WE ARE ON North Island and although every Kiwi we meet insists we should see South Island, the landscape is stunning here too. Plenty of time to admire it, while pushing the bikes up the hill. Our daily distance is about half of what we used to do. Truffle-shaped hills much like the killing hills of north west Thailand and green everywhere.
Cycling in New Zealand makes us feel a bit like old elephants. Our peers seem to be bearded men from Germany with a fetish for Ortlieb bags. Two in the front, two in the back and on one top, the whole outfit in mint condition.
Like elephants, we’re terribly slow compared to other cyclists. They zoom by on titanium Scotts, Specializeds, Treks and are dressed in gear covered in brand names, as if derailed from the Tour de France. Road biking is the thing to do in New Zealand, and in Auckland the concentration of road cyclists seems to be the highest, maybe only outnumbered by the joggers that also outnumber pedestrians.
