When I plan major trips, I usually find there are one or two topics that repeatedly present themselves. Sometimes so persistently that you cannot continue to ignore them. One such has reared its head, during the first few days of my E2E of New Zealand, and it simply will not go away. That is: how to get safely through Auckland on a bicycle?
Some of the factors which are undeniable are:
1. It is the biggest city in the entire country and it has a density of traffic that is disproportionate to its population.
2. Its geography denies you any possibility of bypassing it. It stretches across a
narrow isthmus, coast to coast and, unless you use a public mode of transport to get through it, you simply have to tackle it.
3. The reputation of kiwi drivers goes before them. If I were to believe some observers and commentators, all kiwi drivers are young and fiery, and all drive like hot-rod maniacs………..all of the time.
4. There is no easy-to-negotiate infrastructure of cycle routes anywhere in the city. Web sites and blogs abound campaigning for the development of such a basic facility.
The simplest solution would be to find a local knowledgeable cyclist who would be willing to ride with me, and guide me through the morass of city streets, and deliver me to the far side of the city. So I am working on one or two local contacts………
Good luck….I am sure you will find a brilliant solution! Happy holidays.
Thanks Anita, and I wish many hours of happy pedalling in 2013.
I liked the exarchbishop pf canterbury’s (Dr Coggan) line “Dont take Care, take Risks!”……but in your case Frank, in New Z i would take a helluva lot of kiwi care !
Thanks for that observation Sam. Many tell me that the biggest risk is simply travelling by bike anywhere in NZ…… hey ho
Fear not, Frank! I think there will be plenty of bike lanes in the main parts of the city. It’s when you get into the country that you’ll come face to face with “the crazies”.
Thanks for that observation dg. Sounds as if I am going to invest in a rear-view mirror, and pre-empt the ‘crazies’ before they get near me.
Frank, I have made some progress with this task. Using a combination of the Auckland cycle path maps, google maps and Streetview I have plotted a route that seems reasonably sane. It comes in from the north parallel with Highway 1, crosses the bay using the Birkenhead ferry and exits south via One Tree Hill. I am reasonably happy that it is surviveable but it IS quite complex. Do you plan to take a GPS device? I will be creating this route in .GPX format (if my NZ maps for my Satnav ever arrive) and will be happy to send a copy. Steve Wesson
Great Steve. The only GPS I will have will be on my phone. I wonder if your route can be translated to GoogleMaps?
Keep safe and enjoy the ride….
David
Thanks David. And I must watch out for dodgy biscuits in deserted bunkhouses………:(