Tour of Aotearoa

When I was riding the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route in 2022, we ran into two Kiwi gents in Colorado and chatted for a while. They strongly recommended the Tour of Aotearoa Brevet, and that kind of stuck with me. I have been following the construction of some of the Great Rides for a while and when researching the route was excited to see how many trails and tracks were incorporated into the TA.

This led to two and a half years of planning and setting the stage to leave for six weeks in the beginning of mountain bike season, which wasn't ideal but the seasons are inverse in the Southern Hemisphere so you really just need to plan for a winter trip and move forward.

We landed in Auckland on January 5th, built the bikes in the airport, and rode to our motel. The NZ airports are by far the most bike friendly I have ever been in, with the staff going out of their way to help you and a bike tool stand at the Invercargill airport, this was super easy.

We were picked up by a local shuttle driver the next morning, who drove us close to 400 kilometers to the north to Cape Reinga, where the route begins. We hopped out of the van , walked down to the lighthouse ( no riding of bikes or eating at the point out of respect for local custom) for some pictures, and we were riding south by 5 pm.

Day 1- We were constantly changing plans due to camping accommodations, January is New Zealand's holiday season and things were challenging. We rode south from Cape Reinga and soon were on the famous 90 Mile Beach, which requires planning your travel during low tides.

We are able to get to a DOC campsite at dark, unfortunately missing the fresh water spigot to wash off the bikes.I washed my bike with my water bottle but it was insufficient as I would see the next morning.A quick backpacking meal and time for some sleep at 11 pm.

Day 2- Due to holiday accomodations challenges we rode 20 miles to Hukatere, which was an amazing spot in the dunes. Our bike chains and cassettes were totally ruined from the beach the day before, so at least we were able to clean and lube bikes, then reset our gear, but it was a slow day.

Day 3- we finished 90 Mile in a tough headwind and headed into the hills, getting our first gravel roads of the trip. This was like a flow trail of fire roads for miles, descending to a ferry in Rawene, where we crossed and stayed at a Holiday Park in Omapere.

Day 4- We headed out starting with a stiff climb, then into rolling hills all day. I had ridden these sections virtually on Training Peaks Virtual so I had a small idea of the challenge but it's difficult to really simulate riding a 35 kilo bike. We also were introduced to Kiwi drivers on two lane highways with minimal shoulders, which was a recurring stressor for me over the next month. We did enjoy three fantastic hikes in Kauri preserves ,seeing the second and third largest trees in the world. The local docents were very aware of the heritage and also of the redwoods in California . We camped in Trounson Kauri Preserve that evening to the sound of Kiwi birds calling out which was quite magical.

Day 5- we headed to Pouto Point which was tougher than expected. We had an arranged charter with a fishing boat the next morning, so an afternoon of swimming and laundry at the Pouto Point Marine Hall commenced. There is always something to do on a bike tour, usually involving hygiene,gear repair, or resupply.

Day 6- a great day for a boat ride across the Kaipara inlet, this took most of the day, then we rode from Helensville to Auckland in 28 degree temps. Zach was a fun captain, his boat was built from kauri wood in the early 20’s and he's the 4th generation of Matich to make a living on the water.

Day 7- we left Auckland on a ferry after riding to the top of Mount Eden, an old volcano in the middle of the town. We connected with a new guy from the UK on the ferry and became a band of three for the next week or so. A mellow day of riding down the eastern coast of the Firth of Thames got us to a Holiday Park in Miranda, where we dined on frozen pizzas.

Day 8- we left Miranda early and were blessed with favorable tailwinds all the way to Cambridge.These were big miles on roads and the Hauraki Trail. We passed by the amazing trails of Te Mani, if I only had a full sus mtb!

Day 9- after a very chill Airbnb outside of Cambridge, we rolled south on some sweet roads, stopping at a cafe in Arapuni, then headed farther south to Mangakino. I got some pretty bad food poisoning from a toastie at the cafe, which ended up sidelining me for a day in a backpackers in Mangakino while things slowly reset. I definitely had issues with the food in NZ and really didn't eat another toasted sandwich, frittata,or meat pie the rest of the trip, subsisting on OSM Bars and cheese scones most days , then trying to pick a dinner with a vegetable. Breakfasts were mostly sorted with my cold soak oats, and I did like stopping for long blacks each day, basically an Americano in the rest of the world.

Day 10 - Rest,rest and more rest , trying to stabilize my gut issues, and catching up on coaching work and calls. It also torrentially rained so I was happy to wait out the storm. We had a big day ahead of us anyway.

Day 11 -This was the start of the much- anticipated Timber Trail. I have been wanting to ride this since it opened in 2013 . First we needed to ride up the short but challenging Arataki Track , but soon we were on a very smooth Green or Grade 3 track climbing through ferns , crossing deep gorges on suspension bridges, and in general having a great time. We ended up at Camp Epic midway, where a kind man had an extra steak we split three ways and fell asleep in glamping tents.

Day 12- We rode another 40km of mostly descending single track, including the Ongurue Spiral which is in an old railway tunnel looping under itself. There were tons of deep tramway cuts on this section with cliffs of ferns towering overhead, it was quite good. We ended up at a Holiday Park in Tamarunui , where we got the news that the last section of the Maungapurea Track was closed due to a massive slide. This closed access to our planned jet boat ride down the Whanganui River to Pipiriki, and necessitated a route change to a winter alternate.

Day 13- we set out early for Whakahoro and the Blue Duck cafe, riding epic kilometers of gravel. After a long black, we set out into Whanganui National Park on the Kaiwakauka Track, which climbed up out of the bush and onto a windy ridge. We then diverted onto another open section of the Mangapurea Track and rode 45 km of headwind gravel to a Holiday Park in Raitihi. A super long day, just making it into Reatihi as the Foursquare closed at 7 pm. These tiny stores are the backbone of villages in NZ, between them and New World supermarkets we resupplied every two days or so. I should have joined the New World buyers club :-)

An absolute smasher of a day. 7,000 Feet and 95 miles of gravel.

Day 14- We continued our alternate route with an amazing quiet sealed road to Pipiriki, then down the Whanganui River Valley to the town of Whanganui. Our third amigo had a front wheel hub failing,but Evo Cycles in Whanganui was able to sort him out with some replacement gravel wheels.

Day 15- after a late start getting the wheel set sorted, we rode a shorter day into a solid headwind to Hunterville. The forecast was getting worse each day but we managed to arrive before the rain and stop at a very interesting used stereo and hot dog shop. After the longest lasagna dinner ever at the local hotel, I slept hard, which was kind of surprising considering my room was directly over the local hotel bar.

Day 16- the forecast was gloomy but we were determined to get as far as possible. We rode on winding gravel roads for most of the day, meeting an amazing local who was selling coffee and Cokes to benefit the local forest conservancy efforts. We made it to Ashhurst and the skies opened up. We had a 7-8 km climb up a new trail next to a highway in a huge headwind with rain pouring down. A fairly tough afternoon of riding that ended up at a truck stop motel in Pahiatua which was the skeeziest place I've stayed at in years. Everything was soaked and I managed to lose one of my Showers Pass rain gloves overnight . These gloves have ridden around in panniers for years with zero use, I bring them out one time and they were gone. At least they kept me warm for one day !

Day 17- we were now on the edge of a huge weather cell that pounded the North Island for over a week with sadly several people losing their lives in a landslide to the north of us. We left Pahiatua and soon found ourselves heading south on rain soaked gravel roads, where we had our one and only angry driver of the trip flipping us off ( insert shrug emoji here). We reached Ekatuhuna where I dropped my Oakley Sutros in the middle of the street, getting them run over. I taped them back up and we continued south , eventually arriving in Marlborough, which was a very nice wine growing town. A good Airbnb for the evening with laundry and dinner got everyone sorted, and the rain somewhat paused.

Day 18- the day started with mild pavement turning to gravel, then we headed up the Remutaka Rail Trail. This repurposed rail line features a very windy suspension bridge and several tunnels as it makes its way towards Upper Hutt. It was an excellent climb and smooth descent to Upper Hutt, where we then followed a cycle path all the way into Wellington. I was able to buy some new Sutros in this medium sized city, and in general we got in some bike maintenance, a tire replacement on my bike( the chip seal was hard on tires) and a haircut from a newly minted barber .

Day 19- We sailed across Cook Strait on a giant car ferry after a stop at a fantastic French bakery and landed in Picton that evening. Sort of a zero day which I badly needed.

Day 20- we left Picton early in the morning and headed West along Queen Charlotte Sound, then turning inland after Pelorus Bridge for the infamous Maungatapu Track. This was a super physical day with fifteen to eighteen percent grades on loose rock. There was some bike pushing but not too bad, and after some jokes with a few kids driving tricked out diesel HiLux trucks at the top of the hill, we dropped into an even more physical descent . I caught a stick in my rear derailleur and almost ripped it off before I could get the bike stopped, this took some time to sort out. We ended up pushing through the nice town of Nelson and stayed in a Holiday Park in Mapua, which apparently was a former nudist colony? A rather long and crazy day.

Day 21- We rode mostly roads in the morning with an especially sketchy stretch of SH 6 for about 20 km before turning towards Lake Rotoroa. With the sand flies being legendary here and the forecast dim, we opted for a wonderful homestay at Gowan Backpackers, where we had home cooked dinner with actual vegetables and a short swim while dodging the cursed flies.

Day 22- we rolled out on the fantastic Braeburn Track , climbing gravel roads over a saddle and dropping into Murchison, then headed over the equally special Marae Track. The only downside to the whole day was getting caught in a torrential downpour 3km from our accomodations for the night .Well, I could add eating frozen casserole from a G.A.S. station in Springs Junction, but such is life on the road.

Day 23- the rain stopped and we rode a very quiet highway to Reefton, a very nice town that was hard to leave. We then took on the Big River/ Waita tracks, which was easily the most technical mountain biking of the trip. Lots of hike a bike both uphill and downhill over rain soaked rocks and roots, lifting the bikes over downed trees and up a streambed for several hundred meters, plus crashing and going off the track and falling roughly ten feet down a hill. I would classify myself a strong intermediate mountain biker and I would have been happier on my Yeti for sure, but in general just a treacherous track ,losing the front wheel every hundred meters on another parallel root or rock slowed things down considerably .We finished in Ikamatua and camped behind a bar, where I noticed my saddle was strangely tilted upwards a bit….

Day 24- we left Ikamatua and within a couple of miles of riding, Justin's rear hub gave up the ghost. We had been hearing noises for the last 1000 km and it was done, just free spinning with no engagement. He headed back to Ikamatua to hitch a ride forward to a bike shop and I continued riding in the rain towards Greymouth.About two hours later, I saw a familiar figure in front of me, it was Justin, skoot biking along. He had gotten a ride partway and was pushing/skooting his way to Greymouth. We both ended up at a bike shop or three as he sourced a new wheel and swapped over components. We headed out of Greymouth after lunch, got about 10km down the road , then my saddle just popped off the rails. I am guessing this happened from the previous day's crash. After trying all kinds of ways to reattach the saddle, we determined the best path would be to return to Greymouth and purchase a replacement.

I was in luck as a shop had a test Specialized Myth 168 gathering dust in the back, which wasn't a perfect replacement for the Arc 168 but not terrible, and a bit softer in the nose which was appreciated.

We wound up the day in Kumara, a bit short of our goal but staying in an amazing yoga retreat was a plus.

Day 25- After a solid night's sleep, we began a day on the West Coast Wilderness Trail. This gem runs for over 100 km into the hills and back out to the coast under lush forest sprinkled with boardwalks and fantastic views. We hung out at Cowboy Paradise for a bit before moving on through Hokitaka and ending up at Ross Beach.

Day 26- We left Ross early and began to get into the glaciated West Coast a bit more, with stops at Franz Josef and ending at Fox Glacier Township. This day and the next few days were mostly on SH6, which was not my favorite with higher speeds, lots of tourists in campervans and frustrated locals stuck behind them, and most concerning of all the lack of shoulder for hundreds of kilometers.

Day 27- we rolled out of Fox Glacier and headed towards Haast River. The forecast again was looking poor for the next two days with the West Coast due to receive two and a half inches of rain. I snuck in a swim during a clear moment at Lake Paringa, but mostly this was another day of highway riding. I decided to wait out the storm in Haast at a backpackers, while Justin continued on towards Wanaka, about 100 km away.

Day 28- a long day of rain. I swapped out some brake pads, caught up on coaching work, and generally chilled. It was great to finally take a rest day!

Day 30- with the forecast calling for high winds, I decided to get over Haast Pass early and see how far I could get . A two hour false flat into a headwind began, followed by a steep 8k climb following a glaciated river full of boulders and blue water. I topped out only to face another 70k to Lake Hawea in a cold Southerly headwind . I camped in a kind of run down Holiday Park and treated myself to a frozen lasagna out of the local New World Market.

Day 31- I had a fairly easy day ahead of me, spinning down the Clutha River towards Cromwell. A few miles on the by now hated and feared SH6,and I was back on the Lake Dunston trail, where I stopped for a swim before heading to my tiny home Airbnb for the night. Cromwell was great, easy to resupply at the New World plus an excellent pizza at Skeleton Pi, which is a little trailer in the park cranking out some good food. I was going to need it as I had the Nevis on tap the next day.

1300 Meters near the equator is very different than 1300 meters near the South Pole. This felt like high altitude terrain in Colorado or Wyoming.

Day 32- the Nevis Valley in my mind was the queen stage of the whole tour. Over 6000 feet of sustained climbing on dirt , 80 km of remote riding on New Zealand's highest public road with over twenty water crossings, it's a big day by any measure. I started extra early and stayed steady all day, eating bars every hour and needing to filter water at the crossings twice during the day. I finished with a wild descent into Garston and some easy miles into Athol, where I had some fantastic Texas style BBQ that night.

Day 33- Justin rejoined for the last big push across the coastal flats and we made good time until the wind machine was turned on north of Invercargill. This made what should have been an easy century something of a death march as we rode on a path next to a highway with three thousand motorcyclists who were in town for the Burt Munro rally( think the movie Last American Indian). We wrapped up the trip with some strange ice cream sundaes, frozen dinners from Foursquare , and a windy night camping at the Bluff town camping area.

Day 33- First we rode back towards Invercargill (in the rain of course).We had hoped to rent a car and head to Queenstown, but with the motorcycle rally happening, no one was renting one way cars.We also couldn't find accomodations in Invercargill which was challenging. I needed to start heading home due to a family matter, so I changed my flight, bought a bike box from Air New Zealand, boxed it up and caught the late afternoon flight to Christchurch, then Auckland, then a day or two layover before I headed back home to California. Of course Auckland had wonderful weather for the last couple days of New Zealand 🌞

Takeaways

Rest days- I'll be 60 this year and I definitely needed more days off than my younger riding companions. I have planned these out in itineraries before and then ignored them. I won't do that again.

I was fine riding solo. My overall pace was fairly close to what I have done in the past with hillier routes, but it was hard to match the pace of my younger companions. This was an interesting mental jump for me but I'm glad to have sorted it out.

I was concerned about my health going into this trip. There were some strange heart things happening this fall , likely from another long COVID exposure, and I took it pretty easy in the buildup. I also had trouble doing long days of training due to working so hard to set up 6 weeks away from my clients. I had also worked really hard on mobility and strength training all summer and fall of 2025 in an effort to be be more durable, manage some crash injuries from 2025, and maintain more muscle mass to lift my bike over gates and trees :-) . This was mostly successful but I did get injured a couple of months before, which really freaked me out. In the end, all my pains went away as I rode 8-10 hours a day. Just riding more for injury prevention is rarely a good strategy but it seems to have worked this time.

Thin chamois bib shorts were the right move. Specifically the SQ Lab One12R, which I coincidentally sell and have ridden road in for years. . With a 4 mm pad this lycra short dries much faster than a liner and a baggie over short. And I could carry three pairs of the One12R for the size and weight of two pairs of liners. I debated this internally for months before the trip and I was happy with this choice. I did bring a pair of light weight Patagonia shorts and some Specialized MTB pants for rides into town, but these were 99 percent camp clothes.

The Garmin 515 Varia was great until it wasn't. It stopped consistently seeing cars as I approached the end of the trip, right when it needed to be Uber reliable on SH6. Also the charging port being micro USB is dumb. I know Garmin just released a new model so I'll have to make some decisions on this front.

We didn't need a stove. On this route we only camped one night without a kitchen and kettle available due to the amazing holiday parks with communal kitchens.We could have used a collapsible pot or two instead for easier meals.

Tires wear out quickly on the chip sealed roads. I replaced a rear Mezcal in Wellington and was glad I did .

I wore my Outdoor Research Sun Hoody almost every day. A perfect piece of kit.

I went through three pairs of gloves. This was interesting as I bought some mtb gloves in Greymouth which I wore through, lost the rain glove, and wore through my OR sun gloves. Most of the wear was on my left hand so maybe an asymmetry in the hand pressure?

Flat bars with an aerobar was a great setup for me. In general the Otso Fenrir with 2.35 Mezcals was perfect and rather low maintenance, especially considering the hard smashing down rocky tracks that happened.Flat pedals were also again an excellent choice. I did switch to 165 cranks which ended up being very good , especially in an aero position.

I brought a Pixel tablet in an effort to do better work on Training Peaks. This was ineffective and weighed a fair amount. One of the guys I rode with coincidentally uses Training Peaks in his role as the Head Coach for the RAF triathlon club. He sent his Ipad home and bought a Chromebook in an effort to be able to work with the Training Peaks website. A Chromebook weighs about 1200 grams , a tablet comes in at 800g, and a remote keyboard(another option) weighing in at 400g or so. I did use a small travel mouse which was excellent. I will likely take the travel mouse again,pair it with my phone, and bring my small Kindle for reading at night.

The Manta Sleep Mask was fantastic and worth every space and weight consideration.I slept better in noisy campgrounds with all night lights and hotels than I ever have before. A strong recommendation.

I was very glad to have selected a heavier rain jacket and brought rain pants. This was an unusually wet summer with two thirds of the riding days seeing some precipitation When I watched videos of previous summer tours it rarely rained, but this year was much worse. It would have been unrideable in lighter rain gear. I also brought a super light wind shell and a high viz vest or gillet. These were good for chilly descents and I always wore the vest on highway riding days. It was never really cold which was a blessing.

Conclusions

New Zealand was a fascinating place to visit. I'm already thinking of doing another trip in a couple of years, probably less riding and maybe more hiking if I can build up my knee stability a bit more. A month barely scratched the surface of what adventures can be found here. It has a bit of everything and the people were amazing, patiently putting up with my terrible pronunciation of Maori words and in general being a PIA tourist.

The international community was fantastic to be around, New Zealand attracts wanderers and travelers from everywhere, and I had so many great experiences and conversations over the last month.

The Tour of Aotearoa was an amazing experience. A fairly approachable tour with lots of beta and infrastructure, I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking for a longer

adventure in their lives.

Thanks for reading!

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