Journey to The Forgotten World
After having multiple planned cycling events cancelled in Europe over the last 2 years, we were looking forward to a summer of races and sportives in New Zealand. Sadly, the omicron variant finally breached the NZ border and thanks to … Continued
Fiordland Classic 2022
Fiordland is a wild and spectacular part of New Zealand. On a recent trip there in February 2022, organised by Ride Holidays, we were lucky to experience some of the best the region has to offer the cyclist. This is … Continued
Mount Pirongia (Tirohanga and Mahaukura Track Loop)
The original Māori name of Mount Pirongia is ‘Pirongia te aroaro o Kahu’ meaning ‘the fragrant presence of Kahu’. It’s a beautiful name for a mountain that dominates the area around Hamilton. I read in this DOC Information Pack that Kahu … Continued
Mount Tongariro and Tongariro Alpine Crossing
The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is the most famous single day hike in New Zealand. Hundreds, sometimes thousands, of walkers complete it every day in the summer high season. Even with the crowds it’s still a fantastic walk but if you … Continued
Waikato River Trails in a Day (2021)
When I’ve driven by the sign to the Waikato River Trails, which start about 30 minutes drive from Hamilton, the city we live in, I imagined a gravel track along the bank of the mighty Waikato River. Something like the … Continued
MIQ (Managed Isolation and Quarantine) Diary 2021
It’s now been nearly 6 weeks since 12 November when Lillian and I entered Managed Isolation and Quarantine upon flying to New Zealand from the UK. Our timing was fortunate as the MIQ period had just been reduced from 2 … Continued
Mont Ventoux by the ‘Fourth’ Way
I had wanted to ride up Mont Ventoux by the mysterious ‘fourth’ way ever since I heard rumour of it during the trip in 2007 when I first rode up the mountain. The three classic routes up are road climbs … Continued
Alternative North Coast 500 (2021)
The North Coast 500 (NC500) has, since its launch in 2015, become increasingly well known and popular as a tour on both 4 and 2 wheels. We originally planned to follow the whole route, but when we heard from Simon, … Continued
King Alfred’s Way in 2 Days (2021)
King Alfred’s Way in two days gave us a challenge without too much risk of an epic. There was no riding late into the evening, and we had enough time to enjoy the views and stop a few times for … Continued
Downs Loop (King Alfred’s Way – South Downs Way – Downs Link)
This is a varied and interesting bike-packing route taking in about 50km of each of King Alfred’s Way, the South Downs Way and the Downs Link. You can ride it as a loop or, as we did, link it up … Continued