I love riding my bike so much, and I love New Zealand so much that the idea of spending a week riding on the other side of the Tasman was too good to ignore.

And, on top of that, New Zealand are in the process of producing a whole series of cycling tracks across their beautiful country. The Ng Haerenga project currently includes some 22 trails of varying lengths, terrain and difficulty. I decided to pack up my trusty treacly, even though I had no one to ride with me, and explore two of the trails as well as a couple of mountain biking parks.

I packed my bike in a cardboard bike box I got for free from the LBS. Basically, removed the front wheel and pedals, deflated the tyres and stuffed lots of packing around it then tapped up the box. It only cost an extra $60 each way to send it to the land of the great white cloud.

29er in a box at Sydney International Airport

My schedule included:

• a half day at Woodhill Mountain Bike Park near Auckland
• a full day on the Waikato River Trail
• a half day in the red gum pine forests of Rotarua and
• a full day on the Hauraki Rail Trail.

It was going to be a full on week!