A week of cycling
A glimpse into my diary as I prepare to cycle the Tour Aotearoa South Island
Thursday
Thursday is a rest day so there’s no cycling. Instead, I stretch my legs with a walk. I head to my local bike shop to pick up some new gear.
Some cyclists advocate wearing different bike shorts when doing long rides on consecutive days. The theory is you’re less likely to get saddle sores because different brands will have different pressure points. So I’m testing out a new brand (Tineli) to alternate with my old shorts (Endura).
Chris gets some flash new shorts too, along with a new bike lube he’s heard good things about and a new rear light to increase his visibility on the open road. (I replaced mine last month.) While I try to avoid blinding other cyclists with overly bright lights in the city, we definitely need a more conspicuous flash for daytime cycling on state highways.
I should spend the rest of the day preparing for our trip by identifying all the places to get food and drink along the Tour Aotearoa route (and checking opening hours) so I can work out when and where we need to carry food. I have made a start but it’s a tedious task and takes hours. (Listings in my 2021 route guide are well out of date.) I opt for the slightly less tedious task of tidying the house and rearranging some storage cupboards instead.
Friday
On Friday we’re back on the bikes. We decide to cycle to Rangiora and back via the Christchurch Northern Corridor, which is roughly a two-hour ride. It’s flat and sealed the whole way, with very few road crossings so it’s great for cycling at pace.
The northern corridor cycleway was built when a new section of motorway was constructed and has been a gamechanger in enabling cyclists to head out of the city over the Waimakariri River. It connects to another cycle route to (and through) the town of Kaiapoi, which in turn connects to another cycle path (the Passchendaele Memorial Path) to Rangiora.
Chris and I are a little slower than usual thanks to a head wind leaving Christchurch, and the extra weight of our panniers, which we now take everywhere. The panniers are only half full. I’ve popped a couple of books wrapped in towels in mine, along with some extra jumpers. My books are big paperbacks (Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood and Naomi Alderman’s The Future), but Chris has stuffed a whopping big hardback in his.
We’re pleased with our general level of fitness. We’re at the stage now when we can easily bike for two hours at a reasonable pace without too much effort. The new bike shorts are great, but we’ll need to test them again on a longer ride.
Back home, I consider doing some trip preparation but there’s household jobs to do, and I really need to make some progress on my next book club book (the wonderfully named Hagitude by Sharon Blackie).
Saturday
Saturday is a gym day. It’s a short bike ride away (10-15 minutes) so the ride doubles as a warm-up and a means of transport. I’m only there for 35 minutes - just long enough to do a mix of upper and lower body weights and some core strength exercises. I’m wary of doing too many leg exercises in case it upsets my cycling, so I limit it to some leg presses, calf raises and squats.
I’m back on the bike later in the day, but not for training. I’ve agreed to lead a two-hour bike tour in central Christchurch for some visiting American tourists. They are part of an organised Tauck tour of New Zealand and have the choice of several activities, one of which is a bike tour run by Chill bike shop. It’s a cold windy day but eleven people show up ready to ride.
I’m one of two guides so lead a small group of five visitors. We meander slowly toward Hagley Park, making brief stops along the way to admire the glass-fronted Christchurch Art Gallery, the heritage buildings at the Arts Centre and the very English Christ’s College (a private boys’ school).
We cycle across the park to Mona Vale, a heritage homestead and garden park located on prime real estate by the Ōtākaro Avon River. It’s a lovely spot and we enjoy riding through the gardens and along the river, marvelling at the beautiful (and very expensive) houses on the other side.
We ride back through Hagley Park, and cycle along the river promenade through the central city. There’s lots to see and we stop at the Antigua Boatsheds, the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial, the new convention centre, the Christchurch Town Hall, New Regent Street and the amazing Margaret Mahy Playground. (I’ve written about these places before in my post on cycling with visiting Canadians, Colleen and Ian.)
It’s a relaxing ride and a nice way to end the afternoon.
Sunday
Sunday is a big ride day. The forecast is for strong wind and passing showers, but the forecast is often wrong and I’m optimistic that the rain won’t happen. We get up to discover…strong wind and passing showers. Bummer.
We muck around for a while, have another cup of tea and do some Duolingo lessons (I’m learning German and Japanese, Chris has given up languages in favour of mathematics.) But eventually the rain stops and we decide to head out while we can. It’s a bit cold so we wear warm layers and pack extra thermals, leg warmers and long gloves in case it’s colder in the hills. It’s mid-summer and normally we’d be more worried about heat exhaustion than hypothermia.
We start our ride on the flat riding across the city to Sumner beach at the foot of the Port Hills. We usually come off the hills here but today we’ve decided to do things in reverse. We cycle slowly up Evan Pass Road and, with the added weight of panniers, I’m wondering what we were thinking signing up for a long ride with hills every day. The ascent is not as steep as our usual ride up Dyers Pass Road, but there’s no shoulder to ride in and there are fewer turns and levelling off points. All I can see is a long expanse of tarmac in front of me.
However, when we reach Summit Road, the gradient drops considerably. We’re still climbing but it’s a lot easier and we can enjoy the view. And because we’re approaching the ride from a new direction, it’s a completely different outlook for us.
Summit Road runs for 28 kilometres from Evans Pass Road all the way to Gebbies Pass Road, where we will descend. It’s an undulating ride so we get a mix of ups and downs, crossing over our usual entry point at Dyers Pass Road along the way. We’re heading into the wind. The road is sheltered for much of the way but, at times, we have to work hard just to keep moving and I’m wary of occasional crosswind gusts. (If you’ve been reading for a while and followed our Taiwan trip, you’ll know why.)
At Gebbies Pass, we head back to the flat and connect up to the Little River Rail Trail at Motukarara. By now, it’s lunchtime and we’ve been cycling for over three hours with just one short muffin break. It’s good to rest up for a bit - but not too long because we still have a long way to go.
From Motukarara, it’s easy riding along the rail trail to the town of Lincoln. We could follow the rail trail all the way back to Christchurch but decide to go via Tai Tapu village instead - another route we normally do in the opposite direction. It’s a mix of quiet country roads and cycleway.
At about the 75 kilometre mark, we realise we’re about to hit the (metaphoric) wall and need to re-fuel. So, we have second lunch at a cafe in Tai Tapu. The extra food and caffeine are just what we need to keep us going for the final hour and a half. It’s a good learning experience for us and something we’ll need to plan carefully for when we go on our Tour Aotearoa trip. Some days, there won’t be a cafe (or even just a petrol station) to stop at.
We arrive home tired, but in good spirits, and agree that it was an excellent day out. We cycled 101 kilometres over five and a half hours, with just under 1,000 metres of climbing. Our new bike shorts performed well too, with no evidence of any chafing. Whew!
Monday
Monday is another big ride day. We need to get our bodies used to cycling long distances on back-to-back rides.
I am on my own today as Chris has returned to work (and he’ll do his own ride later). I’m aiming for a four-hour ride and decide to cycle north of the city through the Waimakariri district. It’s similar to my Rangiora training ride, except that when I get to Kaiapoi, I add in a big off-road loop. I cycle along the Kaiapoi River to the coast, up the coast to Waikuku Beach, and then head back inland to Rangiora along the banks of the Ashley-Rakahuri River. The route is mostly gravel track, which is not difficult but slows me down.
Right from the start, I’m feeling tired from my Sunday ride. And because there’s no sense of discovery, it really does feel like this ride is a chore. There’s a southwesterly wind, which is behind me for a start, but it’s a head wind along the riverbank and on the northern corridor back to Christchurch. I am cycling slower than I normally would and I’m constantly adjusting my shoulders and seat position to try to feel less uncomfortable. Unsuccessfully.
I find I’ve overestimated how long the ride would take, so I dump my bags at home and head straight back out again to the shops to pick up some supplies, and reward myself with a large sushi bento box for lunch. I’m still a bit short of my target but clock up 76 kilometres over three hours and 45 minutes.
Tuesday
A rest day - and I need it. I spend the morning pottering about, then head into the city for another bike tour.
This time, there are only six people for two guides, so we run one group and share guiding duties. The other guide is way more experienced than me (with something like 15 years of guiding under her belt) so it’s a good chance to pick up some tips. She takes a slightly different route to me, some of which I like and decide to adopt (like cycling through Mona Vale in the opposite direction), and some of which I am less keen on (cycling through uncontrolled intersections and laneways at a busy time of day).
I vaguely consider going to a yoga class after the bike tour. My body is feeling a bit stiff and I know yoga would help. But I go home and have a glass of wine instead and then take a hot bath after dinner (yes, I know, it’s the middle of summer!)
Wednesday
Wednesday is Spin day. I go to the gym early (by bike, of course) so I’ve got time to do some strength training first.
Every Spin class is different but today, the instructor has decided to do a mix of ‘hills and flats’. The hills are as I expect, with the instructor urging us to add increasing resistance so it’s increasingly hard to pedal, even when standing up out of the saddle. But I find the hills easier than the flats. There’s the odd spell of resistance-free spinning to ‘flush out our legs’ but mostly it involves pedalling as fast as possible while under much more resistance than I would like.
I know it’s good for me though, and the music makes it fun. It’s a 50 minute class, and I cycle the equivalent of 24 kilometres during that time. Unsurprisingly, I’m bright red and dripping with sweat by the end.
I had planned to spend the afternoon doing some trip preparation. But it’s a book club night and I still need to finish the book and bake a cake.
Thursday
Thursday again and it’s another rest day. I have no commitments and plenty of time for finally progressing that trip preparation. But it’s a good day for gardening. And I have a blog to write.