Hello from NZ

Hello everyone - just to say hi and put up a picture of my bikes. My name is Mark and i am living in New Zealand - you will be glad to know it is hot and sunny here and has been pretty much that way for the last 3 months.I am from Luton originally and while i dont miss the weather ,i certainly miss the club rides.

I have been on here browsing now for a good couple of years and thought it was time to get a pic up of my own after having seen some great pics and read some fantastic threads on here and learning so much along the way.

Happy Easter everyone

Mark

Hi Mark, and welcome. i have a soft spot for NZ having visited there nearly 20 years ago (good grief, was it THAT long ago!). I also have a couple of ex-clubmates who live out there and are still riding. Where are you living? One of them moved from Wakefield UK to Wakefield NZ in the north of South Island.

Mapturner":sbi68gfs said:

you will be glad to know it is hot and sunny here

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Welcome Mark!

You'll sure make many UK bikers jealous of the above quote


Ian.

Welcome aboard - nice trio of bikes you have there and a set of Integralters I see. What's the cycling scene like in NZ - plenty of decent roads / plenty of roadies?
Got a mate who lives in Lower Hutt and have always been tempted by a trip over to NZ. Looks a tremendous place scenery wise.

Old Ned":3s10trhx said:

One of them moved from Wakefield UK to Wakefield NZ in the north of South Island.

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Heh, I am almost moving from Christchurch to Christchurch (well, Bournemouth to Dunedin, but what's a few hundred miles when you're moving to the antipodes?) I have a crazy plan to cycle back. At least three people have done it before me, although it seems to take about 18 months - not sure how I'd fund it.

My partner moved out a couple of months ago and can confirm that it has been sunny nearly every day. She's back in a couple of days (just missing the snow) and we're going out together in July.

I'm planning on doing a lot of bikepacking/bike-camping, using off-road/ routes on a mountain bike. I do have a question about road naming conventions, which seem to be a little different to the UK - what are the differences between sealed, metalled and unmetalled roads? As I understand it:
Sealed = bound layered compacted aggregate (in the UK would be a metalled road)
Metalled road = loose layered compacted aggregate i.e. gravel
Unmetalled road = dirt road (?)
Vehicle track = an 'unbuilt' road that has come into existence purely through the action of multiple vehicles...

What are the drivers like? I have heard contradictory stories...

Thanks guys and good to meet you all - i live in auckland and the riding here is good - the roads are generally good and vary between smooth tarmac and chip seal which is tarmac with chips in it so a bit rougher but not too bad. The roads are pretty well maintained and probably not a great deal different from England. Main hazards to look for are gravel on corners and sunken drain covers - as for the drivers here - like anywhere they vary but i find them pretty good - but never take anything on the road for granted..

Welcome from a fellow expat... Fantastic trio of bikes there, would love to see some more pictures of them. I ride motorbikes as well as bicycles and NZ has a FANTASTIC reputation for motorbike road trips, so I expect the cycling is great too.

welcome indeed and even MORE welcome if you put some more shots up
of your TI Raleigh!!

Here is a link to a blog describing the raleigh build ;
http://oli-roadworks.blogspot.co.nz/200 ... build.html

I purchased this bike only a month or so ago and have racked up quite a few km's on it already - so in the blog ,the 'james' being referred to is the previous owner who had this built up.


Mark

Just remember the seasons are reversed to the UK, so if you plan on visiting in July, be prepared for some rubbish and very cold weather, especially in the south
...and don't get suckered into visiting Christchurch by tourist operations...there is nothing here to see
The mountain biking is really good though but, road riding is very risky with appalling conditions