Auckland – Day 3

After getting my bike together yesterday, I wanted to get out for a shakedown ride to make sure everything is tightened up and working OK. My cold seems to be on the wane and the weather was nice so I got things ready and headed out.  I did get a couple of looks as I pushed my bike through the hotel lobby all decked out in my bike clothes – oh, well! It happens a lot when you’re touring by bike!

Since I will be navigating primarily with an app on my phone called “Riding with GPS” I also wanted to check that out.  The tour operator has the entire ride available in downloadable files to this app so I just chose the first days ride and headed down the road. There are some nice separated bike ways in downtown Auckland so I didn’t initially have to worry about riding on the left “wrong” side of the road.

I did, in fact, take a couple of wrong turns but the app is good in that it immediately notifies you if you are off course!   And since I will be so reliant upon this app on my phone, I have two battery packs which I will use during the day to keep my phone juiced. We’ll see how that works.  I also have a solar panel which I can strap on my rear luggage rack and charge whichever battery pack isn’t being used.

It was a successful shakedown ride. The bike worked like a champ and seems to have made the trip in good shape.  After a few kilometers, the separate bike paths gave way to “regular” street riding with the traffic (but on the left).  It does require a little concentration but you get used to it pretty quickly  so far, so good!  No accidents!

Once home, I grabbed some lunch and then walked down to the waterfront.  I’m debating whether or not I will take a harbor cruise tomorrow so I’ll see how I feel after another bike ride.  On the way back to my hotel I snapped a picture of the skycity tower which is right next door ( and where I took the pictures yesterday!)