Bike Kaipatiki Social Ride

The Bike Kaipatiki team invites you on a social bike ride to explore the less frequently travelled upper reaches of Kaipatiki!
Starting from and returning to Columbus Coffee at Smales Farm, Takapuna, our route will take in:
– A close-up of some remarkable architecture
– Weird sculptures in a wetlands renovation
– Bush scenes that will make you think you’re in backblocks NZ
– A strange subterranean tunnel more reminiscent of a Hobbit movie
– A stunning lake
– High-performance sport in action
– Bucolic scenes you surely wouldn’t expect in the heart of a metropolis.
Come and join us on a voyage of discovery into parts of the Shore you perhaps never knew existed, or at least probably haven’t seen from the saddle of a bike.
Starting at 8am from Smales (where you may want to drive to with your bike on a rack), we’ll make our way north using as many off-road paths as we can. Unfortunately, of necessity there will be some parts of the route where we’re on-road sharing with cars, so you need to be comfortable about riding on the road. There will also be some hills, but we’ve kept the gradients as easy as possible.
You’ll be in a group with a ride leader and a Tail-End-Charlie who will ensure we all keep together as safely as possible. If you lack a bit of fitness or road confidence – don’t worry. We’ll all stay together to maximise the enjoyment. This isn’t a race, and there will be plenty of stops to look at the attractions and catch a breather.
We’ll ride north for an hour or so, arriving at Altura Cafe on Douglas Alexander Parade where the team from Bike Albany are welcome to join us for a coffee. After suitable refreshments we’ll return to Smales via the same route. No problems if some participants would like to return home independently from Altura.
Hope you can join us – will be good to get a ride in before winter starts to bite. And the weather? The odd shower won’t put us off, but if it’s thoroughly miserable we’ll cancel. Keep an eye on the Bike Kaipatiki FB page for details. See you at Smales from 7.30am for a pre-ride coffee, to make a start at 8am.