Lovely pics, Graham. We live in Picton and drive and cycle the Queen Charlotte Drive route a bit. As you would've seen, two massive weather events in the past two years have taken their toll on the road. Looking forward to following your journey north.

There’s a slight irony in this sign because this section of road was almost traffic free when I cycled it. There were only a couple of very polite cars per hour, and no big trucks. I almost had the road to myself for a couple days.

Nevertheless it is good to see such signs. They help remind motorists that cyclists are also bona fide road users.

I like the wide space on the sign between motor vehicle and cyclist. Similar “share the road” signs here in Canada show the vehicle almost touching the cyclists’ elbow.

Thanks George. New Zealand is a wonderful country. Well worth a visit. I’m a bit biased of course.

Seems as though you had a good adventure, I enjoyed following along. Thanks for the journal and for whetting my appetite to maybe someday tour in New Zealand.

Thanks Greg. New Zealand’s landscapes and climate are total contrasts to mainland Australia. I’m lucky to be able to experience it fairly easily by cycle touring. New Zealand has invested a lot of $ in cycle tourism infrastructure over the past decade. It’s fun making use of it.

There seems to be quite a few North Americans here on their bikes. Other than fellow from Minnesota, there was another group (from Montana I think) on the first ferry crossing I made. The currency exchange rate is very favourable for USA travellers here.

I’d highly recommend NZ for cycle touring or other types of touring.

Thanks Rich. It was a fun and interesting short tour.

If I was to return to NZ with a small wheeler, I'd stay in Napier for several days and explore the network of bike trails in the Hawkes Bay region.

More challenging backroad routes anywhere in NZ would be better done on my Thorn Sherpa, or even my Curve MTB. Any sturdier bike. I was lucky the KHS wheels, and especially the light tyres, lasted the distance.

Greg unfortunately we had very little time to chat because I had to catch the bus. I did learn that he had a very similar work history to me, so it would have been great to share a few stories.
His bike was an impressive machine. He’d bought from a bespoke bike builder in California. It looked ideal for NZ conditions.

Michael the KHS did well, but it was at its limit for load carrying capacity. If I were to use it like this again I’d try to have a rack and panniers on the rear, and less weight lower at the front.

Also small wheels quickly overheat on long descents with frequent braking. Braking generally was very poor. Great care needed on descents. I’m going to see if I can fit better brakes.

Otherwise the little bike performed exceedingly well. Being able to bag it quickly for the bus trip back to Nelson was incredibly useful.

We had an 80 year old Montanan called Ethel stay with us a pre Covid when we were Warmshowers hosting. She configured her small bike in pretty much the same way and made it to Wellington eventually. Well done.

Cool bike trip, Graham. Thank you for writing about it.

The word "Minnesota" perked me up. Nice to see evidence of bike tourists from my own state. He was smart to be down there. I rode my bike today in 9-degree air today. I think that's well below zero in Centigrade temps.

Nice ride! I loved the areas you cycled through - much wilder than I expected the North Island to be. Thanks for the journal.

I like the ‘with care’ part.

Most signs in California say Share the Road also, but some say Cyclists May Use Full Lane. When another sign that says State Law is added below that, it seems drivers get less grumpy about being asked to share the road. Or so a study says.

Scott I’ve been told that there’s a Welsh town with a longer name. But this Maori name is the longest name for a place ie geographic feature.

Imagine facing either of them in a spelling test.