NZ Cycle Trail and Rural Communities

I’ve done a re-edit of our last video that focuses specifically on the interviews with the NZ Cycle Trail Team. We hope to share it as a resource for other bike advocates trying to make an economic argument for cycling. Although we find it pretty amazing and daring for the New Zealand government to tackle a cycling project of that scale, it is not the only model. Sustrans in the UK was funded to create a project for the new Millennium that was free for masses of people to enjoy and benefited the entire country and they developed the National Cycle Network!

While the NZ Cycle Trail network is still in its infancy and will have a few more years to fully mature, there are already signs of promise. We’ve seen local councils take the lead and make steps to improve trails and roads in their region. We’ve seen some businesses that were started to meet the growing demand of cycling. Most encouraging is that we’ve seen an increase in locals using cycling resources that were developed for tourism. The most exceptional example we’ve come upon is a ferry operation in Nelson. Two people built a flat bottom ferry with bike racks to shuttle tourists to Rabbit Island where there is a lovely meandering path. An unexpected benefit is that locals are brushing off their bikes and using the ferry in droves. It has become quite the weekend activity to take the family out for a bike ride out on Rabbit Island.

There are still some hard yards ahead to change road culture and the perception of bicycles just as recreation to transportation in New Zealand. We’re reminded of that everyday we’re on a road with cars passing too close too fast. After talking to many people involved in the program we remain cautiously optimistic.

TRIP UPDATE:
At the moment we are in Greymouth and have experienced a mechanical with my Brompton. We’ve opted to take the train to Christchurch and wait for the part and deal with repairs there. So if you’re in Christchuch and want to meet up or can help us out with a home stay, email us!

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our 2012 2012 calendar or some of the fun bike-themed t-shirts we’re designing.)

Some Kiwi Shorts

Just rolled into Greymouth today. It was a beautiful scenic ride that started out with grey and rain and ended with sun and wind. More on that later. For now, we’re taking advantage of some internet access and uploading a few silly Kiwi Shorts from the last few weeks.

Rain Tips for Touring on Bromptons


New Zealand has Toilets from the Future….Today

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our 2012 2012 calendar or some of the fun bike-themed t-shirts we’re designing.)

Nelson to Murchison: Entering Sandfly Territory

Of all the towns we’ve visited in NZ so far, Nelson (and surrounding communities) definitely stood out for us. And not just because we finally got some real summer weather there. Nelson is smack in the middle of the path between the inter-island ferry and the West Coast of the South Island, so it sees a LOT of cycle tourists. For years, we’ve been told, cycle tourists have rambled in and out of the Nelson area, making residents accustomed to seeing them and the councils interested in supporting them. It may not be perfect, but they’re trying – and we enjoyed riding around on the bike paths, popping into the bike shops, talking to bike-friendly businesses, and generally surveying the impact of cycling on the community. We also took some time to enjoy Nelson’s other claim to fame – being the craft beer capital of NZ.

After a few days of good food, good beers, good cycling, and digging for clams on the beach, we headed out of Nelson, bound for the West Coast. The ride will take us about a week, and we’re currently breaking it up with a day off in Murchison, where we have found internet for the first time in the last few days.

From Nelson, we made use of some good local knowledge to head out of town on the bike paths and back roads. The sun came out as we rambled beside farms and wineries. We stopped for coffee in the small town of Brightwater, and stopped for the day at a small regional park in Wakefield. We decided to break up the ride to Lake Rotoiti into two days, rather than slog it out in one long day – which turned out to be a prudent decision that allowed us to camp that first night beside a beautiful small stream.

In the morning, we headed out of Wakefield, into the hills, along the backroads. Finally, we had found some quiet country riding! Eighty-Eight Valley Road led us through rolling countryside with very little traffic. We wound our way over two good climbs and gradually gained over 2000 feet of elevation. It was a beautiful day that was also a lot hotter and harder than we thought we were in for (yes, we keep forgetting that NZ is full of hills). As the sun beat down, we drank our way through our water a lot quicker than we expected, and we were forced to catch and treat some water out of a road-side culvert (which, thankfully, did not seem to be downstream from a cow pasture). A few kilometers before we reached the lake, we took the turn off to Tophouse, home of NZ’s smallest bar. A beautifully restored old hotel and restaurant, Tophouse serves lunch on the front patio and features a tiny “honesty” bar (where we pulled our own pint of beer and settled up later). Refreshed by our afternoon snack, we rode on into the town of St Arnaud and Rotoiti Lake. The lake is stunningly gorgeous and great for a brisk swim. It’s also swarming with sandflies, an annoying little insect that travels in hordes and bites with a vengeance. Legend says the sandflies were created to keep man from endlessly staring at the natural beauty. Whether that’s true or not, we certainly enjoyed the beauty of the lake quickly, from behind several layers of clothing, and then hid out in our tent.

In the morning, we packed everything up in lightening fashion to run away from the sandflies, which do not seem to rest while it’s light out. We chatted over breakfast with some trampers from Oregon and another cycle tourist writer. We had intended for that day to be a rest day, but we just couldn’t stand to be around the hordes of sandflies or spend another night in the packed-like-sardines campground. So, we headed down the road toward Owen River. Along the way, we stopped at an access point to the Buller River, and Russ threw his line out. Watching from the road above, I was hoping that he’d be able to snag the monster trout for dinner, but the trout proved to be too smart. We camped for the night at the domain camping ground at Owen River, just down a short gravel road from a pub. The camping was perfect, nestled beside the river, amongst a row of enormous fir trees, and nearly empty (there were only two other people in a campervan at the other end of the park). We enjoyed a leisurely afternoon by the river and then moseyed up the hill to the pub for some dinner and beers. When we got back to our tent, we discovered that the wind had died down enough to bring out the sandflies, so we ended our evening (again) by hiding in our tent and reading.

And, again, we awoke to sandflies everywhere, and hastily broke down camp and headed out. This morning, we had a ridiculously short day into Murchison, broken up once for some coffee at an animal park about halfway to town. We found a great deal at the Riverview Holiday Park, and are enjoying a (sandfly-free) cabin for just $40 (and a much-needed catch-up afternoon). With any luck, the rain that’s predicted for today with blow through while we’re indoors, and it’ll be clear again tomorrow.

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our 2012 2012 calendar or some of the fun bike-themed t-shirts we’re designing.)

Kiwi Chronicles: Episode 4 – The Forgotten World Highway

Check out some behind-the-scenes info on Bicycle Times!

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our new 2012 calendar or some of the fun zombie apocalypse shirts we’re designing.)

Wellington – Nelson: Heading for NZ’s South Island

Our stay in Wellington was intended to be a low-key exploration of the capital city and a chance to talk with some of the folks behind the scenes of the NZ Cycle Trails program. While we did get to sit down with the Cycle Trails people, our stay turned out to be anything but low-key. Our very surreal road rage incident turned into a small media circus and started us thinking (a lot) about the differences in cycling and advocacy in NZ and the US.

By the end of the week, we were in desperate need of some bike fun, so we joined up with the Frocks on Bikes Frocknic. The idea was to take a peaceful ferry ride across the bay, cycle out to the lighthouse for a leisurely picnic, then catch the ferry back. Instead, the fierce winds that had been howling for a few days persisted, and we were all treated to an intensely terrifying ferry ride, in which the boat actually caught some air several times and we listened to the bikes on the exposed upper level get thrown back and forth (except for all the Bromptons, ours and two others, which were folded and stored inside). Safely back on land, we decided to tarry forth, and we all enjoyed a short ride with a tailwind and a lovely long picnic in a sheltered bay. And then we faced the hard truth that we we would all be riding back, into the howling headwind. It turned out to be the most extreme Frocks on Bikes event ever, and we finished off the day with some beers at a local pub, glad that it had taken our minds off the craziness from a few days previous.

On the morning that we left Wellington, we woke up to still weather and beautifully calm seas. Thank goodness! The short ferry ride of the day before had made us nervous about crossing the Cook Strait, but we were fortunate to have a smooth sailing. We even wound up on the same boat as Kiele, a Canadian expat Brompton owner that we had met the day before! The ferry ride between New Zealand’s North and South Islands is simply lovely. Nearly half of it is spent winding, slowly, through the spectacular Marlborough Sounds. The sun was sparkling and we saw a school of dolphins. In Picton, we found our way to Queen Charlotte Drive, a lovely small road that winds along the edge of the Sound, with absolutely phenomenal views and limited traffic. We stopped at a beach for a picnic, then at a small shop for lemonade. And we enjoyed a true NZ rarity – flat land with a tailwind! When we rolled into beautiful Pelorus Bridge campground, we immediately decided to stay for two nights and enjoy a bit of downtime in nature. We hiked out to a waterfall, chatted with several other bike tourists, and took advantage of the cafe on the property. Russ also took the opportunity to cast his line and enjoy some fishing.

From Pelorus Bridge, we hopped on Hwy 6 to Nelson. We passed one small town, where we stopped for coffee, then headed off into a long stretch of forest. The road rambled beside a few rivers and wound up and over two good climbs. Surprisingly, there was a halfway decent shoulder for most of the climbing, and the traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as we were expecting. Screaming down the backside of the second (and last) big hill, we were blessed with not a single car behind us (a small and delightful miracle that put us on a happy NZ high!). As the downhill leveled out, we pulled off for an ice cream break and to revel in the extraordinary descent. From there, we rambled into Nelson. At the edge of town, we discovered a cycle path that allowed cyclists to get off the busy highway. We decided to check it out and were pleasantly surprised by the bike friendly signage. Nelson, it appears, is trying to embrace everyday cycling. Indeed, this is what we’ve come to explore, and we’ll spend the next few days talking with cyclists and advocates.

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our new 2012 calendar or some of the fun zombie apocalypse shirts we’re designing.)

Inside an International Bike Incident

It’s been three days since the incident and things are finally calming down. We’ve had a flurry of newspaper, TV and radio interviews. We’ve been inundated with emails and comments from apologetic Kiwis. We met the mayor of Wellington, Celia Wade-Brown, for afternoon tea. Walking down the street the other day, people stopped us to tell us how sorry they were about what happened. So how did it all happen?

Just the Facts

We are fairly experienced city cyclists. I’ve taken the League of American Bicyclists (the US oldest bike advocacy group) bicycle safety course in the US, an intensive two-day course about traffic and traffic skills. It uses the same theories that are taught by other advocacy groups in the UK and in New Zealand. We’ve applied these techniques for thousands of miles on our bicycle travels without incident. I mention this to point out that we are not rogue cyclists who don’t know how to ride on roads.

We had just met up with the NZ Cycle Trail team and the Kennett brothers and were generally feeling good about bicycling in New Zealand. We were riding from the Wellington CBD back to our homestay in Newtown on Riddiford. We were on a 4-lane stretch of Riddiford (which, ironically enough, is next to a hospital), with parked cars next to the curb. We were positioned in the left lane and, because of the parked cars and driveways, we were riding further out in the lane to be seen and avoid any doorings. Traffic was light. The right lane was WIDE open allowing easy passing for a motor vehicle. We weren’t impeding traffic. We weren’t hogging the road. All it would take is two seconds for a car to safely pass in the open lane, just like they would do with any other slow moving vehicle (like a school bus, city bus or truck).

Apparently, two seconds is sometimes too much to ask.

As we were approaching Mein Street, the silver sedan hesitates behind us, then passes very aggressively. Laura is riding in front of me and and all I see is that the car just barely manages to pass without hitting her. It was completely unnecessary and an obviously intentional scare tactic. In the heat of the moment, we react, just like anyone else who cares about their life or their loved one. It’s a basic human instinct. We generally keep our cool, but there was obvious malice in his driving, and we threw our arms up in a “why’d you do that” gesture.

It is not a proud moment when, as a bike advocate, you lose your cool, but I did. Finger gestures where made, to which the driver returned the same. This is where some “blame the victim” usually creeps in and people will no doubt say that I somehow brought this whole incident upon myself, conveniently disregarding the fact that just moments before someone driving two tons of steel had threatened us with bodily injury. This point has always bothered me when I’ve read these sort of stories myself. The cyclist is suppose to not react, to be a Ghandi-esque figure at all times, not registering any discontent at the fact that two tons of steel was just maliciously steered at them with impunity. Forgive this cyclist for being imperfect and human.

It was then that time stops and speeds up at the same time. The car stopped, blocking traffic (ironically enough), and the driver bolted out of the car, yelling in a language I couldn’t understand. The hardest thing to understand, and what haunts me still, was the look of incomprehensible rage on his face. When I close my eyes, I can still see his bulging eyeballs beneath his baseball cap and hear him screaming. His anger had completely consumed him, taking over anything that was reasonable or human. It was obvious that this guy had some serious issues that went far beyond us just biking in the road.

As he ran at us, Laura managed to dodge him. I attempted to do the same, but he tackled me off the bike, knocking me hard to the ground. It was completely surreal. We spend most of our lives sheltered from violence, so when it comes raging at you it is hard to fathom. Fortunately, where I fell happened to be in a traffic island, so I was in no danger of getting run over by other passing cars. What little traffic there was came to a screeching halt. I got up, stunned, and not fully comprehending the situation. This was not exactly on the agenda for the afternoon. He came at me again, punching me in the face, and I went down again.

Still screaming incomprehensibly, he got back in his car, sped off, and ran a red light. Immediately, people came out of their cars and off the sidewalk to offer help and information. People handed us slips of paper with their names and phone numbers to give to the police.

And that’s just the beginning.

Internal Battles

I’ve been fortunate in never having been the victim of assault or being met with such violence before. There are a lot of strange contradictory feelings that go on. Why me? Was it my fault? As a bike advocate, I usually read or report about these stories, so it is strange territory to be the subject of one.

At weak moments, I wonder if somehow our reaction could have justified his violence. But I remind myself to take the long view and that, for all our yelling (at his initial threat on our life I might add again), his actions are inexcusable. The first day or so, I found myself just staring off and reliving the whole experience again, with infinite permutations. In some scenarios the outcome is much worse, in others I’m the victor – if there can be a winner in this type of thing. Sometimes there are intense flashes of anger and shame where my body just seizes up.

I wasn’t quite sure what my reaction was going to be after all this. Would I be terrified to ride on the street again? Would I want to end our tour? Would I be consumed by anger? It’s a little bit of all of that, but also another emotion that I didn’t quite expect – pity. Pity that something like a bicycle could make someone so angry as to lose all decency. I can’t imagine what kind of inner life you must have to fly off the handle at someone riding a bicycle, but it must be hell. I imagine he must have been a kid once, excited to ride a bicycle, and somewhere along the way things went wrong.

The other day, we rode past the spot where the incident happened, and I decided to make a video. On the way there, someone honked and I instinctively clutched the bars and wondered if it was him again. Of course, it wasn’t, but it may be a long time until that reaction passes.

Going Public

We’ve been caught up in a little bit of a media frenzy the last few days and it has been exhausting. When the whole thing first happened, my natural reaction was to just quietly forget it all. I even waffled on filing a police report. But I know as a bicycle advocate that it’s important for these stories to be told, to get them into the public consciousness, for however brief. I also knew that, because of our situation as being American tourists and journalists, with connections to several bike groups, the story would spread. If it had happened to any other cyclist, it would have just been another filed police report.

Still, it was with some hesitation that we went to the press. Our hope was to turn this unfortunate incident into a “teachable moment,” that beyond the sensationalism of an American tourist being attacked abroad, it would spark some larger conversation about road culture in New Zealand. We applaud the NZ government for investing millions into a wonderful cycle trail network to attract tourists as part of a job creation scheme. That is why we are here after all. But we are finding that, for the cycle trail plan to truly be successful, it has to be part of a larger plan to integrate bicycling. It does no good for an overseas tourists to fly here to ride the 18 Great Rides, only to get honked at while in the city.

Moving Forward

A lot of people have wondered if we would end our tour in NZ or give up bike travel in general. The short answer is no. Despite this terrible incident, we know it is an anomaly. We have seen so much kindness in our travels in NZ that we know that this is not who the people really are.

People also tell us that New Zealand has the worst drivers. Drivers aren’t an anonymous separate species. These same “drivers,” when not in their cars, are hospitable and good people. There is a strange disconnect somewhere that has to be addressed.

We are in Wellington for a few more days, then we head to the South Island. We’ll be spending some time in Nelson, which we hear is the most bike friendly of NZ towns, with several cottage industries related to bicycle tourism. From there, we will probably go down the west coast of the South Island.

We’ll continue to pedal on. I’ll keep my finger gestures in check and try to leave this nasty incident behind me.

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our new 2012 calendar or some of the fun zombie apocalypse shirts we’re designing.)

Road Rage Update

There are two words that I would use to describe the past two days… Surreal and Grateful.

No doubt, most readers have heard about our recent road rage incident in Wellington, NZ, in which Russ was tackled to the ground by an angry driver and punched. It was shocking and bizarre and we are still trying to wrap our heads around what happened and what it means. Yesterday, we spent some time talking with reporters from the NZ Herald and the Dominion Post, and today we woke to two great articles from each newspaper about the incident. In response, we have received an absolutely incredible outpouring of support from Kiwis around the world, eager for us to know that this incident is not representative of the NZ that they love and live in.

Far from making us angry or bitter or scaring us off of our bikes, the whole event has made us very thankful and hopeful. Whatever else happens, we hope that the incident has sparked a conversation about cycling and road culture in NZ, and that it will lead to some positive change for cyclists.

Russ has been trying to focus on writing a post or piecing together a video about the incident, and we hope to share that soon. We know you’ll understand that it’s been a complicated experience for him to process.

Many thanks to our readers, old and new, for your support! We are okay and trying to turn this lemon into some sweet lemonade.

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our new 2012 calendar or some of the fun zombie apocalypse shirts we’re designing.)

Kiwi Chronicles: Episode 3 – On the Road Again

Kiwi Chronicles: Episode 3 – On the Road Again – PathLessPedaled.com from Russ Roca on Vimeo.

Latest episode is out. Check out the behind the scenes info on the episode on Bicycle Times!

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our new 2012 calendar or some of the fun zombie apocalypse shirts we’re designing.)

Kiwi Short – Damian Day – New Zealand’s Bicycling Nomad

We met Damian Day in Rotorua. He’s a blog reader who has been following our site for about a year. Through Facebook we were able to meet up in town. His story is inspiring and humbling. Despite having several nerve disorders in addition to being autistic, he rides his bicycle 8-10,000 kilometers a year. He has to. His bicycle is his physical therapy and if he doesn’t keep riding he may end up in a wheelchair. We spent a few days chatting and getting to know him better at a backpackers. We split ways on Christmas eve and wished each other well. We always keep a look out now for another cyclist on the road with small wheels pulling a trailer. Keep the rubber side down, Damian!

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our new 2012 calendar or some of the fun zombie apocalypse shirts we’re designing.)

Turangi to New Plymouth: Bicycling the Forgotten World Highway

Over the past few weeks, one of the things we heard again and again was that we should make time to ride the Forgotten World Highway Cycle Route. Spanning 180km between Taumarunui and New Plymouth, this route cuts through some of the most remote parts of New Zealand and glimpses back into Kiwi life a century or so ago. After spending the holidays in Taupo and Turangi, we set out through the Forgotten World. Although the route officially begins in Taumarunui, we felt like it began (for us) in Turangi, because that was the first day that traffic levels dropped off and we felt like we were riding through truly rural countryside.

Luckily for us, the day we left Turangi, the sun decided to re-appear after several rainy days. Between the clear weather and the much-reduced travel volumes, it was a lovely day to be back on the road. First we rambled around the southern end of Lake Taupo, then we rambled up, up, up our make our way out of the Taupo basin. It was exhausting work, but the views were stunning. And with all the rain of the several days previous, we were treated to dozens of roadside waterfalls. Eventually, the road dumped us out in Taumurunui, and we stopped at a small cafe for a late lunch before making our way to our camp spot for the night. As we were settling in at the Taumarunui Holiday Park, who should arrive but other bike tourists! A whole family of bike tourists, to be exact. Every summer for the past six years, Bridget and John have taken their kids for a three-week rambling cycle tour of a corner of New Zealand. This year, they had decided to ride the Forgotten World route as a part of their holiday. We compared notes and found out that we would likely be camp buddies for the next several nights (which, it turned out, we were, and we loved being able to compare notes with other cyclists at the end of the day).

In doing our research beforehand, we knew that the only camp spot for the day was at least 80km down the very hilly road (unless we stumbled onto something else or opted to free camp), so we were up and on the road early that morning. We rolled through town, turned onto the Forgotten World Highway, and immediately spun our way up the first hill. From Taumarunui to just south of Whangamomona, the Forgotten World Cycle Trail follows an already-established tourist road known as the Forgotten World Highway. The highway is narrow, with no shoulders, but there is virtually no traffic. And, because the area is so quiet and rural, you can hear any cars well in advance. Over the course of the day, we went up, then down, then up, then down, over and over again, through rural farmland and bright green hillsides. The hills through this stretch of New Zealand, however, aren’t cute, coast-able bumps – they’re more like steep, mini-mountains that you slowly have to summit. We would huff and puff our way up, complaining and whining, and then we would get to the top and look out over the stunning scenery and just stand in awe of the landscape around us. Talking to the hundreds of sheep and cows that we passed helped take the edge off the climbing too. As the afternoon wore on, it felt like progress was very slow, which was compounded by the fact that none of the road signs had correct mileage information. And, then, we rounded a corner and found ourselves in the jungle. The Forgotten World Highway passes through Tangarakau Gorge, an incredible area full of thick native bush and jagged cliffs, showing off what New Zealand must have looked like everywhere before it was colonized. The road through the gorge is a hard-packed gravel, and we were delighted that the Bromptons handled the ride beautifully. On the other side, we found ourselves back in a landscape of steep, green pastures. We slogged our way up one last hill, exhausted and long ready to be done for the day, and turned off at Back Country Accommodation. After checking in, we pitched our tent in the open grass field, and looked out in awe of our nearly 360-degree view of endless green hills. We were literally on top of the world, and couldn’t believe our luck. That night, we went to sleep before the sun, listening to the sounds of the bleating sheep in the hills and the Tui birds playing in the flax bushes.

When we woke up the next morning, we were rather exhausted and sluggish. Everything was wet from a bit of rain overnight and we were happy to pack up slowly and wait for our clothes and tent to dry out. We thanked the folks at Back Country and rolled down the hill to Whangamomona. Signs greeted us as we entered ‘The Republic’ and we stopped at the hotel/pub for a second breakfast and a few more cups of coffee. By the time we headed back along our way, it was nearly noon, but we knew we had a shorter day ahead of us and could take our sweet time. We rambled up and over a few more bright green hills before reaching our turn off the highway. From here, we would follow posted NZ Cycle Trail signs, with arrows pointing us in the correct direction. At the turn-off, the road turns to gravel. It’s a looser, more slippery gravel than we encountered the day before, but completely rideable with wide tires and some patience. The scenery through this stretch is simply stunning (so far, we have yet to get tired of the bright green hills here), and the ride was made even more amazing by the fact that it is so rural, with no traffic and very little sign of people. We truly felt like we were in a forgotten world at this point. As we rolled down the road, we chatted with the cows and sheep, and eventually we arrived in what remains of the small community of Purangi. It’s just one couple now, Laurel and Ian, who own the schoolhouse and a walnut orchard. Through a stroke of fate, they met the man who routed the cycle trail, and they decided to open their property to passing cyclists. You can camp on the lawn or stay inside the schoolhouse (which is outfitted with beds and a kitchenette). They told us the history of the area and invited us in for tea. After Bridget and John and their kids arrived later that afternoon, the eight if us decided to pool our meals into a communal dinner and we all spent the evening laughing and swapping stories. It was a truly magical evening that ended only as the last bit of light was fading from the sky and the wine was putting was putting us all to sleep.

We rolled out of Purangi the next morning after some last conversation and photos. After seeing Bridget and John for the past several nights, we would be going our separate ways that day, so we wished each other well. We thanked Laurel and Ian for opening up their space for cyclists and we hope that it continues to be a worthwhile experience for them. Riding away from Purangi, we rambled up and over several more hills, through more gorgeously rural scenery and one narrow old tunnel, and then we turned a corner and stopped at the sight of Mt Taranaki peaking out of the clouds. As we began to roll into the outskirts of the New Plymouth area, the cycle trail begins to zig-zag through small farm roads. It was fantastic to not have to plan our way into the city and it’s evident that care was taken to choose quiet roads, but we had to be careful to not miss the small way-finding signs at each turn. Eventually, the cycle trail to leads to a series of multi-use paths. The Coastal Walkway path follows the Tasman Sea coastline into New Plymouth and is dotted with look-outs, public art, coffee carts, and one incredible bike-ped bridge. It was an amazing way to be welcomed into New Plymouth, which we hear is working to be a model cycling city. Coming in to a city again was a bit of a shock after the quiet of the countryside, but we were delighted with New Plymouth and looking forward to some good food and a mattress for the night.

Overall, I would dare to say that the Forgotten World Cycle Trail was one of the most rewarding stretches of road that we’ve ridden. The scenery seriously out-does itself, the people we met were friendly and helpful – and it was an immense sense of achievement to complete the ride, because it was one of the most difficult stretches of road that we’ve ridden. In 180km, there are no markets, and the only place to buy food is at the pub in Whangamomona. Planning ahead is absolutely essential. The landscape will take your breath away and turn your legs into jello as you climb and climb and climb, so this is certainly not a beginner’s route. Our hope is that, over time, additional facilities will open up for cyclists along the way (a few other campgrounds, perhaps, and a cafe or two), because the low traffic volume and quiet, old-world charm make this an excellent route for capable cyclists looking for a rewarding rural adventure.

(Keep our adventures going and the site growing! If you’ve enjoyed our stories, videos and photos over the years, consider buying our ebook Panniers and Peanut Butter, or our new 2012 calendar or some of the fun zombie apocalypse shirts we’re designing.)