http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.cycleforsight.org.nz en-us Thu, 20 Dec 2018 14:51:37 +1300 Rocketspark http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24475/Seeing-clearly-what-does-it-all-mean/ With the deadline for our Fundraising Givealittle page drawing ever nearer, it's time for some final thoughts on one of the most challenging yet rewarding things we've ever done. Choosing to cycle for the Fred Hollows Foundation, and helping to live out Fred's vision of a world where no one is needlessly blind, was a fantastic experience, one that went beyond ourselves and created a special reason for completing the trip. I always knew I would be challenged mentally and physically, and that I wo... Tue, 30 Jan 2018 21:12:29 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24475 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24204/Day-17-Martinborough-Wellington-City/ It’s official - WE DID IT!!!Another gray rainy start in Martinborough this morning, with a quick 25kms through the back roads around Featherstone to reach Cross Creek and the start of the Rimutaka Cycle Trail for our big Hill of the day.It’s a lovely track up the hill, around an 8% gradient but definitely doable and quite enjoyable through the regenerating bush around the track. The tunnels are a highlight - Mike remembered his two head lights hahaEven some official ‘hike a bike’ through... Fri, 12 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24204 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24203/Day-16-Pahiatua-Martinborough/ Another gray start this morning with plenty of rain overnight (kudos to our little momentum tent!), we fueled up at the local bakery before setting off through farmland towards Eketahuna for the morning’s ride. Plenty of friendly farmers out on their motorbikes this morning!!Obligatory photo stop in Eketahuna and a bit later than we expected leaving at 1:30pm with 90kms or so still to go.But the wind and the terrain was good to us and we covered the distance to Masterton on limited gravel road... Thu, 11 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24203 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24202/Day-15-Rangiwahia-Pahiatua/ It was a moody grey day as we set off from Rangiwahia this morning, a few spots of rain but nothing like the torrential downpours of a few days back!First up we rode into yet another mob of sheep coming in for shearing - it’s all go in this area at the moment!!The morning consisted of a ride through three really neat gorges, big down and ups and great views of the river and cliffs before arriving in Apiti late morning.We then headed towards Pohangina, through a few gravel back roads and one lu... Wed, 10 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24202 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24201/Day-14-Whanganui-Rangiwahia/ We had a good relaxing rest day in Whanganui yesterday and a trip to A&E to ensure Claire’s knee was actually in OK shape, plus some fixing of our bikes at the legendary Velo Ronny’s Bike Shop (awesome service and chats there, definitely call in if you’re nearby!).Big shout out to Tamara Guest House where we spent two nights with an awesome view of the river and fantastic stay. Highly recommended!We headed off via the famous Whanganui Elevator and look out point, the easiest 100m or so gai... Tue, 09 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24201 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24198/Day-13-Raetihi-Whanganui/ A great start to Day 13 with a massive downhill from Raetihi to Pipiriki, a gorgeous ride through the start of the Whanganui National Park, huge hills either side and a lot of greenery.We reached Pipiriki around 9:30am and then took the scenic Whanganui River road, which offers amazing views of the river (which is rather brown at the moment because of all the rain!) and a reasonably rolling contour following the river for around 65kms.Met some great travellers along the way and en... Sun, 07 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24198 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24197/Day-11-Taumarunui-Raetihi/ After a great nights sleep (finally!) in Taumarunui, we re-stocked our food supply at the local New World, and investigated a plan for the next part of the route - through to Pipiriki. The recommended route included a track that isn't rideable after heavy rain, so we had to make a new route, eventually deciding to head to Raetihi and out to Pipiriki from there, the downside being that we missed the Bridge to Nowhere and the much anticipated Jet Boat Ride!It was a late set off by our standards, b... Sat, 06 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24197 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24110/Day-10-Pureora-Taumarunui/ Because we’d cut Day 10 short we knew we needed to make it to a good sized place today to replenish our food stocks, and also to get ourselves warm (at this stage a shower was definitely all we wanted!) so we made the call to try and make Taumaranui, around 110kms.The start of the Timber Trail is beautiful, and initially the rain was relatively light, and the track still dry enough. It’s a reasonable climb from the start but gradual, and we made good time to Piropiro Campsite by lunchtime, g... Fri, 05 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24110 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24109/Day-10-Mangakino-Pureora/ We set off from Mangakino through the final River Trail section, meeting some lovely ladies on the nearby swing bridge, and then diverted through some gravel and back roads to head towards the edge of Pureora Forest Park, where we joined some forest tracks with a LOT of climbing, and a neat wire bridge which almost beat us and swallowed our bikes up!The first of the rain set in around midday, and at that stage although persistent wasn’t too heavy. We made it to Pureora itself (the start of the... Thu, 04 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24109 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/post/24108/Day-9-Little-Waipa-Reserve-Mangakino/ After a sodden Day 8 through the flats of the #HaurakiPlains yesterday, we tackled the first few sections of the #WaikatoRiverTrails from #littleWaipaReserve, joined by the excellent company of Andy and Paul McCullagh.The #Arapuni swing bridge is very impressive, super high and built for the dam workers to commute to work, it’s an awesome spot to visit.After Arapuni is a neat bush section and some tough hills before popping out onto some back roads to link up... Wed, 03 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +1300 http://www.cycleforsight.org.nz/blog/#post24108