When I first made the decision to come down to New Zealand, one of the first things on my list was “get a bike,” but after arriving in Wellington, I decided that was pretty much out of the question since this city is built on rocks and rolls (ok, terrible pun, sorry I’m not sorry). I meant hills. Wellington is built on hills and several active fault lines (and good music/coffee/cocktails.) Bicycles were immediately out of the question and I resigned myself to walking everywhere if I wanted an adventure.
And then I met Ryan, the guy behind Switched On Bikes. Electric bikes, people. Basically, there’s a battery on the rear of the bike that gives riders six to seven hours of flat riding or three to four hours of hill riding. These bikes change gears just like a normal bicycle, but riders are also able to change the battery power, with options like eco (flat, harbourside riding), tour (road riding), sport (hills), and turbo (bigger hills).
The first time he took me out on a bike, we headed up Mt Victoria. walking, this took me about an hour round trip and I was huffing and puffing by the end of it. Not so this time: I slid into an easy gear, bumped my “speed” up to turbo, and literally shot up the hill. We also ventured onto some off-road trails, where the mountain bike-style tires held firm on the dirt track.
The next time I had the bike, I took it around the Miramar Peninsula. It was a four hour bike trip from my flat, down Happy Valley road to Owhiro Bay, around the twisty coast to Lyall bay, under the airport runway, around more twisty coast and up into Miramar, down to Scorching Bay and around to Shelly and Evans bays before ending back in the city centre. The third time, I cruised easily up the hills to the Brooklyn wind turbine – the first in the area – and took in the coastal views from up there. Then I explored more of the suburban sprawl of Wellington – Island Bay, Newtown, Berhampore – before taking it back to the city.
I’ve had a lot of fun with these bikes. Not only do they allow me to explore parts of the city I might not otherwise get to, but they’re super easy to use and Ryan does a great job of explaining to first-timers how to use them.
In addition to running this company – an eco-friendly, sustainable one – Ryan also runs bike tours of the city. A few weeks ago, he invited me to come along on a tour. It was a gorgeous day out when I arrived at the waterfront, coffees in hand. We’d hardly had a sip before the other two guys walked up. While Ryan got them sorted on the bikes, I sat in the sun and listened to the familiar spiel. As I said above, Ryan is really good with talking first-timers through electric bike use. He talks about the battery power, how to change the gears, and how to use the brakes. (Bicycles down here are a little switched around from bicycles in the us – the brakes are opposite. (Something i didn’t know: you’re supposed to use both brakes at the same time. huh.))
Once both boys and myself were sorted with bikes, we all grabbed helmets and signed a liability waiver. Then we were off. Ryan explained a basic route and we followed him as we wove in and out of pedestrians on the wharves. We made our way up to the city to sea bridge where Ryan talked about Civic Square, the earthquake prone buildings, and the current harbour. He shared the Maori story of New Zealand’s creation and we rode between the sculptures that symbolise the islands.
From there, we took off back down the wharf toward Oriental Bay and parade. We stopped briefly here to talk about the fact that Wellington’s “beach” is actually man-made before merging into the cycle lane and curving around the coastline into Evans Bay. Our trail took us toward the wind sculpture trail and out into Shelly Bay.
At Shelly Bay, we stopped for lunch at the Chocolate Fish Cafe. It’s a pretty local spot and I suspect that few tourists make it out here. The cafe sits in the middle of some old military buildings, now unused. The Maori own the rights to this land now and lease it to several businesses. There’s plenty for kids to do: tiny tricycles, bikes and scooters are underfoot and the waterfront is just across the road.
After a light lunch (they serve really great food) we headed back the way we came before turning off the road below Mt Victoria. Our route took us up some steep hills and finally to the lookout point at Mt Vic. Ryan gave us some time here to look around, read about the Wellington fault lines and watch the planes take off. then we crossed to another lookout point (which personally I think is better) before flying down the hills back toward town. We did have one quick stop for some fun:
Our tour ended where it began, at the waterfront shop of Switched On Bikes. If you’re looking for a unique way to see Wellington and explore a side that many people won’t get to, a bike tour is the way to go. Ryan is a great tour guide and I highly recommend taking the time to ride with him.
*Ryan is a friend of mine and in exchange for this post, I did not pay for the tour. Of course, all opinions are my own*