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Waiheke Island

The rain started to ease the day we left Auckland and we took the short ferry to Waiheke Island. The temperature remained on the cool side and the wind high but at least we were not getting drenched in minutes. Waiheke reminds me somewhat of Saltspring Island with a bit of a hippy vibe while also having some very opulent estates on the hills. It is very green and tropical with many trees, plants and flowers that we see in Hawaii. There are many beautiful bays, beaches and walking paths to enjoy here which we took advantage of however it remained showery for most of the time we were here. We stayed in a suite within a home and it was lovely and comfortable with a large garden out back and a patio to relax on when the sun came out.

We did one cycle loop of about half the island on the nicest day and despite it only being about 20kms we had a few big climbs so it was good training, not too easy. The other 2 days, in between showers, we walked on some of the many hiking paths (Te Ara Hura) leading to beautiful vistas and through the bush. We have started to see the many sheep in New Zealand, apparently 5X more than people. We are also seeing many different birds that we’ve never seen before such as oystercatchers, fantails, herons, and godwits. We are on the hunt for the Blue Penguins that live here but haven’t been lucky yet.

To leave Waiheke we rode to the east end of the island which is much less developed and took a ferry out of Man O’War bay, and over to Coromandel town on the peninsula of the same name. This ride too wasn’t very far, but involved 2 notable climbs of which one was on a gravelly washboard road so the going was slow. We had allowed enough time though and arrived in time for a snack and drink in a lovely vineyard cafe as a reward for our efforts. We were certainly the only cyclists on that road, however the drivers seemed tolerant of us. We don’t see too many people powered bikes here, similar to Europe and home. The ferry ride across the Firth of Thames was a bit bumpy but enjoyable with only 4 passengers (and 4 washrooms) on this crossing so it felt like our own private yacht. The 4 staff members were very friendly and interested in our journey.

The ride into Coromandel Town was fairly short and flat so a nice way to end the day. Our plan from here was to cross to the east side of the Coromandel Peninsula and ride south to Tauranga over the next week. However, the heavy rains we experienced in Auckland hit even harder in this region causing many mud ‘slips’ onto the highways and one deadly one on Mt. Manganui into a caravan park with 6 people killed. The roads are still being cleared and fixed and we have no certainty when they will reopen so we have been forced to do a major reroute, unfortunately. Instead we will be heading south on the west side of the Coromandel and making our way to Tauranga from an alternate route.

Tags: NewZealand, tandemcycling

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Categories 2026

HNL, Auckland and Unusual Weather

22 Jan

Our lovely friend Rob brought us to the airport with our new bike cases and the rest of the luggage on an unusually warm Calgary day in January for our Westjet flight to Honolulu (HNL). There was some trepidation about the level of scrutiny the U.S. border guys would give us but we went through that, and security, in record time, perhaps, due to the Nexus cards we now have. Westjet got us to HNL without issue and we took the hotel shuttle to our airport hotel for the night. The hotel itself was underwhelming and expensive for our 8 hour stay. Back to HNL on the 6:00am shuttle we went, only to discover the Air NZ flight was delayed by more than an hour, leaving us lamenting the extra hour of sleep we missed. But, Air NZ made up for it in lovely service, great food, and the luxury of their ‘skycouch’ which we opted for. This upgrade gave us an entire row with a footrest that raised 90 degrees creating a platform to snooze on. Getting through NZ customs was also easy, and off we went by pre-booked shuttle to our hotel in the Parnell suburb. The weather all over the North Island was, unfortunately, ‘wit’ (kiwi word for wet). In fact the next day it set precipitation records in some parts, even causing deaths from landslides, and flooding roads in areas that we plan to go to in the near future. Happily the rain has stopped now and is not expected to that degree in the week ahead. The Parnell hotel turned out to be perfect for our needs and the 3 days in Auckland went by quickly. We missed some outdoor activities we had planned, but did get to the Auckland Museum. The museum houses exhibits on natural history, NZ history, Maori culture, and included a Maori Cultural Experience/performance. It was all well worth the price of admission. The rain quit overnight on Thursday and we headed to the ferry for Waiheke Island, riding on the left side of the road very cautiously, and successfully completed a few right hand turns into the correct lane! I should mention that the hotel did give us a momentary scare saying they had no room to store our luggage and the unknown employee who okayed this months ago never should have. After seeing for ourselves there was room in their luggage room we convinced the manager it would work, and she acquiesced. Yikes, all over again? We took an earlier ferry than planned as we had time, and we are very happy with our first few hours on Waiheke. Island vibes definitely and the sun came out in full force in the afternoon. We are staying in a suite within a local lady’s house. The host is lovely and the suite has everything we need.

Tags: auckland, New Zealand, NZcycling, tandemcycling

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Categories 2026

Return to Mâcon and Lyon

21 Jun

Today we rode from Paray le Monial over to Mâcon, and when I say ‘over’ I mean it because there are nothing but hills between the two. We looked at alternatives but selected one using smaller roads, but not ‘smallest’. It was a lot of climbing anyway and this one was fine with little traffic. The weather has now decided to be hot for our last few days so at the end of it we were well spent. At one point we lucked out and came upon a bar at just the right time as they are not frequent out in the agricultural hinterland. Terrific views were had along the way and also a 1.6km tunnel under a hill (thanks!). We were also happy to be back in the vines as we neared Mâcon. We are staying at the same apartment we were in 3 weeks ago and really liked. Mâcon seems much more alive now as we strolled about in the evening.

Back to canal riding for our last one but a bit of a problem. Tara has hurt a toe by stubbing it on a corner and it is hurting her. She is okay with cycling but not good for walking as we think it may be broken. It is another hot day for cycling and a long way but flat again. This stretch is probably the best one for beauty as well as services like water , toilets, and cold drinks. It got busy as we got close to Lyon as cities often are, but also we got to ride through another tunnel which dropped the temperature likely by 15 degrees for an excellent break from the 30+.

Now we sit waiting for the hotel to find our bike case which has gone astray. *** ten days later *** The hotel LOST OUR BIKE CASE! This was a biblical level disaster for us and we are now home but there was a lot of angst, tears, and total mystification and disbelief along the way. The short story is a) the hotel has taken full responsibility (in writing) and will reimburse us for a new case and expenses, b) the manager found us a bike box just under the maximum size allowed by the airlines, c) we packed the bike in with a lot of padding also hotel supplied, d) we got a huge taxi to get us to the airport, e) we got it on the flight to London ok, f) we had to plead with a bus driver at Heathrow to allow it on his bus to go between terminals, g) we got it on the flight home, h) and finally, our brilliant friend Rob came to pick us up in his van rather than Lyndsay and her smaller Subaru.

Alas, no relaxing and re-visiting Lyon in our final 2 days. C’est la guerre. Au revoir. p.s. Tara’s toe is recovering but carrying rather than rolling bike cases didn’t help.

Tags: bikepacking, biking, bourgogne, cycling, tandemcycling, travel

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Categories 2025

Cronat and Paray le Monial

9 Jun

We left our accommodation in Chatillon with our 300euro damage deposit intact despite one (previously sabotaged) broken chair and a sore derriere. The weather was starting to clear up and we only had a few sprinkles on the ride today. We were heading to a one night stopover in the town of Cronat, marking a change in our route from the Nivernais canal network, turning south alongside the Loire river. This also meant joining the Eurovelo 6 cycling path for the next two days. It is well known as it traverses Europe all the way from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. It has been interesting being exclusively on a cycle route as we have met many other cyclists following the same route and some we have met several times and even had dinner in Paray le Monial with a charming couple from Luxembourg (Yvonne and Dan). Once off the canal we were met by some hilly terrain, finally, as we were not really close to the Loire at this point and found we could still climb hills.

Cronat is a small town in the heart of Charolais country. We saw many Charolais as well as a fair number of sheep and some goats. Our lodging for the night was a B&B called La Heron Pourpre managed by a very hospitable couple from The Netherlands, Jolanda and Martin. This seems like an unusual name but not if you have been here. Along the canal we saw many herons pourpre. We attempted many times to get a good picture of one but they are shy so fly off as soon as they sense we are near. The B&B was lovely with a garden in the back and a pool but unfortunately not quite warm enough to swim. We also had our dinner here as there wasn’t anywhere else in town and Martin is a capable chef. Our meal consisted of four courses: fresh salmon on white asparagus/egg/greens as a starter, Charolais veal with an oyster mushroom sauce/fresh vegetables/potato and leek fritata(?) for main course; chevre in pastry and other cheeses with honey third course; choux pastry filled with whipped cream and blackberries for dessert and finally a home made coffee liquor. All very tasty except Tara slipped the hard boiled egg and potato fritata onto George’s plate which he accepted gratefully. Interestingly, the meal was a very reasonable cost at 30 euros each or about $48 CDN. Wine was less than $5/glass as well. It helps to get outside of the bigger cities cost wise.

The next day our ride took us to Paray le Monial and the weather was perfect. The first 15 km was again through the hilly countryside amongst the Charolais herds and pretty villages. After this the route again followed the water, along the Loire river. It was a beautiful day and we saw many cyclists, local and touring like us (even one fellow Canadian from Quebec), pretty villages, boaters, fishers and bird life.

We arrived at our new lodgings, Maison St. Louis, and were greeted by lovely hosts again with a cold drink and a “sort of” conversation about the city and its religious importance in broken French and English. This is a bit of a quirky place, again a dorm-like environment with shared spaces and overtly religious. The city is famous due to a saint having a vision or apparition of the heart of Jesus Christ. Consequently since the late 19th century this has been a pilgrimage destination, which was obvious as we walked around to the various sites, mostly religious, today. The town is very clean, well maintained, and certainly picturesque; I think there is good money in religious tourism. Indeed, our host said about 3000 people live here but 5000 more are tourists at peak.

Tags: cycling, france, tandemcycling, travel

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Categories 2025

Clamecy

5 Jun

We woke up to heavy rain in Auxerre but by the time we left to ride it had stopped. The forecast looked rather bleak (cool and precipitation) but somehow we managed to evade the rain. It was cool, but a comfortable temperature when pedaling. There is heavy rain and hail south and east of us today in France so luckily we were in the right place. We did encounter one problem on our route today, a large tree that had fallen across the path and onto power lines. We could not get past it with our bike and bags so had to back track a bit and find a road to go around the blockage.

There are many boat tourists on this canal. Every lock we came to today either had boats in it or waiting to enter and all the locks were manned by staff, unlike the Burgundy canal where we saw few boats. We witnessed one fellow on the Burgundy canal working at one lock then racing ahead on his motorbike (passed us) to the next one ahead of the boat he just put through. We spoke to one couple on a boat today and they said they aren’t required to book the locks, they just arrive and wait. It is a slow way to travel, we are much faster. There were 38(!) locks on the ride today from Auxerre to Clamecy, about 70kms. I think all the waiting would get tiresome.

We arrived at our new abode for the next 2 nights, La Boule D’or, in Clamecy. It’s an older place with a hostel feel (shared kitchen, courtyard with ping pong, etc.) but we have our own room and bathroom and it’s very bike friendly. An old chapel is where breakfast is served so that is a new experience. There is very little choice for accommodation in the smaller places like this, you take what you can get.

We did a walking tour here as well to get a good look around. The town is very medieval looking, sort of like Auxerre, with narrow streets and half timber construction. There are also many canals within the city and a confluence of two rivers, the Yonne and the Beuvron, and is sometimes described as the Venice of the Nivernais. It is famous for timber floating (flottage de bois) as it is in a rich forested area and on a river. The wood was cut around here and then assembled into large rafts/trains (75 meters long) which raftsmen (flotteurs) then took downstream to Paris where the need for wood to burn was great and supply inadequate. This was happening from the 16th to the 19th century until coal heating took over. It is quite a fascinating history as it went on for nearly 4 centuries and is the genesis of the canal system on the Yonne river, and contributed hugely to the development of so many places along the route.

Clamecy is also the birthplace of a famous writer/historian, Romain Rolland (1866-1944), who received the nobel prize for literature in 1915. He wrote novels but also commentary about the two world wars he lived through. He was a pacifist who lamented the destruction and loss of relationships between the French and German people. He was an interesting man who apparently influenced and had relationships with notable people including Ghandi, Freud and Richard Strauss, I may have to read more about him. This much we learned in the excellent museum here, along with the flottage history.

Tags: canal, cycling, france, tandemcycling, travel

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Categories 2025

Beaune and Dijon

27 May

We left Chalon sur Saône on a rainy cool morning but luckily the rain was light, let up fairly soon, and the ride to Beaune was less than 50kms. The first half of the ride was along a canal and the latter in the vineyards. This is the first vines we’ve seen on this trip and they are everywhere, no ground left empty. It’s very clearly a major industry here. We are riding right through the vineyards on roads also used by the vineyard workers but mostly we just see other cyclists as it is a designated cycle route. We are rarely on the roads with the cars.

Beaune is a lovely small city and a major tourist centre for people looking to do wine tasting and touring. There’s definitely some high end accommodations and restaurants here for some of the wealthier travelers, maybe those shipping expensive wine back home. Our accommodations are more modest but usually very comfortable. We are here to enjoy the scenery and do a little tasting once we’re done riding for the day. We found another walking tour to do around the old city and then visited a museum/hospital/chapel, the Hôtel Dieu, built in the 15th century that stayed in service until the 1980s! One evening for dinner we were able to find some beef bourguignon, and it was très tasty.

The ride from Beaune to Dijon was entirely through vineyards and the small communities that support the wine industry. It is very scenic and a cyclist’s dream to ride here. There are many chateaux dotting the countryside as well and many have beautiful polychromic ceramic roof tiles. The churches also often have this style of roof, it is very burgundian. The weather was good today for riding, about 20, mostly sunny and not much wind. It has been a bit cool and wet so today was appreciated.

Our accommodation in Dijon is another apartment close to the centre so this is handy for tourist activities as well as having our own kitchen for lunches, breakfasts and some suppers rather than having to buy all the meals. Unfortunately we found there was no hot water! Our host explained that the water only heats at night (!) so if it runs out (previous tenants) you have to wait until morning. He suggested we forget about this issue by drinking the bottle of wine he supplied. We found more walking tours here to help us get acquainted with the sites. We also visited the Musee Beaux Arts which was very good as the art collection is housed in an historic Duke’s palace dating from the middle ages so we also got some history along with the art on display. We learned about a famous sculptor from here, Francois Rude, who sculpted one of the 4 friezes on the Arc de Triomphe, and saw many of his works. We were also able to climb a tower (Tour Philippe le Bon) in the same palace to get a spectacular view of the city. This was guided so we learned a bit more about the history of the area. The owl (here called chouette rather than hibou) is a good luck symbol for Dijon, we’re not quite sure why, but they are everywhere. There’s one carved into the side of the Notre Dame Cathedral and you are supposed to touch it with your left hand for good fortune.