Shortest route end-to-end is 2,000 km (including a ferry). With LOTS in between (don't think riding would be any more repetitive than riding anywhere else).
Welcome. I would love to get an opportunity to ride where you are, but I don't think it is likely to happen. Enjoy your 2015!
Thanks!Welcome from the Big Apple and congrats on your new ride. Enjoy!
Thanks for having me!
Thanks! I've already discovered a lot of good info on here!
NZ is two islands, imaginatively called North Island, and South Island. There is a lot of great riding here. It's true that you could ride the length of the country in 2000km (with a 3.5h ferry ride in the middle) but you'd be avoiding the best roads in the country. I'm a member of IBA, and the NZ Distance Riders Group. I live in the North Island, and a few years ago did a 1600km (1000mile) Saddlesore every month for 12 months. Only two people have ever done this. I've attached my 'retrospective' from Spotwalla so you can see the routes I have travelled. New Zealand, especially the South Island, has some of the greatest riding!
I'm doing a 1600km Saddlesore tomorrow, in the North Island. I'll basically ride around the perimeter of the big thick part of the North Island. We have some beautiful roads, but they are dual carriageways, and often not for the faint hearted if you aren't used to these types of roads. A Saddlesore for an experienced rider will take around 20 hours to complete. Compare that to riding the freeways in USA, where riders generally finish in 16 hours, and you can see the difference in road conditions.
