As a middle-aged woman on a non-mountain bike, I thought that the Alps to ocean bike trail might be too tough for me. It's advertised as an easy to intermediate off road trail, but my bicycle is designed more for on road. Before I went on the trip I had my bike serviced and changed the 700×28 tyres for 700×32 ones. But there were quite a few guys on their mountain bikes who looked at my bike doubtfully. I’m happy to say that I did the whole trail without having to walk sections of it and I didn't fall off. So I think most bikes could manage it and also most cyclists.
I began the Alps2Ocean at the alternative starting point of Lake Tekapo. I didn't want to waste fossil fuel helicoptering in to Aoraki/Mount Cook and you still see it a lot on the first day.
We took my bike down from Lyttelton on the back of Gertie the 1975 Land Rover
Lake Tekapo without the hordes of tourists you usually see around Church of the Good Shepherd
Lake Tekapo always used to be a terrible place to stop with an overpriced tiny supermarket and mediocre bars and restaurants. But now there is a little more choice and though the supermarket is still slightly overpriced it has a good selection as it is much bigger. We had beer at Mackenzies, which looks fancy but was actually cheaper than Our Dog Friday. ODF did an amazing variety of burgers. Fish burgers weren’t available so I went with the vegan Pardoner burger. I’m glad I did as it was really different, tasty and something that would’ve taken me a long time to prepare at home, for only $16.
The beautiful Mackenzie Country (without irrigation)
My bike. A specialized sirrus dating mostly to 2003 with a 2008 frame. The panniers were for wet and cold weather gear, tools, spare tyres, an Anne Tyler book, lots of food, water and a flask of Lady Grey tea. The essentials for day biking.
A lot of the first day’s cycling from Lake Tekapo is along the canals. This would be boring, but for the views of the mountains including Aoraki/Mount Cook.
There are salmon farms in the canals and a lot of guys try their luck, but I didn’t see anyone catch anything.
The best part of the day’s ride was the narrow bicycle track around Lake Pukaki. Good going and interesting terrain with amazing views of the lake and mountains. I had my picnic lunch by the shore, in the shade under the trees as it was really hot - 27 degrees C (March is the most popular time to do the trail).
Lake Pukaki at about 38 km from Tekapo
It was lovely to be off road going through the dry grass land of the Mackenzie through Pukai flats. There was very little road cycling to worry about on day one and the going was easy, particularly as there was no wind and the sun was on my back. Like most of the trail, it merits taking a packed lunch as there aren’t many options for stopping off except at the salmon farm shop.
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A good trail through dry scrub and wilding pines
Because of weather forecast we gave up the idea of camping at Lake Poaka and stayed at the Twizel campground in a cabin for $72.
Time in saddle: four hours. Left at 9:30, arrived at 3 pm so stopped a lot.