Cycling around Motueka: Tasman to Mapua - Are you ready for a hill?

January 2012
[by Ian Miller]

Remember, these cycle trips are not sports events. You can take your time. That's the point of them.

This ride is about 19km long, has two real hills in it but is easily do-able by beginners who are determined to extend themselves a little. Don't make this your first ride - be sure you have a few easy rides under your belt but it is OK to make this your first trip that mixes some road and easy off-road cycling. I would describe this route as an easy adventure.

Gears for hill climbing

Many budget bikes do not have a low enough gear and I don't understand why they are made like this as the cost saving must be negligible.

These bikes are ill-equipped for steep hills but I guess they are alright if you never venture anywhere with more than a gentle rise. Fortunately it is usually an easy and reasonably inexpensive operation to get these bikes modified.

The easiest way to tell if your bike has a decent low gear or not, apart from trying it out on a steep hill, is to count the number of teeth on the biggest cog on the rear wheel. There are usually seven or eight cogs in a cluster at the back where the rear derailleur shifts the chain from sprocket to sprocket as you change gears. This has nothing to do with the front derailleur.

On some bicycles the largest of the rear sprockets will have 28 teeth. Count yours and see how many teeth your bike has on its largest rear sprocket. If it's 28 I'd go and see your local cycle mechanic and discuss your options with him. It is usually quite easy to remove the rear gear cluster and slip an alternative one on with more teeth. The more teeth you can have here the lower the low gear will be and the easier it will be to pedal your way up tough hills.

There may be some issues that limit what size gear cluster that can be fitted, but if you can step up from 28 to 30 or even 32 teeth without having to change anything else that would be a cheap way of enhancing your hill climbing capabilities.

You can get bigger sprockets fitted that have more teeth but you may end up having to change other components. An even more dramatic change would be to increase from 18 to 21 or more gears but this will likely not be possible. That sort of major change involves increasing the number of sprockets in the rear cluster as well as their diameter.

Your cycle frame will not usually be able to accommodate the extra width required to fit the extra gears so if it is possible just to fit a gear cluster with a bigger diameter big sprocket (more teeth) and retain the same number of gears you just have to settle for that. The expert in the cycle shop will be able to tell you what is easily possible and what is impossible.

It may end up simpler to buy a different bike if you are not satisfied with the cheap modification or if it is too difficult to make the change. However there is no point in spending serious money until you have some experience and really know what you need.

Another thing that changes and helps you get up hills more easily as you get more cycling time in is your leg muscles. You will find that you can do bigger hills more easily as time passes. A bike is only as good as its rider's legs so the more time spent riding, the fitter and stronger you get and the easier the hills become.

There is no disgrace in getting off and walking up the first hill but you should be able to grind your way slowly up the second. As the second hill is on the road, and not on a cycle trail, I'd recommend you stay on your bike and keep pedaling.

Today we are going to take our bikes by car and park in the short little street called Rush Lane at Tasman that leads into the reserve that is tucked between the turn off into Aporo Road and the Ruby Bay bypass, now officially known as The Coastal Highway.

From Rush Lane cycle right into Dicker Road and carry on straight ahead and up the gravel road in front of you (photo below). The cycle track takes you though a farm yard and you will have to open three farm gates here so leave them as you find them. You may even have to cautiously ease you way through a pen of sheep as my friends and I did when we first rode up here.

The short length of track here is up hill, unformed and grass with a few ruts in it so it may be easier to walk until you get through the third gate where the riding becomes easy. By now you are cycling parallel to and above The Coastal Highway and heading in the general direction of Richmond (see the map at the end of this article).

It is an interesting experience looking down on the cars and across to the west (photo below). Crusader is the most distinctive mountain you will see. To the east you look down across the busy Tasman landscape nestled between the ridge you are on and the hill between the valley and the coast.

Follow the track and be prepared for some rough sections, a bit of sealed road and then ride carefully downhill along the gravel road with loose gravel until you get to the intersection where you turn downhill along Seaton Valley Road.

This is a wonderful sealed downhill ride but don't go so fast that you are too terrified to look around and enjoy the scenery (photo below). It is all too easy to reach 40 to 50kph down here but remind yourself that the stone-chip seal would rasp your skin off very efficiently if you came off. That thought should help you keep your speed down.

From the end of this road turn left into the main road and ride along all the way to and up and around the 'bluffs'. You can stop for a break along the coast and there is an interesting detour along the track beside the Mapua School that will take you past a flock of free-range chooks to the coast.

It is worth a short stop here to admire the rock and concrete barrier put in to protect a coastal property from erosion. It is almost the eighth wonder of the world and most unnatural looking. Only King Canute could hold back the tide better.

Just follow the track into Broadsea Avenue and get back onto the main road, or you can ride along the sea front between the houses and the rock sea wall here as an alternative. There are toilets at the north end of Ruby Bay and you might also find it interesting to ride into the McKee Domain for a look when you get to the start of the hill up the Ruby Bay Bluffs.

The road up and around the Bluffs is not as difficult to cycle up as it looks and there is plenty of room at the top to pull off and let your pulse settle down (photo below). The traffic is not usually a problem now the bypass is complete, but like all road riding keep well to the left and where possible ride to the left of the white line along the road edge.

There is coffee available at Jester House or the Tasman Store which is now home to a small coffee roasting business. The car is not far away from here so there is time for a yarn while you imbibe and plan your next ride in the area.

There are a number of rides between Motueka, Tasman, Mapua and Upper Moutere that are picturesque enough to compare with cycling anywhere. If you venture as far as Orinoko the scenery is delightful.

You can go cycling in France if you wish but don't forget to explore the Tasman region first. I'll take you along another local cycle route soon.

(Here is a map of today's route.)

Dicker Road can be a lonely place	Looking down on the bypass
At speed on Seaton Valley Road	The view of Ruby Bay from the Bluffs
Cyclist's nectar by the Mapua estuary	Between Broadsea Ave and Ruby Bay

MORE CYCLING TRIPS: This is the fourth of a series of articles written by Ian Miller about various suggested cycle routes in and around Motueka for recreational cyclists. Read his other articles here »