Queenstown-Cromwell via Arrowtown
Ride Time: 4:20
Distance: 90km
- Thought this would just be a crappy transfer type of day but ended up being one of my favourites of the trip so far
- Today was a lot like riding in Colorado in terms of terrain and scenery
- Great riding through a couple of gorges with turquoise blue/green water running through
- Tomorrow will be a big day getting to the start of the Otago rail trail and then completing the first 1/2 of the leg
- Go Canada Go!!!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
Day 12 - February 27th, 2010
Queenstown Area Ride
Ride Time: 3hrs
Distance: 90km
- Ride around the QT area, nice lake riding to be had
- Wanted another day in QT so decided to stay an extra day as this is as close to civilization as I'm likely to experience for the rest of the journey
- QT is a pretty cool lakeside mountain town with a young vibe, kinda like a mini Whistler village
- Of the places I've visited so far in NZ this is the only one I'd consider living other that maybe Wanaka
- After the morning ride I spent the afternoon drinking in a Pub. NZ's finest pints while watching the Canadians defeat the Slovaks 3-2 with fellow Canucks heads - good times. A good buzz to be had by all!
- Heading west tomorrow to start the Otago rail trail which is NZ's equivalent of our Kettle valley trail - total distance is 160km or so that I'll do over a couple of days
Ride Time: 3hrs
Distance: 90km
- Ride around the QT area, nice lake riding to be had
- Wanted another day in QT so decided to stay an extra day as this is as close to civilization as I'm likely to experience for the rest of the journey
- QT is a pretty cool lakeside mountain town with a young vibe, kinda like a mini Whistler village
- Of the places I've visited so far in NZ this is the only one I'd consider living other that maybe Wanaka
- After the morning ride I spent the afternoon drinking in a Pub. NZ's finest pints while watching the Canadians defeat the Slovaks 3-2 with fellow Canucks heads - good times. A good buzz to be had by all!
- Heading west tomorrow to start the Otago rail trail which is NZ's equivalent of our Kettle valley trail - total distance is 160km or so that I'll do over a couple of days
Day 11 - February 26th 2010
QT-Milford Sount-QT
Ride Time: 12 hours (via bus/boat)
Distance: ~600km
- Rest day with a tour out to Milford Sound
- Probably the most spectacular piece of earth I've ever seen in my lifeby far
- Definitely glad I didn't attempt this ride on the bike as it would have been a little dangerous not to mention physically taxing
- For those that have done the 'Road to the Sun' in Montana this trip made that ride seem like climbing Edworthy park
- Bonus part of the boat portion of the tour was a pod of dolphins swimming along the boat for 10 minutes in the Fjord are
- Jenn, you better give Kobe heck for not going here b/c QT and Milford Sound were excellent
Ride Time: 12 hours (via bus/boat)
Distance: ~600km
- Rest day with a tour out to Milford Sound
- Probably the most spectacular piece of earth I've ever seen in my lifeby far
- Definitely glad I didn't attempt this ride on the bike as it would have been a little dangerous not to mention physically taxing
- For those that have done the 'Road to the Sun' in Montana this trip made that ride seem like climbing Edworthy park
- Bonus part of the boat portion of the tour was a pod of dolphins swimming along the boat for 10 minutes in the Fjord are
- Jenn, you better give Kobe heck for not going here b/c QT and Milford Sound were excellent
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Day 10 - February 25th, 2010
Lanka Wanaka-Queenstown
Ride Time: 4:45
Distance: 78km
- Hardest bloody 78km day I've ever had on the bike, maybe should have consulted the book on this before setting off as I didn't realize this side route takes you up the highest paved pass in NZ at ~1750 Meters
- Needless to say I thought I was in for a rest day but after 25km I knew I was in for it today
- Climbed the last 2km of the pass in the easiest gear out of the saddle maybe going 6km an hour just trying to keep the bike up right. Oh yeah, not only was the gradient tough but there was another nasty head wind to conted with. Bet Kobe walked that climb last year ...
- Definite rest day tomorrow as I'm doing a coach/boat tour out to Milford Sound early in the morning (12 hour day) which is in Fjord land part of NZ on the South West coast and is suppose to be beautiful. Debated about riding up there but it's an out and back that would take 4 days total over busy, narrow roads and weather is pretty iffy out that way.
- Good pics to follow
Ride Time: 4:45
Distance: 78km
- Hardest bloody 78km day I've ever had on the bike, maybe should have consulted the book on this before setting off as I didn't realize this side route takes you up the highest paved pass in NZ at ~1750 Meters
- Needless to say I thought I was in for a rest day but after 25km I knew I was in for it today
- Climbed the last 2km of the pass in the easiest gear out of the saddle maybe going 6km an hour just trying to keep the bike up right. Oh yeah, not only was the gradient tough but there was another nasty head wind to conted with. Bet Kobe walked that climb last year ...
- Definite rest day tomorrow as I'm doing a coach/boat tour out to Milford Sound early in the morning (12 hour day) which is in Fjord land part of NZ on the South West coast and is suppose to be beautiful. Debated about riding up there but it's an out and back that would take 4 days total over busy, narrow roads and weather is pretty iffy out that way.
- Good pics to follow
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Day 9 - February 24th, 2010
Omarama-Lake Wanaka
Ride Time: 5:30 after settling on accoms
Distance: 118km
- Woke up to a stunning sunrise reflecting just right off a mountian
- Last day riding with the Scotts as we're splitting up at Taras today, it's been a great 3 days with them!
- Today was an amazing ride that felt like riding instead of touring
- Climbed the first major pass of the trip and the decent was super fun although a little sketchy with all the gear
- First 82km was awesome but last leg was tough going solo into a major westerly wind. To give it perspective the last 38km's almost took as long as the first 80km's!
- Ended up in Wanaka which is a beautiful mountain town located on a lake, some pretty good pics before going to bed tonight
- Pretty much wraps up week 1 with about 27 hours riding in 7 days
- Next stop Queenstown, I think ...
Ride Time: 5:30 after settling on accoms
Distance: 118km
- Woke up to a stunning sunrise reflecting just right off a mountian
- Last day riding with the Scotts as we're splitting up at Taras today, it's been a great 3 days with them!
- Today was an amazing ride that felt like riding instead of touring
- Climbed the first major pass of the trip and the decent was super fun although a little sketchy with all the gear
- First 82km was awesome but last leg was tough going solo into a major westerly wind. To give it perspective the last 38km's almost took as long as the first 80km's!
- Ended up in Wanaka which is a beautiful mountain town located on a lake, some pretty good pics before going to bed tonight
- Pretty much wraps up week 1 with about 27 hours riding in 7 days
- Next stop Queenstown, I think ...
Monday, February 22, 2010
Day 8 - February 23rd, 2010
Twizel-Omarama
Ride Time: 1:15
Distance: 38km
- Rest day to Omarama with a big day planned tomorrow
- Good touring paceline with the Scottish couple
- Really digging the facilities at the 'Top Ten' Holiday Parks hear in NZ
- We didn't stroll out of town until noon today after a couple of lattes in Twizel as no one was in a rush given the short distance
- Easily plus +35 today again as there has been no site of rain since day 1 in Christchurch
- Eventually plan on heading to Queenstown via Wanaka over the next couple of days and from there I'm still undecided
- If I plan on doing the West Coast I definitely need to invest in a new sleeping bag as the nights are chilly now when it's warmer - tough call!
Ride Time: 1:15
Distance: 38km
- Rest day to Omarama with a big day planned tomorrow
- Good touring paceline with the Scottish couple
- Really digging the facilities at the 'Top Ten' Holiday Parks hear in NZ
- We didn't stroll out of town until noon today after a couple of lattes in Twizel as no one was in a rush given the short distance
- Easily plus +35 today again as there has been no site of rain since day 1 in Christchurch
- Eventually plan on heading to Queenstown via Wanaka over the next couple of days and from there I'm still undecided
- If I plan on doing the West Coast I definitely need to invest in a new sleeping bag as the nights are chilly now when it's warmer - tough call!
Day 7 - February 22nd, 2010
Twizel-Mt Cook-Twizel
Ride Time: 5:30
Distance: 135km
- Today was an out and back with minimal gear up too Mt Cook which is a spectacular snow covered mountain you get to see the entire ride out along Lake Putaki
- Solid ride at a pretty good pace but was treated to the notorious NZ North Westerly wind the last 20km up to Mt. Cook. Crazy hard when you're trying to giver and you look down at the speedo and it says 12km/hr
- Wind gusts easily averaging over 60 to 80 km on the way out - nasty!
- Hooked up with a really fit scotish couple camping next to me in Twizel so we'll probably stay together the next couple of days if plans remain the same
- Knees still a little tender so tomorrow we're all planning an easy day to Omarama as the other choice is a full on 2 pass, 145km option to Wanaka
Ride Time: 5:30
Distance: 135km
- Today was an out and back with minimal gear up too Mt Cook which is a spectacular snow covered mountain you get to see the entire ride out along Lake Putaki
- Solid ride at a pretty good pace but was treated to the notorious NZ North Westerly wind the last 20km up to Mt. Cook. Crazy hard when you're trying to giver and you look down at the speedo and it says 12km/hr
- Wind gusts easily averaging over 60 to 80 km on the way out - nasty!
- Hooked up with a really fit scotish couple camping next to me in Twizel so we'll probably stay together the next couple of days if plans remain the same
- Knees still a little tender so tomorrow we're all planning an easy day to Omarama as the other choice is a full on 2 pass, 145km option to Wanaka
Day 6 - February 21st, 2010
Lake Tapeko-Twizel
Ride Time: 3:05
Distance: 62km
- Another scortcher of a day today, +35 I think was the high
- Quiet roads via the hydro cannal and Salmon fish farm
- Most of the day traveling along side of Lake Putaki with Mt. Cook in the background
- Legs/knees felt good to go but kept the pace pretty easy
- One redeeming quality of having to pee in the middle of the night and getting out of your tent is the stunning sky out in these parts. Probably the most beautiful stars I've ever seen by far!
Ride Time: 3:05
Distance: 62km
- Another scortcher of a day today, +35 I think was the high
- Quiet roads via the hydro cannal and Salmon fish farm
- Most of the day traveling along side of Lake Putaki with Mt. Cook in the background
- Legs/knees felt good to go but kept the pace pretty easy
- One redeeming quality of having to pee in the middle of the night and getting out of your tent is the stunning sky out in these parts. Probably the most beautiful stars I've ever seen by far!
Day 5 - February 20th, 2010
Fairlie-Lake Tapeko
Ride Time: 3:10
Distance: 65kms
- Hot days in the sun with it being over 30c out!
- Shorter distance today with one sort of significant pass, I think a mtb would be a better overall touring bike for these parts of NZ
- Sore knees today, not from the milage to date but b/c of an idiodic seat change I made on day one and totally forgot about. Hopefully it's rectified b/c today was a pretty uncomfortable day in the saddle
- Lake Tapeko is a beautiful mountain lake sort of like Lake Minawanka and probably just as cold
- Went for a swim none the less and iced the knees for about 15 minutes which felt like heaven
- Super friendly people in these parts, don't think I've gone a night without being offerred beers at the camp site
- So far really enjoying the aspect of touring and the simplicity of traveling from town to town
Ride Time: 3:10
Distance: 65kms
- Hot days in the sun with it being over 30c out!
- Shorter distance today with one sort of significant pass, I think a mtb would be a better overall touring bike for these parts of NZ
- Sore knees today, not from the milage to date but b/c of an idiodic seat change I made on day one and totally forgot about. Hopefully it's rectified b/c today was a pretty uncomfortable day in the saddle
- Lake Tapeko is a beautiful mountain lake sort of like Lake Minawanka and probably just as cold
- Went for a swim none the less and iced the knees for about 15 minutes which felt like heaven
- Super friendly people in these parts, don't think I've gone a night without being offerred beers at the camp site
- So far really enjoying the aspect of touring and the simplicity of traveling from town to town
Friday, February 19, 2010
Day 4 - Feb 19th, 2010
Ashburton-Fairlie
Ride Time: 5:15
Distance: 115km
- Sunny skies and +22c :-)
- This is what I signed up for!
- Quiet rolling hills for the first 45km
- I tried to be smart today and scale it back after yesterdays harder than expected effort but what do you do when you get to your destination way ahead of schedule and arrive at 2pm? You keep going of course!
- It was only another 57km to Fairlie so I figured it to be only a couple more hours. Maybe of should have looked at the profile of this section first!
- Welcome to the hills of NZ and greatly reduced avg speeds when traveling with all this gear
- Anyways, 2 hours quickly turned into a tough 3 but still a great day pushing up some of NZ's finest rolling hills
- I promised myself I'll take it easier tomorrow - easier said than done
- Campground areas are wicked around here and every small town seems to have a variety to choose from. Meals are so/so and a tad expensive but not really when you factor in the favorable exchange rate
- My sleeping bag sucks! It packs nice and small but I was freezing last night! Time to track down some of that Icebreaker merino wool stuff they make out here.
- Plan for an easy 50km spin up to Lake Tapeko which is suppose to be a beautiful area with nice roads and then off to Mount Cook the day after. But as you can tell, my plans appear to be very loose at the moment ...
Ride Time: 5:15
Distance: 115km
- Sunny skies and +22c :-)
- This is what I signed up for!
- Quiet rolling hills for the first 45km
- I tried to be smart today and scale it back after yesterdays harder than expected effort but what do you do when you get to your destination way ahead of schedule and arrive at 2pm? You keep going of course!
- It was only another 57km to Fairlie so I figured it to be only a couple more hours. Maybe of should have looked at the profile of this section first!
- Welcome to the hills of NZ and greatly reduced avg speeds when traveling with all this gear
- Anyways, 2 hours quickly turned into a tough 3 but still a great day pushing up some of NZ's finest rolling hills
- I promised myself I'll take it easier tomorrow - easier said than done
- Campground areas are wicked around here and every small town seems to have a variety to choose from. Meals are so/so and a tad expensive but not really when you factor in the favorable exchange rate
- My sleeping bag sucks! It packs nice and small but I was freezing last night! Time to track down some of that Icebreaker merino wool stuff they make out here.
- Plan for an easy 50km spin up to Lake Tapeko which is suppose to be a beautiful area with nice roads and then off to Mount Cook the day after. But as you can tell, my plans appear to be very loose at the moment ...
Day 3 - Feb 18th, 2010
Christchurch-Akora-Ashburton
Ride Time: 5:45
Distance: 135km
- Land in Christchurch NZ around 8am after sleeping maybe 6 hours over the last 36
- Breeze through customs in about 5 minutes, that seemed way too easy!
- Conditions not looking promising as it's forecast for rain and more rain all day
- Good news, all the gear arrived in one piece
- Built up bike and was ready to roll by 10:30
- Do I relax for the day or head out? hmmmm
- Decide to make a push for Akora which is basically on the eastern side about 90km from Christchurch to test the gear
- After making a few wrong turns in Chrischurch I'm on my way with the help of a map and some advice from a bike shop
- Weather turned really bad so I decided to abort the mission and turn back after 40km
- Should I chill out or make a new plan? I know what the smart thing is to do ...
- Well I was already soaked and cold with no food and 1 water bottle so I decided to make the dumb choice and make a plan B and head south to Ashburton via hwy 1 - 85km
- Brutal decision: bad road (busy), lots of traffic, 30/40km headwinds and raining the entire time with the exception of the last 10 minutes
- Hot shower required after this one
- Definitely as hard as our first ride last year which was a 200km adventure in the Water Valley area
- Biking with 50lbs of gear is very similar to riding a tandem. Norco ti frame is a bit noodly with all this gear but it seems fine once you are up to speed
- All in all still an OK day
Ride Time: 5:45
Distance: 135km
- Land in Christchurch NZ around 8am after sleeping maybe 6 hours over the last 36
- Breeze through customs in about 5 minutes, that seemed way too easy!
- Conditions not looking promising as it's forecast for rain and more rain all day
- Good news, all the gear arrived in one piece
- Built up bike and was ready to roll by 10:30
- Do I relax for the day or head out? hmmmm
- Decide to make a push for Akora which is basically on the eastern side about 90km from Christchurch to test the gear
- After making a few wrong turns in Chrischurch I'm on my way with the help of a map and some advice from a bike shop
- Weather turned really bad so I decided to abort the mission and turn back after 40km
- Should I chill out or make a new plan? I know what the smart thing is to do ...
- Well I was already soaked and cold with no food and 1 water bottle so I decided to make the dumb choice and make a plan B and head south to Ashburton via hwy 1 - 85km
- Brutal decision: bad road (busy), lots of traffic, 30/40km headwinds and raining the entire time with the exception of the last 10 minutes
- Hot shower required after this one
- Definitely as hard as our first ride last year which was a 200km adventure in the Water Valley area
- Biking with 50lbs of gear is very similar to riding a tandem. Norco ti frame is a bit noodly with all this gear but it seems fine once you are up to speed
- All in all still an OK day
Day 2 - Feb 17th, 2010
Day 2 - Feb 17th, 2010
- Time travel day via warp speed into the future as you loose a day heading over to NZ
- Time travel day via warp speed into the future as you loose a day heading over to NZ
Day 1 - Feb 16th, 2010
Day 1 - Feb 16th, 2010
- Fly to NZ: Air New Zealand -> Calgary -> LA -> Auckland -> Christchurch
- Flight went by super fast and everything went pretty smooth
- Air NZ was way better than our United flights to Thailand!
- Better service, food, entertainment you name it
- Fly to NZ: Air New Zealand -> Calgary -> LA -> Auckland -> Christchurch
- Flight went by super fast and everything went pretty smooth
- Air NZ was way better than our United flights to Thailand!
- Better service, food, entertainment you name it
About This Blog ...
Mainly a bullet point diary for myself about the riding in NZ so I can keep track of things over the next 5 weeks. Pictures most likely to be added post trip.
Day 0 - Feb 15th, 2010
- Packing is the name of the game today with 5 weeks of living in 4 small bags
- Why did I wait until the day before to pack?
- 100 grams here, 100 grams there adds up to 42lbs pretty damn fast
- With food and water I'll be around 50lbs gear weight
- Bike: Norco ti with 34/46 front and 11/34 rear
- Gear: Standard stuff with tent, bag, cooking etc.
Day 0 - Feb 15th, 2010
- Packing is the name of the game today with 5 weeks of living in 4 small bags
- Why did I wait until the day before to pack?
- 100 grams here, 100 grams there adds up to 42lbs pretty damn fast
- With food and water I'll be around 50lbs gear weight
- Bike: Norco ti with 34/46 front and 11/34 rear
- Gear: Standard stuff with tent, bag, cooking etc.
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