place to stay the night but it gave us a chance to rest before moving on to Greymouth (and get Chris' bike pump back).

Ikamatua to Greymouth

We only had 54 kilometres to cycle to Greymouth. It was a beautiful sunny morning, and we enjoyed big views up on a plateau of golden fields above the river, with big mountains all around us. Magic.

The route took us on quiet sealed roads on the other side of the river from the main highway heading to Greymouth. That made for comparatively easy and relaxing cycling - although we still seemed to do plenty of climbing.

En route we stopped at the Pike River Memorial to pay our respects to the 29 miners who died following a methane explosion in the Pike River coal mine in 2010. In the years since, there's been a Royal Commission of Inquiry, investigations by Police and health and safety authorities, and an attempt to re-enter the mine, but the bodies have never been recovered.

We also visited Blackball, another wee town with a long mining history. It's a short detour off the road (up a hill!) but worth making the effort to visit. We made a coffee stop and learned the former owner of the establishment is currently taking two months to do her own Tour Aotearoa from Cape Reinga to Bluff - aged 79, on a standard mountain bike!

Farmland gave way to native bush for the rest of the ride into Greymouth. We enjoyed a great outlook while swooping up and down the winding road above the river. The only downside was joining a busier highway from the north for the final few kilometres into town.

Because we arrived in good time, we decided to cycle the first few kilometres of the West Coast Wilderness Trail around the river mouth and port (which is part of our next ride) on the way to our accommodation. As a bonus, we got to see a small pod of hector's dolphins.

Now we take a day’s rest before carrying on down the West Coast, through glacier country, over the Haast Pass (gulp) and on to Wanaka.

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Three days into our tour, we’ve cycled across the top of the South Island and started our journey south.

We eased into our ride, taking the train from Christchurch to Picton and cycling only as far as Havelock on day one. Day two was a bit more of a challenge, with a longer harder ride on the main highway to Nelson. And today (day three), we’ve been completely off-road, taking the relatively easy Great Taste trail to Tapawera.

The Tour Aotearoa route is designed to take the safest possible cycling route from one end of the country to the other. It makes use of existing off-road cycle trails and quieter back roads that help connect one place to another. But in some places, it’s necessary to resort to sections of state highway (although it steers well clear of the busiest roads like State Highway One.)

So, for the first section from Picton to Havelock, we cycled along the scenic Queen Charlotte Drive rather than the busier highway. It’s a slow winding road that follows the coastline around lots of wee bays. It's very pretty, with native bush covering the surrounding hills, great views over the Marlborough Sounds and some beautiful beaches on the way. (There's also an off-road alternative, the Link Pathway, but we avoided that after a mixed experience cycling in Marlborough last year.)

Despite being the middle of a long weekend (with absolutely stunning weather), the road wasn't very busy and we had a relaxing ride. It was a short 36 kilometres, with just enough undulations for us to feel we’d had a workout.

Havelock is a small town - its marina provides a gateway to the Marlborough Sounds and it’s known for its mussels but, otherwise, there's not much going on. A good place to overnight.

For the next stage to Nelson, the Tour Aotearoa route requires taking the highway as far as Pelorus bridge (about 19 kilometres) and then detouring over a four wheel drive road known as the Maungatapu Track. It’s a grade 4 (advanced) track for mountain bikers, with rocks the size of babies’ heads in places, and it's steep - so most people end up walking few kilometres near the top.

That didn't sound like much fun to us so we opted for the alternative route - staying on the main highway and braving the traffic instead. We planned our trip so we’d be riding this section on a Sunday (fewer trucks on the road) and we left Havelock early so we had a good couple of hours with little traffic. And, other than a little bit of early morning mist, that worked well.

We had two saddles to climb - one (the Rai) was only about 240 metres, which we managed without any great difficulty. There was plenty of shoulder to ride in and we enjoyed coming back down the other side. The second (over the Whangamoas) was harder - with a longer steeper climb, often no shoulder to ride in, lots of tight corners and more cars on the road.

Overall though, we felt Ok and it was a good test for us ahead of our ride down the West Coast (when we’ll also be cycling on the main highway and will have some bigger hills to climb).

The bonus of getting an early start was arriving in Nelson in time for a lazy lunch by the river, followed by a swim and walk along Tahunanui Beach. A great day.

One of the challenging things about cycling in New Zealand is that there can be big distances between towns and limited accommodation options in small places. So, some days on this trip, we’ve opted for a shortish cycling day in order to position ourselves for a fuller day of cycling. Today, we’ve only come 60 kilometres ahead of what we expect to be a much harder and longer day tomorrow (a longer distance, more climbing and mostly gravel roads).

But everyone does things differently. We met two cyclists in Nelson who had gone over the Maungatapu Track in the morning and were planning to cycle on to Tapawera after lunch - more or less doing our two days in one. They were planning to get to Bluff in two weeks (with no rest days) whereas we’ll take three weeks and are being careful not to go too hard, too early.

For today's ride to Tapawera, we followed a section of the Great Taste trail. The route goes along a short section of coastline before heading inland through small towns and horticultural areas to Spooner's Tunnel, the country's longest disused rail tunnel (1.3km). It's a gradual incline most of the way, and then a short downhill on to Tapawera. We had a (mostly) gentle ride and cycled at a fairly relaxed pace - although our legs and butts are definitely starting to feel sore after a few days in the saddle.

Tapawera has a great climate for growing hops and we cycled by many orchards on the way in. The town itself is a sleepy place with a pub, a church, a school and a few shops. Just what we need for a restful night before a big day tomorrow.

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I’m intending to post during our trip, so you might get a few extra emails from me during February. In the meantime, here’s a post from December 2023 in case you’re thinking about planning your own cycling trip around New Zealand.

I was recently asked for advice on which cycle trails I’d recommend for someone planning a trip to New Zealand. Fortunately, this person had already narrowed down their options, which made it easier for me to respond. But where do you start if you've never cycled in New Zealand before?

Whether you're a local or an international visitor, you’ll need to check out what’s available and consider how that aligns with the kind of cycling experience you’re after.

What’s available?

A good starting point for checking out what’s available is the Ngā Haerenga/NZ Cycle Trails website. The focus of the website is on the 23 Great Rides, which are mostly off-road trails that are well-maintained and show off the best of New Zealand.

The Great Rides offer a diverse range of experiences, from easy riding along old rail trails to much more challenging back country rides that require excellent fitness and mountain bike experience. They all offer spectacular scenery - many trails follow rivers, canals, or the edge of a lake or coast; some go through native forest; and most have great views of mountains, hills, and rural countryside.

The Ngā Haerenga website provides a good overview of each of the Great Rides, including trail highlights and a detailed description of what you’ll see along the way. It also provides essential information like the level of fitness required, how many days you’ll need, and the availability of food, water and cell phone coverage. Links are provided to each trail website, where you’ll find even more information to help plan your trip.

But the Great Rides aren’t the only trails worth considering. There are plenty of other options for recreational cycling across the country. You just have to look a little harder to find them.

Here’s some good sources of information:

• Local councils often have information on recreational opportunities available in their area, including cycle tracks. (You can find a map and links to all New Zealand council websites here.)

• Regional tourism organisations highlight cycling opportunities too. (You can link to their websites from the Regional Tourism New Zealand site).

• The national Tourism New Zealand’s website has a section on cycling and mountain biking. It focuses on the Great Rides so doesn’t add anything to the information on the Ngā Haerenga website. But it does provide an overview of the best places for mountain biking in New Zealand.

• The Ngā Haerenga website also has information on Heartland and Connector Rides, which are mostly on-road cycle routes. The Heartland rides take scenic back roads through rural New Zealand (so are good for recreational riding) and the Connector rides are designed to connect up the rides on the safest possible route.

• The Great Rides app is also worth checking out. As well the existing Great Rides, it includes information on trails planned or under construction, and a few 'bonus rides' that aren't part of the Ngā Haerenga network.

• The Kennett brothers have written a number of books on New Zealand cycle tracks, including easy short rides, classic cycle trails, bikepacking routes and mountain bike tracks. (If they’re not available at your local library, you can buy them here.)

What kind of cycling experience do you want?

Not every cycle trail will be suitable for every cyclist. Before choosing a trail, consider what kind of cyclist you are and what you’re looking for from your ride.

• Do you like to cycle on hills, or would you prefer to stay on the flat?

• Are you looking for a slow leisurely ride, with lots of stops along the way, or do you like more of a physical challenge and a faster pace?

• Are you comfortable riding on the road or are you only interested in off-road trails?

• What sort of trails conditions do you like? Do you prefer a wide path and a smooth surface, or is a narrower gravel track OK?

• Do you like mountain biking? And, importantly, do you have the skills to be able to tackle the more technical and remote tracks?

• How much time have you got? Are you looking for a day ride or a multi-day trip? If you’re doing a multi-day trip, will you carry your own gear, or will you need support with that?

• What sort of scenery and activities interest you? Do you want to cycle through native forest, or somewhere where you’ve got an open vista? Do you want to visit wineries, coffee shops or small towns, or would you prefer to get away from it all?

The Ngā Haerenga website has recently been refreshed to help people identify which of the Great Rides might best suit them. As well as being able to search the rides by location (region) or grade (how challenging they are), you can now filter them by experience. The available categories are family, wilderness, history, town & country, Māori culture, wineries, eat & drink, and classic mountain bike. (The categories overlap so any one ride might provide a number of experiences.)

It’s important to be aware of your cycling abilities in choosing a ride. The grading system is well-explained on the Ngā Haerenga website, and takes into account the nature of the terrain, the level of traffic on any on-road sections, and how remote the trail is. For example, the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail is a grade 3 (intermediate) trail because it includes a very remote section with no cellphone coverage, despite relatively easy track conditions.

Think too about the time of year you’ll be cycling. Some trails are popular with families so are busy during school holidays (especially January and April). And some trails (like the Central Otago trails) will be scorching hot in mid-summer and freezing cold in winter. Other trails can get very wet and muddy after heavy rain. But some trails, especially those in coastal areas, are good to ride year-round.

So, what trails do I recommend?

I have enjoyed all the trails I’ve cycled for different reasons, and there aren’t any that I wouldn’t recommend. However, I do favour some over others - which reflects my own preferences. I like rides that involve a physical challenge (hills and distance) and have great scenery. I’m happy to stop for lunch or coffee, but it’s not critical to my ride. Others will have different preferences.

Here’s some suggestions for different kinds of rides.

• If you’re a beginner cyclist, or just prefer to stay on the flat - The rail trails are a good option if you’re looking for a relatively easy multi-day ride (try the Hauraki Rail Trail in the North Island or the Otago Central Rail Trail in the south). The cycling can be a bit monotonous though (with lots of long straight sections) so you might consider doing day rides instead, or just do some of the route so you can visit the most interesting bits.

  

• If you want to base yourself in a city - Cities can be good places for recreational cycling, especially the smaller cities with established paths along the coast or rivers. I like the Hawke’s Bay Trails, which offer easy (flat) day rides north and south of Napier. Nelson and Queenstown also have a network of trails with Great Ride status, which provide easy and more challenging options. Christchurch and New Plymouth both have coastal walkways suitable for cycling. And this summer, I’ll be heading to Dunedin to cycle the Otago Peninsula and try out Te Aka Ōtākou (the Otago Vine) around the harbour.

• If you’re looking for big scenery - I am a big fan of the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail because it offers a lot of diversity in one trip, with snow-capped mountains, high country lakes, hydro-dams and canals, rolling farmland, limestone rock formations (and fossils) and Māori rock art. The first day of the Around the Mountains Cycle Trail is also impressive - with great view of Lake Wakatipu and huge mountains all around. And I love the barren rocky landscape of the Lake Dunstan Trail, which can easily be completed in a half day (or more). This trail is really popular, and is narrow at times, so I suggest riding it mid-week when there are fewer people around.

  

• If you enjoy cycling through native bush - The central North Island is best for native bush (try the Timber Trail or Mountains to Sea Ngā Ara Tūhono). However, the West Coast Wilderness Trail in the South Island is more accessible and an easier ride for most people. Even though it rains a lot, it’s also better for year-round riding.

• If you’re a keen mountain biker - I’m not the best person to give advice here because I steer clear on anything too technical. However, I do know that the Old Ghost Road (on the West Coast) is very popular, as are mountain bike tracks around Rotorua and Queenstown.

• If you want to focus on one area - Central Otago is undoubtedly the best region in New Zealand for recreational cycling. It is home to several Great Rides, many of which connect - the Queenstown and Around the Mountains Cycle Trails are accessible from Queenstown, and Alexandra (or Clyde) is a good base for cycling the Lake Dunstan, Otago Central Rail, Roxburgh Gorge and Clutha Gold Trails. Plus, there’s good mountain biking in Queenstown and Wanaka.

  

• If you’re planning to tour the country - If you're travelling by bike (and have lots of time) you could follow the Tour Aotearoa route from one end of the country to the other. Experienced bikepackers will be happy to go it alone, or you could do what I did and sign up for a supported tour. But if cycling is incidental to your tour, perhaps work out which parts of the country you want to visit and then look for opportunities to incorporate day rides, or a short multi-day ride, into your trip.

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Thursday

Thursday is a rest day so there’s no cycling. Instead, I stretch my legs with a walk. I head to my local bike shop to pick up some new gear.

Some cyclists advocate wearing different bike shorts when doing long rides on consecutive days. The theory is you’re less likely to get saddle sores because different brands will have different pressure points. So I’m testing out a new brand (Tineli) to alternate with my old shorts (Endura).

Chris gets some flash new shorts too, along with a new bike lube he’s heard good things about and a new rear light to increase his visibility on the open road. (I replaced mine last month.) While I try to avoid blinding other cyclists with overly bright lights in the city, we definitely need a more conspicuous flash for daytime cycling on state highways.

I should spend the rest of the day preparing for our trip by identifying all the places to get food and drink along the Tour Aotearoa route (and checking opening hours) so I can work out when and where we need to carry food. I have made a start but it’s a tedious task and takes hours. (Listings in my 2021 route guide are well out of date.) I opt for the slightly less tedious task of tidying the house and rearranging some storage cupboards instead.

Friday

On Friday we’re back on the bikes. We decide to cycle to Rangiora and back via the Christchurch Northern Corridor, which is roughly a two-hour ride. It’s flat and sealed the whole way, with very few road crossings so it’s great for cycling at pace.

The northern corridor cycleway was built when a new section of motorway was constructed and has been a gamechanger in enabling cyclists to head out of the city over the Waimakariri River. It connects to another cycle route to (and through) the town of Kaiapoi, which in turn connects to another cycle path (the Passchendaele Memorial Path) to Rangiora.

Chris and I are a little slower than usual thanks to a head wind leaving Christchurch, and the extra weight of our panniers, which we now take everywhere. The panniers are only half full. I’ve popped a couple of books wrapped in towels in mine, along with some extra jumpers. My books are big paperbacks (Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood and Naomi Alderman’s The Future), but Chris has stuffed a whopping big hardback in his.

We’re pleased with our general level of fitness. We’re at the stage now when we can easily bike for two hours at a reasonable pace without too much effort. The new bike shorts are great, but we’ll need to test them again on a longer ride.

Back home, I consider doing some trip preparation but there’s household jobs to do, and I really need to make some progress on my next book club book (the wonderfully named Hagitude by Sharon Blackie).

Saturday

Saturday is a gym day. It’s a short bike ride away (10-15 minutes) so the ride doubles as a warm-up and a means of transport. I’m only there for 35 minutes - just long enough to do a mix of upper and lower body weights and some core strength exercises. I’m wary of doing too many leg exercises in case it upsets my cycling, so I limit it to some leg presses, calf raises and squats.

I’m back on the bike later in the day, but not for training. I’ve agreed to lead a two-hour bike tour in central Christchurch for some visiting American tourists. They are part of an organised Tauck tour of New Zealand and have the choice of several activities, one of which is a bike tour run by Chill bike shop. It’s a cold windy day but eleven people show up ready to ride.

I’m one of two guides so lead a small group of five visitors. We meander slowly toward Hagley Park, making brief stops along the way to admire the glass-fronted Christchurch Art Gallery, the heritage buildings at the Arts Centre and the very English Christ’s College (a private boys’ school).

We cycle across the park to Mona Vale, a heritage homestead and garden park located on prime real estate by the Ōtākaro Avon River. It’s a lovely spot and we enjoy riding through the gardens and along the river, marvelling at the beautiful (and very expensive) houses on the other side.

We ride back through Hagley Park, and cycle along the river promenade through the central city. There’s lots to see and we stop at the Antigua Boatsheds, the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial, the new convention centre, the Christchurch Town Hall, New Regent Street and the amazing Margaret Mahy Playground. (I’ve written about these places before in my post on cycling with visiting Canadians, Colleen and Ian.)

It’s a relaxing ride and a nice way to end the afternoon.

Sunday

Sunday is a big ride day. The forecast is for strong wind and passing showers, but the forecast is often wrong and I’m optimistic that the rain won’t happen. We get up to discover…strong wind and passing showers. Bummer.

We muck around for a while, have another cup of tea and do some Duolingo lessons (I’m learning German and Japanese, Chris has given up languages in favour of mathematics.) But eventually the rain stops and we decide to head out while we can. It’s a bit cold so we wear warm layers and pack extra thermals, leg warmers and long gloves in case it’s colder in the hills. It’s mid-summer and normally we’d be more worried about heat exhaustion than hypothermia.

We start our ride on the flat riding across the city to Sumner beach at the foot of the Port Hills. We usually come off the hills here but today we’ve decided to do things in reverse. We cycle slowly up Evan Pass Road and, with the added weight of panniers, I’m wondering what we were thinking signing up for a long ride with hills every day. The ascent is not as steep as our usual ride up Dyers Pass Road, but there’s no shoulder to ride in and there are fewer turns and levelling off points. All I can see is a long expanse of tarmac in front of me.

However, when we reach Summit Road, the gradient drops considerably. We’re still climbing but it’s a lot easier and we can enjoy the view. And because we’re approaching the ride from a new direction, it’s a completely different outlook for us.

Summit Road runs for 28 kilometres from Evans Pass Road all the way to Gebbies Pass Road, where we will descend. It’s an undulating ride so we get a mix of ups and downs, crossing over our usual entry point at Dyers Pass Road along the way. We’re heading into the wind. The road is sheltered for much of the way but, at times, we have to work hard just to keep moving and I’m wary of occasional crosswind gusts. (If you’ve been reading for a while and followed our Taiwan trip, you’ll know why.)

At Gebbies Pass, we head back to the flat and connect up to the Little River Rail Trail at Motukarara. By now, it’s lunchtime and we’ve been cycling for over three hours with just one short muffin break. It’s good to rest up for a bit - but not too long because we still have a long way to go.

From Motukarara, it’s easy riding along the rail trail to the town of Lincoln. We could follow the rail trail all the way back to Christchurch but decide to go via Tai Tapu village instead - another route we normally do in the opposite direction. It’s a mix of quiet country roads and cycleway.

At about the 75 kilometre mark, we realise we’re about to hit the (metaphoric) wall and need to re-fuel. So, we have second lunch at a cafe in Tai Tapu. The extra food and caffeine are just what we need to keep us going for the final hour and a half. It’s a good learning experience for us and something we’ll need to plan carefully for when we go on our Tour Aotearoa trip. Some days, there won’t be a cafe (or even just a petrol station) to stop at.

We arrive home tired, but in good spirits, and agree that it was an excellent day out. We cycled 101 kilometres over five and a half hours, with just under 1,000 metres of climbing. Our new bike shorts performed well too, with no evidence of any chafing. Whew!

Monday

Monday is another big ride day. We need to get our bodies used to cycling long distances on back-to-back rides.

I am on my own today as Chris has returned to work (and he’ll do his own ride later). I’m aiming for a four-hour ride and decide to cycle north of the city through the Waimakariri district. It’s similar to my Rangiora training ride, except that when I get to Kaiapoi, I add in a big off-road loop. I cycle along the Kaiapoi River to the coast, up the coast to Waikuku Beach, and then head back inland to Rangiora along the banks of the Ashley-Rakahuri River. The route is mostly gravel track, which is not difficult but slows me down.

Right from the start, I’m feeling tired from my Sunday ride. And because there’s no sense of discovery, it really does feel like this ride is a chore. There’s a southwesterly wind, which is behind me for a start, but it’s a head wind along the riverbank and on the northern corridor back to Christchurch. I am cycling slower than I normally would and I’m constantly adjusting my shoulders and seat position to try to feel less uncomfortable. Unsuccessfully.

I find I’ve overestimated how long the ride would take, so I dump my bags at home and head straight back out again to the shops to pick up some supplies, and reward myself with a large sushi bento box for lunch. I’m still a bit short of my target but clock up 76 kilometres over three hours and 45 minutes.

Tuesday

A rest day - and I need it. I spend the morning pottering about, then head into the city for another bike tour.

This time, there are only six people for two guides, so we run one group and share guiding duties. The other guide is way more experienced than me (with something like 15 years of guiding under her belt) so it’s a good chance to pick up some tips. She takes a slightly different route to me, some of which I like and decide to adopt (like cycling through Mona Vale in the opposite direction), and some of which I am less keen on (cycling through uncontrolled intersections and laneways at a busy time of day).

I vaguely consider going to a yoga class after the bike tour. My body is feeling a bit stiff and I know yoga would help. But I go home and have a glass of wine instead and then take a hot bath after dinner (yes, I know, it’s the middle of summer!)

Wednesday

Wednesday is Spin day. I go to the gym early (by bike, of course) so I’ve got time to do some strength training first.

Every Spin class is different but today, the instructor has decided to do a mix of ‘hills and flats’. The hills are as I expect, with the instructor urging us to add increasing resistance so it’s increasingly hard to pedal, even when standing up out of the saddle. But I find the hills easier than the flats. There’s the odd spell of resistance-free spinning to ‘flush out our legs’ but mostly it involves pedalling as fast as possible while under much more resistance than I would like.

I know it’s good for me though, and the music makes it fun. It’s a 50 minute class, and I cycle the equivalent of 24 kilometres during that time. Unsurprisingly, I’m bright red and dripping with sweat by the end.

I had planned to spend the afternoon doing some trip preparation. But it’s a book club night and I still need to finish the book and bake a cake.

Thursday

Thursday again and it’s another rest day. I have no commitments and plenty of time for finally progressing that trip preparation. But it’s a good day for gardening. And I have a blog to write.

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I’m taking a similar approach to training as I did for the North Island - with regular training days, making sure I cover a mix of terrain over the course of the week, gradually building up time in the saddle and taking a recovery week every fourth week. The main difference this time is that I’ve swapped in a Spin class for one of my shorter mid-week rides and added in some strength training at the gym. I’ve also started riding with panniers to get used to the extra weight.

With just over five weeks to go, I’m feeling a little underdone, but when I think about the challenges of finding food in the middle of nowhere, dealing with changeable weather and coping with any mechanical issues, I realise that bike fitness is probably going to be the least of my worries.

Nonetheless, I am taking the training seriously. Last weekend, Chris and I did the first of several big rides that will take us over five hours and over the 100 kilometre mark. It happened to be the same ride we did to step up our training for our North Island trip two years ago. This time we made sure to avoid the New Year’s Eve revellers.

Over the Christmas break, we decided to push ourselves with some longer bike rides to prepare us for our North Island trip. The first of these was from Waikari to Christchurch.

The ride is part of the Hurunui Heartland Trail, which runs from Kaikoura to Christchurch via the inland road to Mount Lyford and on through Waiau, Culverden, the Pyramid Valley, Amberley and Rangiora. The full trail is 260km and requires several days’ cycling.

Our son Alex kindly agreed to get up early to drop us at Waikari (actually, we had to wake him up) so we could get a good start for our cycle back to Christchurch. From Waikari, it was only a short ride to connect up to the trail at the Pyramid Valley turn-off.

There are several distinct sections to the ride:

• a gravel hill section through the Pyramid Valley and Waipara Gorge

• a gradual descent through sealed back roads to Amberley

• a short jaunt through private farmland to a (dry weather) river crossing, which takes you to Leithfield

• a mix of (quiet) sealed and unsealed rural roads to Rangiora

• sealed cycle path on to Kaiapoi (the Passchendaele Memorial Path) and then Christchurch (the Northern Corridor).

For me, the best bit is the first section - it’s the most picturesque with its rolling hills, limestone outcrops, and views back to the mountains and into the secluded Waipara Gorge. This section also provides the greatest challenge with some steep climbs followed by some fast descents - which can be a bit nerve-wracking on gravel roads. Thankfully, the road is very quiet and we were passed by few vehicles (three cars and one tractor) so were free to ride in the middle of (our side of) the road and enjoy the views.

Things changed when we reached the sealed roads. A local winery was hosting a New Year’s Eve music festival so there was a constant stream of cars full of young dudes and dudesses on the road all the way back to Amberley. I suspect the roads are usually a lot quieter, but Amberley is a service town for the surrounding rural area so there was some local traffic too.

Amberley was roughly our half-way point so we were keen for a coffee stop at the Nor-Wester Café. Happily, we arrived after the rush of young partygoers, which the staff were only just recovering from.

From Amberley, it was a short ride to the river crossing (barely ankle deep) and on to the next rural section from Leithfield to Rangiora. I also enjoyed this part of the ride because we were cycling through gently rolling countryside along quiet back roads that we had never explored before.

Arriving into Rangiora, the traffic was a bit more frenetic, but there is a separate cycle track for the last few kilometres and over the Ashley River, and then on-road cycle lanes through Rangiora to the cycle path to Kaiapoi. From there, it’s a smooth ride all the way back to Christchurch.

Overall, it was a great day out and we would definitely do the ride again. We were lucky with the weather - sunny and dry, but not too hot and not too windy - so arrived home in pretty good shape. While tired, we both thought we could have cycled further - not bad considering we finally crossed the 100km mark, cycling 105km in five hours (or six hours and five minutes if you count breaks).

First up, an arty shot taken early in the year from Highcliff Road in Dunedin. We had a great week exploring the Otago Peninsula and the nearby Clutha Gold Trail.

In February, we headed north to Napier and took the chance to cycle the Hawke’s Bay Trails. Sun, sea, wine and orchards - what’s not to like?

February was also the month I got to play tour guide, spending a day cycling around Christchurch with visiting Canadians Colleen and Ian McDonald.

No photos from March but in April we went to Marlborough to cycle some of the Queen Charlotte Track, the Link Pathway and the Whale Trail.

Closer to home, we cycled the Little River Trail in May, returning to Birdlings Flat the following month to explore the area around Kaitorete Spit.

Over winter we were preoccupied with the building of our new garage and didn’t stray too far from home. (We kept cycling north, south and all around the city but didn’t bother with photos.)

Then, joy of joys, it was October. October was all about Japan, which was definitely the highlight of the year. It deserves more than a few photos.

Home again, we’re back to riding around the greater Christchurch area and building up our fitness for the Tour Aotearoa South Island. Last weekend, we explored part of the Port Hills we’d never cycled before.

And just in case you’re wondering, here’s how the bikes fit into the new garage. (I am a big fan of these tilting Steady Racks.)

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So, I’m very happy to finally have it planned for this summer.

For those who don't know, the Tour Aotearoa is a bike route that starts at one end of the country (at Cape Reinga) and ends at the other (at Bluff). It's a 3,000 kilometres ride and recognised as one of the world’s best bikepacking trips.

The route makes use of off-road cycle trails when they are available and connects them up with quiet back roads (when available) and various stretches of highway. Several boat trips are required along the way too. The idea is to keep away from the traffic as much as possible and enjoy a scenic ride. There's a mix of surfaces (gravel, dirt, sealed road and even a beach) and there are lots of hills.

Every year, there's a brevet event, with cyclists starting over a few days at Cape Reinga and making their way down the length of the country to Bluff. The idea of the brevet is to be completely self-supported and complete it within 30 days - but you aren't supposed to do it in less than ten days and it's not a race.

A lot of people are brevet regulars and enjoy the camaraderie of doing it at the same time as others. However, people can (and do) cycle the route whenever they want. Which is what we will be doing.

When we cycled the North Island, we joined a supported group tour so we didn't have to carry any gear and, apart from dinner, all our food and accommodation was organised for us. That made things easy (well, as easy as cycling 1,600 kilometres with 17,000 metres of climbing can be). We just had to cycle. We all went at our own pace and one of the crew made sure to stay behind us in case anyone had mechanical issues (or got lost).

This time around, we are going to do things differently. This time, it will just be me and Chris, and we won't have any support (other than a lift back to Christchurch at the end - thanks Mum and Dad). We’ll be cycling with panniers, so we'll be carrying more weight than last time, and we’ll need to find our own food and drink along the way.

We’ve opted to stay in motels so we don't have to carry camping gear and can get a good night's sleep. As there are limited accommodation options (and some big distances between places), we’ve made the call to book everything ahead of time. Which is great from a ‘being organised’ perspective - but not so great if we get any big weather events (part of the route is known for heavy rain) or have serious mechanical issues or get sick. We will have to move on regardless.

We begin in early February by taking the train from Christchurch to Picton (the start of the South Island route) and cycling the first leg to Havelock. The first week will take us through Nelson and Murchison to the West Coast, where we’ll have a rest day. Then week two is all way the down the West Coast to Wanaka (mostly on the road but with a diversion for the West Coast Wilderness Trail). After another rest day, it's over the hill to Queenstown, across the lake, and on through Southland to Bluff.

All up, it’s 1,400 kilometres with over 13,000 metres of climbing. It will take us three weeks (18 cycling days, two rest days, and one long drive home).

It's very exciting - and just a little bit daunting as well. We have started training but with only two months to go, we have a bit of work to do to build up our cycling distances again and get comfortable riding with panniers. And then there's the small matter of improving our mechanical skills (which is Chris’ job to sort out).

But the Christmas break is coming, and the weather is fine, so bring it on.

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It's been a challenging 12 months for those of us interested in seeing safer roads for cyclists (and pedestrians).

After several years of improvements around the country to make intersections safer, develop cycle infrastructure and reduce neighbourhood speed limits, last year's change in government led to an abrupt withdrawal of funding in favour of funding roads - and a determined effort to reinstate higher speed limits (despite all the evidence and arguments against doing so).

Under New Zealand’s transport system, local councils are responsible for the roads and transport infrastructure in their area (other than state highways) but central government contributes a significant share of the funding - provided local councils are delivering projects that are consistent with the government’s priorities. So a change of direction at the top has a big impact on what projects councils choose to deliver.

To their credit, some councils are deciding that projects that make walking and cycling safer are important and funding them anyway. But they have the unenviable task of having to decide what they must stop doing to make up for funding they were otherwise expecting to receive from central government.

It’s disappointing, but not entirely surprising given well-signalled transport policies at the last election. But recent developments make it feel like it's one setback after another.

Last month the New Zealand Transport Agency issued a warning that allowing bikes to be carried on the front of buses - which has been allowed for many years - could obscure a bus’s headlights and compromise safety. The initial response from the regional authorities (who are responsible for public transport) was to prohibit bikes being carried at night while they found a solution. A pain for some, yes, but given we’re heading into long summer days, not a major problem.

But then the bus operators decided that wasn't sufficient and so there is now a complete ban on bikes being carried on the front of buses - at any time of day or night. Regardless of light conditions. It makes no sense whatsoever.

I've never taken my bike on the bus (although I’ve been meaning to try it) but plenty of people do. And in Christchurch, some cyclists use it as part of their daily commute into the city from nearby Lyttelton because the road passes through a hill tunnel that cyclists are not allowed to use. (The only alternative is a long steep climb over the hill, which isn't really feasible for regular commuters.)

But wait, there's more. Just a few weeks ago, we learned that a section of one of the city's major cycleways was being forced to close due to safety concerns by Kiwirail (New Zealand’s government-owned rail company) - less than 12 months after the cycleway opened.

The cycleway runs alongside a railway. It does not cross it. There are barriers to slow people down as they approach a crossing for a road that does go over the railway line. And therein lies the problem. Apparently there is a one in 1003 year risk of someone coming to grief on this crossing. So Kiwirail wants the council to close the cycleway and spend $6.5 million on putting in extra safety measures.

Despite the fact that the cycleway doesn't cross the railway line. And that few people access the cycleway via the road that does cross it. And that there are similar crossings over railway lines all over the country. And that closing this particular section of cycleway will mean forcing cyclists to use busy arterial roads instead - greatly increasing the risks to their safety. Again, it makes no sense whatsoever.

Fortunately, the public outcry - and even the (not-so-cycle-friendly) Transport Minister described Kiwirail’s decision as illogical - led to Kiwirail backing down. For now. Kiwirail’s decision was simply to delay the cycleway closure rather than cancel it.

(As it happens, this particular cycleway is close to Lyttelton tunnel so, even if they could catch the bus, Lyttelton cycle commuters might well have been among those affected.)

I’ve posted before about the challenges of cycling in the city and the constant dangers cyclists face while going from A to B. Every ride requires us to be on high alert, watching carefully for any sign a driver is about to suddenly pull out, swerve or turn across our line of travel. I encounter at least one of these situations on nearly every ride, and it amazes me how often drivers don't even notice what they've done.

Then there are the few (thankfully only a few) who go out of their way to express their contempt for cyclists. These people can ruin your day.

My personal ‘favourites’ include the young blokes in a Ute who honked their horn right in my ear as they passed, and the (slightly older) man in a (flasher) Ute who passed dangerously close before blocking me from cycling up to a T-intersection and leaning over his wife to yell out the window that I should stick to the cycle lanes. Best of all though was the middle-aged woman who snarled at me from her car for having the temerity to slow her exit from a driveway while I waited patiently for the lights to change: “Next time I might just run into you, you f***ing c***”. Charming.

So, when there is safe cycle infrastructure that keeps me away from poor driving and people like this, I use it.

There's good reason to encourage more people to travel by bicycle - it's better for them, it's better for the environment and it's better for communities. More of us cycling means fewer cars on the road, and an easier and safer commute for everyone.

And there’s good reason to believe that making roads safer for cycling and providing dedicated cycle infrastructure is an effective way to make that happen. Some of us are confident cyclists and will cycle anyway. But there's many others who are concerned about safety and will only do it if there’s separate infrastructure in place.

Christchurch provides a good example. More people are choosing to travel to work by bikes than five years ago, and analysis of which parts of the city they're coming from suggests that the new major cycleways are a large part of it.1

Which brings me back to the title of this post. It's easy to feel disheartened by this government’s lack of support for cycling as a mode of transport. But huge gains have been made in recent years. It's two steps forward and one step back rather than the other way around. More people are cycling in many parts of the country and there's a lot more cycle infrastructure in place.

And cycle advocates are not taking current setbacks lying down. They continue to state their case clearly at every opportunity, and every now and then they get a win - even if it is just a temporary reprieve on closure of a major cycleway.

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Our bike tour

The centrepiece of our trip was a week’s cycling on Grasshopper Adventure’s Stunning Shikoku Bike Tour of Japan. It was a guided group tour and included all food, accommodation and luggage transfers. We cycled 385 kilometres from Onomichi (near Hiroshima) to Kōchi (on Shikoku), finishing the tour with a train transfer to Kyoto.

So, the most important questions first...

Did I enjoy it, and would I recommend the tour to others?

The answer to both questions is a resounding yes. Here's why:

• Fantastic scenery and natural environment - over the first two days we cycled the Shimanami Kaido, a route connecting Honshuu (Japan’s biggest island) with Shikoku (the smallest of the main four) via a series of smaller islands. It is nothing short of stunning - with great sea views, beautiful beaches, striking bridges, and lush green hills and citrus orchards all around. Later, on Shikoku, we cycled quiet roads up into the mountains, passing by rocky river gorges and forests just starting to change into their autumn colours. Lovely.

• Great cycling - the Shimanami Kaido is well set up for cyclists, with plenty of cyclist rest areas, bike stands, and accommodation providers that will apparently let you take your bikes into your room (we didn’t do this). There are long winding corkscrew paths to get bikes safely on and off the bridges (although some are shared with motor scooters) and a painted blue line on the road marks the route if you’re doing a self-guided trip. Shikoku provided a different experience, with little traffic and few other cyclists around. We enjoyed a great mix of challenging hill climbs, fast downhills and cruising on the flat.

• Opportunity to try new things - for me, one of the best things about the tour is that we got to experience things we might not otherwise have organised for ourselves. Partly, that was about the food (see below) and partly it was trying new things like traditional washi paper making and onsen bathing (although I’m still not that thrilled about getting naked with strangers). And we would never have got a full guided tour around a Shinto shrine if we were cycling by ourselves.

• Excellent food - I cannot praise the quality of the food in Japan enough, and I love that the guides organised all sorts of different foods and dining experiences for us to try. I just wish that I could keep eating like that now that I am home.

• Lovely accommodation - we were a bit spoilt when it came to accommodation. We had a couple of one-night stays in fairly ordinary business hotels but other places were spectacular - spacious rooms with tatami mat living areas at Setoda and traditional rooms (and bathtubs) overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Kure Bay. Everywhere we stayed had onsen, and a couple of two-night stays gave us time to settle in.

• Well-organised guides - we had four guides on the trip: two on bikes leading the way, and two in vans taking care of logistics (bags, snacks, water, lunch spots) and being ready to deal with any mechanical issues. They were super-organised, so everything went to plan, and they were good communicators so we always knew what was happening and where we needed to be, when. (It probably helped that we were a compliant group and not too demanding - which I gather is not always the case.)

• Decent bikes - rental bikes can be a bit hiss and miss but Grasshopper made sure we were all riding quality bikes, and the guides took time to check they fitted each person properly. Most people were cycling pedal-assist bikes but Chris and I were riding lightweight Cannondale hybrids. They were a joy to ride and well suited to the roads (unlike the practical but heavier mountain bike I ride at home).

• No thinking required - it was really nice to just turn up and ride. We didn’t need to worry about where to go, organising accommodation, getting our gear from one place to another, or even where and what to eat (other than the occasional choice between a few options). Having been busy with work right up until we went to Japan, it was great knowing this part of our trip was all sorted.

Are there things I would do differently?

Not really. The group was a little on the big side with 16 people, plus guides (the usual maximum is 14). This meant we were sometimes a bit bunched up when riding (not helped by the guides constantly stopping to regroup in the first few days). But we all got into a rhythm once we’d figured out everyone's riding styles and speeds, and the guides were more relaxed about letting us space out on the quieter hill roads on Shikoku (where the risk of us getting lost was negligible).

A bigger group also meant lots of interesting people to talk. There's a risk of getting difficult people in the group when you join an organised tour. Fortunately, there weren't any tricky characters on this trip (there was on our Taiwan tour last year) but if there had been, a larger group would have made it easier to avoid them!

The main downside of a group tour is a loss of flexibility. You can't really detour or decide you're going to linger at a particular spot. (Chris found it hard biking along the coast, passing by lots of places where he would have loved to stop and turn over rocks.) But there were still plenty of opportunities to stop and take photos and, overall, the loss of flexibility was outweighed by the good things about the trip.

Who is the trip suitable for?

Anyone with reasonable fitness and experience on a bike would manage the trip. You don't need to be a super-duper cyclist - but you do need enough bike smarts to be comfortable riding with a group and in traffic. And there are hills - so you need to be fit enough to manage them (even if you are riding an e-bike).

What's next?

Many people on Grasshopper tours are regulars. This was our second tour (after Taiwan in October 2023) but several people were on their fifth tour, and for one guy, it was tour number eleven. We've heard good things about other Grasshopper tours throughout Asia (especially Southeast Asia) but we’ve also heard that the Japan and Taiwan tours are the best, so we may or may not do another.

For now, we’re focusing on cycling in New Zealand and I'm planning a big adventure for early in the new year. More on this another time.

Travelling in Japan

Chris and I really enjoyed our time in Japan and are keen to return sometime. The mix of old and new made it a fascinating place to visit, and we found it a safe and easy place to get around. I won’t bore you with a full run-down of our trip, but here’s a few things that stood out for me:

• The food - I really cannot emphasise enough how good the food was. It was also a lot cheaper than at home, and very easy to find. When we couldn’t be bothered eating out, we picked up tasty salads and onigiri (triangular rice balls) from one of the many Seven Elevens and other convenience stores all over the country.

• English-language signage - thanks to Duolingo, we learned some basic Japanese before we went. But we discovered a lot of signage is in English, as are announcements on trains and buses, which helped with finding our way around and knowing when to get off the subway.

• Public transport - Before we left home, I was anxious about getting from one city or town to another, and made sure I had train tickets booked ahead of time (with time between transfers). I really didn’t need to bother. There are so many trains running each day, with everything running pretty much on time, that we could have left it until after we arrived (and probably picked up cheaper tickets).

• The toilets - as well as being fun (with their many cleaning options and ‘privacy’ music), they were really easy to find and usually very clean. That’s not always the case when you are travelling.

• The orderliness - I like cleanliness, well-mannered queues and respect for others; I dislike noise and chaos. Japan suits me very well. (Although I don’t quite get the long line of people waiting to get into a particular ramen joint when there are plenty of others to choose from.)

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Leaving Yusahara we had a gentle winding decline, following the Shimanto River through a lovely forested valley, stopping only for the occasional photo opportunity. It wasn't long until we reached a French bakery in the middle of nowhere with an astounding array of pastries. Despite our big breakfast (and limited cycling effort), we managed to scoff down some sweet treats with coffee before moving on.

(As an aside, I have been struck by the number of boulangerie and pastry shops we’ve seen in Japan. There is also an abundance of creperies, ice cream stalls, and shops selling all sorts of Japanese confections.)

But back to the cycling. Although we were heading back to sea level, we still had to traverse some mountains so we went up again before we could go down. You’ve probably worked out that that's just the way I like it, so it was another great day’s cycling. (Except Chris beat me to the top this time.)

It was also our longest day, with about 75 kilometres of cycling - mostly on quiet rural roads. Later in the day, we had a fantastic sweeping descent into Nakatosa and on to our clifftop hotel at Kure Bay. This was the swankiest place we stayed on the whole trip - with beautiful sea views from our room (and our bathtub) and traditional kaiseki dining.

For the two nights of our stay, dinners were a succession of beautifully prepared (and delicious) dishes delivered to each person (rather than shared plates), including fresh sashimi, seared bonita tuna, fish and vegetable stew, wagyu beef, tempura vegetables, rice, miso and a tiny but perfectly formed dessert. What a treat. (But what fatsos - it's almost a relief to be back to choosing our own meals again!)

Our second day at Kure Bay was a “rest day” with kayaking in the morning and an optional 50-kilometre ride in the afternoon. Kayaking was a nice change but we didn't go far and the best bit was probably the swim in the very balmy 28 degree water afterwards.

Rain was forecast for the afternoon so only three of us opted for the bike ride. And we are so glad we did. We had a gradual climb up a quiet mountain road where we passed through an old tunnel where bats hang out. We then visited one of the 88 temples that form part of a pilgrimage trail on Shikoku. Iwamoto Temple is number 37 and distinctive for the paintings of diverse subjects (by artists and amateurs) on its ceiling.

The rest of our ride took us past fields of rice, ginger and other crops before looping back for another extended descent into Nakatosa. We had steady light rain for much of the afternoon but it was warm and the low cloud and mist in the valley just enhanced the scenery.

Our final cycling day was brilliant and sunny and took us around the rocky coastline. The guides sent us into a local supermarket to stock up on morning snacks and a picnic lunch, which we enjoyed at different coastal spots along the way. There was more climbing of course, and we stopped to visit the Blue Dragon, temple number 36 on the Shikoku pilgrimage trail.

By mid-afternoon we reached a surf beach for a final stop and, with just 10 kilometres to go, the guides were marvelling at the lack of punctures and accidents during the week’s tour (just one broken chain on an e-bike). Which clearly jinxed things.

Going through our final tunnel, several people got disoriented (not helped by forgetting to take their sunglasses off) and banged into the tunnel wall, coming off their bikes in the process. Fortunately, they only had minor scrapes and bruises but it was a good reminder of what can happen when people get tired. (After my experience of being blown off the road in Taiwan last year, I was being particularly careful on this last day, especially when crossing a long bridge in the wind.)

Our trip ended in Kōchi with some sparkling sake and a last dinner at a tofu restaurant. Again, it was a multi-course meal with a surprisingly wide range of tofu dishes, few of which I could ever hope to replicate at home.

The next morning the guides bundled us on to a train bound for Kyoto - with bento boxes so we wouldn't go hungry! From there, we all went our separate ways.

Kyoto

Chris and I have spent the past four days exploring Kyoto and head home tomorrow. We had mixed feelings about the city initially because there really are too many tourists here for the size of the city.

On our first morning we got up early to visit Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Temple) but hundreds of others - and several large school groups - had the same idea. We shuffled around complex, took a few photos and popped out the other end less than half an hour later wondering what on earth had just happened. While very picturesque, it is hard to imagine it ever being a serene place.

However, the experience meant we thought carefully about how we used the rest of our time. We immediately cancelled plans to visit most other popular sites and took the chance to explore some of the many less crowded (and equally impressive) temples and gardens. We had a particularly good day today, visiting lots of fantastic places and decided that Kyoto really is quite lovely - if you avoid the busier tourist spots.

Highlights were:

• Jidai Matsuri (festival of the ages) - our first day in Kyoto coincided with the annual parade of around 2,000 people dressed in costume representing different periods of the city’s 1100 years as the capital. Once the crowds dispersed, we took a tour around the old Imperial Palace site too.

• Fushimi Inari Taisha - this impressive Shinto shrine complex is one popular site we did keep on our itinerary. Even at 7.30am it was getting busy but the crowds thinned out the higher up the mountain we climbed, and we took a different route down, delivering us directly to the more peaceful Tōfuku-ji Buddhist temple nearby.

• Nanzen-ji - another large Buddhist complex with, among other things, a very impressive aqueduct.

• Eikandō temple - this is a lovely place to wander around the gardens and, unlike many other sites, you can also enter the temple and explore the interior of other buildings.

• Ginkaku-ji (also known as the silver pavilion) - the pavilion itself is fairly ordinary but the gardens are beautiful.

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