Tandem Tour Aotearoa – the view of Week One from the back

It’s time again for Jutta’s perspective from the back of Daisy2, reviewing our first week on the road, with 380km or so (our computers disagree on the exact distance) behind us so far of our planned 3000 kilometres from Cape Reinga in the north of NZ to Bluff at the bottom. (Long distance cycling does … Read more …

Tane Mahuta, 2 small humans and their tandem

Here’s our completely favourite photo so far of biking NZ. At Tane Mahuta, 2000-year-old Lord of the Forest and the country’s largest standing Kauri tree. Somehow survived the 19th century ecocide of European settlers. Today we resume the #TandemTA heading 75km on rough country roads to remote Pouto Point, hoping to take a fisherman’s ferry … Read more …

Wednesday to Friday – 180 km Kaitaia to Dargaville

Wednesday to Friday of our first full week tandeming the Tour Aotearoa has brought us, slowly, from Kaitaia at the bottom of the Cape Reinga peninsula across VERY hilly bits of northernmost New Zealand to the delightfully-named Dargaville, the country’s sweet potato capital, would you believe, with a colourful history of immigration from Croatia. After … Read more …

90-Mile Beach, and we’re away with first 105-km day

The photos perhaps might best speak for themselves, but back for a night in Kaitaia, we’re now seriously underway with two fabulous, and sun-searing+overcast days of riding already behind us. Some 160 km so far, which means that if we keep this up – and don’t get too bogged down with evening internet and blog … Read more …

Psychlo-Identity – Jutta’s take as we approach Cape Reinga

Time for another word from the stoker. I have to admit to feeling something of a fraud. Prancing about in high-tech lycra-merino profi-gear enrolling loads of people’s goodwill to get these long-distance travellers with their long bike and awkward-sized panniers accommodated, while all we have done so far is cycle to and from stations, airports … Read more …

Tour Aotearoa can begin – we’re safely in NZ

Safely arrived in Auckland and delightfully quartered with Warmshowers friends Steve and Annette Thoms (latter helpfully also Secretary of Auckland Cycle Touring Club), we’re nearly ready to get going on the Tour Aotearoa. Flew over Ayres Rock/Uluru in the middle of Australia at 40,000 feet on the way (evidence pictured), and rather more important, Daisy2 arrived … Read more …

Google finds all old biking photos

Isn’t Google amazing. I have all my photos from all time (approaching 40,000 now, including all the old ones scanned in) on my Google Drive, and just typing bicycle in the search box brought up hundreds of two-wheeler images from the very earliest days. Right back to my first trike at Duckshole farm near Holt in … Read more …

A fortnight till lift-off

Quite how we’re going to get all of this (and more, out of frame, though not the bed) into four panniers, one barrel bag and one handlebar bag is perhaps a question for Iniduoh – Houdini in reverse (terrible joke).But yesterday in two weeks, Feb 3, Jutta (hoping by then for recovery from a nasty … Read more …

Stoker musings

Time for the stoker to come on-line. Having encouraged Mark to go ahead with this venture and stoked his organising enthusiasm I find myself getting surprisingly excited about this trip. I look forward to pedalling the length of NZ and my body into uncharted ways of being (bar 3 weeks tandeming around killingly hilly Scotland … Read more …