A J Mazonowicz

Cycling

Cycling in the Hunuas

Greer asked me about how to ride through the Hunuas (just south of Auckland) so this is a quick list of routes that I've taken. The Tour Aotearoa Route As far as I know, this is the official Tour Aotearoa route. Coming from Ardmore, the roads are quite

Photos

Misty Morning, Auckland

Some moody photos taked on a ride between Penrose and Puketutu Island.

Cycling

Riding The Heaphy

Riding The Heaphy track on a non-mountain bike

Cycling

Around the Mountains (Day 3)

I have never visited the town of Kingston that resides in Jamaica, but I’m pretty sure it’s nothing like the (Southland) Kingston that I woke up in. This one was cold and misty and pleasantly quiet. And all I had to do for the day was ride 40km

Cycling

Around the Mountains (Day 2)

I woke up to grey blue light filtering through my grey & blue tent and ate some flapjack. By the time I was halfway through packing up my stuff, the Mavora Lakes sandflies had formed a cloud around me and were taking turns to attack me in squadrons (at one

Cycling

Around the Mountains (Day 1)

I have conflicting feeling about starting tours. I’m excited to get going, I’m worried that I’ve forgotten something vital and I’m sad to be leaving Coo behind. On this occasion I was also stressed because the scrambled eggs wouldn’t cook and I had a ferry

Cycling

The Worst Shortcut

Riding through The Hunuas and making a huge mistake

Cycling

Bike Camping in Miranda

An overnight trip from Auckland to Miranda

Cycling

The Road to Trollville

Cycling "through" The Hunuas

Cycling

The Cheese Run

Riding to Mercer to buy some cheese

Cycling

Coromandel, the Hard Way

An overnight ride around Coromandel

Cycling

Papakura to Pūkorokoro

Sat, 23 Apr 2016 As I may have mentioned before, I'm not really a summer person. Hot weather makes me whiny and listless. Occasionally I venture out on my bike, but such outings often end in humiliation thanks to my tendency to sweat a lot. Witness a recent

Cycling

The Twin Streams to Hendo

Recently, my fellow cyclist Emilio and I went for a Thursday evening ride along the Twin Streams Shared Path. I can’t really handle hot weather so I suggested that we go after the 5:30-7pm Tumeke shift, hoping it would be cooler then. When we met at the workshop,

Cycling

Monsieur Peugeot

Do you wish your bikes could talk? I don’t. I’m pretty sure that if they could, mine would just complain. About the parts I’ve taken off them, the bits I’ve put on that they weren’t designed for and the fact that I hardly ever wash

Auckland

Conversations with Auckland Motorists #2

The scene: 3:30pm on a warm Thursday afternoon, I’m cycling down Carlton Gore Rd towards Newmarket. I’m approaching the intersection with Davis Crescent and I intend to turn right. I look behind, there’s a car but it’s some distance away, so I indicate by putting

Auckland

Conversations with Auckland Motorists #1

The scene: an unspectacular Tuesday morning, I’m cycling to work heading west along K’Rd. I’m approaching the intersection with Ponsonby Rd, so I enter the right turn bay intending to turn right. A car coming in the opposite direction crosses the centreline and heads directly towards me.

Cycling

Oh that West Coast Wilderness Trail

Day 1 After riding the Heaphy, but before going to Christchurch to do some work and watch some roller derby, I thought it would be nice to ride this thing called The West Coast Wilderness Trail. So I hitched a ride with Coo, Sugar and Crunch, down the West Coast

Auckland

Waikaraka to Ihumatao

Come with me now, on a journey through time and space. Or more specifically, a super-fantastic ride through a beautiful part of Auckland. For the full experience, make your way (preferably by bike) to Hugo Johnston Drive in Penrose. Being a predominantly industrial area, the traffic is pretty gruesome during

Cycling

To Helensville & Back

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a man in possession of a good touring bike and a set of panniers, must be in want of a tour.” to paraphrase Jane Austen. I don’t have much cycle touring experience. I’ve done a couple of overnight trips one 3

Auckland

Stoney Battered

I had some fascinating yet secret business to conduct on Waiheke Island the other day and I thought it would be nice to go for a ride down to Stoney Batter while I was over there. I used to live on Waiheke years ago, and I had walked the road

Cycling

Is this Still a Holiday? Day 3

I woke up cold, at about 4am on a bench outside the front door of the Omakau Hotel. My feet were especially frozen so I went for a little walk to try to warm them up. It didn’t really work, and when I got back to the bench, I

Cycling

Is This Still a Holiday? Day 2

I was awoken by what sounded like a hippo slipping over in the shower and falling down a flight of stairs, but when I peeped around my door a few minutes later, I couldn’t see any large animals or dents on the walls. Must have been something else. I

Cycling

Is this still a holiday? Day 1

I don’t know about you, but I always take a book with me on holiday. They are an excellent companion – providing entertainment, distraction, a very small pillow, and can help you start a fire. For my “holiday” in Central Otago, I was all set to take David Mitchell’s

Cycling

Riding to Raglan (again)

When I mentally filed away the story of my first ride ride from Pukekohe to Raglan (and back) it was pretty straightforward. There was a simple arc to the story. In the memory I constructed, I was a hero – a tragically incompetent and poorly prepared rider, who suffers heroically before

Cycling

Riding the Hutt River Trail

Tue, 25 Mar 2014 Coup and I flew down to Wellington in February this year, for Nicolai and Jaenine's wedding. I took the Off-Roadrat with me, with the intention of riding up the Hutt River Trail. As usual my plan was pretty vague - to ride from our