Saturday 3rd August 2013.

It has been three weeks since we last went for a ride. Some times other things just get in the way besides the weather. We had family come stay with us for four days over the 21st /22nd July weekend. I can't wait until the grand-children are old enough to go on rides with us. I have already bought two more bikes that my son and daughter-in-law can use, and am looking for a suitable one for my 6 year old grand-son. We have a very small bike that my 4 year grand-daughter will be able to use for a bit of fun, but she would probably be better off in a child-seat on the back of her Dad or Grand-dad's bike. I think I will look for one of those on Trade Me also.

Last weekend I wasn't feeling that great, and Saturday was windy, Warren was busy stripping wall-paper so we gave it a miss.

Today though was great for cycling, very warm for a mid-winters day, there was a bit of a wind but not too bad. It was a good day to try and get to the Appleby cycle bridge, the goal I had been aiming for, for quite a few weeks.

The ride out was nice and easy, we got to the signs which was as far as we had been previously, and decided to keep going. It was probably about another 15 minutes to the bridge. As it was such a nice day there were lots of other people cycling also, as well as people walking their dogs. There were also some very young children on their bikes, some the same size as our grand-daughter's 12 " bike.

I was feeling great by the time we got to the bridge but I must admit I was exhausted by the time we got back to the van, nearly two hours from when we had started the ride The wind had changed and it was hard biking against it, and I had to stop for a rest a couple of times. We need to make sure we take water with us as well, as I was getting very thirsty by the time I had finished. It was 17.5 km distance from the recycling centre in Richmond to the Appleby bridge and return. 

Saturday 13th July 2013

Unfortunately one of the problems with cycling in winter is the weather is not always co-operative. I am doing this for fun, so do not want to go out when there is a strong wind, or rain!!! We couldn't go out last weekend but today was a beautiful day for biking, no wind and the sun was shining. 

When I first started riding three months or so ago, I wanted to make it to the Honest Lawyer. I did that several weeks ago, but could have continued along the road to Monaco, and completed the round trip back to the Honest Lawyer and home. I started to do this on the previous ride, but it looked quite a bit further so decided against it. Today I thought would be the day to try and go the whole way around. If it the tide is in you will not be able to go around the beach front, luckily it was out far enough that we were able to walk through on the shingle beach.

This was a fantastic ride, I enjoyed it immensely. Very scenic, lot of other cyclists about, and just a wonderful ride. Two great places to stop for coffee also, at the Honest Lawyer or the little coffee spot at Monaco itself. We didn't do this but had a well-earned cuppa when we got home. By the time we got back to the van we had ridden just over 15 kms.

Saturday 29th June 2013

Another attempt to get to the Appleby cycle bridge. One thing I find frustrating with the websites showing the cycle trails around this area, is there doesn't seem to be anywhere you can find how far it is from Richmond to different points on the trail such as this bridge. (Actually I have since found out you can buy a passport for $ 10.00 which has detailed description of the trails.) We got as far as this sign which showed we still had a way to go to get to the bridge. We decided to turn around and try again another day.

This is a very scenic ride also and changes depending on the tide.

Saturday 22nd June 2013

Did another ride along the Estuary today, a very easy ride, and great scenery. My ultimate aim is to bike to Rabbit Island, but my short-term goal on this trail is to get to the new Appleby cycle bridge. Didn't manage to make it there this time, but an enjoyable ride on a mid-winter's day. You can see the snow on the mountains in the background, and in the lower photo you can see snow on one of the foothills close to Nelson itself. Very unusual. 

Saturday 15th June 2013

It has been two weeks since I have been on the bike, and I really missed it. We were away for Queens birthday weekend at the beginning of June, and last weekend it was too wet. The forecast for this weekend was not great either, and it seemed that if I wanted to get in a dry ride today we would have to go out this morning, relatively early.

It was a bit fresh outside only 6 degrees C so dressed accordingly along with gloves, track-pants and jackets. I am determined to get to Brightwater eventually so thought today we would see if we could get as far as the cycle bridge at the end of Pughs Road.

We started off at Jubilee Park, it was 9.45am and the park was full of kids playing rugby, and soccer, and their parents braving the cold showing their support. Car parking space was at a premium but we managed to find one close to a big puddle. There has been a lot of rain in the Nelson area over the last few weeks so the ground is very wet and muddy.

Luckily the bike trail is weather-proof and is nice to ride even if the weather is a bit rough. As it had been a couple of weeks since I had been on a bike, and there was a head wind, I couldn't bike very fast today. The first ten minutes or so my legs were hurting but I have found if you can get through this then the pain will go away and the rest of the ride will be okay. I don't think I got faster than 12kph, which is very slow. I think next time I will take a scarf to stop my face from getting frozen!!!

We had done the first part of the ride a couple of times before but managed to make it to the turnoff at the bottom of Pughs Road before it started to rain. I know the bridge is not much further than this but we decided to turn back so we could get home before the rain really set in.

The ride back is downhill and no head wind, so can go a lot faster. I think for a short spurt there we got up to 20kph. It is amazing to me that only five to ten minutes bike ride from Richmond and we are out in the country. There were several other riders doing the same ride, and people walking their dogs, and also parents with kids doing the trail.

We made it back to Jubilee Park before the rain started to come down, we had biked 13.2 km the most I have ever done. I don't think we will get out tomorrow as there are heavy rain warnings out, for most of the day.

Roll on next weekend, I hope it is fine and sunny.

Sunday May 26th 2013 Working up to Brightwater

I left it up to Warren to decide where we wanted to go today. He parked the van at the start of the Richmond to Brightwater cycle trail, and the plan was to bike about 6km and then turn around and come back. We had done the start of this trail twice before, the first time we only got to the vineyard, the next one as far as Ranzau school.

We managed to get as far as the turn off at the bottom of Pughs Road today which was just over 5 kms. I find that biking two days in a row, the second day, I can not go as far as I still have some aching muscles from the previous day. It will be much better when we can perhaps bike in the evenings as well, and may bike every second day, giving a day to recover between rides.

There was a slight head wind today which Warren said meant we were working just as hard as yesterday even though we hadn't gone quite as far. Well that was nice to hear anyway, not sure if it's true or not though!!

We passed a couple of apple orchards, and market gardens on our travels this morning.

Saturday 25th May 2013 Honest Lawyer

My goal this afternoon was to bike to the Honest Lawyer in Monaco from Lower Queen Street in Richmond. I had worked out it was about 5kms each way, so should be achievable
.

Since I began riding three weeks ago, the weather has been perfect, hardly any wind, and not too cold. The cycle trail to Monaco runs alongside the motorway for the first two kms and then alongside the estuary. It is a very easy ride, nice and flat, and quite scenic. We did see a little blue heron in the grass, ( I think it was a blue heron but not totally sure) but our cheap cell phone camera's don't zoom very well so the photo we took didn't really come out.

I debated whether stopping to have a hot chocolate at the Honest Lawyer but we decided to carry on and bike a bit further round to Monaco itself. It seemed a long way to get to the end so ended up cutting that short and heading back home. We biked 12.2 kms all up.

View of Monaco taken from the Honest Lawyer

Sunday 19th May 2013

An absolutely gorgeous autumn Sunday, warm and no wind. This afternoon's ride was back through the Waimea Estates vineyard bike trail. The eventual goal is to bike as far as Brightwater, have a cup of coffee and a break and then bike back to Richmond. We  got as far as Ranzau school today, which is probably about half way.

I was able to actually look at the scenery yesterday and today, last weekend I was too busy concentrating on staying on the bike, and watching where I was going. The autumn colours are amazing. I must say I am enjoying this much more than walking, however I don't know whether it is as good as exercise as going for a long walk. As Warren says it will probably be better than walking when we are able to do longer distances.

There were several groups of riders at today, some families with young children, older couples like us, two boys about 13 years old who started after us but went tearing by at a very fast pace.

We passed this little Lutheran Church. There was an article about it in our local weekly paper the other day. There is only about 6 people still going to the church and it needs repainting. They were asking the community for donations. There were a lot of settlers in this area from Germany and there are several Lutheran churches in the Tasman area, especially in the area of Upper Moutere also know as Sarau. This is an interesting read about their history. 

http://www.theprow.org.nz/german-settlement-in-nelson/#.UZhAHoXhAmw

Saturday 18th May 2013

I had been wanting to go out on my bike all week but it is winter here in New Zealand, and it gets dark around 5.30pm here in Nelson. As I work during the week the only time I can go out biking is at the weekend.

The forecast for this weekend was rain, and when we woke up it was very foggy. However the fog cleared and the rain stayed away so ventured out this afternoon.  This time we started doing the same route as last Sunday, along the Estuary towards Nelson. We had gone a little way and stopped at a sign that had details of the other trails. We saw a cyclist turn off in front of us, and realised this was the trail that goes alongside the Estuary in the other direction towards Rabbit Island. We thought we would give this one a go, it was a bit more off road but still flat, and was a nice ride. I want to do it when the tide is in as it would be very picturesque. Warren had gone out during the week and bought a basic cycling gizmo for his bike that measured the distance we were biking.

I stopped to take some photos and he said we had only gone 3.4 kms. That wasn't nearly far enough so we kept on going until we got to the Exclusive Brethren school at Headingly Lane. We then went off the trail and rode back down Lower Queen St back to where we had parked the van on Beach Road. We had bike 7.2 km at 14km per hour. Again not very far, but further than last weekend.

Sunday 11 May 2013

I wanted to go out for another ride today but we were a bit pushed for time, it was Mothers Day. We decided we would go out for a quick ride in the morning. Warren had been looking on the internet to see where the other cycle trails went and found that the one that went via the estuary towards Nelson started at Beach Road. We decided to give that one ago. As soon as I started riding my legs felt tired, I must have had some lingering effects of yesterday's ride after all. We had only been riding for about ten minutes when my legs started to hurt. I stopped for a minute or so then we decided to carry on for another few minutes. The weather was gorgeous, a great day for a ride.

After 15 minutes we decided to turn back. At this point a large and I mean large group of walkers came round a bend onto the track we were on. They completely took over the trail, and we both stopped to wait for them to get a bit in front of us. However they kept on coming. One of the organisers said just go when there is a gap. Hmm I took him at his word however it is very difficult to ride slowly and I ended up falling off. As my daughter said Mum why didn't you just stop normally. It was more like a slow motion fall. Luckily I wasn't hurt just a couple of bruises and a graze or too.

I read in the local paper later that there were 450 walkers all doing the Jennian Homes Mother Days walk. I think they need to completely close the track to cyclists when that many people are using the track!!

Last weekend 11th and 12th May 2013 the weather was gorgeous, a beautiful autumn days with sun and no wind. On the Saturday morning, I wheeled my bike out of the garage, and had a quick ride up and down our drive-way. I didn't fall off but my steering wasn't the greatest.

I then ventured out to the cul-de-sac, putting on my brand new helmet for the first time. I rode a couple of times around the street, trying to figure out the gears, I wasn't sure what they were meant to do, and when you were supposed to change them. My husband said to just leave them in the middle as that was all you needed if you were biking on flat ground.

I decided to have an attempt at the very small hill down from our place, riding down it was fine, but coming back up the street was virtually impossible. I had to get off and walk. I had played with the gears and had shifted them up, instead of down and it made it extremely difficult to push the pedals.

I came inside and did a bit of research on the internet to try and figure out how the gears actually worked. In a nutshell if you are going up-hill put the gears into low, if riding on flat ground leave them in the middle, and if going down-hill put them up to high!!

In the afternoon we decided we would actually give one of the bike trails a go. One of my co-workers had told me the best place to start which was from McDonald's in Richmond, out to the under-pass at Three Brothers Corner which was about a 4 km ride. Not very far I know but it was a good first attempt.

 The trail was completely flat and we ended up going a bit further than the underpass and were biking alongside Waimea Estates vineyard which was very pretty. We decided to turn back then, but you can actually ride through the vineyard and end up at Brightwater. That will be an adventure for another day. My legs did hurt a bit when I was biking, but as soon as I stopped they were fine and didn't hurt the next day.

The beginnings!!

There have been several cycle trails created around the Nelson/Tasman area over the last year or so. Cycling the trails has become the in thing to do and I had been thinking about getting into it, but had some reservations as I had not ridden a bike for at least 20 years. I am also very unfit, the only exercise I get is walking to and from work during the week, about 40 minutes a day in ten minute spurts.

I spent several weeks looking at mountain bikes on Trade Me, as I didn't want to spend a lot of money on a new bike if I found I couldn't ride a bike anymore, or more importantly didn't enjoy it.

A couple of weekends ago I found a listing for two bikes, and they looked to be a great buy. Three years old and only used a few times. I wasn't sure if my husband wanted to give cycling ago but when I showed him the photos of the bike he seemed to be keen.

We did a bit of research and found the frame sizes would suit us both, so I pressed the buy now button and we
became the proud owners of two  21 speed mountain bikes. 21 speed seemed a bit of an overkill, and I had no idea how to use gears but would have to learn. My last bike was the one I had when I was at school many many years ago, it had no gears!!