The Karangahake Gorge ride is said to be the prettiest part of the Hauraki Rail Trail and riding it in the warm sunlight was, as Matt said, so good for the soul. We planned this ride months ago when I announced I would ride as many trails as possible in the summer (and autumn) of…
The distinctive kek-kek-kek of the kōtare (kingfisher), warble of a riroriro (grey warbler), tweet of the mātātā (fernbird) and peep-peep of piwakawaka (fantail) accompanied us on our return Pauanui to Hikuai ride on Good Friday. While the riroriro and mātātā were hidden (as always), we did spot a few piwakawaka darting and dancing in the…
With my sister and her family out from the UK, I loaned my Motom to Mum so she could join them on cycle rides. We hired a second Motom for a day for Mum and we rode up to Musick Point and back together enjoying looking out at the sparkling sea and boats. Then, after…
My sister, Tracey, and her husband, Trevor, arrived from the UK, and how better to celebrate their arrival other than with a little Motom and cycle? We rode around Bucklands Beach, up through the golf course, with beautiful views to Rangitoto and Brown’s Island, and to Musick Point. After Tracey and Trevor tried out the…
I was excited to be motoming in Rotorua with the Motom designer and builder, Andrew. What could possibly be better than one Motom? That’s right, two Motoms! Especially when the second Motom provided an opportunity to try the new improved version with suspension, and Andrew had ridden Rotorua before and led the way. This trip…
Continuing our Summer of Motoming, we headed to Taupō, hoping for great riding and scenery. After working solidly with deadlines and zooms on Friday, our haste to get away saw us leave an important piece of equipment behind – my pedals. Fortunately these are an add-on, so it was an interesting experiment to do without,…
After the gorgeous, scenic, sunny rides of the South Island and windswept and wild Ocean Beach ride, and forested Remutaka Trail, we were back to the same old Auckland rides. And both rides were fun, interesting and still made me smile. There were no barriers to get over, no narrow parts with a drop off…
What could add more fun to a 30th wedding anniversary weekend in Martinborough with our good friends, Susan and Darryl? You guessed it, cycling. But first, an amazing meal at Karahui Wine Bar and Eatery with the wedding party – Susan, Darryl, Greg (Darryl’s brother, the best man) and myself (bridesmaid) and our partners, Lynn…
Our three weeks in the South Island disappeared quickly in a haze of great company, scenery, riding, and weather, and a lot of driving. For our final day of riding, we planned to ride the Link Pathway from Picton to Anakiwa and back – a 40 km ride. This pathway was slightly narrow in places…
Our 6 hour drive from Arrowtown to Christchurch provided stunning changing scenery. We started with a quick visit to Lake Hayes (the lake we lost when riding the day before) then through a steep rocky gorge out of Arrowtown to the comparatively smooth brown hills of Lindis Pass, the plains and distant hills and mountains…