A day filled with a mix of sailing on an historic steamship with a bit of cycling tacked on the end is an experience that can only be found out of Queenstown!
The Queenstown Trail
For our inaugural ride in and around Queenstown, the aptly named Queenstown Trail seemed like the appropriate choice. The full trail offers 120 kilometers of almost flat riding which can be managed over two or three days but the trail is easily broken into smaller segments for all levels or distances of riding.
Queenstown Bound
After a Winnipeg Christmas with temperatures as cold as we have seen in 20 years and with snow as far south as Florida, it seemed essential, not merely just a good idea, to get the heck out of North America and head off to our favorite winter destination, New Zealand!
This is our third winter here and each year we like to explore a different corner of this amazing country. If one asks a group of Kiwis for advice on where to go and what to see, they most often point in the direction of the South Island, in particular, the Otago region. So here we are in Queenstown, the largest city in Otago. Queenstown is widely known as the adventure capital of New Zealand’s South Island, and some say, adventure capital of the world. That sounds like a big claim to live up to and we are keen to find out if it’s true.
Homeward Bound
Every year the Cycle of Hope follows a different route, touring some unique corner of North America, but the one piece that remains the same from year to year is that the ride will finish at our Winnipeg build site where the home we are fundraising for is being built.
The Second Leg
Leaving the Icefields Parkway and the craziness of Banff during a summer weekend, we head south-west with stops in Cochrane, Nanton and Pincher Creek before our final Alberta destination of Waterton Lakes.
Gravity – Friend or Foe?
After a winter and spring of planning, training and fundraising, the Cycle of Hope Ride the Canadian Rockies hit the highway. Sporting our distinctive jerseys, we were an impressive group as we left Jasper along the Icefields Parkway on route to Banff.
Ready, Set, Ride
It’s been a long two days of driving from Winnipeg to Hinton, Alberta, at the edge of the Rocky Mountains, but we are finally here, anxiously awaiting the start of the 2017 Habitat for Humanity Cycle of Hope. When I say anxiously, I mean anxiously, for me at least. Riding the ups and downs of the beautiful Canadian Rockies promises to be a challenging but worthwhile endeavour.
2017 Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project
For those of you who have followed my blog for the last few years, you will be well acquainted with the Cycle of Hope. A fundraising bike ride for Habitat for Humanity Manitoba, the Cycle of Hope is celebrating its 24th year of successfully financing the construction, each year, of a Habitat home for a Manitoba family.
Finding Gold on the Hauraki Rail Trail
Dennis and I have been in New Zealand for more than two months, yet I have hardly been out on my bicycle. First, it was a shoulder injury and then it was pure laziness but when friends visited from Canada, it was time to show them one of our favorite New Zealand rides.
Le Ride
Yesterday, as we made our way to New Zealand to escape the Canadian winter, I flipped through the list of inflight entertainment and noticed a film, Le Ride, the cover art depicting cyclists juxtaposed against the Eiffel Tower.
Well Spoke'n 