Harbour Bridge & Surrounds
This is one of Warwick's home rides, is fairly short but has a fair few number of hills on it on it so an e-bike is recommended. We start at Showbox which is a little coffee provider in the middle of the Hauraki Corner shops accessible off the carpark in the rear. To get to Showbox you simply come off the Esmonde Motorway turnoff and at the top head right towards Devonport on Lake Road. At first set of lights after turn turn right onto Jutland Road and then first driveway on right to get into carpark.
The parking lot is quite busy and has only 120 mins but I have never seen a parking warden there. To avoid being a first I would suggest Jutland road itself or any of the surrounding streets which have free unlimited parking.
After we are all there we will then transit through the back streets of Takapuna, down a couple of cycle paths before heading across the motorway on Northcote Road to the Takapuna Cricket Club to have a look see at Smiths Bush which is a 1km walk through native bush. This is not mandatory if you are not into walking but highly recommended for the bird life. After this break we go down Lake Road, past Northcote, over Onewa Road to Queen Street which takes us all the way to the Harbour Bridge. After having a look at the views we track back to the Northcote Tavern for some lunch which has indoor and outdoor seating and is probably some of the best pub food in Auckland.
After lunch then we track down the back streets to the Sulphur Beach and track alongside the motorway through the motorway underpass to emerge by the Police station. After going around this then we cross over Stafford Park (nasty little hill here) and along Waimana Ave back to Onewa Road where we cross over and go back down to Onepoto Domain which we go through to get up the hill to Howard Road through to Exmouth Road which we follow right to the bottom to get to Exmouth Park. The last bit is a steep downhill where good brakes are required due to there not being a run off area.
It is then a matter of tracking around the Tuff Crater (where the old WWII Tank farm was located) which is offroad on gravel, grass or boardwalk right around to the Warehouse way which backs onto Akoranga Drive. The Tuff Crater path has recently been redone so is a lot easier than it used to be however parts of it would be a challenge without the right tyres. Little bit of tread on the tyres required. From Akoranga drive it is fairly straight forward run back to Takapuna.
Total distance is circa 25k however it feels a bit longer due to the terrain being covered.
This is a real mixture of a ride as we have wide concrete paths, narrow concrete paths, some quite steep hills, traffic areas, parks, grass, gravel, boardwalks, a pub and lots of flat bits. Parts of it are definitely not easy however none of them are so long that you cannot walk them if need be.
So if you feel like a bit of exercise and some sightseeing come and have a look see. As normal then:
- If the weather goes against us we will postpone it to next available date.
- Please bring a spare tube for your particular bike wheel size.
- We travel at circa 15 -20 ks an hour except for down hills.
- We have a tail end Charlie to make sure riders do not get lost. We are not too fond of leaving people behind.
- Assistance will be rendered for any mechanical issues but we are not bike mechanics.
- If you are signed up for the ride but change your mind at the last minute please text or phone me on 021 348 979 to advise.
