A day in the outback
It had been a while since we took a route that meant we could not actually ride our bikes but we had found one at last. Despite John joking that I always find the hilliest and most difficult journey believe me – this had not been intentional. We only had a short ride today – […]
Meet the locals
One of the major benefits of riding a bike as we travel the globe is that we meet a lot of people. Not being shut away means folk chat to us – cyclists, cafe owners, other campers. Some are intrigued by the “one year, five continents, twenty thousand kilometres” on the back of my cycle […]
Milestones
Our last cycle day in New Zealand would take us to Middlemarch on the Otago rail trail. Not only was it the desination for the end of our riding here we would also reach 25, 000km. Two days later I would celebrate my 39th birthday in Dunedin. However, despite these targets there was a much […]
Otago rail trail
Given as the Otago rail trail was listed as number three in the Lonely Planet “things to do in New Zealand” I thought it was probably worth a go. While sometimes skeptical of such recommendations – particularly if cycling routes are listed simply because they are relatively easy rather than picturesque – we decided to give […]
We(s)t coast
Our ride down the West coast of the South island would start in Greymouth after a stunning ride on the TranzScenic railway following a catch up with pals in Christchurch. Many folk had told us how dramatic the West coast was and while excited to discover more they had also been quick to point out […]
Never trust a kiwi!
Many years ago the general consensus was that the world was flat. It appears that news has yet to reach these parts of the globe and despite being a discredited theory in New Zealand many people still think of the landscape in this way. “We’re on a flat road again” I shout to John as […]
Pedallers paradise?
A trip to New Zealand had been on my “bucket list” for some time. Lush green scenery surrounding a slightly hippy, laid back approach – the outdoor adventurers idyll. Everyone I knew who lived here/ had been here raved about their trip and told me I would love mine. Expectations were high and as I […]
New year. New Zealand. New friends.
After a long flight we finally arrived at our hotel in Auckland around 330pm on NewYears Eve. It seemed our bike, tent and shoe cleaning regime had been up to scratch so we passed through bio-control at the airport without too much difficulty. It was strange leaving so quickly after Christmas especially after my ma’s […]
Homeless World Cup update
While back in Edinburgh last week I managed to catch up with Craig and Zakia from The Homeless World Cup – the charity I decided to hook up with when planning my world cycle. It had been sometime since I last saw them properly it was good to hear that the world cup in Poland […]
Riding safe
With the deaths of six cyclists in London making headlines and subsequent appeals for increasing safety levels I wanted to write a blog that took both the perspective of cyclists, car drivers and truckers into account. Far too often the arguments are polarised, completely biased and quite frankly lack a level of honesty that I […]
