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.