Winter Riding
It’s the first Saturday in August. The sun is shining, and the air is still. Over coffee Nicky and I discuss options for a ride. Initially we had set our sights on doing a road bike ride. Marahau and Kiateriteri were mentioned. However, we were side tracked by a map and the idea of exploring roads less travelled. Our road bikes were swapped for our two gravel bikes. These bikes look very much like a normal road bike until you take a closer look. Thicker, chunkier tyres, a suspension built into the head set and disc brakes. We are both riding Specialized entry levels gravel bikes. They retail about $2.700.
We set off about 11.30 from Upper Moutere. These bikes roll nicely along sealed roads, maybe a bit slower than a normal road bike but quicker than a mountain bike would. We head out to Kelling Rd and then join onto the Neudorf Rd. We are cycling towards Dovedale which means we must go over the Neudorf saddle. The first real hill climbs for these bikes and our legs. The gears on the bike make the 10% ascent very doable. Plus, you could get up nice speed coming down from top of the hill. Before we knew it, we were in Dovedale. Not a soul around.
At Dovedale we followed the signs for Thorpe which was a couple of km away. Still no one about and the sun was gently picking up the contours of the hills around us. We stopped briefly at Thorpe and dug out some sweets from my saddle bag. The bag we had on was an Ibera waterproof seat pack which retails at $110. We found that this one bag could easily take 2 waterproof jackets, puncture repair kit and some food supplies. It has a 6litre capacity. It was attached to seat post of my bike. At no time did I feel it to be in the way or heavy and cumbersome.
The route from Thorpe was to go up Jacob’s Ladder. On one of our maps it showed it was an unsealed road. But the 4k climb up was all sealed. It wound upwards at 7% incline. It twisted and turned, in and out of tree covers. At the top of Jacob’s ladder, we met a grading machine that was flattening out the gravel road of the desent. Well, we were on gravel bikes, so the challenge was right in front of us.
We carefully started the desent and although the gravel was thick in places the bikes handled it well. At the bottom of the decent you then arrive at junction where you can turn right onto Rosedale Rd. Or continue along a sealed road that will take you to Ngatmoti. We again chose the unsealed route along Rosedale. We cycled up to the top of Rosedale saddle (200m high) with all of it being an unsealed road. The climb was a gentle gradient and at the top you are rewarded with nice views of the Moutere region. From the saddle it was a lovely sweep down and after about 3km you are back on to a sealed road.
The beauty of the gravel bikes is that your ride can transition from sealed roads to back roads that are unsealed or just a bit rough. It allows you to explore routes that you have never been before, and you almost certainly end up on routes where there is less traffic. In the whole of our ride we met maybe 10 vehicles and one of them was the grading machine. Gravel bikes open up a whole new world to you.
Tasman's Great Taste Trail 
Great riding in this region even in the winter. Sounds like you had a good day out.
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