on a bike tour

palmerston north to eketahuna 62km

time to go some where on a bike tour

after spending 1/2 the night packing (now where did I put all my camping gear ) I get on the road about 9am as I‘m going to eketahuna hard camp (what starts in a few days) I have got my long bow on my bike trailer with a flag on the end of the bow as the bow is about 1.6 m long so sticking out about 50 cm behind the trailer. a side trip up to the shop to get some food then up the pahiatua track that goes over the tararua range. stopping at the top to get some photos then a fast down hill to the tune off where I go along the back roads thought a few small towns then onto the main road S.H.2 to the small town of eketahuna where I go and see a friend for a bit then head up to the shop to get some food for the next 2 days then I head down to the camping ground and set up for the night.

riding a long the riverbanks

went for a ride on the tracks along the river and streams around palmerston north today going to the end of the walkway and then going back the way I came on the walkway I did about 85 km by the time I got back to where I am staying with a side trip into town (the last 16 km in the dark with my lights on-night riding is fun) there was a lot of people using the walk ways what is nice to see (and I saw a lot of dogs getting walk (maybe 40+dogs ) I went past the 2 (horse) race courses -Thoroughbred and harness racing -the walk way passes right next to then (no bikes allow on the walk way next to the thoroughbred race course between 5am and 9am each day (as horses are being work then) on one of the side stream walk ways (there is a few side tracks going along beside streams) i had some ducks and geese come right up to me. at one place there was some fun tracks though some pine tree that i was having fun on (until I came off the bike -just a small cut and a sore knee from where the handlebar hit me) I was riding my mountain bike as the track is uneven in places (my mountain bike has front suspension and brakes and i ride it in places i don't want to ride my bike friday (my bike friday can be used off road but the rear derailleur hangs a bit to low for riding on track with a lot of big rocks)

so now i know where the walk way goes to now - it is a nice way to get a round town off the roads and away from the cars (it's not that i don't like the idea of cars it's more the way they are used what i don't like (and having been hit a few times I don't think much of the way a lot of people drive- it's my blog so I get to say what I think about cars and the people who use then)

It was a nice way to spend 1/2 a day on the bike ( about 6 hours by the time I stoped to talk to people and to take photos

see photos below

night riding

what to do when you are out on a nice ride and it starts to get dark -just put lights on the bike and keep riding

so what gear do you need to go night riding

lights
there is two kinds of bike lights ones to be seen by cars on the road and there is the ones to see where your are going (what are more brighter then the other kind ) you will need to have at lest a front white light and a rear red light on the bike

I have two small led lights (most of the time I use then on flashing mode but also for back up if my big light stops working ) i also run a 10 watt halogen powered by a rechargeable battery pack to see the road better when there is no street lights (or when I am riding off road). On the back. I run 2 red led lights (two for safety in case one stops working )

reflective clothing
you should wear bright reflective clothing at night on the bike (it is a good idea to also wear this in the day time on the bike) -to help other people see you when riding

if you are riding in winter you may need warm clothing as it can get cold fast at light time

last of all let some one know where you are going and when you will be back

my wish list for riding this year

here is my wish list of places i would to ride this year

queen charlotte track
picton marlborough sounds south island
86 km of off road riding around the marlborough sounds - i would like to do this ride on my mountain bike this time (i did this ride about this time last year on my bike friday and had a few things break (the chain and rear derailleur) and so did most of the ride in 2 gears (with a lot of pushing up the hills) on the bike i may even get the boat to take most of my gear this time (most people get the boat to take the over night gear)

otago central rail trail
clyde to middlemarch about 150+km along the disused railway
I frist did this ride in 2006 on my old bike (the one that was stolen at the Levin A&P late January 2008)and then in january 2009 on the bike friday it is a nice easy ride with no big hills as it is on a disused railway line with lots of things to get photos of the the trail goes thought gorges,tunnels and over old viaducts) there is a few places(and rides near the trail-dunstan trail( a way from alexandra to dunedin (big maybe?) naseby - a small town 12km from ranfurly) that i would like to go to as well when i do the rail trail next time

lake taupo fun ride -not the 160km ride but 2x around the lake ( 320 km) some time in november
see this website for more info on the fun ride

http://www.cyclechallenge.com/

also maybe a few other rides here and there

a sunday ride

it was a nice sunny day with little wind today so a good day to go for a ride. I put my back panner bags (about 20L each side) on the mountain bike (the avanti atomic) as the bike friday needs a bit of work done on it (so it will stop when i want it to stop) and went in to town to the library to get some books out and did some food shopping for the next day or so on the way back .at the library I got some talking books out to play on my ipod on long rides (terry pratchett discworld ones ) as well as some nz multisport magazines and a few other books to read when I find the time to read then

It was a nice and fun 26 km just a small ride and a good way to spend a sunday

training

time to start training on the bike

now why would I need to do training when i ride my bike's most of the time anyway
on my wish list of thing i would like to do is this year is to do the round lake taupo ride not just 1 time around (160km) like most people but 2 times around ( about 320 km) so i will need to ride even more this winter to be fit for the ride
why am i doing the 2x around the lake ride and not just 1 time around the lake because i did the 1x around ride in 2008 and found it to easy and want to make it harder also because i tried to do the ride in 2009 and got 30 km into the 160 km and then had the back rim spit on me (I had done too many km and wore the rims out) and so i had a dnf on the ride so i want to make up for that also because i like to ride my bike places

my bikes

about my bikes

i have two bikes one is a bike friday - it is a folding bike with 20 inch wheels(and no it's not any harder to ride then a bike with 26 inch wheels - it's in the gearing) that is made in the USA i have done about 9000 km on this bike from when i got it about 2 years ago i have been a lot of places in NZ on this bike as i go from horse show to horse show by bike (my day job over summer if you can call it that)





my other bike is a 2008 avanti atomic mountain bike i had got the avanti atomic a few weeks before the bike friday came in the mail (the bike friday came in the mail in a suitcase what i can tow behind the bike as a trailer) this bike has only done about 400 km as it has spent most of the last 2 years in one or two places i spend a lot of time living on the road (even in winter)

why do i bike

why do i get around by bike and not by driving

I can't drive a car as i have some thing called dyspraxia so one of the things with what i have I cannot judge pressure with my hands and legs very well and so cannot gauge how much weight to apply to an accelerator or brake, even in a hand-operated vehicle

its fun to ride a bike

in city's it's as fast or faster then using the bus (or getting a lift in a car) to get around

i don't have to worry about parking

cost - i can't afford to buy and run a car on what i get each week

because I can ride a bike