Further Afield

Ever get tired of the glass and increasing traffic on Papamoa Beach Road?  Want to escape from Welcome Bay Road and repeated trips up and down Reid Road?  Load your bike into the car - there is some excellent riding to be had within an hours drive of Tauranga; circuits with good roads and very little traffic. 

Club members are encouraged to send in their own circuits to be included on this page.

Paengaroa - Old Coach Road

Turn left off SH33 in Paengaroa, then right into Old Coach Road.  Parking is available outside the school or kindy, 500m along. 

The land here is gently sloping, but is cut by numerous streams which have carved out gullies of varying depth.  Old Coach Road crosses about a dozen as it twists and turns for almost 23km.  A couple of the climbs out are quite steep but short. With the gullies and a few false flats, it impossible to get into any sort of rhythmn, which makes it an excellent training ride; only a fraction of the traffic of Welcome Bay Road, and a mostly good surface.  It is important to watch the blue signposts, as Old Coach Road is not always straight ahead at intersections.  Just past Benners Road, the drop into the Pongakawa Valley is steep with a sharp left hander, followed by a one lane bridge.  At the far end, turn left onto SH2 and it's a flat ride back to Paengaroa.  The hard shoulder is quite wide, but there is a good bit of vibration from the surface in places.  If you decide this is not your cup of tea, any one of six left turns will take you back to Old Coach Road. I usually take the first left, Ohinepania Road, then right onto Old Coach Road again.  There are a couple of steep sections riding this way - just before Benners Road and again leading up to the right turn at Pongakawa Bush Road.  A right turn into Maniatutu Road, left on to SH2 and left again 3kms further on intoWilson's Road South takes you back to Paengaroa, rounding out the distance to 50kms.
map

map

Thanks to Mike Attrill for suggesting this ride.

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Waikato;  Karapiro - French Pass - Te Miro

by Keith
The Waikato has some excellent roads for cycling, offering a wide variety of terrain.  In particular the area between Cambridge, Morrinsville and Matamata has so many roads it is possible to creat any number of circuits of differing length and difficulty.  This is my personal favourite.

The ride starts at the service station on SH 1 at the junction with Karapiro Road, approx 10km east of Cambridge (80m ASL).  Parking is available there, or at the rest area above the Karapiro Dam where there is a toilet block (turn left 1km towards Cambridge).
map
Ride along Karapiro Road, then left into Whitehall Road. There is a moderate climb to 120m, then a descent before the first real climb.  The ascent continues with a left into French Pass Road, over the saddle at 220m, (the last 200 metres is quite steep), then a fairly steep descent, a flat section and a deep gully.  The climb out of the gully is not too bad.  A sharp right into Maungakawa Road, takes you over a small rise, then left into Fencourt Road.  The next section is completely flat (80m ASL) with long straight stretches.  Right into Flume Road, still flat but the hills are starting to close in from either side.  Swing left into Te Miro Road and the long gradual scenic climb to Te Miro (220m).  The last section is a bit steeper, but not as steep as French Pass.  Follow Te Miro Road round, this section is gently undulating, then left into Brunskill Road.  This is seriously undulating, crossing 3 streams; the climb out of the last one is steep but short.  Then it's left into Whitehall Road, one more hill to cross, down to Karapiro Road, right at the junction and back to the service station.  Distance is 50km, road surface generally good, and I have encountered very little traffic.

There is a side trip for serious climbers - after turning right off French Pass, continue straight along Maungakawa Road.  The climb commences a few kms further along, rising 240m in less than 3 km. The last 500m is the steepest with a 15% grade. Unfortunately, the road down the other side is unsealed.
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Matata - Lake Rotoma - Manawahematatamap1

by Keith

This ride incorporates one of the longest continuous climbs available in this region. It is superb ride on a fine day.

Parking is avalable on Arawa Street opposite the dairy. There is a modern toilet block on the corner of Division Street.  From there, head down Division Street, past the rugby club and turn left onto SH2.  Just under 5km out of Matata turn right into Caverhill Road, over the level crossing (care required), and first left into Braemar Road.  This is gently undulating for about 13km, a good surface and very little traffic.  Right onto SH 30 and the climbing starts - the first 4km is really only a false flat, then the grade increases but none of it is particularly steep.  The road continues to wind upwards with just 2 short respites, reaching the saddle at 380m ASL, then a short downhill to the lake at 320m.  Turn right into Matahi Road, and the climb continues to 440m.  This is the steepest section and will be familliar to those who have done the Sulphur to Surf fun ride.  The rest of the course is undulating, until the steep winding downhill.  Extreme care is required here; since the floods there are broken edges, slippery sections and at the bottom a short section where the road surface has been washed away.  However it is currently rideable with minimal problems but it is necessary to turn right into Caverhill Road to get on to the highway, and back to Matata.  Distance 64km.  One of these days I am going to try riding it the opposite way.
matatamap2



Update 12 Jan 2006 - the washed out section has been resealed.  It is one lane only for approx 100 metres.  Riding in the opposite direction, the climb up Manawahe Road from Matata is not as hard as I had expected.  It is not as steep as Reid Road, although quite a bit longer.
















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