Friday Frivolity: Dopey Cyclists

Seen on faz.net

Book Review: Cycling Auckland

Is cycling in Auckland growing?

Not to be confused with the Auckland cycling website it shares a name with, this is an entirely independent undertaking by NZ Herald staffer Catherine Smith. Catherine is a long-time rider and just the sort of cyclist we like at BFNS. Over the years she’s had children road-racing competitively and a husband charging around Lake Taupo encased in Lycra, but she still appreciates the bike as the simple machine that it is. A machine you can jump on in your everyday clothes and ride up to university, down to the dairy or off to the park with the kids. A pleasurable low-stress device for getting from A to B.

When I first picked the book up I was puzzled by the photograph on the cover. “That bike has no front wheel”, I chirped at the kids. Maybe the graphic-designer hasn’t ridden a bike in a while or thought we just wouldn’t notice? We noticed. It also reminded me of a certain Auckland cycling institution.

Inside there were some technical errors that annoyed me too, but they’re probably close enough to being “right” to not really matter in the grand scheme of things. If there’s a sequel in the making a once-over by a cycling authority, a bike-mechanic or such wouldn’t go amiss.

Once I got going I started to enjoy the book more. There’s lots of useful information for those new to cycling or returning after a long absence. Advice on bike-selection, clothing choices, accessories you shouldn’t be without. The often touchy subjects (amongst bicycle-advocates anyway) of helmets, high-vis and Lycra are handled well and there’s some good tips on potential hazards and safe route-planning. Many points are illustrated with black & white line-drawings.

Various categories of bicycles are described, riding with infants and young children is covered, key sections of the road-code summarized, indeed most of the stuff you need to know to cycle around Auckland is in there.

The last 71 pages (approaching half of the book) covers 20 rides in the greater Auckland area, most with accompanying maps. The routes I had ridden were described accurately and are a good starting point for stretching your legs, although I question Ponsonby Road’s “Suitable for Kids” rating?

Would I buy this book? Probably not, but I’m an experienced cyclist and this title is aimed more at the beginner. Much of the content can be found on the internet (some on this very site), so as a web-savvy cyclist you probably wouldn’t buy it either. But it’s nice to have this information all wrapped-up in one volume for easy reference and it would make a wonderful gift for someone who’s itching to get pedaling in the City of Sails.

Author: Catherine Smith
Publisher: New Holland
Paperback / Black & White Text / 160 pages
Recommended Retail: $29.99

Disclaimer: The book was provided free-of-charge for review by the publisher.

Bike Spotting: Smurf Fatality?

If you ride along East Coast Rd on the North Shore you may have spotted this vision in blue at the top of Kowhai Rd. Quite a morbid way to advertise your business if you ask me, but as someone who proposed marriage in a graveyard I kind of like it.

While we’re talking proposals, I propose painting Gerry Brownlee yellow and chaining him to the Harbour Bridge until I’m allowed to ride over it. “That’s a lot of paint” I hear you say, but it would be worth it wouldn’t it?, and we could use the anchor-chain from the Rena to keep the costs down.

Sometimes you have to get lost to find yourself.

Can’t see the mud for the flowers.

I hit the road at 5.30am this morning for a couple of hours while my son trained down at the pool.

I loathe rising early, I’m a total night-owl, but once those pedals start spinning it’s a magic time to be on a bicycle, you’ve almost got the city to yourself.

I pottered around, mostly off-road, no one to share it with but Pukekos, and together we watched Auckland wake-up.

Short Ride at Long Bay

Start of the Coastal Track.

Out for a road-ride last week I found myself near Long Bay so I dropped down the hill and checked-out the new Long Bay Regional Park cycle trails.

I’d ridden there on a mountainbike years ago but there was portaging involved as you shouldered the bike and slogged up the steps beyond Vaughan Cottage. Much work has been done recently however and a new track has been constructed that leads you from the north-west corner of the parking areas through the bush to the top of the cliffs. I say “track”, but this initial section is more of a “road” and it’s pretty steep in places with a coarse gravel base – this may improve as the trail-network is developed. At the moment it’s more suited to a mountainbike with nice low gearing and children under ten would struggle.

Heading back down the gravel access road.

Much of the park appears to be a working-farm and you traverse some of the fence-lines via raised cattle-grates. It’s a brilliant idea, you don’t even have to get off your bike. Take it easy in the rain though as they would be treacherous with wet muddy tyres. As you crest the top of the hill you are greeted by the stunning vista below. I was greeted by a headwind so strong a lower gear was necessary to ride DOWNHILL and I was propelled up the path on the return leg with no pedaling at all. That’s a first for me in forty years of cycling, I’ve been blown along the flats before but never uphill on gravel!

The highest point before dropping into Granny’s Bay

I probably rode the next section in the wrong direction. From the highest cattle-grate I dropped straight down into Granny’s Bay. From there I picked up a track quaintly named the 10 Acre Trail (half expected to run into Tigger or Pooh). This meandered (mostly uphill) in a big loop through scrub and across open paddocks all the way back to the cattle-grate above. The paddocks were hard work on a bike with no suspension as the once soft hoof-prints had dried-up to the consistency of concrete.

A nice sunny spot when the wind’s not gail-force!

At that stage my “I’ll be about an-hour-and-a-half Honey” ride was fast approaching three hours so with the wind howling at my back I sailed over the hill and headed for home. The main trail continues along the coast towards Okura and I’ll explore that on another visit. Hopefully it flattens-out after the initial rollercoaster.

While some trails at Sanders Reserve have been made hard-work by their bad design I don’t think the riding I did at Long Bay could be made any easier. The terrain is just lumpy, simple as that. Mountainbikers will have no trouble with the gradients but for an outing with a young family walking would be the better option.

10 Acre Trail - Hard going when the grass is long.

It’s wonderful the Council is providing trails like this that cyclists can share with those on foot. I love getting off-road within riding distance of home!

Get out there, give them a go and tell me what you think.