I do routine maintenance myself but before heading into the unknown wanted the bikes checked over. Both "Giro" & "Rapid" were riding ok but I don't have the tools for things like headsets, bottom brackets or mucking around with hydraulics. Nothing worse than being
I was late to discover 'The Karioi Classic' and first did this brilliant gravel ride around Mt. Karioi and the Whaanga Coast (near Raglan) in 2017. I was quick to register for the July 2021 event—dubbed 'The Last Dance'—as it was the final time
Automobile
Some drivers have little regard for the safety of others, judging by this incident last weekend. I was cycling, at approx. the 30km/h limit, along Halsey Street with a considerate car following me. As we approached Jellicoe Street a Mercedes overtook both the following car & me crossing the
Art
It was great, as I'm one, to see Mark Hadlow in his one man 'tour de force' play: MAMIL (Middle Aged Men In Lycra) One Actor, Nine characters, two hours of non-stop brilliance. Simple staging, clever lighting, sound effects, and a couple of (live on stage)
UPDATE 12-01-2022: Since this was written Aftershokz have rebranded to Shokz and renamed the Aeropex to Openrun. They have also added a Openrun Pro above them which is more refined, has a phone control app and 10+ hour battery life. Both now have a quick charge '5-min charge for
My second bike tour, lived up to the superb first one
Half the tour I planned, so much better than expected
This video shows fitting the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres I run on my commuter (ex-gravel) bike. They are heavy, bullet proof, and with stiff sidewalls and strong beads can be a battle to fit. I knew the “wire in the trough” part of this demo but like how he used
A cycle trip in the South Island was a perfect opportunity to take the Abarth on a road trip: 1. Auckland to Whanganui (Red NI Drive) 2. Whanganui to Wellington (Yellow NI Drive) 3. Wellington not quite as planned (Wellington Drive) 4. Wellington Weta & Manual Car Meet-up (Wellington Drive)
Travel
I slept in a bit again, nice after the busy A20 and big drive days. Finally looked out the window about 8am to see blue skies and sun. What a contrast to last night’s overcast and drizzle! I’d come back to Westport as back in 2011 we cycled
The last day of our Alps To Ocean ride started with breakfast at Burnside Homestead. Most large NZ houses of this era were laid out as rooms along corridors/wings. Burnside is unusual in having a huge octagonal centre parlour with most of the rooms radiating off it. It was
Adventure South
Signs of more snow arriving on the hills overnight but seeing this sunrise, and blue sky, was a nice start to the day. After breakfast at Waitaki Braids we loaded up and drove back to Otematata to ride the best part of the trail we skipped yesterday. While waiting I