People Cycling Rides

The Best of New Zealand's Off Road.

This is a Approved Ride
Moderate
Ride Info
Join Us
Ride Leader
Thomas Ryan
Tour Dates
2/13/2023–2/28/2023
Start Location
Christchurch, NZ (CHC)
End Location
Christchurch, NZ (CHC)
Cost (est.)
$4950 (USD + $150.00 ride fee)
Deposit
$1150 (USD
Payment Due
12/1/2022
Tour Company
NZ Bicycle Tours Ltd
Avg. Distance
38 mi / 61 km
Avg. Elevation
991 ft / 302 m
Ride Description

TOUR OVERVIEW 

This tour is designed to showcase the best off-road cycling in the central eastern and western parts of the South Island of New Zealand.  It builds on Tom’s successful previous off road traverse of the South Island, and focuses on two of the most popular trails, the Alps2Ocean and the Westland Wilderness Trails, plus five other one-day rides. The 16 day tour begins and ends in Christchurch. Due to the exclusive nature of this tour and its superior service, we are limiting the size of the group to 10-12 highly experienced cyclists.  

We depart from Christchurch, travelling by minivan to Lake Tekapo to begin our cycling on the  Alps2Ocean cycle trail.   We cycle from Lake Tekapo to Lake Ohau on canal roads and cycle from Mount Cook Village to Lake Pukaki, including a short scenic helicopter ride with views of the Tasman Glacier and the South Face of Mount Cook, as we cross the Tasman River.   We cycle through glaciated valley landscape features of the Southern Alps past alpine lakes, popular with local trout fishers.   We then transfer  to Clyde, to ride the new Lake Dunstan Trail, before heading to Queenstown, where we cycle the most scenic part of the Round the Mountain Trail, south of Lake Whakatipu.  Follow cycle trails from Lake Wanaka to Lake Hawea, before a transfer to World Heritage Haast region on the  West Coast.  Cycle a quiet paved road… (Join People Cycling to read more)

Join People Cycling to read the full description, and even request to go on this ride (psst, it's free to join!)

People Cycling's Ride Rating

People Cycling has four categories for our rides – Easy, Moderate, Difficult, and Challenging. It should be somewhat obvious what these categories mean, but please become familiar with the elevations and distances that define them:

Easy
Easy rides are under 30mi/48km in average distance and 1600ft/500m in average elevation
Moderate
Moderate rides are over the Easy rating but under 50mi/80km and 2460ft/750m
Difficult
Difficult rides are as over the Moderate rating but under 75mi/120km and 3280/1000m
Challenging
Anything over the Difficult rating

NOTE: This is not a strict guideline. There could be rides that have a day or two where the average elevation or distance exceeds the values given above. These anomalies should be outlined in the ride description. It is recommended that you read it carefully.

About People Cycling

People Cycling is a bicycle touring club, which you can join for free. We offer Domestic and International Cycling Tours which are led by volunteer Ride Leaders. Our tours are made up of a small group of participants (typically 15-20 or so) who want to ride an average of 30 to 55 miles a day over a one or two week period in interesting regions of the world. Our tours range in price from frugal getaways to luxurious adventures. We travel road, gravel, or mountain bike styles, and all bicycle types – including e-bikes, recumbents, and tandems are typically allowed.

Our ride leaders are volunteers and do not financially profit on tours they lead. They are also given broad discretion on how to lead their tours, and we consider them our greatest asset.

People Cycling tours are operated at cost or at lower cost (as negotiated by our ride leaders) than individuals can obtain on commercial tours. Within the cost of a tour, there is a nominal fee to support club operations and provide tools to ride leaders to manage their rides.

What are you waiting for? Join today to see what bicycle adventure awaits you in our club.

A lifetime membership in People Cycling is absolutely FREE, so please join us and become one of us – we the people, cycling together.