Touring Auckland's new cycle paths

Did a new variation of a favourite ride today thanks to some recently opened cycling infrastructure.

Went into town along the North Western Motorway (HWY 16) bike path which is slowly transforming into a really nice ride. The old narrow parts are being widened with a much better surface than the old path ever had. Add to that the new wide bridges (see the yellow one in photos) and (not quite finished yet) underpasses at Rosebank & Te Atatu Roads and it will be great.

The Waterview car paths are racing ahead too. Looks like they are about halfway through the last of the fly overs to complete the spaghetti junction which will feed the tunnels.

The really new part of the ride was the very pink Nelson Street cycle path. It opened this week providing an alternative route from Upper Queen Street down to the bottom of town. It's a brilliant use for an obsolete motorway off ramp and feeds into a dedicated cycle lane down Nelson St. Not often a car path becomes a bike path.

From there it was familiar territory along the waterfront to St Heliers, up to Achilles Point. I headed home via Westhaven, Herne Bay, Pt Chev and joined HWY 16 again following the bike path all the way through to Henderson Park.

Awesome ride, about 73km and a large portion of it on dedicated cycle paths. Auckland is slowly becoming a cycle city for those not confident, foolish?, enough to use the roads*. Evidence of that was the number of people using the cycle paths, even way out west!

* That said I've found Auckland roads far less threatening than many seem too. Lucky perhaps, but the odd looking spectacle mounted rear view mirror I use makes road cycling much safer. At least you can see what's going on behind you without having to turn your head.