I awoke to a morning far calmer than last night's breeze led me to expect. A good sight when you are heading for Cook Strait and a ferry to the South Island. From Picton it would be a drive straight through to Nelson, base for my first South
My ultimate destination was Nelson but to get there by road means Wellington and the Cook Strait Ferry. Had booked a return Bluebridge crossing back in September. Was glad of that as by January space on the ferries was at a premium thanks to post COVID demand and reduced capacity
Plan for today was ride the Kawakawa/K2K and W2K Great Lake Trails at Kinloch, near Taupō. A chance Facebook connection led to Buzz, who saw my Friday ride update and in Taupō for a family event, joining me for some of the day. Kinloch was busy but most of
I was up early, for me on holiday at least, for the drive up to Rotorua to meet up with Auckland Cycling Group. They were having a introductory weekend ride at the Whakarewarewa Forest, also known as 'The Redwoods', Mountain Bike Park. It is decades since last rode
Taupō was my next 'away' destination to ride the Great Lake Trails. There are four sections on the lakeside around, and further west of, Kinloch. The Kawakawa/K2K and W2K trails at Kinloch can be ridden in any order but the more remote Waihaha Trail typically requires a
Waiheke Island is another place close to home (35km) I’ve been to, and around (sailing), countless times but never cycled. Bizarrely, although parks closed to cycling, I’ve ridden more at its Rangitoto & Motutapu Island neighbours thanks to the annual DUAL Charity Cycle event. I joined Thomas and
Initially I planned to ride a bit more River Trail but, after a Facebook enabled reconnection, instead met up with an Adventure South cycling friend who lives in the Waikato. It was great to catch up, relive past shared cycle travels and hear about her new ones. Going home via
The Waikato River Trails were 104km of continuous trail from Karāpiro (near Cambridge) to Atiamuri (near Tokoroa) but a permanent trail closure in 2020 means there is now one road section. I decided to avoid the tarmac and just do the four trail sections as a series of day rides.
On 2nd December 2021 the COVID-19 Alert Level System ended, replaced by the COVID-19 Protection Framework or traffic light system. Northland to about Gisborne – Whanganui were on Red (restricted) with the rest of the country at Orange. From 14th December the Auckland Regional boundary lifted but with proof of vaccination
On December 31 Auckland moved to the COVID Protection Framework Orange Traffic Light setting and serious travel was OK. I did a few regional rides before heading out of Auckland for a few overnight trips, to check out gear, before embarking on the more extensive South Island adventures. Āwhitu? Although
Happy New Year! I usually begin this post with "Another year has flown by..." but 2021 was a strange mix of COVID-19 impacted lockdown time dilation—where it both flew and dragged simultaneously—and a (temporary) change of lifestyle for me. Time to look back from a bloggy/
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