Local Cyclists

Sunday July 4th, 2010

Took a bike ride with my panniers fully loaded around the Bays of Wellington (starting at Oriental and continuing to Owhiro Bay). I had planned on using the last two weeks in Minneapolis as my test rides with fully loaded panniers but due to needing to replace my back wheel I did not have the opportunity. It was a bumpy start as I had to adjust my banjo brothers panniers...after one suddenly fell off. Luckily not into my tires and nothing a bungee cord couldn't fix.

The weather was beautiful with the sun shining and no wind. It was so clear that you could see the south island.

Once back in Wellington I forced Zeke, Sarah, Mchenna, and Joshua out for a drink. It also happened to be Joshua's last night at the hostel. Needless to say we got a good introduction to the bar scene. I tried Invercargill Smokin Bishop, and Three Boys Wheat and than continued and had others.

Friday July 3rd, 2010

Met a local cyclist Adam who had offered to take me on a bike ride. First we stopped at Custom Coffee Bar which serves Coffee Supreme (and I think is part of them) for an amazing coffee. Then we headed to Makara beach. Needless to say this is not a flat route. To add to my amusement Adam is showing me around on a fixed gear (ratio 42/15, no brakes). Though he did admit that it was his first time doing this route on his fixed.

I stopped for a couple of photo/breathing opportunities on the way up. One was of the gold mining community that is now a heritage site. Interestingly enough when I though I was going to have to stop once again I looked around and realized that I had been concentrating on all of the wrong things. The route up was beautiful and I was rewarded with getting to see the windmill farm lazily spin in front of me when we reached the top of the hill. Going down the hill was more entertaining, and not just because I could be faster than my fixed friend. We quickly came through farm houses with fences along the road and sheep grazing and ended the first portion at Makara beach. The sun was shining and the only thing to be heard was the waves crashing against the beach. We sat and chatted for a bit as I sucked in the beauty.

Starting back to the City we had the option of going back the way we came or taking a slightly longer route with a more gradual slope. Since I had already seen the way we had came I chose the more gentle gradient. We meandered with a stream and slowly an optical illusion had me believing I was going downhill while I was in actuality climbing. An hour and forty-five minutes into the ride my legs were not wanting to go up anymore hills. Luckily there was one slight grade and than Adam announced that it was all downhill from there. We went past the botanical gardens and ended a short way from my hostel at approximately 37 km. I continued by walking my bike up the hill to my hostel. The rest of the night was pretty much shot as I was still happy I made it back.

Adam was a great guide and went at a perfect pace even though he was on fixed and I know some of the time it had to nearly kill him to go that slow. It was quite fun to have a local show me around and give a personal description of the area.

Thursday July 2, 2010

Met a local for coffee to discuss logistics of touring in New Zealand. Gary and I sat over coffee and I described my general idea of going around the east coast and wanting any input that he may have. He was full of great knowledge and provided me with a hot spring location to stop at on my way. It was great to be able to talk about conditions and routing with someone that was experienced and knew the area. He confirmed that my routing wasn't crazy and helped steer me away from less scenic routes. I didn't bring Stella so we will be meeting for an introduction prior to me leaving the city.